June

Dean proposed to Lauren on a sunset riverboat cruise with not only our blessing, but Austin's full endorsement. They are building a beautiful life together. To prevent influencing Dean's plan, we waited until after the proposal to share our engagement story with them. Greg also officially popped the question on an evening riverboat cruise in 1993. Like Dean and Lauren, there were conversations ahead of time and collaboration on the ring; the difference for them was Austin's involvement. His enthusiasm was essential for Dean and this is just one reason why we love him. He stepped up when he had no obligation to do so and now cannot imagine his life without either Lauren or Austin. 

I guess the wait staff chooses to avoid refills in this Mexican restaurant. We cracked up when our Pepsi was delivered. 

We found a way to knock out some of Ty's required driving hours with a June road trip to visit friends just outside Bloomington. While Kate and I talked with Amanda, Anna and Ava, Ty got a complimentary driving lesson with Ren. We seriously miss having them close. Two hours each way has apparently been just enough time to make these gatherings infrequent. It's sad because they quite literally were like family before they moved from just down the road. We all worked and worshipped together for years. So much has changed in the three years they've been gone and catching up on all our lives was wild. Time flies. 

The road trip was a blast as I eavesdropped in on the kids' stories about school, friends and pranks. Ty, the quiet one, is hilarious and left Kate gasping in shock more than once. They talked through their core memories of parachutes and obstacle courses in PE and how special some elementary school teachers were. Then they laughed about the things other students did to harass the permanently irate among high school staff. Listening in to what amused them and how they wished they could have responded opened my eyes a bit to the perspective of the obedient. Yes, outwardly they are compliant but boy do they know the score. 

Ten years ago, Kate attended her first concert with big sis, Lauren. They saw Justin Bieber for their birthdays that year. This month, they took off for a Megan Moroney concert together with just as much build-up and excitement. I love their relationship. 

Apparently road trips that cross paths with Buccees requires a stop. We both found the experience overwhelming and overrated but the mission was accomplished.

See that arrow? My husband was there.

The capital building is being restored and Greg's team gets to be a part of keeping crews safe. For a guy who is not a fan of heights, he is being stretched in this OSHA gig.

Greg called in a panic from the road. He was almost to a job site in Frankfort when he realized he did not have his laptop. I woke Ty for another road trip. On a whim, we then decided to just keep driving and surprised my parents with our arrival in London, Kentucky. We only stayed long enough to walk around the neighborhood and observe how much has been rebuilt in the year since the tornado. I did not cry this time but am still overwhelmed by the devastation. My sister's house has been completely rebuilt and the young man who bought her property, has family constructing a house next door. It was refreshing to see some color and life in what looked like a war zone not so long ago. 

The family who lived here lost their lives. Their home was across the street from Theresa's. I could not step away from the blooms along the bare foundation without taking a moment.

The only original piece left on Theresa's old property was the basketball goal. Ty says, "of course." But vibrant flowers where lives were lost feels profound. 

Ty's car is becoming a real character building project. From replacing the screen in the dash, the missing sun visor, to intermittent air and finally this month, a passenger door that won't stay closed, we are often laughing at the absurd. We learned on our road trip we could use either high heat, or no air at all. It was anything but comfortable on that sunny, eighty degree day. Now the door is being held closed by bungee cords until we have time to get into the mechanic. So once again, the car is parked until safe to operate. With one big update to Evan, the original owner who cared nothing at all about the car's quirks nodded along until the door issue, "oh, now that is new." I think I know why we got such a great deal. 😂

Oh Obi. He is beyond comfortable now and as amusing as ever. He, like all other cats, loves Ty and goes along with just about any game Ty is willing to play. From lazer pointers, to fetch with a piece of balled up paper, Obi is down. But he really likes my camera and clearly, my camera likes him too. He seriously is as pretty as he is naughty.

Friends invited us to join them at the local splash pad for an afternoon and they played for three hours before I had to call time to get him home.

Lana asked him where he gets his height and he quickly answered, "from Dean." He caught my smirk and argued, "well it's not from the Baughmans." I chose to accept his logic. It makes me smile. 

