It’s hard to imagine that next Monday, we’ll be back in school.

#whyohwhy

Tell me about it. We’ve enjoyed our summer. A lot.

#nokidding

Ha! To summerize our summer:

  • Spent a few days in Flordia right after school let up to decompress on the beach. Got chairs on the beach almost every day along with an umbrella. We took a kayak trip in some backwater, which was fun. All in all, a wonderful way to start the summer.
  • Spent a few days in Northern Wisconsin. We kayaked on Lake Superior and saw the Ice Caves, a 10/10 experience! We had really good food, both that we made in the camper AND that we had in local restaurants. Drank really good wine, cider, and beer while just enjoying the cool temperatures (compared to Iowa at the time). A great next trip, even if our cats didn’t appreciate the drive to and from our campsite! Oh, I forgot! We also stopped at the “Cheese Curd Festival”, which was pretty wild! Again, highly recommended!
  • We spent a few days in Denver, CO, visiting for the first time, and annoying our daughter and son-in-law with our presence. They’ve moved to Denver to chase jobs, so we cannot fault them for escaping the current state of Iowa. We hiked at Red Rocks and decided we need to see a concert there. We saw dinosaur bones, the Coors brewery, and ate at the most amazing little bakery downtown. We also got to hang out with my aunt and uncle, something I’ve really never been able to do before. Our time spent with them was fun as well!
  • Iowa Irish Fest is a tradition. We had the chance to see our youngest daughter, which was nice. My parents are doing well in their “new house” (three years moved off the acreage). With the extra room, we can all stay, which is nice. We did miss the big name bands: Gaelic Storm, The High Kings, and Scythian. However, some new to us bands were around (Doolin’) and some old favorites (The Screaming Orphans and Seo Linn (mentioned above), were there, so all was not lost. Plus, we found a new “favorite drink”: chocolate vodka and 5 Farms Irish Cream (the best Irish cream out there). You could use Bailey’s Irish Cream, but it won’t be as good! 🙂
  • From Monday, 8/3 to Monday, 8/11 we’ve done the following: saw to amazing Irish bands (Boxing Banjo and Seo Linn) in our little pub, which gave both concerts a much more intimate setting. We spent time at *sigh* school, working to set my our rooms. August Mr. J is a little ticked off at May Mr. J, but yet, he understands the mess that was left to clean up. We also spent time at the Iowa State Fair, helping our friends to show Brown Swiss. Last Friday was a very good day for all of us. My wife and I had a blast showing animals because there were no naughty Swiss this year! I showed a heifer who didn’t do well at the county fair, yet, won her class during the Brown Swiss show. My wife showed a cow, which was different for her, because she usually shows the babies! However, she’s shown this animal for three years now, and they know each other! She was told at the county fair that her cow would probably finish 3rd of 3 because she is a smaller cow right now. However, that did not happen. She won her class and was the Grand Champion Swiss at the show. Color us all stunned. So, expectations were a little higher at the state fair, and the cow did awesome! CC Chanel (the cow’s name) won her class, was Reserve Intermediate Champion (a fancy way of saying she got second for all the heifers and younger cows). Now, she goes in for Grand Champion, the best Brown Swiss, and gets third! We, again, are all stunned!

So, when I say that summer was enjoyed, I’m not lying. I’ve also figured out that I could retire in four years. Another “WTH” moment this week. Retirement is another stresser altogether, AND another blog.

However, if this is what retirement might look like, sign me up! 🙂