In Which We Visit Richmond

Joe and I spent the weekend in Richmond, driving down on Friday and back today -- with a quick unexpected stopover in Alexandria for lunch with Andrew and the boys. This little trip was exactly what we needed.

We didn't do anything truly exciting, but excitement doesn't seem to matter as much any more. What we did was watch and play with Nate and Aberdeen and enjoy Tom's company, too. Anastasia was having a work weekend -- she had rehearsals and concerts each day or night and left very early this morning for a teaching stint at a University. But somehow she managed to find time to make a batch of snack mix for us to munch on our trip home.

The absolute highlight of the trip was watching Aberdeen take her first independent steps just moments after this photo was taken. She has her brother's (and proud grandfather's) coloring: gorgeous red hair and blue eyes. She had been walking while holding on, and all at once took the plunge. She was so proud and happy! And so were we!

I birthday-gifted Nate with a visit to Build A Bear and he took it so seriously, waiting patiently for a large order just ahead of us. He chose a black bear with a great deal of character.

On the way out of town today, we made a brief stop at Quilting Adventures where I picked up some absolutely gorgeous fabrics of the periwinkle variety. Photo tomorrow, perhaps, when I'm not quite so ready to crawl into bed!