Getting ready for vacation

Unfortunately, my reputation for finding people via the internet is haunting me. One of the ladies on the reunion committee still thinks I'm in business. She had to find someone and called early this morning to see if I could help her. I found some info and sent it to her and then said I'm leaving on vacation. This seems to be a job (a volunteer one) that will not end. The reunion was on 8/11. Time to be done. Now we are going to have one final meeting the end of September. I'm all for lessons-learned meetings, but I usually like them right away. Have a feeling this has other purposes (reading between the lines of some emails). On a more positive note, finished up the newsletter for church. Did a little cleaning - hard to believe (ha, ha). We are headed for Bethany Beach, DE tomorrow for the weekend and then bound for the South to relax and enjoy. I'll be in my element - accent and all...

Odds and ends...

Mom got her carpet fixed today. We went down this afternoon and hooked up the computer and TV for her. Got our thank you notes written and mailed. A productive day...

Today is our 25th Anniversary

Today is the actual date of our 25th Anniversary. It's hard to believe we have been married that long - my how time flies. We love each other so much. We got new rings - I got a new diamond (beautiful!!!) and I got John a new wedding band with a diamond-shaped diamond. I can't imagine not having John in my life - he is my best friend, my lover, the father of our children, my rock, a constant source of humor, etc. (I could go on and on...) We have built our marriage with God at the center. We have always tried to keep our sense of humor and appreciate one another. God has truly blessed us and He continues to do so...

Sunday was literally a day of rest...

Church was awesome. After church we came home, had lunch, and fell asleep. I guess all the partying on Friday night required 2 days of rest. It was an awesome party...

25th Anniversary Party

John found a pair of shoes in the morning while I rested some. Phone rang early in the morning and I didn't get to sleep until around noon. Took a two hour nap and then had to get all our stuff together for the party. We wouldn't be coming back to the house before going to our party. Got my hair fixed and then we headed for the Walkersville VFD social hall. Julie was there. She had planned the entire event and assigned her brothers tasks. The decorations were beautiful, the DJ was good, the food was terrific, and we had a MARVELOUS time. I think all our guests did too. The dancing was great - I chair danced a lot since I can't last for a whole dance. Had fun with the grandbabies - Jessica was taking care of me, getting me something to drink. Destiny kept saying she couldn't dance, but I got her on the floor a couple of times. Then when they played one line dance song, she was the first and only one out there who knew the dance. Abby, Katelyn, and Stephanie did their share of dancing too. Amelia danced with Uncle Gary and her cousin, Adam. She was in her glory. Julie is really a good dancer - I want her to teach me some steps. She was hilarious on this one song - the DJ threw her a plastic blow up guitar and she mimicked the solo guitar piece in it. She tried to get Scott to pretend play it, but he wouldn't get on the dance floor. Scott's only time on the dance floor was sweeping it up after the party. Julie had borrowed a standup cardboard bride & groom with cutout faces for us to use. You could get your picture taken by Chris and then he would print it out for you to take home; Desiree delivered the pics to each person/couple. I think everyone got a kick out of that. I even started asking people if they wanted to get their pic taken with me. I was usually the "groom." The food was good - Cliff and Julie spent most of their time making sure everything was available. It was so good to spend time with family and friends. We just had the best time - can't thank our kids enough. Scott (Destiny, Jessica, Katelyn), Chris & Desiree (Amelia, Stephanie, Abby), Julie and Cliff - thanks for giving us such beautiful memories...

Thursday

Rested some in the morning and then we left to run errands. Had to get John a pair of black shoes for tomorrow night and pickup some other things for the party. Didn't haven't any luck with the shoes so John will have to go out again in the morning. Got a photo album for our wedding pics and I had to organize them. Made the signs for the party while John fixed the favors filled with M&Ms. Then John went to bed. I laid down and after an hour and 1/2, I got up. Just too excited too sleep I guess. Did a few other things and then tried to sleep again. Was a long night of tossing and turning...

Resting...

Think I've been on the go too much. Had a little battle with nausea the last couple of days. Decided I should take it easy today so I'd feel good for our party on Friday...

Lots going on...

Went today and had my wedding band sized to fit as well as my anniversary ring John gave me for our 5th wedding anniversary. It will be nice to have my original wedding band again. Then we dropped off our wedding negatives to have new pictures and a CD made. Our original pictures were turning. We looked pretty good 25 years ago - time hasn't been so kind to me. John still looks great! Then we had dinner with Mom at Applebees. It's been a glorious day...

Monday's events

We went to Lowe's to put in the cabinet order. It's official now, I'm getting a new kitchen! YEAH !!! It will take 4-6 weeks for the cabinets to come in. I'll be making Thanksgiving Dinner in a new kitchen this year. We've lived here for 23 years and I disliked the kitchen from the time we looked at the house. I liked the rest of it so we bought it. It will be wonderful to have a kitchen I really enjoy cooking in...

Ordering cabinets

After church today, we met our contractor back at the house for final measurements. Then we were off to Lowe's. We thought everything would be ordered today, but it didn't work out. They have to check something with manufacturer. Hopefully, tomorrow will be the day...

Lunch with Nancy

I had lunch with Nancy today. It was a spur of the moment decision. Hadn't seen her in a couple of months. She called to see if I was available so I went. Met at Perkins and discussed the reunion, etc. Had a good time.

Dinner with the Yohos

John and I were awake early (about 2 AM) so we watched a movie. Then we went to sleep around 5 AM and the phone rang at 8 AM. Another reunion task - thought it was over, but it seems to continue. Ran an errand today and then had dinner with the Yohos. It was a great time. We always enjoy any time spent with good friends...

