catching up

Age 4. (Click for larger views.)

Age 1.

Boy, I'm way behind in blogging! It's been an amazing, fun, busy, crazy month. I'm so grateful I'm healthy enough to enjoy it all.

First, I went to Laura's surprise 40th birthday weekend in New Jersey. She had absolutely no idea I was coming. After a well-orchestrated plan by her husband, which included him picking me up at Newark while he was supposedly out "buying fertilizer", me being left on a street corner and then picked up by her mom, gathering her friends together, and then walking into her house unannounced - she was so shocked and happy! After drinks and appetizers in the kitchen, we took her to a Mexican restaurant, leaving two of the husbands home with the kids. It was a lot of fun.

I got to spend time with her amazing daughters: the Annabel, who is always my little buddy the whole time I visit, and Kendall, who I had never met and loved immediately. My favorite moments with Annabel were her dancing for me in the living room, falling asleep on my lap, and begging her mother to let her live with me in Michigan. My favorite moments with Kendall were snuggling with her in my guest bed while she smiled up at me, taking her photo outside, and her saying "BUH-bye" every time we left a room.

Two weeks after that trip, I was off to Vermont for Sarah's bachelorette weekend. More on that tomorrow!