sister time

I finally got to see my sister after 6 months of separation, which is far too long! She finally arrived in Washington last Tuesday for an entire week together. Having her to visit is different than other company. I don't have to entertain her and we didn't care about doing touristy things. We just wanted to catch up and be near each other. On our way home from the airport we got Popeyes, and that's how I know she's my sister.

It was technically her last week of summer, since she gets back into her classroom this week to start getting ready for the new school year. So while we did get out and about some, we also just allowed ourselves to relax together at home, eat yummy food and watch re-runs of Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders Making the Team....naturally.

I loved getting to show her our little town and the base and finally introduce her to Hunley. I also enlisted her help in making some decorating decisions around the house. On her first full day there she came with me to work for a bit then we hit up Olive Garden for lunch (I can always count on her to be game for bread sticks and fettuccine). Then we hit up some home goods stores and tested out arm chairs and looked for curtains and mostly window shopped. It's so much more fun and helpful to go shopping with my sister and I have really missed having a best friend around to just go and do things with. She tells me when my ideas are stupid in the most loving way and she lets me use her Target Red card so I can get free shipping.
On Thursday I had to work again so she stayed home with the pup and I came home around lunch time. I had to pick up camp t-shirts from the silk screener in Gig Harbor, a really adorable waterfront town nearby, so we made an afternoon of it and had a long lunch outside. We stayed in for dinner that night before heading back to the Young Life office together where I enlisted her teacher/field-trip skills to help me check in and send off 60 high schoolers to camp late that night.

Friday I didn't have to work so we slept in a bit and then sat out on my deck in our pjs and drank iced coffee and watched Hunley dig holes before heading out for a long walk on my favorite trail to the water. We spent a good bit of time on the beach teaching Hunley to swim and I think he's finally discovered his love for the water!
When we got home sister made us lunch and we vegged out for the rest of the day and then got take out Mexican food for dinner when T.J. got home. His schedule was hectic this week but when he was home it made my heart so happy, having my two favorite people under the same roof, sitting around our dining table, even if it was just for a couple hours before he fell asleep (on the floor) at night.
Saturday T.J. was on call and sister and I headed back out on the water. We rented kayaks from the marina on base and enjoyed a beautiful morning on the lake. It was actually quite a lot of work battling boat wakes and the wind but we got a good laugh at our lack of any sort of tan and any sort of kayaking skills.
And that was all we did that day. We were tuckered out after that unexpected work out, so we stocked up on way too much candy and spent the rest of the day on the couch which is what I would have done even if she wasn't here but it was a million times more fun and totally shame free with her on the couch next to me.

Sister had come from South Carolina hoping to escape the heat and enjoy some cooler Pacific Northwest temps. Of course we had a slight heat wave the week she was here but on her last day in town we finally got some cooler weather. That day we headed to the Point Defiance Zoo & Aquarium while T.J. caught up on the sleep he didn't get the night before. I've never met a "grown up" who loves the zoo more than my sister and this one is particularly fun. We treated ourselves to dipping dots and I spent the rest of the day in denial that she was leaving me that night. 
We had a farewell dinner at Dukes Chowder House before I had to reluctantly take her to the airport. I'm really hoping it's not another 6 months before I see her again. My dad used to joke about us all living on a big compound one day with all our families... doesn't sound like such a bad idea now.

Comments

  1. Loved reading this post! Thanks for sharing the fun and the love!

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  2. Y'all are just so cute and make me wish that I had a sister. But, the Lord has blessed me with a SIL that I love like a sister. Happy you had such a wonderful time together. Know it made your Mom and Dad happy too.

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  3. Love this post and seeing my girls together. Xoxox. Dad

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