That's a lotta candles!

My grandpa just turned 81! We went down to Rices Landing and had dinner with him and grandma and my Uncle Tom and Aunt Donna, and of course, the mayor, Ryan. (My cousin Ryan inspired me to get a little civic-minded myself, so I just decided to run for the board of my neighborhood association. Seriously. Ryan is not even out of college yet, and has taken the initiative to clean things up in his town. The least I can do is volunteer a little bit in my neighborhood.) It was a really fun afternoon and Laurel entertained us all with her "walking"...also described as "controlled falling". We watched the Steeler game and ate birthday cake and looked at Grandpa's tomatoes. Even Danna was with us, so the whole family was together, which is a rather unusual event. Happy Birthday, Grandpa!

Today was the birthday of another grandmother, Norine. She died in February of last year, but I remember her every time I sing Laurel's middle name. Today, I was also thinking about salada tea and sitting at her kitchen table.

And in another couple of weeks, we'll be celebrating a birthday with ONE candle! That's right, Laurel is almost a year old!