back from my trip to Connecticut....

well, that was an emotional roller coaster - too complicated and personal to delve into here but suffice it to say that the next month is going to be incredibly hard for my family. Sorry I can't provide too many details but please keep my heart in your thoughts - it feels a bit broken right now.

My new granddaughter is beautiful - Arianna, nicknamed Ri, is a sweetheart. She is a quiet crier right now (I bet she gets some powerful lungs soon, though) and has wonderful coloring. Her mother says she is a good baby, a good eater and a good sleeper. She has deep dark eyes and dark black hair and the softest skin imaginable. Holding her, my second oldest son's child, was like holding my past and my future at the same time.

Usually it is hard to see everyone when we head to CT - lots of family and friends around - but we went to a lovely wedding shower for my niece on Saturday and got to see some special kin. Just a few raindrops and a soft breeze at the shower but discovered major storm damage as we drove just to the next town to my son's home. Trees were down everywhere: across roads, on power lines, into houses. It was a microburst, not a tornado, and luckily my son only lost one very large branch which crashed down on top of his rose arbor.

Most of my family came to my son's home on Sunday: my sisters, brother, nieces and nephews, and all their special people....it was really fun and so fulfilling to see them all....it always seems like too much time goes by between visits. I won't see any of them now until August. StinkyPooPooCaCa.....I hate this distance between us.

The trip home was LOOOOOONG - we left CT at 9 a.m. Monday and got home to Machias in time for supper. Kiley was amazing - have you ever tried to make a 7-hour trip (not counting any pit stops) with a two-year old in the midst of potty training???!!!! She was great - hardly complained and ate everything we could feed her... my car has more crumbs, broken crackers, spilled juice, than you could imagine. And we learned that "I'm bringing home a baby bumblebee" can indeed be sung 23 times in a row....................