Although we are a little slow to post our update, being back to work for several weeks now allows us to look back on our summer vacation with yet more appreciation. Over the several weeks we spent in Chi-town, we got to visit with just about all the friends and family we had hoped to see. We were especially excited to introduce Baby Dahlia to her family and friends, meet her new cousin Benjamin (two weeks older to the day!), and hang out with a newborn friend, Camille. Some of our highlights while up North included Shalom's role as the flower girl in Scott and Angela's wedding and Michael and Shalom's trip to the 10,000 Lakes music festival in Minnesota with Tony and Annie. While they camped, danced, listened to music and swam, I had a few days to spend with Dahlia without worrying about whether her sister was going to draw on the furniture in our sub-let. Most of our fun this summer involved our visits with Grandpa Wuh-Wuh, Grandma Dee, our friends new & old, Shalom & Dahlia's great-grandfathers, cousins, aunts, and uncles. The Chicago weather was perfect for going to the park, the beach, the zoo, the Botanic Gardens...Although Michael's Aunt Sally and cousin Rebeccah have moved to Chicago, we stayed with MaryAlice in Sulphur for a few weeks while we visited with the rest of our family and friends in and around Southwest Louisiana. Not far from Mary Alice's house is Chris and Julie's big, beautiful new house--not nearly as interesting to Shalom as the trampoline out back. She and her cousin Lauren played nicely and shared some quality moments at the pool, jumping on the trampoline, and on the potty. Dahlia and Shalom are indeed lucky to have such nice cousins in Chicago and Louisiana. Michael's dad also recently moved to Houston, where we had a short visit with him and Marilyn.
We truly felt a lot of love--from the barbeques held in our honor and the outpouring of gifts to the free meals, babysitting, and time spent just strolling, talking, and playing. While at times it was frustrating to be more or less living out of a suitcase with a newborn and a two-year-old, it was also liberating to not have any nearby work or home to worry about. It may have taken our family over an hour to get fed, clean, packed, and down four flights of stairs to go anywhere, but we fortunately had plenty of time on our hands. Now that we are back at work and not only away from our friends and family but away from our kids, we do miss all of you and our slow-paced summer days. Although I have neither enough space on the blog or good pictures to do justice to all our friends and family, be sure that we are thinking of you!
Love, Diana, Michael, Shalom & Dahlia