Dinner with Mom

Tuesday was basically a day of rest. We've had such a whirlwind of activity that we spent the day resting off and on. I finished up some accounting for the reunion and a few other things. I took a short nap in the afternoon. Then we called Mom and went to Cracker Barrel. Enjoyed dinner and Mom ran into an old friend. We returned some movies to Hollywood Cinema and then went to Freeze King for an ice cream...

Still going strong...

Had to go get my new dentures adjusted today - another trip to Waldorf. Dr. White is great and I can already tell a difference. He said to come back if I needed another adjustment - I hope I don't. Tried the new McDonald's in Urbana. The dining area seems small compared to the length of the building, but it's great to have one available. We love their iced tea. Looking forward to slowing down a bit...

Pool Party on Sunday after church...

Church was awesome today. After church, we went to John's Mom's for a pool party in honor of his retirement. Being the kid at heart that I am and loving water, I was the only "adult" in the pool for most of the time. John got in for a little bit. I was in with my nephews, niece, and grandbabies. I was in for 1 1/2 hours - got red on my shoulders. It was sore last night and still today, but I think it will be fine. I slept last night - thank you God...

The Reunion was great !

The Reunion was great. I have so enjoyed seeing Jan & Pete Peterson and Sherry Stiles over the last few days. Sherry lives in Winchester so I'm hoping to see her more often. Jan & Pete rode with us to the Reunion and I got in some last few moments with them on the ride home. They are headed back to Iowa Sunday at 7:30 AM. Who knows we might end up visiting them in Iowa sometime since John is retired. Saw lots of old classmates - some looked just the same (only a little older); some didn't look anything like I remembered. Everyone seemed to have a great time and we got lots of great compliments. I'm tired and off to bed - I'm glad it's over...

One day closer to the Reunion...

I had to go to the doctor today because my kidney infection was acting up again. Got a different antibiotic - should take care of it. Had to make a few changes to items for the reunions - another person is coming. John and I had a Philly cheesesteak at Philly's that just opened up. It was delicious. Tomorrow is the big high school Reunion. Will be glad to spend some time with friends from out of town. Until tomorrow...

Saw Jan and Sherry today...

Today I had lunch with friends from my childhood - Jan and Sherry. Jan lives in Iowa and is back here for our high school reunion. Sherry graduated the year after us, but is also coming to the reunion. She lives in Winchester, VA. We had a great time and I look forward to spending more time with them on Saturday...

Jessica's B-day...

Today is Jessica's 11th birthday. We met at FSK Mall and got her a couple outfits and of course, earrings to match. We met Cliff and Julie later in the evening and celebrated at the Dairy Queen with Scott, Destiny, Jessica, Katelyn, and their cousin, Carmen. We had a good time...

Fun day...

Got my hair cut today - when you have a short hair cut, you have to go more often. My bangs were too long and were driving me crazy. After that, John and I went to Lowe's and picked out kitchen cabinets. It is quite exciting to see the computer generated new look. It took a lot longer than we had anticipated. We had decided on a counter top, but then found out you can't mount the sink underneath. We are getting estimates on 3 different types of counter tops - have to see the price to know what we will do. The thrill of a new kitchen after 23 years is almost more than I can comprehend (I'm working on it!)...

First day of retirement...

This was John's first day of retirement. He did a little yard work and then we ran some errands. It was an awesome day. We really enjoyed being together. Tonight, we watched Astronaut Farmer. It was a good movie. Time to do a little more work on the high school reunion. It's this Saturday. Can't wait to see my friends...

Blessed day...

Pastor Darren preached a very heartfelt sermon this morning about the responsibility of parents and grandparents. It makes me want to do more for my kids and my grandbabies. I know the boys are saved, but they need to be in church and have their families in church too. We are thankful Julie & Cliff are faithful to the Lord. I want to share the Lord with my grandbabies in a way they can understand and want to have Him in their lives. I need to seek God's guidance and the prayers of friends to accomplish this. Tonight is the first night my hubby doesn't have to go to work. It feels a little weird not to make sure he is awake and ready for work. A weird I can definitely get used to. Thank you, God, for all your wonderful blessings...

My Sister visited...

My sister came for a visit today. Dina, my Mom, John and I went to lunch at Bob Evans. We had a great visit. She was headed back to Jack's house to meet Steve. The Magruders were having a cookout tonight and then they will be headed back to VA Beach tomorrow. Steve and Jack went fishing while Dina came to see us. As always, she looked wonderful and it was great to see her !

John is retired !

John is officially retired. He got home around 10:40 am. Julie had a sign printed and posted it in the yard. The sign had a funny face we've seen John make a hundred times or more. It said "I'm ready to retire!" John Krop Congratulations on 32 years of service. John was smiling so big when he pulled in the driveway. I think he was really pleased about the sign and his freedom. Julie also had a cake made for her Dad (marble cake with butterfinger creme filling and butterfinger crunch all around the outside of the cake). It was delicious. Then this afternoon off to get my new dentures - they will take some getting used to, but I'm pleased. Tonight we had dinner with Chris, Desiree, and girls to celebrate John's retirement. Scott was working so we will catch up with him later. Now we can begin a life of a more regular schedule - sleeping when the rest of the folks are - during the night...

Sr. Saints Luncheon

Went to the Sr. Saints Luncheon today to surprise them with a game time. I had wrapped some prizes (dollar store and white elephant) and we played bingo. Those ladies had a grand time - I had to call the game at 3 PM. Enjoyed it. Tonight is John's last night before officially retiring at 7:30 AM - actually it will be a little later because he has to go through the clearance process (turning in badges, etc.) Can't wait for him to be all mine...