Perfect. Fall. Weekend.

I couldn't have planned a better weekend than this.

My mom spent the night Thursday, on her way to the lake for Oktoberfest, and delivered the free TV stand she got us from Craigslist. On her way out the door on Friday morning, she offered to take Emily with her for the day. After a moment of "Can I really do that?" we threw together an overnight bag, put the carseat in Mimi's car, and they were off. I walked around in circles for a few minutes trying to figure out what to do with myself. I spent Friday getting LOTS of work done (finally felt caught up on work, and got my head around some confusing accounting for the counseling center), going on a lovely run/hike up the mountain in our backyard, finishing up painting the kitchen, and watching the Phillies comeback victory. After 8 straight hours of sleep (a rarity since Emily has been waking up at night again), and a pancake breakfast with Alasdair while getting my fantasy football lineup tuned up (I'm undefeated so far!), I headed for the lake myself via the heart-stoppingly beautiful drive through peak VT foliage, and caught up with some friends on the phone.

Emily did great on her own with Mimi (and Papa, Uncle Mike, Auntie Bekah, cousins Rosalie & Daniel). She was never sad about missing Mommy and had a blast playing with Rosalie. She didn't sleep real well, and my mom is a trooper for doing the night shift with her.

Emily and I spent Saturday afternoon playing outside and driving around on the gator with the whole family. It's so fun to watch the girls play together now. In the evening was a German feast with my extended family at the Big House, including some old friends of my grandparents I hadn't seen in 15 years. Here are a few pictures I took on my phone over the weekend. Most of them are on my dad's camera... so I'll get those added eventually.

Emily & I woke up early this morning to drive home (again, hard to keep my eyes on the road with the foliage, the mist on the lake, etc.) Oh, and my pumpkin latte. Mmm. Home for church, then home for some apple cider and nap, and then a visit & walk in the woods with Jackie Brendan. Dinner of acorn squash in the crockpot & sausages on the grill. Next up: the Eagles & Phillies both on TV, and apple crisp fresh out of the oven.

It doesn't get much better than this.

ps - We had a GREAT trip to FL to see both of our families last week, and I will get to posting about that soon!