Monday, July 16, 2012

Pickin' and Grinnin'

It's never a good thing to wake up on a Monday morning thinking, "We just need to make it til Friday and then we can catch up." We. are. tired. When you're us, weekends away are rarely quiet and this one was no exception.

Our plan was to leisurely make our way down to Maryland on Friday, arriving in plenty of time to collect daughter2 from the Baltimore airport. Hubs however, received an email on Thursday night that needed to be dealt with, from his office, so we sidetracked around that way before heading out. It seems like nothing around here moves from Point A to Point B. There are always points J-Q-X stuck in there somewhere needing to be worked around.

I digress. We did manage to get to the airport about an hour before daughter 2's flight arrived, and as is also typical for us, a very good friend we've known for over 20 years happened to be waiting on a flight in the Baltimore airport. He doesn't live in Maryland but was in town for a meeting so we had fun chatting while he waited for his own flight to board and we waited for our baby.

Our baby who is almost 22 but is still our baby.

Daughter2 exited the arrival gate and does anyone else with adult children know what I mean when I say my heart does a little flippy dance when I see her walking towards me? It does. A mom was waiting beside us with an infant and a toddler, and the toddler went running into her Daddy's arms when he came thru the gate.

Not so very long ago I was that mom and hubs was that dad.
Now we're on this side of the gate and a fully grown adult child is walking out to meet us.

I think I just heard Joni Mitchell singing in my head.

Back to the present...we were spending Friday night with friends in Annapolis and daughter1 was meeting us there after work. Once she arrived we jumped back in the car to meet our old across-the-street neighbors at a local pizza restaurant.


My girls had not seen these kids in several years, but the five of them essentially spent all their elementary school years in our yard or theirs. They are the chalk house, Little Tyke car, swinging, biking, kickball playing, snowman building, waiting for the bus kind of friends.


And they are all grown up.
It happened when we weren't looking.

Daughter2 hadn't been in Maryland except to drive thru in almost 5 years and her one request was for crabs. Our timetable was kinda tight but since she has gone from graduation to working long hours while simultaneously attending grad school, she hasn't had much down time this summer. We were gonna get her those crabs!


A friend of hers from high school in England is living in the Baltimore area so we invited him to meet us for lunch Saturday at the absolute best place in the whole world to get crabs -Cantler's Riverside Inn which sits on Mill Creek near Annapolis.


I'm not kidding...best in the world.
You should know too, that eating crabs is serious business.


After lunch we zipped over to wedding-ville to check into our hotel and grab long showers. Crab lunch + evening wedding=serious showers. Just sayin'.

The beautiful bride and her family are very special friends...


She and daughter1 met in 2nd grade and our families connected right off the bat and have stayed connected all these many years later. Other old special friends were also in attendance so it was a fun, fun night.


And you know when I say 'old' I mean long-time, not really old, right?
Here we are picking the mother of the bride's brain-


It's important stuff for moms who have daughters of their own, ya know!

Daughter1 and the bride's mom are kindred spirits. They share the crafty gene and a love of JoAnn Fabrics.


When hubs and I married all weddings were mostly alike. A somewhat traditional service and a predictable reception. Even the invitations were somewhat standard with only slight variations in font and design. Weddings are so much fun now, each one a little bit different and careful attention is given to the small details and personal touches.

The father's toast which came on the heels of the father daughter dance just about sends my hubs right over the edge.


The bride was absolutely stunning and beaming from ear to ear. The newlyweds enjoyed their special day and we all chatted and dined and danced the night away.


My girls were thrilled to have a weekend together. They are thick as thieves and miss living in the same town.


Makes my own heart so happy to see them standing side by side.
They are just too adorable for words.

Here we have the Spice Girls reunited...you'll have to click on the link to get the back story but suffice it to say, this was as close to a 'pose' as I could get.


This 'boy' went to elementary school with daughter2 and she hadn't seen him in over 10 years. When you move a lot and go back to visit your past, time does funny things. I remember him getting into mischief in the 2nd grade. Now he wears a tie and is going to work for an investment firm.