An adorable little boy in glasses knocked on the door one afternoon and asked Kate if he could walk Diesel for five dollars. Kate smiled and told him she couldn't let him walk our dog because he is so strong, he pulls her dad. He covered his mouth as he giggled. She wanted to offer some assistance so she pointed out our neighbor with the gentle, old dog. He had started there and apparently the gentleman who lives there gave him five dollars for asking. The little con man then waited expectedly for Kate to also pay him for asking. Kate told him she didn't have five dollars. He was willing to return later. I'm dying. It was a shakedown; a very cute shakedown. 

Lauren and Dean hosted Father's Day this year and we all enjoyed several hours gathered together. The laughter when this group hangs out is loud and amazing. Their property naturally lends itself to long walks, meandering conversation and relationship building. The simplicity is perfect. 

Ty started work at Boot Barn with his favorite coworker this month. They both laughed at me for requesting a first day photo. Someday, they might appreciate my eagerness to celebrate moments often overlooked. Maybe. But they grabbed breakfast together on their way in and I think having her there helped ease his first day jitters. When I picked him on on day 2, he was behind the register, talking with customers and had sold a couple pairs of boots. He was in a great mood and happy to have landed a job. He is talkative after work and we enjoy hearing about the people he is meeting and his thoughts as he processes new experiences.

Kate and I met my mom and Aunt Kay at the Kentucky Castle for the lavender festival. Calling the shrubs around the castle a lavender field was a stretch, but we enjoyed the afternoon together once it stopped raining. 

Greg's mom gets her nails done every Wednesday and I'm often shocked by her selections. Her nails were always natural until someone started painting them for her at Brookhaven.

Greg and I drove to Logan County, Ohio for his family reunion. I hadn't attended one in fifteen years. Seeing all the young adults I remembered as kids with little ones of their own was fun. One tiny guy leaned over with his hands on his knees when he talked to me, as if he had to lean down to make eye contact. Absolutely adorable. At one point, I told my father-in-law I thought he looked very handsome in his blue shirt. He smiled and thanked me for the compliment and then patted my arm, "you have gotten prettier and nicer with age." 🤨 I'm not sure who he thought I was because I don't think either of those observations are true. But long story short, kids and the elderly, with all their brutal honesty, are my favorite. 

May

 

Photo credit: Dean who occasionally sends me a snapshot from a special moment with my favorite human. This one was titled "movie night."

April showers bring May flowers. These were clipped from my neighbor's overflowing plant with permission. I cannot love the vibrant color more. She gave me some to transplant three years ago and I finally got my first bloom this season. She says there is a lesson in patience here. She is not wrong because I was ready to mow them down and start over with something already in bloom.

Austin and I got to spend election day together while his mom worked. I attempted to keep up with his approximate 500+ word per minute monologue while we logged thousands of steps. He brought his camera along with his backup battery "because serious photographers always have a backup." Only one of us was serious because I did not carry a backup. At one point, he tried to trick me into thinking he'd stumbled upon a snake. It was hilarious when he realized he was actually standing right next to one and came flying out of the trees. We bravely returned together to gather photographic evidence he could not wait to share with Dean that evening. 

The body language in this one 💙

"Mimi, you also have good eyes because you saw the bunny after I found the snake. Did you know they both adapted to their environment because they are camouflaged to keep them safe." 

Austin, serious nature photographer 

The snake Austin accidentally found.

He was taking my picture as I took his 💙

That evening, I drove to Owensboro to meet Greg for a night. He had been traveling most weeks and I'd just worked my full weekend so we'd barely seen each other awake for several days. He had to get up and out the door early in the morning which freed me to sit in a coffee shop with a cup of tea and a book before exploring both the riverfront and a botanical garden. Owensboro should be proud of their downtown and parks departments. Both were impressive. It was a peaceful, relaxing day spent alone. 

Erin hosted Mother's Day for me, Lauren, my mom and my sister. She wanted a dessert bar and I offered charcuterie boards to help with preparation. I rather enjoy playing with food when given the time to be creative, so I was left wondering why it had been so long since I last worked on one. We had a lovely afternoon together, laughing, talking and grazing. Yes grazing. We ate for hours, one nibble at a time. But this was the holiday it was determined Evan is the favorite child because he has caused the least amount of stress. (For me and Greg, not necessarily Erin)

Theresa is a vegetarian so I kept one completely meat free. The other one was the men's favorite.

Mom asked if she had to sit up front since she started this mess. I'm glad Greg snapped a photo during the laughter in response.

