Onward...

Well, back to the great trip we had....

We landed in Indiana on Sunday June 21, which was Father's Day. It was two days earlier than our original plan because Scott and I wanted to surprise his dad... which we did! It was pretty funny. As we pulled up to his dad's home, Scott got him on the phone and tried to causally make small talk and wish him a Happy Father's Day. While still on the phone with his dad, Scott knocked on his door, and asked him if there was someone knocking. It was priceless to see Mike's face when he pulled open his door still holding his phone only to see us there smiling. It's one of those times I wished I had a camera, although it probably would have been rude! :) But it was really great to surprise him- and a great way to kick off our Indiana part of the trip!

Every time I've been to visit Scott's family I've always had a wonderful time. It's never been awkward or nervous (as meeting "The Fam" is apt to be sometimes!) His family is just wonderful and warm and welcoming! One of the things that Scott and I talked about when we first met was how similar our stories were in some ways: How we both ended up in Arizona years apart, the relationships we've had, and how we met the same group of friends (who I knew from New York but who lived in AZ) that led us to becoming friends. Small worlds... But this is why I'm grateful to spend time with Scott in his home town with his family and his friends. And Scott was instantly more content, too, once we entered the Mid-West. The stress of work and life just kinda melted away and I could tell how happy he was to see his family (especially his new niece Regan!!)

So, enough with being corny... We had a great time and really tried to squeeze everything we could into the week we were there. We slept. We ate. We hung out. It was lovely.

We had the opportunity to spend a lot of time with the newest addition to Scott's family, Regan. She is just absolutely wonderful! She's happy and fun and beautiful... when she smiled at us we both fell in love and wanted to take her home in our pocket! We both miss her already and can't wait to see her again... It makes being so many miles away even harder!

We also were fortunate to see the beginnings of Scott's sister and brother-in-law's new home. It seemed to appear over night- but it will really be wonderful. Scott is totally jealous of the marshy lake that sits to the back of their property. We both look forward to spending some quality time in the future enjoying the view from there!

Scott's mom also threw a birthday party for us, which was a lot of fun. Scott even mowed the lawn for her before the party- which is pretty funny because it had been a long, long, long time since he'd pushed a lawn mower!! She invited the whole family, and Scott's friends Greg and Debbie (who rule! :) and their awesome kids. Milo had a little meltdown, which is unfortunate and a little embarrassing... In truth he's just a big baby who has some growing pains and issues dealing with stressful situations. I think we need the Dog Whisperer. Luckily, by the end of the trip a sucky beginning had turned into a great ending and it was really apparent that Milo had done some growing up. Phew.

We look back now and see that besides "Great American Baby Tour" (which is what we nicknamed the trip because we basically drove from place to place to play with other people's kids!) the trip was also centered around finding bodies of water for the dogs to swim and play in.


We spent a day in Michigan at Scott's mom's new cabin on the river. It's an adorable little rustic house with kick-ass access to the river... The doggies LOVED swimming in the river. They spent a large part of the day swimming and just having a blast. We also decided that whenever and wherever we live next, water will definitely factor into that move somehow!


I also had the chance to kayak for the first time. I was pretty excited- I've only ever canoed before and really it turned out that kayaking was not very different from that. I think I did pretty good. I think a few more runs up the river and I would have been ready for the Olympics. Okay, not really, but I really enjoyed myself!

Also very very notable (especially for Scott!) was the semi-traditional visit to Essenhaus- an Amish "Country Restaurant" that Scott just loves. I personally think he has (and he's admited to! :) a little crush on the cute Amish girls!!!! Did you ever see our Halloween costumes from a couple of years agao?? But it was a great dinner and a wonderful way to bring our visit to a close... I was surprised by Scott's family with a little birthday cake at the end of the dinner-- They totally got me with that one!!! It was really great and we both were really sad to have to leave the next day!!