It’s been busy at Chez Wiler.  Daniel has graduated, gone back to work for the summer, getting tattooed, and getting ready for college in the fall.  It’s definitely summer. There is so much to fit in to so few months… but this is what we’re up to.

First up… My sister Jennifer is coming home for a minute.  She lives in Riverside, CA and seeing here come home, and well, it will be good to see her. Eric is traveling to CA and will make the drive back with Jennifer, Rebecca (my niece), and A-Wayne — also known as Anthony, or around my house… Nugget.  I love them.

From there we’ll celebrate the 80th birthday of my mother-in-law, Sandy. She’s getting older, and there is the always present fear and realization that she won’t always be here.  I’ve been working on ancestry stuff and really want to get as much of her story as possible.  My goal, is to ensure that she will not always be around, that her story will.

Then… it’s off to Neligh, Nebraska to celebrate Independence Day, small town style.  This includes pancake breakfasts, parades through town, ice cream socials, and turtle racing.  At four years old, Anthony is perfect for this sort of adventure.  Oh… I forgot to mention fireworks.  Small town Nebraska is great, because we’re able to set off fireworks.  I have cousins there who have now married and started their families.  This is the stuff that matters folks. These were the trips that as a kid, I dreaded…loathed if I were telling the truth.  Why couldn’t my parents be the cool ones and whisk us off to Disneyland? I am grateful that they didn’t…because as a grown-up, I’ve learned to love the time with my family, playing turkey tracks, going to the fish hatchery and catching fireflies.

Then… back home.  The Friends of Aurora Central High School Alumni Association is busy at work, growing quickly and seeking the spaces where we’re able to influence change in our community.  We’ll have the honor of recognizing one of the truly great members of our community this fall, and so there is much work centered around that. We’re hosting another round of #ThePromDressProject, which we’re calling the Homecoming Edition.  There will be football games, soccer games, concerts, ladies volleyball and softball too.  It’s busy.  But it’s just the sort of thing that I love and live for.

That takes us give or take to Labor Day weekend and the annual Wiler honeymoon.  Another one of those things I most look forward to during the year.  The ability to go see new places with Eric, well it never disappoints.  With San Francisco, CA, Mobile, AL, Deadwood and Rapid City, SD under our belts it’s time to go south again.  Destination, Memphis, TN.  I’ve found what I am hoping is the most amazing bed and breakfast there.  The James Lee House is a restored historic landmark and our quarters for the weekend.  I’m looking forward to Graceland and river boats, and did I mention that I LOVE southern hospitality?

Again home… and the start of fall.  Fall will include a brief trip to Danville, IL for my sister Keri’s wedding, and then before we know it… It’s time for Halloween, Thanksgiving, and dare to say… Christmas!

So there you have it… a brief glimpse into how we intend to spend our summer vacation.  What are you up to this summer?