Girl's Weekend in CT

Nat, Shell, Zach and myself....

When I was raising my kids I thought that shirts (and bibs) with stuff written all over them were so tacky....would have never purchased them. Look who's talking now.....

Nat and Shell giving Zach his first boogie board lesson.

Rustic Peasant Bread (like Macaroni Grill). Shell brought the recipe -- when we mixed it up and put it on the baking sheet it looked like it was going to be a disaster....not so much!

Nat and Shell having a "Hootenanny" Sunday breakfast.

Mr. Bubbles! Oh man, does he love his bath. If you lay him on his back, his legs and arms go a mile a minute kicking and splashing. Then he stops for a moment, goes perfectly still, completely straight legs and flexed feet, then quickly back to splashing again. Nat and I were busting our seams watching him.

Here we are looking our finest. Straight out of our beds and on to the couch for knitting. Shell was the knitting star by far, but Nat and I slowly got the hang of it. I kept telling Nat, "The mistakes give the scarf character, like they were made by an indigenous artisan from a third world country". She replied, "Or, like they were made by a East Coast mom who doesn't know how to knit".

Oh, could you just gobble him up? Notice the two teeth....and the drool.

A homemade message for Bradford....we miss him!

We made plans for Shell and Zach to come for a visit during winter break, to spend some down time with them and make sure Zach remembers his Nonna! Then, much to my surprise and delight, Chip suggested that we fly Nat out as well, as a Valentine gift. A perfect, loving gift. So the two girls, Zachary, and I (and Chip as well...good sport that he is) spent a weekend of cuddling, ogling, kissing, hugging, swimming, knitting, gaming (as in Mario Kart Wii! Boy, did I fail miserably), movie watching, laughing, sharing, eating, cooking, and simply being together. I love it when my children are here. The time passed much too quickly, everyone went back to their lives, but fond memories were created. Now....when to gather next?