Home Sweet Home

We've returned!

Don't get me wrong, we had an amazing time in Cleveland celebrating with Nicole, Steve, and a host of other friends. But there is something about coming home, especially when that home has been cleaned for you, free of charge. A GIGANTIC thanks to Grandma Jean for coming down and taking care of the house for us. During the 8 months when Matt lived in Wisconsin and I lived in Maryland, I was fortunate enough to have someone come clean the house every 2 weeks. Walking in the door yesterday, I felt like I had a cleaning lady again. It's such a great feeling knowing that things are clean and put away (even if that changes within 5 seconds because of the little man!).

On to a recap of the weekend. Steve was a great travel companion. He slept most of the ride there on Friday, which was about an hour longer than expected due to the interstate being closed near Sturgis, MI. So, when we arrived in Cleveland Friday night, he was ready to stay awake. I was okay with that, since he didn't scream while in the car.

We had a lazy Saturday morning, finding Mr. Steve (Farrell) who I worked with in Maryland and introducing him to Little Steve. Saturday afternoon Nicole's family hosted a picnic for out-of-town guests. Many of my Barnhart friends were in town and we got to see them, which was great.

Saturday evening brought the arrival of Miss Joni, Mr. Dave and Neala! I baby-sat for Neala several times when she was a little thing, after Joni had to return to work and I had a bunch of sick days to get rid of before leaving Barnhart. So, Neala and I have a super-special bond. We went out for dinner at the Winking Lizard, and Neala people-watched while the grown-ups talked, and Steve slept. Great fun!

Sunday we took a trip to the Cleveland Zoo. It was a lot of fun, especially since I haven't been to a zoo since I worked at the day care center in college. Steve, of course, slept through his first trip to a zoo.

Sunday evening brought the reason we made the trip to Cleveland: Steve and Nicole's wedding. It was beautiful: the setting, the weather, and of course Nicole. She was a gorgeous bride. Steve, again, slept through the ceremony! But, he woke up later and the ladies from Barnhart passed him around talking to him, singing to him, and just keeping him awake so he would sleep well that night for us. It was very hard to say good-bye to Nicole and Steve at the end of the evening, but we'll see them again soon. Mr. Steve loves to drive, so Nicole will get him in a car before we know it and make the trip to Wisconsin.

Yesterday was another long day of driving, but we broke it up this time with a detour through Ann Arbor. Mark and Helen graciously accepted the last minute "can we stop by" plea from us. They even whipped up a super-yummy rhubarb-strawberry crumble for us. We had some lunch, they got to meet Steve, and then we were on our way again. The rest of the trip was pretty uneventful, just some slow traffic near Gary, IN, and again in downtown Chicago. Matt can elaborate on his loathing of Illinois drivers/traffic if he so chooses.

We were all very happy to be home, none more so than Steve who was sick and tired of his car seat! Click here to see all of the pictures in our September album.