houseguests

 let's call june the month of the houseguest. 2 days after school ended, my sister and her daughters arrived in madison for a 3 week stay. the cousins have never had that much time together, and it was wonderful to see them bond and connect like friends. having access to my sister for that long really strengthened our bond too, and we both came to understand more about one another's life experiences. time is really a magical ingredient. so much fun was had, but we also worked, and became houseguests ourselves in michigan in the middle of the visit. it's a lot of work to host for an extended period of time, and these guests made that work easier by sharing in it.

we took SO MANY pictures of the kids, but it turns out that only one photo was taken of us, and it was at sunset, at the terrace, right in the heart of our alma mater's beautiful campus. this was a good evening, and is now a good memory.

we celebrated grandpa's birthday with some backyard rhubarb crisp

and we celebrated lake life with, well, a whole lotta lake life. 

berries were picked,

gardens were toured,

meals were shared.

we paddled through the locks,

played in the canoes with neighbor friends,

and watched thunderstorms roll in.

but, i mean, it was mostly just cute time all the time.