We arrived at Amy’s Sunday morning. Downs is in central Illinois, close to Bloomington. We saw Amy in May, but we haven’t seen Emma and Ethan since August 2020. It was good to hang out with them all for a few days. Amy has two dogs, Leah and Olive. Leah didn’t like it when Cody got attention, but other than that, they did well together. They basically did this the entire time when they weren’t outside or eating:
I should clarify that the above photo was taken when only Ben and I were home. Otherwise, they were in a lap of whoever sat on the couch. =)
Ethan did a competition in NJ over the weekend, and Emma was still at school in Chicago – IMSA (Illinois Math and Science Academy), so we relaxed with Amy until Ethan got home from school Monday night. Ethan competed in a Deka event. He showed us all ten exercises he had to perform. It has little running, so not like a Spartan or Tuff Mudder, but focuses on functional fitness.
Emma got home Tuesday afternoon. Ethan is in Civil Air Patrol, and he got promoted Tuesday night. We all attended the ceremony. It was very quick, once it got going. Lucky for that, since it was pretty cold and they held it outside.
We somewhat paid our keep. We helped Amy at both Orange Leaf and Mathnasium. She had “tall tasks” for us at Mathnasium, so we changed light bulbs and ceiling tiles. We helped her close Orange Leaf in exchange for some very yummy frozen yogurt. I cleaned her dryer vent because it had been a while. Amy’s gym was very nice in letting me join her for the fitness classes this week, and they were really fun!
Wednesday was gorgeous. We went for a run in a local park and I sat outside enjoying the sunshine. With Cody hanging out, it almost felt like home on our deck!
Wednesday was also Emma’s roommate’s birthday. Brooklyn turned 18 and had a very busy day planned – including a dentist appointment! (That’s brutal, mom. Who else would schedule a dentist appointment on your 18th birthday?) She came over that night for some brownies, a serenade, and the 2-part finale of Bachelor Paradise. Yes, Ben and I were subjected to the Bachelor. We drank every time someone cried, so we started to enjoy it very quickly in. =)
We sang Happy Birthday to Brooklyn while Ethan played his tuba and I played piano on a phone app. Yeah, all out! Ben participated from afar, so he could get this awesome photo.
Thanksgiving was pretty laid back. Emma and Ethan had a busy schedule, but we lounged around all day. We cooked – Amy did most of it – but I did the hard part of crescent rolls and cranberry sauce (yes, can of course!). We ate and watched some movies.
We left Friday around lunchtime. We watched the tree decorating in the morning which was very entertaining. I had a heart-stopping moment when my camera fell out off the couch and smashed onto the floor! It rolled out of my camera bag while I was getting tripod stuff out. I can’t believe it, the camera is fine! It landed straight on the lens and cracked the filter. The lens is even fine! I don’t see any scratches on the test shots. So to anyone that has an expensive camera (or even a mid-range camera like me), ALWAYS have a filter on it. Not only will it do it’s filtering job and prevent scratches on the lens, it could potentially save the lens from a 2-foot fall. All to get this shot below. I’m giving you both attempts to show the futile attempts to get Cody positioned. He likes the photo-bombing position.
Cody preferred Amy’s dogs’ bed to his own, so of course we bought him one. It also fits better in truck, and we don’t have to play musical dog beds anymore between the truck and the trailer. He still can’t manage to get his entire body on the bed, but you can see that relief that Leah didn’t come with him. 😉
We are headed south to Scott AFB outside Saint Louis.
Ben and Megan Travel the World 