What a Strange Dream

Last night the windchill was 20 below zero. It feels odd to load these pictures, but my compulsive posting can't be stopped!

We've made a tradition of a summertime visit to our Owen family each year. It's always wonderful. I am (a little) ashamed at how spoiled and lazy I act while we're there, and it takes me about a week after we come home to feel like my normal spastic self again.

I'm usually so lazy that I don't even take pictures. I tell myself that it's because Sarah takes such fantastic pictures herself, but, just between us, Mr. Internet, I think it's really because I either forget entirely or lose the motivation to do anything except loll about eating junk food.

This summer I resolved to take some. Here are a few that mostly feature Piper.

Dude has transformed their backyard into a wonderland with his talented eye for beauty (and lots and lots of work). It's seriously gorgeous. He was kind enough to help Millie pick bouquets for the table while we were there.



I wasn't the only one who lolled about. Piper affirmed my laziness. (No matter that she's 2 and I'm 31.)



Here she is again, lazybones, asleep so sweetly in Sarah's arms. (They were on the hammock, and Sarah graciously endured my camera in her face.)



Piper loves to be coddled by Aunt Sarah, and who can blame her?



Near their backyard patio is a pool just the right size for the girls. A pool! Junk food, the beach, beautiful gardens...they really should start charging us.




Luci's my baby, too. Look at our squinty faces!



Not-very-funny side note: I was tan this summer for the first summer since I played soccer in high school. The same day we had visited the beach, their neighbor-friend, who is Italian, asked, "Aren't you gonna go to the beach? You should go to the beach! You need some color!" Sarah and Dude stuck up for me, though, and told him that I was tan. (I guess one's not really tan if others must offer corroborating testimony.)

Moving on.

Annie's tan. Susannah's not. John's head is visible in the water, and it's tan.



Piper was BORN tan. She's my little nut berry.



She sunbathes, anyway, though, to be on the safe side. In this picture, she's wondering where he is.




John took us on a walk to the place where his Grandpa's body was laid down.



Piper looked fetching by a wall.



Piper looked cross by a wall.



And Piper tucked her ghmm-ghmm doll in for the long drive home.




THE END.