A Sweet Little Visitor

A few weeks ago, I received a phone call from my little sister.  The call came in on a Thursday afternoon and went something like this:

"Hi, sis.  This is little sis.  What's going on?"


"Not much.  How are you?  How's the weather down south?"


"It's super hot.  But hey, I was wondering if you would be up for a visit?"

"Really? We would love that!  When were you thinking? August sometime? Thanksgiving?"

"Hmmm... how about Tuesday?"

"Uh, okay.  As in this next Tuesday?"

"Yeah.  We'll be there Tuesday morning and we'll stay for a week. Can you pick us up at the airport?"

"Okay, I'll make up the guest room and a nursery.  See you then."

That's the condensed version of the conversation anyway.  It was such a shock.  My little sister lives in Texas and I really wondered if we would see her at all this year.  And dear little Maddie- she's almost one (in June) and growing so fast.  It was exciting news!

After the call, I got all Downton Abbey on my house (I'm currently watching season 2 and loving it).  I busted out the mop and the clean linen.  It was a cleaning marathon.  Maddie is just learning to walk, so I knew she would be all over the floors; I wanted to get up as much dog hair/paw prints as possible.

Cleaning done, I turned to planning (my favorite activity).  Hubs and I had already scheduled a camping trip with my parents over Mother's Day weekend, so that was on the calendar for Friday through Sunday.  That left me with Wednesday, Thursday, and Monday.  Thankfully, I had the ability to take those three days off from work for optimal hanging out and niece-spoiling.

My sister flew in on Tuesday as promised--braving a solo trip with her 11 month old.  Meanwhile, her hubs stayed home with their dog and home theater system (I believe he fully tested the surround sound capabilities).  I have to give him a shout out because I am so thankful he spared my sister during her very first Mother's Day. 

It was an amazing, wonderful visit.  We went shopping, we went to the Morton Arboretum (which has a prize-winning children's garden), we ate ice cream (I had awesome peach/raspberry non-fat, frozen yogurt), we went camping, we celebrated Maddie's birthday (early), we had blood orange momosas (the adults did anyway), we spent time with the rest of our family, we played games, watched movies, mowed the lawn, went on walks, and just vegged.

Then, as I stood watching my sister and Maddie waiting in the security line to catch their return flight home, I thought, "Man, that went too fast."

Happy first birthday, Maddie.  Still a bit early, but that seems to be my style.