ten +2 more on tuesday (the ohio edition)

Now that I'm getting my life back in order and all the nasty smoky campfire laundry is done, I thought I'd share a few bits and pieces from my recent visit to Ohio.

1. No trip home would be complete with at least one delay. But since I'm so lucky, I had two. My first flight from Portland was 45 minutes late and my flight back from Minneapolis was about an hour late. My luggage made it, none of my connecting flights were affected, and I got to see lots of fireworks again, so I guess that makes it all ok.

2. My friend Natalie picked me up from the airport and after a stop at TJ Maxx to do a little shopping and lunch at Panera Bread, we headed north on I-71 and entered my welcome home present. . . a severe thunderstorm with tornadic activity. Nothing says welcome to Ohio like a tornado.

3. All that rain's gotta be good for something. Case in point, Dad's topsy turvy garden. Let the harvesting begin!

4. One of the main reasons I scheduled my trip for when I did was because my friend Jody had a date set to become Mrs. Stephen Smith! She had asked me to read Scripture during the ceremony and I was honored to do so. I made it through without crying even. If you know me very well, you know I cry at just about anything sentimental. Isn't she a beautiful bride?

5. I got to spend a little one-on-one time with this little munchkin, my niece Lavender. She snuggled right up with me like I was her BFF.

6. Hannah and I had a little slumber party at Grandma's house. I thought she was gonna lose her two front teeth flipping over the bike as she rode out of control down the hill screaming, "Aunt Wendy! Aunt Wendy!" but somehow she managed to get it stopped with her flip-flopped feet. Later she got a little weepy and we had to call her mom (who was waiting in line with Team Edward for the new Twilight movie to start), but after listening to a few songs on the ipod and a lot of TLC from her Aunt Dee, she fell asleep. The next day I told her I'd take her anywhere she wanted to go for a special date. Anywhere. The possibilities were endless. She chose Walmart. We came out with fake blue fingernails. Oh, to be seven!

7. My nephew Darick, my brother Chris, and I celebrated our birthdays together. Darick turned 12. Chris turned the big 3-0. And I turned. . . never mind.

8. Had a wonderful visit with Melissa, one of my blanket stealing-illegal Yankee Candle burning hilariously funny roommates from college. Actually, we go back farther than college, but we hadn't seen each other since my wedding six years ago, so it was about time. We had a lovely little lunch (complete with a piece of Buckeye pie) and visited a fun little gift shop called the Parsley Pot. The day before Melissa came, I had lunch with my friends Glenda and Kerri. We ate at the same place, we just didn't get the pie. But seriously, you can't eat at the Lyn-Way and not get a piece of pie. That's why Melissa and I ended up back there. The Buckeye pie was calling my name.

9. My sister and I took her kids to the Kroc Center which has a little spray park outside. The kids loved all the spray things. We loved it because it was free, it was small enough that we wouldn't lose anybody, and there was no possible way any of them could drown.

10. Keegan, the little guy there in the green and white striped shirt, cracked me up the whole time. His favorite line was, "You made a green choice, Aunt Dee!" They are using this little green choice for good behaviors/red choice for bad behaviors at their house. He's a seasoned pro at it.

11. My sister actually tried my homemade salsa. If you only knew how much she hates onions, then you'd know how big of a deal this really was.

12. I got to spend a little time with my Grandma. She let me pick out a couple of her salt and pepper shakers from her huge collection. She's getting ready to turn 90 here in a few weeks. She's amazing, she's funny, and she loves her Jesus. She ends every conversation with "I love you the mostest." Little does she know that we all love her more.