Summer pictures

Summer in America

We spent five weeks in Michigan and Ohio this summer. It began with a house full of Paul's side of the family in Granville, Ohio, for the 4th of July weekend. Granville makes a big deal of this holiday. They block off their main street and put up a fair with carnival rides, fried food, and live music. They put on a big parade with pretty decent floats. And they host the annual "Firecracker Five" 5-mile race, in which Paul participated for the 3rd year running. And a pretty decent fireworks show! Emily got to go for the first time and was duly impressed.

One ride at the fair is the kiddie roller coaster. In previous years, the kids have bypassed this ride. Too scary, they figured. But I guess Emily and Brandon figured they were brave enough this year. So they got on with their cousins Tori and Abby. As you can see, Brandon had the time of his life! And Emily and Tori, well, they asked the ride operator to let them off early.

Here's Jacob, proud to be an American during this first week in the country in his entire life.

After the relatives left, we got busy househunting. We selected a really 4-bedroom house on a cul-de-sac in Newark, Ohio.

To begin with, we will be renting it out. We got it now while the market's good, and the interest rate, too. I must say, now that I know what our house would be like if we lived there, I want even more to move there! But I realize that we have it good here in Okinawa, so I can be patient and wait to see what the Lord has in store for us. So anyway, yes, we bought the house. I thought I'd be pretty nervous about it, because every time we buy a car I get nervous. But we involved the Lord in the decision and felt good about it, so I was able to move forward with confidence (with just a couple of nervous moments).

Besides buying a house, we did some fun things like eating Whit's frozen custard. There is something magical about going there! It's not just the smooth, creamy texture and the delectable flavor combinations they put together, but it's also where you eat it--on the streets of cute little New England-style downtown Granville, where the locals all know each other and chat on the sidewalks as they eat their custard or walk their dogs. Plus, we always go after dinner so the air feels so fresh and cool. It just makes me glad to be there (and not in Okinawa at the peak of the hot, humid summer). I didn't take any pictures by Whit's this year. But here's a picture in front of some building downtown.

We also went to a children's museum in Newark (The Works), which was lots of fun. Later we went to a big, famous children's museum in Columbus (COSI), which was huge, expensive, and not as cool. And a little tiring. But it was still fun.

More pictures to come.