Hello everyone,

We have decided we want to begin a blog to capture the upcoming events of our lives. Weddings. Trips. Rebuilding an old 1988 Mustang GT. Then there is the regular stuff too, but the real catalyst for the idea is the big ticket items all happening this fall. So whether we keep this up after we return from our big trip or not, this is where we will capture things for now.

It is really hard to believe but after several years of dreaming and a full year of planning we are actually nearing the date of departure on our big post-retirement trip. All of our reservations are made and most of them pre-paid. All of the families we will visit along the way have confirmed our time together. We just began the process of gathering the items for their wish lists through the help of a number of our Bent Tree friends. We have spent several hours this week reviewing packing lists for ourselves and purchasing or ordering various travel-friendly items. We found a great packing list on a site called http://www.onebag.com/ which has been extremely helpful. The next four weeks are somewhat daunting. Maynard leaves for Africa on Thursday for 10 days. Then only 12 days later Meghan's wedding weekend commences. And only 3 days after that we depart. Oh, and by the way, only 3 days after we get home we leave for Mark and Kathy's wedding in Michigan. Who thought of this schedule anyway!?! :-) Actually even in its blurish pace, we are so excited about the fall. Two weddings, both adding incredibly lovable members to our family tree and a trip of a lifetime. Who could ask for anything more?

Until later,
Sheryl B