Home Is Where Your Heart Is

No matter what activities we do (or don't do) or the weather or even if you're not feeling very well, we always know that being with our family means that we are having a good time. We do brunch and dinner with Dude & Mimi and any other fun activities we can find (eg. playgrounds, shopping, etc.) and we try to spend at least two long afternoons with Nanny & Pop-pop. The kids have a favorite box of toys and entertain themselves with Brinkley the dog and engaging the adults in their pretend & play. The adults all sit around and enjoy the conversation and catching up.

It's always hard to say good-bye and Labor Day is much worse than Memorial Day because we know that we won't be back until next spring and that is far away. We give hugs & hugs and more hugs trying to soak up as much love as we can. We say good-bye to Nanny & Pop-pop on Sunday evening and it prepares us for Monday's good-byes. This time has gotten harder for Kyrie as she's gotten older and she usually spends much of Sunday begging us to stay "just one more day."

Degen's good-byes included hugs and loud kisses and then he would wave and say "Bye-bye. Nigh-nigh. Swee[t] dreams. Love you."

I wish that this photo hadn't turned out fuzzy. I think Kyrie took it, and despite the fuzziness I love it!

This visit at Nanny & Pop's I put Darren to work (as any good wife knows to do) and had him help Nanny re-pot her houseplants. Darren has a fabulous green thumb, so he didn't mind the work at all. Nanny fussed that he made her sit in a chair the whole time to supervise, but someone has to take on the job of keeping Darren on-task! In a few hours, all the work was done and the plants looked great! (In the above photo, you'll notice that Darren looks a little wet. He worked up a sweat outside and then rinsed his head off to cool down.)

Bedtime hugs & kisses from Dude & Mimi before we head back to the hotel for the night!

I love this photo of Nanny on the porch. She always stands on the porch and waves to us until we are up the street and out of sight. I like knowing that she is there, and I hold onto these pictures in my heart until we see her again.

After a long day (& long weekend) of adventures and play, visits and hugs, the kiddos are more than ready to shut their eyes and get some sleep.