Kate requested a steak dinner for her 21st birthday. Greg, of course, happily indulged her. However, once I bought her candles, he kept switching their order. Twelve is easier to swallow than twenty-one. But the girls joined us for cake, stories on the deck and banter. At one point, Makenna was interpreting scripture to support Erin's claim all women are called to be lesbians, "thall shall not be unequally yoked." 2 Corinthians 6:14. Poor Riley was certain blasphemy was happening and his strong Christian background was in need of defense, as was his gender. I was laughing too hard to reign it in. He should know what he's getting into around here by now anyway. Bless it.

Austin wrapped his baseball season just before Memorial Day weekend. They won the first tournament game and then had the following two postponed due to rain. Once they were finally back on the field, they lost pretty handily. Whereas he was obviously disappointed in the outcome, Lauren handled it brilliantly. She asked him if he played better this year than last year. He did. She asked him if he learned a lot this season. He did. She then asked him if the "Superbowl ring" his team won last year made him a better player last year. It didn't. He had some things to think about and she was absolutely right. He is a stronger player this year and was blessed with a second year of incredible coaches. We hope that trend continues. Baseball season is over. I have no idea what everyone will be doing two to three nights a week this summer. 😂

Ty rarely shares photos with me but if he does, it will be of one of the animals. They all love him and want to be invited into his room. In this moment, Oliver was hiding away from Obi.

We attended an open house at Prosser  where we met Ty's diesel mechanic instructor and toured the shop. It is an impressive set-up with four semis and all the tools we will eventually be purchasing. The teacher was fantastic, with positive energy and enough curiosity about the world to keep the class interesting. We think Ty is going to have a successful junior and senior year in the program. And thank goodness for that because his high school is a disaster. We recently learned he is losing not only another guidance counselor but also his building principal. The turnover at the high school has been unreal. We can't wait to be finished navigating the constantly fluctuating system.

However, despite cuts and loss of teaching roles throughout the district, Makenna has secured not only a role for next year but she is looping up to fourth grade with a lot of her favorite students. She will be team teaching with her work bestie and is very excited to announce she does not have to pack up her classroom for the summer because she gets to remain in the same space. Makenna is taking on math and Mandy will teach reading. Rumor has it I will also get to support their kiddos on my days off with reading intervention. I've missed it and am looking forward to helping. 

Makenna wrapped third grade. Austin completed second. Ty finished his sophomore year and none of them provided a final day of school picture. Ty was especially agitated by the suggestion. Someday he will swear I didn't love him as much as the others and submit lack of photos as evidence. But Makenna invited me to visit her class on the final day of school where I caught a silly string fight on video (the teachers, not the students 😂) and got to read a book about how much she will miss them this summer. This was an incredibly lucky group of kiddos. 

Rules? What rules? Obi is as bad as he is pretty. Also, he is not allowed on my counters. Obviously.

Greg, after a lengthy discussion about the dangers of AI, asked chat gpt to make Diesel into the warrior he believes he is. Ridiculous. Amusing but ridiculous.

Theresa and my mom drove to Louisville for the Bonsai festival where we wandered and admired gorgeous little trees for a bit. We caught up on life and appreciated the sunshine as one does after what Kate had declared, "rain for forty days and forty nights." We then laughed and commiserated over pasta for two hours. It was the most perfect kind of day; no agenda except time together. We have plans for a lavender festival at the end of June to keep up the momentum. 

Greg and I drove to Dayton this final weekend of May to celebrate his niece's high school graduation. We spent time catching up with extended family and chatted with people from our old church. We still recognized most even though it's been twenty years since we moved away. Both Dale and Carol had good days and we are all relieved they were able to manage being present for the afternoon. I asked Carol for a picture of her nails because every Wednesday, she chooses a new manicure and has given up on her neutral nails. I cannot love this more. She is far to sassy for the neutral nails, I assure you. After the party, we got to help Brad get some pieces of furniture moved from their home to their assisted living facility. Carol has been requesting her cedar chest for months and Dale is moving into his own room on a slightly different wing of memory care where he can have his own bed and recliner. We are hoping this gives him a little space and peace from the other residents who appear more needy than he is at the moment. All in all, this entire situation is tough but everyone is doing what they can to make peace with it.