Too short

After too many weeks of winter, I started to get the itch to travel beyond the borders of Bumfarkia. It had been much too long since I'd seen some of my family, and they'd never met Elle. A few clicks online, we had a hotel room and a plan. And earplugs. Earplugs are a beautiful thing when traveling with six children.

The olders were already scheduled for a weekend visit with bio-dad. He lives on the way, so we dropped them off before continuing to the old stomping grounds.

My priorities almost always being related to my stomach, we got there and met up with Geekie brother at La Madeleine for a quick lunch. To me, coming back is one big culinary orgy.

Then we headed over to Best Buy to wander around and let Evan stretch his legs. Also, so I could play with their iMacs. I'm still working the doubtful husband. That Kama Sutra book is so complicated. I mean, who has that kind of time?

Next we headed over to see my aunt, uncle, and two cousins. Elizabeth was immediately taken with Elle. If she lived closer I'd pay her by the hour to do this.


Tricia got a chance to hold Elle and Elle stared at her as if she were the most familiar face. Except for when I was taking this picture. Then she just wanted to figure out the flashing thing.


Later, I caught Elizabeth doing something that I do daily. She made herself a cup of tea and then sat down at the table to read her book and drink it. I watched in awe as she sat and read and relaxed, uninterrupted by small children. I almost asked her to wipe my nose, but decided to leave her childhood intact.


Conor came in from playing baseball with the neighborhood kids to say hello. As I pulled out my camera, he asked me if his hair was messy. I told him it was fierce. Being a kindred spirit, he got my reference and we then bonded over our mutual love for Project Runway and Christian.


He also taught Evan everything he knows about gardening in houseplants with dollhouse sized pots and shovels. Which, as it turns out was a great deal, because Evan had a blast playing with it all afternoon.

It was a gorgeous afternoon and Evan was able to get outside. Tricia showed him around their very impressive yard and garden. Nary a mukluk in sight.



Geekie brother came over and we all enjoyed a nice afternoon in front of the fire. And discussed stuff.



Discussing stuff is Robert's forte. His knowledge and wisdom never fail to humble me. If I could open his head and crawl inside for a week, I'd be so much smarter for it.



My recipe book would also be much fatter and more fabulous. I joke that Tricia and Robert's house is also my favorite restaurant in the whole world, but if they'd let me I'd camp out in their yard just hoping for scraps.

They both love to cook and I'm unashamed to say that I've moaned aloud in ecstasy at some of the dishes that have come out of their kitchen. There isn't a cuisine in the world that they're afraid to tackle and master. Most importantly though, they make the big salad.



The big salad is a Robert creation. He's been making it for years, and I've been the happy recipient to many a plate-full. This visit, he again explained the ingredients and walked me through it. One day, with much practice and a whole lot of luck, I hope to be able to recreate the big salad in Bumfark. We need a big salad in Bumfark. We need one bad.




Too soon it was time to pack up and head back home. It was such a great visit, and we extracted a promise from them to come and visit this summer when the pool is open and the kids can run wild and free.

I'd better get cracking on mastering that big salad.