Family time...

We've been surrounded by family these past few weeks. Natalie & Anton are back after four months of skiing, and exploring national parks in the western states. Last week we camped at the ocean with "the girls":  my sister and her two daughters, plus Anna's little girls, plus Nat and Anton. It was five days of laughter and walks on the beach, cooking meals together, sitting around the campfire, watching the sun go down, catching up on our reading, and marveling at the pod of gray whales.

On Sunday there was a gathering of my other family, to celebrate my mother-in-law's 82nd birthday. Everyone was there. Our nieces are so grown up now... Emily in high school, Katie at drama school in Chicago, Mandy heading off to her first job in Denver. Jess is nearly finished with a master's in library science, and Tiffany just started a new job at a software company. I was glad Natalie and Anton got to spend time with them. Any get-together of this clan is full of fun and laughter.

I've always felt like my house was a home, even with just the two of us. But there's something about having family visiting that seems to bring the whole family together, making our lives fuller and richer.