Catching Up/Family Birthday/Sherwood Forest Faire

Wow. I have had no time to blog or catch up since we got home from our cruise other than that brief post about Samuel. I've been thinking lots of bloggy thoughts, though.
So here goes the first.
We are all doing very well. I came home from our cruise very rested and very happy. The break away from everything was so good for my state of mind and my body. My back feels better, I am feeling a bit more extroverted again and I am way less stressed.
This week was very busy, but pleasant and with all the whole family liking each other, it made things easier.
We had Davis' family birthday party at ranch happy hour this week and he got the lego gunship he has been wanting forever. He also got new roller blades and we served pumpkin pie at his request. It was a super fun party.
Friday evening we went to a very fun and delicious potluck dinner at Cheris and Rob's house. My parents were invited and we got to meet Cheris' dad and step-mom and we all had such a great time. Cheris' yard is absolutely enchanting with wandering paths and flowers and vegetables and fairy houses and hula-hoops and the most fantastic screened in porch. And I got to try my first mint julep!
Saturday morning the kids had a birthday party at the fish hatchery and I ran over and delivered a birthday gift to Charlie. Then we all loaded in the car and caravanned with my parents and Glendon and Elizabeth to our local renaissance festival. It was a last minute change as we had planned to go on Sunday, but the weather today is cold and was supposed to be rainy and my dad doesn't go out in bad weather, so we quickly changed our excursion to Saturday.
The faire was fun! Parking was easy and we immediately were immersed in the world of the renaissance.
Davis and Samuel had their costumes on and Elizabeth was quickly fitted with a fairy costume. The kids shot archery, watched some shows, saw the joust, rode a camel, played some games and had an all around fun time. Michael and I both bought costumes and Michael looks delicious in a kilt.
We came home dirty, exhausted and totally satisfied.
This morning Michael and the boys spent several hours working on the lego gunship and then we met Martha and Clark for a birthday lunch for Davis. We had a sushi lunch per Davis' request and then they took the boys toy shopping while Michael worked on our tile floor (it has buckled and now we need to re-lay it) and I went to the grocery store. This afternoon is dedicated to catching up, so maybe I'll get some more blog posts up here and can start working on the cruise posts.