There was no way we could have known beforehand. It couldn’t have been planned better. Dawnmarie really pulled off a good one today.

Nina, Jared, and I had decided to go to Lava Hot Springs and soak in the hot mineral pools this afternoon. We left about 2 p.m. and arrived about a half-hour later. As we pulled into the parking spot across the street from the pools, Nina’s iPhone rang. It was Dawnmarie. The conversation was actually a bit comical. Nina was trying to end the conversation because we were just getting out of the car, but Dawnmarie just kept talking. I looked towards the sidewalk and there was a woman who looked just like Dawnmarie walking down towards us, talking on her cell phone. I pointed her out and said to Nina, “I think that’s someone we know.” Nina looked and suggested a name of someone we knew in Colorado Springs.

It just wasn’t computing that our daughter Dawnmarie would be walking down the street towards us in Lava Hot Springs, Idaho!

But, it was. That was really fun. And we’ve been talking and talking ever since. Dawnmarie will be here probably until Tuesday. She flies back to Pennsylvania Wednesday morning.

She arrived yesterday evening in Salt Lake, rented a car, and drove as far as Lava Hot Springs and spent the night. Then she went on to Soda Springs to surprise mother and dad (and succeeded). My favorite brother Perry and his wife Chris (also a favorite) were at mother’s when Dawnmarie rang the doorbell. Chris let her in wondering who this person was. Perry recognized her and was quite surprised to see her. He then got on Yahoo Instant Messenger with me wanting to know what our plans were for the day. We chatted for a bit and I let him know about our plans for Lava Hot Springs. He kind of intimated that he and Chris might come over, all the while feeding the info to Dawnmarie so she could meet us there and spring the next part of her surprise.

So, all three of our daughters have been here in the past week along with Jared. Our son James and his family were here a couple of weeks ago. We are definitely basking in the joy of spending time with our kids and their families.

A little bit ago mother called. She couldn’t wait any longer to find out how the surprise went in Lava Hot Springs. She was very pleased to have been in on that part of the conspiracy.

Tomorrow morning Jared flies back home to Seattle. I’ve so enjoyed having him visit and will miss him when he’s gone. We have some outstanding children.

Life is definitely very good.