Mini-vacation

This past weekend felt like a full vacation even though it just lasted three days. First, I had a sleepover with my Pepperdine roommates who still call ourselves A-14 after the apartment we occupied for years. I haven't had a sleepover with adults in so long - and this was complete with brownies and the new member of our "apartment" - Patty's baby Zoe. Patty and Zoe came from Germany for the summer, and although Zoe is 9 months old, Friday was the first time any of us had met her and we're pretty much in love. She's beautiful and energetic and smart - you actually have to work hard to make her laugh because she's so smart that the usual "booga booga" amuses her only slightly. We had a great time catching up, discussing world issues, and laughing hysterically.

Saturday after the sleepover ended Danny and I went to Sonora (a small town in California gold country) to stay at a friend's mountain cabin with my parents for two days of relaxing. Since we had about a week in between the end of spring and beginning of summer for both our jobs, it felt so good to take two days to worry about nothing. I didn't even wear a watch. I took a book that was just fun novel reading that I didn't have to underline, memorize or process for later. We never left the cabin, but still got lots of fresh air and sunshine by spending our whole day on the deck. We ate incredible barbeque and fresh baked pies. We even had a vegetable pot pie from a local Mennonite farm - delicious!

Yes, we each have TWO plates of food in this picture. Glorious.