Mother’s Day Weekend

Mother’s Day Weekend was nothing out of the ordinary, but still pretty awesome.

We played outside and enjoyed the weather…

Connor and Dad played in the back yardConnor and I chilled with drinks in the front yard

Connor let me sleep in for an entire extra hour on Sunday morning before waking me up to give me my Mother’s Day gift and an awesome card…

Dad and Connor got me a new three-tier plant stand

We ate lunch at a new Szechuan (Chinese) restaurant…

Connor loved the green onion pancake and our entrees

…and I put my Mother’s Day gift into service.

Mei Kitty had to inspect the plant stand

We brought home so many leftovers that Chinese lunch became Chinese dinner, as well — which meant I didn’t even have to cook dinner on Mother’s Day. Bonus!

Even though it wasn’t super fancy — we didn’t do brunch, I didn’t get a Mother’s Day carnation or rose or anything, and I still had to do laundry because it was Sunday — this was quite possibly the best Mother’s Day yet. It just felt right: laid-back, with awesome weather, and the perfect balance of normal and special.

Life is good.

Farewell to Phil

My stepbrother is visiting friends and family around Ohio and across the U.S. before traveling abroad for a few months and finally landing in his new home in South America. Safe travels, Phil.

Edit, August 2017: Seems Phil had a change of heart and opted to stay in the States following his world tour.

Megan’s Wedding: 22 October 2016

Aaron, Connor, and I drove about 90 minutes east to attend Cousin Megan’s wedding back in October. We stayed much later than we’d originally planned, but we all had a great time — especially Connor, who thanked Megan for making his dream come true of having a dance party.

Now that the film photos are developed, here are my favorite photos from the evening.

At Megan's Wedding

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Thirteen Years

This evening, as I was wondering what I’d post on my blog, I got a notification that I’d been tagged in a Facebook photo by Aaron’s cousin Megan, whose wedding we attended back in October.

Extended Family

I immediately got up from the couch and went into the family room to retrieve our wedding album and snap a photo of the posed portrait with all the cousins. I posted it in a comment: “What a difference 13 years makes…”

But then I kept flipping through.

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Christmas 2016 Slideshow

We invited our family to join us in our home on Christmas Eve for dinner and presents. On Christmas Day, Aaron and Connor and I opened presents at home and went to our favorite Chinese restaurant for traditional Christmas Day dim sum.

Enjoy this slideshow of photos taken by both myself and my Mom (Grammy), and Happy New Year!

Christmas 2016