Huh?

Sunday morning dawned too early. Literally. Daughter2 had to be deposited at the airport at 8:45 am which meant getting up and out of the hotel almost as soon as our heads had hit the pillows. It was another 'drive by weekend' with our girls but we take what we can get.


I will say though, I think we have mastered the art of packing a whole lot of life into less than 48 hours.

23 comments:

  1. Looks like a wonderful weekend! Exhausting, but wonderful! You & hubs made some beautiful girls! :)

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  2. oh family time is so precious these days. Everyone is so busy. Love the last family picture! You look gorgeous, Joyce!

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  3. Love the crabs and your pictures, as always leave me feeling teary eyed too. Glad you had such a great weekend!

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  4. Sounds like you all had so much fun! Hopefully, I'm learning watching you, so when both of my girls are gone, I'll be a little better prepared. It's hard enough with just one gone.

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  5. 1. I know exactly how that flippy heart thing feels at the sight of a grown child coming thru the airport gate. We get to pick up our daughter who's been in FL for a long weekend.
    2. Your dress is gorgeous.
    3. The crab place is one I will definitely be looking up. Love that it's on the water!
    4. Just reading about the father-daughter dance made me tear up.

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  6. OH, and I had to laugh when I thought ,"WHAAAT? They're eating crabs for lunch and then going to a wedding???? I hope they have a place to shower!!!!"

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  7. Wow, you do pack a lot in to a short space of time. Lovely, lovely pictures of everybody.

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  8. Everyone is so busy-but great times. Your daughters are beautiful!

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  9. So now to rest up from last weekend to be able to handle this coming weekend right? Because we all know that you will most likely be out and about again this weekend. BTW you look great!!!

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  10. Beautiful memories! And oh my but how do those little ones in snow suits grow up to be brides and investment brokers? How? :)

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  11. I am completely in awe of your social skills. The time and attention it takes to maintain all of those friendships over time and distance is huge and you, apparently, are a master at it.

    Please write a book. I need it.

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  12. What a fun quick weekend and like you said you have to take what you get when you have two busy girls. Everyone looked so pretty!

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  13. Your girls are really beautiful, even from the pic one can see they are very close. You remind me of the energizer bunny with all these packed weekends, they are fun, aren't they? Lovely pics as usual. :)

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  14. What a busy, but fun weekend you had ... any time that includes our daughters is pretty special, isn't it? It doesn't change ... even when they marry and have a family of their own, those times together are just so special.

    I'm bound and determined to visit Annapolis one of these days ... and now I know where to get crabs! ;-)

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  15. 1. I know of the flippy heart thing.
    2. I also know of the 'have to re-route to the office' thing.
    3. And the kids together in one place thing.
    4. Also the Crab thing (Dungeness)
    5. Alas and the rush to depart thing.
    We are living the same lives.

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  16. Looks like a fun and unforgettable time was had by all! I just love weddings, don't you? Y'all look so nice all dressed up!

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  17. Yes you definitely packed a lot in those 48 hours. What a fun time you had! We are all heading to a family wedding in Illinois this September and I can't wait!!! You all look wonderful.

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  18. Oh, me, I've got to catch my breath after that. Goodness, you folks are some busy, busy people and have so many wonderful occasions to make such memories.

    I do hope you are keeping good notes because I imagine in the not so distance future you will have a wedding to plan. It was such a fun time for me and our daughter.

    You all are such a cute family! Rest up as I'm sure you have another memory making occasion right around the corner.

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  19. Your family wins the prize for packing the most fun into the least amount of time :) You can't help but be tired.

    I'm always in awe of how many friends y'all have, in so many different places, too. Wow!

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  20. oh how i loved this post--it had it all--family -weddings and crab!!

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  21. What are the odds of running into a friend at an airport? I'd say with you folks it's about 100%! Love the weekend update. So many memories and so much fun. the bride looked stunning!

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  22. I have a good friend that knows everyone. We can go anywhere together and she always runs into a friend :) And what a great wedding!

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