Getting to spend so much time in Gillette was great. The Suchor’s, et al are definitely my second family and our visits are always pleasant, relaxing, and fun. We got to babysit Pat’s brother’s (Landon & Leslie’s) kids a few times and spent a few late nights at their place drinking beers and catching up. We shared several wonderful meals with Pat’s mom, dad, and sister (Sally, Paul and Amy), including a visit to the new Hibachi grill!
I also had the sobering opportunity to support my good friend, Nicole, at the end of her mom’s battle with cancer. While I wish our time together could have been under happier circumstances, I am glad I could be there for her and her sisters. The Glenn’s are a family I had grown up with, first best friends with Julie and later becoming really close with Nicole. I feel like one of the family, and was thankful to be near and to be able to offer a shoulder to lean on.
Nicole headed off to a mind-clearing mountain trip, and Pat and I welcomed my youngest sister, Jerrica, back to Gillette. She had made a detour to Casper to pick up my nephew Izziah (thanks for making this happen, Mom & Dad!), and arrived with the two little boys in the evening. Pat’s dad, Paul is great with kids and soon he had them digging in the garden, exploring the backyard, picking peas, and pulling carrots. While Pat studied the next day, Jerrica and I ran errands and took the boys on several adventures.
After swimming, food was in order. We went to Jerrica’s favorite Chinese restaurant and then took the boys to the rollerskating rink. Amazingly, nothing about the rink has changed from our childhoods. Izziah did great (he was very impressed with himself) and is learning more and more how to actually skate (versus the beginner’s “walk-skate”). It was Kyler’s first time. Like any four-year old, he’s prone to immediately announcing the slightest dissatisfactions with whining or crying. We warned him that falling is part of skating and you just have to get back up and try again. By the end, especially with his tough older cousin as an example, he was popping back up after every tumble.
The hope was, after skating, that my dad’s flight would arrive and he would baby sit the boys while Jerrica and I (and Jeana if she could get off work) did some sister bonding. However, seriously awful airport bungling had him stuck in Denver for the night. So, we had a night in at Paul and Sally’s instead and all just stayed up chatting.
The next morning we re-coordinated schedules and Pat and I headed to my grandparent’s place near Sundance to kick off their 50th Anniversary celebration. We got to spend a bit of time there in the morning before driving over to Rapid City (South Dakota) to pick my mom up. Sally had traded us cars for the weekend, and my mom was thankful (as were we): she fully expected to be picked up in our old Honda! We arrived back at “the land,” as my grandparent’s acreage has always been known, about the time that my dad and Jerrica arrived. All four of my grandparents sons (my dad plus three) and their families were there. As the dinner hour got closer, two of my grandmothers brothers, one of her sisters, and many of their children turned up as well. We had a fun evening catching up with everyone and in some cases meeting each other.
Of course we had to stay up late playing cards. Our favorite new game is called “Hand and Foot.” I’m told it’s like canasta, whatever that is. The only downside is, the game length increases exponentially with each pair of players that are added. As some began to fall asleep with cards in hand, we gave up and went to bed!
The next day we took a family photo and went to the nearby reservoir where I spent many summer days growing up. We played on the lakeshore and took turns being launched off of Pat’s shoulders into the water. My uncle recently bought a power boat, so everyone took turns riding the inflatables in the wake. Owing to my lack of health insurance, I begged out of my turn at the end of the day as things were cooling down. We should have gone home after the lake, but we went back to “the land” instead to eat and play more cards — a decision we didn’t regret! It was great getting to see everyone and disappointing to have to rush off in the morning to go pack for the next leg of our summer adventure!
My dad was staying in town on a job at one of the mines, and Jerrica was able to wrangle her work schedule at the last minute to join Pat and I at a big Suchor family BBQ that night. We ended up taking longer than we thought packing. Instead of leaving Tuesday morning, we were finally ready Tuesday night. My dad got to stop by on his way back into town to wish us well, and after tearful goodbyes with Pat’s family, we set out for Oregon and our first of three summer 2010 weddings.
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