One party, two special guests

This weekend was one of those busy, busy, busy but great, great, great ones that make you think “we should do that more often!”  Especially when both children take 2+ hour naps (at the same time) on Sunday afternoon – then you know you’ve done something right.

Nana was in town Thursday and Friday nights, which is always a celebration in and of itself.  On Friday morning, we braved the botanical gardens so that my mother could see them for the first time in the daylight (each Christmas, the gardens put on a fantastic light display; the only downside being that you can’t actually see the flowers).  The temperatures were borderline oppressive, but it was still a fantastic tour and a nice change of pace for me to have an adult to converse with as we strolled among the flowers, over the bridges and through the conservatory (and a fair share of chasing after toddlers and coaxing three-year-old girls away from the tree house).



Organizing pennies for the fountain



I wonder what she wished for



Watching the volunteers water the flowers



Saturday we celebrated Will’s grandmother’s birthday at Will’s parents' home.  Frances and George love visiting Grandma and Grandpa’s house, usually visiting the toy corner first:

Cousins Trey and Justin also make any visit that much better:



Have I mentioned how much Frances adores Trey?



Baby Justin.  I took about 100 pictures of this little guy - he's at that perfect age when you just want to eat him up!



However, this visit to Grandma and Grandpa’s was made most special by Will’s great aunt, Catherine and her friend, Marie.  They traveled all the way from Cleveland for a first-time visit with the great-grand-niece and nephews.



Aunt Catherine with Frances, George, Trey and Baby Justin





Aunt Catherine, Barbara, George (who insisted on being in the picture) and Marie



Aunt Catherine (or Aunty “K” as she is affectionately known) and Marie are both retired nuns who give retirement a good name!  They are also avid readers of this blog, which is both incredibly flattering and a bit intimidating (in a good way of course). 

And what’s a birthday without cake:



Happy Birthday, Grandma Lee!



Frances thrilled to pieces to be eating the purple rose:

A picture of the whole gang, taken by Will. 

Please note the incredibly high angle of this shot.  I am aware that my husband is unusually tall, but I am still sometimes struck by just how tall.  This picture tempts me to ask him to take random shots of our life from his height, if nothing else so I can see the world from his point-of-view.  Not to mention, there are probably some serious cleaning/organizing/decluttering opportunities that I am missing simply because I am over a foot shorter than he is.  But I digress…

The weekend ended with a Sunday morning at home, a midmorning (HOT again) trip to the playground, lunch, the previously mentioned two-hour nap, and another visit at Grandma and Grandpa's for some pool time.

See?  Busy, but great!