Home Again

We are home. Last night, we walked in after spending nine days in Florida, visiting Jason's family and our childhood friends, and I thought, "Ahh, this feels good." And Hadley, who was a trooper and a happy kid in her Grandma and Grandpa's house, lunged for Lucy Lamb on her bedroom floor, as if to say, "Ah, Lucy. I've missed you!"

We had a wonderful time in Naples, sharing our baby with lots of people who have loved her from afar for almost a year. Hadley laughed at the waves at the beach--truly, laughed out loud--and I think she would have bobbed in the water forever, she and I, letting the surf push us gently with the tide. That feeling will always remind me of my childhood. When we had to get out (to get our picture taken with some of our old high school friends and their kids), Hadley was not so happy. So that photo is rather funny.

After a couple of days, she warmed right up to Jason's parents, his grandma and sister, Crystal. In fact, after the third or fourth day, Hadley and her grandma took a walk every morning and then "played" basketball in the neighbor's driveway. It is no surprise, perhaps, that Hadley began saying "ball" while we were away. And every time she entered a room and saw Granny Myrt (her great-grandma), she would smile and wave. They are good buddies, those two.

We visited my best friend, Andrea, and her hubby, Steve. We played with our friends and their kids in the pool. We had a fabulous driveway grill-out at the home of one of our oldest friends. (Jason and Dustin have been friends since they were 18 months, and Dustin and I were kindergarten sweethearts.) We spent hours playing with Grandma, Grandpa, Auntie Crystal and Granny Myrt. Hadley ate like a champ. (She liked sitting on the patio and looking at the pool while she ate.) We visited my cousin Tad and his wife, Pat. (Hadley loved their dog's toys.) We strolled through some of our old favorite spots and ate at one of our favorite restaurants--twice! We had an Oswald family photo shoot. (You can see a sneak peak here, if you scroll to the end of the most recent post.) We celebrated Hadley's first birthday with Jason's family. And we didn't get to see all of the people we wanted to see, but I suppose there's goodness in that fact: Our lives are so full of people we love, we needed four weeks to be able to see them all.

But all in all, we had a marvelous trip. We're all a little worn out, but I loved taking a break from the crazy schedules we normally keep to be together and visit with people we love. Tomorrow it's back to the insanity, but for now, I'm happy to look through these pictures and relish the time we got to spend together.