One More Last Goodbye....

Before we could actually get on the plane to Japan, we had to put ourselves through the agony of saying goodbye to loved ones -- one more last time!  So we drove to Idaho Falls on Saturday and met Scott, Ashley, Kendra, and her friend Justin and his family at a Thai restaurant, where we enjoyed a wonderful meal and fun visit. I'm so sorry I didn't think to take pictures, because I had a seafood salad that was really quite beautiful! We then headed to Rexburg where these crazy kids played soccer in a way quite unlike any I'd seen before. The Outdoor Resource Center, where Scott works, had recently acquired these huge inflatable balls (what do you call them?) that you basically climb into. I'm sure it was fun to play -- I know it was hilarious to watch!

The downside to this was somehow, in the process of deflating the balls and putting them away, Bruce injured his finger. We went to Scott's apartment for the night, wondering if we'd be heading to the ER the next morning, and sure enough, we did. We were fortunate to have an orthopedic doc who'd done a five-year residency in sports medicine look at Bruce's hand and determine he had inflamed tendons. He numbed the hand, forced the finger back into an upright position (you could hear it "pop" all the way across the room), and then gave him a cortisone shot and told him to exercise and keep it moving.  It was sore and tender for a time afterward, but no long-term ill effects, thank goodness!

We went to church with Scott and Ashley and said tearful goodbyes to them and Kendra. How we love our family and how we will miss them!! We're hopeful they'll all be able to come and visit us in Japan.

Monday morning found us scrambling to do the last minute things we needed to do before leaving for the airport. For Bruce that means building a picture frame and working on other projects in the shop! Had to get one last shop fix in before we left....

And one more goodbye.....

And Alan drove us to the airport. We're off to Japan!!