Seven Quick Takes - Volume 13

*** I know it's not Friday --
I wrote this in the car last night and couldn't post it until now. ***

-- 1 --

My DH has been home for a week now. We’ve been finally enjoying some time together as a family. This summer has been/is crazy -- first, all the flooding and busyness of helping people sandbag and evacuate, then Daddy in Italy for two and a half weeks, and now preparing to close on our house next week and move.

-- 2 --

Back in ’96 when Hubby and I were in Italy for a semester as undergrads, we took a weekend trip to northeastern Italy. We visited some small towns near the Slovenian border and one night tried a delicious strawberry liquor -- fragolino. We have never since been able to find it, even on return trips to Italy. Look what my DH found and brought back for me … along with a new purse! (I think he was getting tired of carrying my lipstick and license, etc. in his pocket when we go out alone and I don’t have a diaper bag with me!)

-- 3 --

Daddy also brought back souvenirs for the kids. They each got a Kinder Surprise Egg (which I just found out when I googled it are contraband!?! oops.) and a wall plaque of their patron saint. The older girls got rosary bracelets, The Boy got a crucifix for his new room, and The Baby got a new “baby.”

-- 4 --

The first morning Daddy was back we went out to brunch, which was very enjoyable, but what the kids REALLY wanted was Daddy’s homemade pancakes. He obliged the next morning.

-- 5 --

The Baby is really a Daddy’s girl and hasn't left his side since he got home. One of her favorite things to do is to eat breakfast out on the deck, listening to and watching the birdies. She brought Daddy with her this week. Two and a half weeks missing Daddy must seem like an eternity to a two-year-old.

-- 6 --

This weekend we’re back in the Twin Cities. The two older girls are very excited to be spending a week with their friends attending a special workshop at their dance studio. It just so happens that a friend from Bismarck is passing through the Twin Cities on Friday on his way back to Bismarck and can pick the girls up and bring them home. We can’t stay the whole week because we’re scheduled to close on our house this Friday.

-- 7 --

While we’re in town, my MIL is throwing a graduation party for my Hubby, so we’ll get to spend time with many family members and friends on our short visit to Minnesota.

Hope you all have a great weekend, too. And check out more Quick Takes at Jen's.