Visiting Old Friends

Around noon today, we made a trip we wished we made a lot sooner. Before her battle with cancer, Mommy used to work with a family as a nanny, helping out with their six children. We've seen them occasionally afterwards, but the recent gap in time has been the longest: we haven't seen the Irlbecks in over a year. You can imagine our surprise at seeing their children, and how much each have grown. And visa versa: Madison has grown quite a bit too!

It was a day for a lot of catching up: Mommy stayed and talked for hours, as Madison played with the children relentlessly, non-stop for those same hours - without any apparent slow-down in energy! As their house is tremendous, hide-and-seek was a game of epic proportions. Going outside was out of the question though: it has been bitterly cold and quite windy. Slightly stronger winds would blow some of the children - including Madison - away!

She had a wonderful time. So did Mommy, who was surprised at the time when it got so late and found it time to go. All six of their children have birthdays in January (later this month), so we're making a point of returning with some birthday gifts. But no matter what we bring, or how much, it could not match the thoughtfulness of this family: they blessed us indeed, with gift cards, a warm Sherpa blanket, and an overwhelming avalanche of toys for Madison.

Daddy intended to snap a portrait-style photograph of all the kids together, but simply forgot with everything else that was going on. I did, however, manage to get one or two shots of Madison playing a video game (of course), and apparently having a great time with it:

The wind roared outside. You could almost picture that giant cloud with a face on it, his cheeks expanded and full as he blows a harsh cold forceful wind across the land. When nighttime approached, it was time to run a bit faster to get indoors. After our goodbyes, Mommy and Daddy finally followed through on our hankering for fish and chips. This has been an ongoing thing for us since early December. We tried Captain D's through the drive-thru once, but they forgot to give us the vinegar we so desperately needed - and by the time we got the food, it was too late. Drat! Another attempt at another restaurant found us foiled again. Well, by gum, this time we succeeded, thanks to our visit to a place called "The Firkin and Crown." All we wanted was fish and chips, and by George, we got 'em. Enormous fish there, lots of malt vinegar, all served up on newspaper like it should be. Delicious!