10 Days of Family

We have had a seriously crazy few weeks. I am actually in a state of guilt right now for neglecting my cats for so long. Teensy was by my side all evening yesterday and we spooned all night (which was particularly comforting since I had an awful dream and needed a kitty to protect me).

We spent the weekend before last and the following week (or the majority of the time) at Cape May on the Jersey Shore. When Amos first told me we were going to the Jersey Shore, I was like, wait, what? But it is such a great little town. We took a ferry from Lewes, DE to save an hour in the travel and Louisa loved it. She raced around the ferry for the entire hour of our trip. Amos saw some dolphins. I focused on the horizon so I wouldn't puke.

We rented bikes and road everywhere, swam, or tried to swim, at the beach where I was pummeled by strong waves, ate fairly well although never got to go to any truly amazing restaurants (it's too hard with a 2 year old, I'm over it), and I got a pedicure to match Amos's aunt. Louisa, as usual, took to everyone and had a great time getting to know some of her relatives. Amos's brother was particularly helpful with Louisa which I appreciated as traveling with a toddler is generally stressful and having helping hands is appreciated.

Last Friday we went to Minnesota for the most jam-packed trip I have ever experienced. We landed in the morning, I worked a bit and then met Edith for lunch with her very well-behaved son. He obediently ate his grilled cheese as Louisa climbed on the table and then on him.

 

That afternoon, we prematurely woke Louisa up from her nap so we could go to the fair. We ate a lot but I am still regretting not eating more cheese curds.

Down the slide. I couldn't capture LJ's face of complete joy unfortunately.

She didn't like fried food. Go figure.

Many Minnesotans.

We hung out in the DFL booth during the rain storm. Louisa liked Bo.

Proud Democrats

She didn't want to get too close to Hillary after some of her comments on foreign policy.

 We saw Amos's friend and his family at the fair as well as running into my mom's good friend, Sharon, who was the vet at the Miracle of Birth Center. After LJ and I pet some mama cows, I approached the whiteboard with the schedule of of veterinarians  onsite for that day. As I read Sharon's name and exclaimed to Amos, Sharon's here! I turned to see Sharon already holding LJ.

We wandered around the fair but ended up being caught in a rainstorm. Although it cut our fair time short, I wasn't particularly disappointed since we were meeting friends early that evening and had limited time to change and travel to our next location.

My cousin (whose wedding was the purpose of our trip) had a pre-wedding party at the Liffey Friday evening. To kill two birds with one stone, we invited some friends to meet us there so we could combine family, friends and artichoke dip.

Walking with Becca and Marge

Louisa's cousins

Her favorite Cammy

Louisa with Tuttle boys

Louisa heard Cameron, my cousin, was in attendance and spent much of the evening following him. By 8:30 she was desperate to go home and go to bed, so I quickly ate a number of cookies they had displayed and we left.

The next day was the most frantic day of the weekend. But, it was kind of great because each place we went we didn't want to leave. That morning we visited Timmy, Abbie and Bella and their new baby, Gaby. Louisa and Bella are truly the most girly girls I have ever met and I love it. They wore their princess dresses, high healed shoes and crowns all over the house. Abbie made them lunch and they ate while they watched Tangled. As we left, I mourned the fact we couldn't stay longer and couldn't simply live in Minnesota so the girls could spend as much time as they wanted together being princesses.

After Timmy's and Abbie's we went to my aunt's house to swim where Louisa was able to see her other favorite cousin, Tara. Amos and Louisa were having so much fun, I left them at Ricki's so I could go get my hair cut. I knew they were both reluctant to leave for the wedding and would have preferred to stay with my family.

Then we headed for the wedding. Louisa was overly tired when we got there, but knowing she had dancing to look forward to, she ate and played that evening. She found my cousin, Charlie, particularly helpful and they spent the evening, along with Lexi and Cristina, dancing the night away as I was able to catch up with other cousins. We finally had to pull her away at 10pm and drive to New Ulm.

Sunday, we spent most of the day with Shelise. Mom made donuts and Shelise and Clara hung out until it was nap time (and Louisa was hitting, I'm embarrassed). We then went to Shelise's farm where Louisa went confidently into the horse barn and was nuzzled by horses and ponies.

That evening Amos and I went to Carl's Corner with Sarah and Greg. I hadn't been since I was in high school and Amos, of course, had never been. It's so good. I am still thinking about it. I told Sarah we need to make it a tradition because there is nothing better than friend chicken and thin crust pizza.

Now we're home. It's hot but our nearest pool is closed. I am so homesick but happy to be in one place for the time being. Mom comes in six weeks so we are anxious for that weekend but otherwise, we hope to have some quiet, DC time for the next few weeks so the cats can recover.  Also, I'm not spell-checking this because I'm tired.