Passing the Home Baton

We invited the buyers of our home over on Monday to show them some of the workings of the house. It took us almost 2 hours to get through everything! They were very appreciative and we were happy to get to know them a little. Paul and Denae and their two boys are going to liven up the house quite a bit! Maybe Denae will even convince Paul that they need a dog! Coda was a little insecure about the whole thing. Notice she has her paw resting on Ed's foot for this picture!

Happy Fourth PIcnic

Our annual ward Fourth of July breakfast went off without a hitch this year. Elder Benson started the entertainment with a patriotic trumpet solo.

The pancakes and sausage were great, as were all the sides and fixin's.

Helen and I led those the ward members in some America songs, and after we finished eating and chatting the rain came down! We were happily packed in the car just as the first drop fell!

Pearl Strings Farewell Bash

The Pearl Strings hosted a farewell party for the Bush and Batson families with a concert in the Bush backyard. With no rain and 72 degrees, it couldn't have been a nicer way to say goodbye!

We were so happy that so many of our friends and family stopped by and stayed for the music. It is so fun playing for a crowd that loves you! They laughed at our jokes. We don't get that a lot!

We had to bring in Ed for our big Celtic hymn medley! He was nice to provide some bass, and I was happy to play the hammered dulcimer on it.

We all had an opportunity to mix things up and play lots of different instruments this set. Reagan even got to play the accordion on Mr. Sandman. Barb Reger, (formerly of the Pearl Strings) is on the bottom left of this picture. Doesn't her hair look great?

Reagan outdid herself by making us t-shirts with quotes from the band. They made us laugh! Okay, band made us laugh every week! It was music, entertainment and therapy all wrapped up in one!

Thanks Pearlies! And thanks,  friends for listening!

Pool Party

Saturday we went to a pool party at the home of our next door neighbors, Kris and Charlie. It was a perfect day--hot enough to get in the pool, but cool enough not to be uncomfortable out of it.

The food was great, and Ed was pretty interested in getting himself a pair of these spatula tongs for his own BBQ.

It was nice visiting with Brian, whose big neighborhood Crab-B-Q in August has been one of the highlights of our summer for the past few years. We're sad we'll miss it this year!

We were happy to meet Sean, who brought his drone to the party. He was nice enough to go next door to our house and take a few aerial shots for us.

It will be fun for us to have some extra memories of our fabulous house in Maryland!

Last Mow

Ed mowed the lawn for the last time today. We're having a lawn service mow for us till the house closes at the end of July. He'll miss his John Deere! It's found a new (and old) home, however with the new homeowners who will be buying it when we move.

Some of Ed's Friends

Bill Toth was nice enough to throw a goodbye party for Ed last night. He had a lot of friends come wish him well as we move to Utah. They said some really nice things about how much they enjoyed working with and for Ed. They also talked enough about business that I think Ed was a little happy he wasn't in the throes of that rat race anymore. Every day is Saturday to Ed! (Except for Sunday!)

Cleaning Up

We are about ready for the movers to come. So, we took some time to do other things besides pack today. In an effort to clean out my cupboards, I made desserts from mixes left in the pantry. I thought we could share them at our goodbye party on Sunday. I also used the eggs I won at Weight Watchers!

We followed up the cooking with a serious car wash. Did I mention it rained last night? Driving up a grass and dirt hillside in a downpour was hard on the cars. (We had to take both cars for all our equipment.) My car got the worst of it, being so low to the ground.

It was a perfect excuse to clean and vacuum our cars and get them ready for the big drive across country in 2 weeks!