A Few Memories from this Week

This last week we (and I mean all four of us) crowded into the Saturn with all of Gavin's necessities - you know, a swing, a pack'n'play, a stroller, a suitcase, a bathtub! - and travelled down to San Diego. Andrea was a glorious hostess and let us take over her gorgeous beach bungalo. Poor Kobe Cat was sequestered to the back bedroom as my giant yellow dog prowled about, looking for a chance to make a new friend. Jesse enjoyed a wonderful pastor's conference and I had the chance to see some good friends.

Well, they're not really friends - they're more like family. Andrea is truly the closest thing I have to a sister. Someone who's put up with me since my pre-puberty days. Someone who knows that I don't mean it when I show up on her doorstep with a howling baby, a wild dog, a tired husband, and I have to shout, "I hate my life!" :) She knows that what I really mean is, "Help, take my unruly companions, feed me, and send me to take a bath!" Family.

We also had a chance to spend time with the "Pags" - Don and Pam Paganini, who have been my "other parents" since I was in the fourth grade. We commiserated on how hard it is to be away from family when a new baby enters the picture - with my parents up near Seattle and Aaron and his family out East near Washington D.C. Luckily, the internet brings us closer, and we were all able to hop online and chat with my parents that evening. Spending time at Don and Pam's is the closest I know to coming home.

Finally, here's a quick video of Gavin as we coach from him a smile or two. Enjoy.