The Harris Visit

I have been such a slacker in blogging, which is extra ironic since I am off work this summer and you'd expect that I would be posting more instead of less! This blog, in a lot of ways, has become our journal, so I do feel a need to catch up on the highlights of the last few weeks...probably in more than one post!
The best thing about the post-Woodland adventure week was that we weren't left without family for too long. In fact, literally a day later, my dad and grandma came to visit. I was SO excited to have them here for a few days, tour them around Bmore, hang out at our apartment, show them where both Brandon and I work, etc. I mentioned before that the Woodlands had brought with them the mild and beautiful California weather, but a few days before they left we started to get a return of the heat wave we've been having. So, when my dad and grandma were in Bmore, it was in the mid-high 90's. Needless to say, our little group-- including one prego and one 85 year old grandma-- did not go schlepping around out in the heat, except to get from the apartment or hotel to the car!We got to host them for dinner one night and breakfast the day they drove back to WV, which was particularly fun for me since the last time my dad visited where I was living it was my first year of grad school and I hadn't quite mastered the art of not burning pancakes. (I know, I know, grad school, but cooking is just something I have to work very hard at...hence the burning of pancakes due to lack of focus in the kitchen!). We even got to celebrate my dad's birthday (which I haven't gotten to do with him in years!) with a homemade ice cream cake (it was a good excuse to make one and we finally had room in the freezer!)Brandon got us tickets to the Aquarium, courtesy of T. Rowe, and after eating a delicious brunch at Miss Shirley's, we spent the bulk of the afternoon viewing the amazing creatures in every single exhibit in the Aquarium. It was awesome! We grabbed a dinner in Little Italy and called it a day.A short but very sweet visit that my dad made possible by driving from Weirton, WV (outside of Pittsburgh) to Bmore, while he was there visiting his mom (after he'd been gone for two weeks running a geology field trip in the Bahamas-- crazy traveling!). My grandma is doing well-- this was her first overnight trip since my grandpa passed away last Fall, and she said she was so excited and ready that she had her suitcase packed a month beforehand!
We love family...thanks for coming to visit!!!!!