We Are Family

The past weekend was a whirlwind of family and friends. Friday night Marc and I were invited over to our friends house for a delicious home-cooked dinner. It's always nice to have a meal from someone else's kitchen but it's especially nice to be able to share our time with our friends.

Saturday morning my friend Michelle, whom I have know since high school, stopped by to say hello and see our new digs. This gave me the perfect opportunity to try out a new English muffin recipe, bake some bagels and make some apple cake. Although the English muffins did not turn out how I wanted them to they were delicious with butter and jam. It was also a great opportunity to take out our wedding serveware and have a grownup brunch. It was so much fun to see Michelle and hear about all the things she's been up to. Sadly our breakfast was brief because Marc and I needed to pile into the car and head down to Connecticut.

Our trip to Connecticut was to help out Marc's Aunt Sheila and Aunt Erin. They are in the process of fixing up their house so they can put it on the market to sell. We were one of the last people to arrive and siblings, aunts, uncles and cousins of Marc's were already hard at work fixing up the yard, removing stairs from the deck and spackling and painting inside the house. Coincidentally we arrived at lunchtime so we had a chance to chat and catch up then it was straight into housework mode. I raked while Marc helped his brother and cousin's husband figure out the stairs. Then I helped Marc measure and cut the wood for each step. We wrapped up the day with homemade lasagna and gluten-free mac and cheese surrounded by family. It still amazes me how much family I have married into and how amazing they are at truly supporting each other.

Cousin Lisa stripping the closet doors

Cousin Amy finding a new use for the wheelchair. 

Marc and Aunt Sheila warming up by the fire. 

Brother in law Billy helping Cousin Doug notch  the wood. 

the new stairs

After finishing up in Connecticut we returned to our home in Vermont. Thankfully we did not return empty handed but rather we returned with Marc's brother, his wife and their two children. It had such a great time hosting them in our home for the rest of the weekend. On Sunday we all piled into Marc's Brother's minivan and headed up to Rutland to visit Marc's mom. Then we spent the afternoon with Marc's Uncle Billy and Aunt Mandy catching up, playing with the kids and having an Aunt Mandy home-cooked meal together. Below is a picture of the elephant ride that the kids got to have.

Sadly Monday eventually rolled around. Marc headed off to work and his brother and family headed out the door to return to Pennsylvania. It was such a family filled weekend that not only was the house quiet on Monday but it felt empty. Well except for the big pile of laundry I had to catch up on.