Lauren Kooistra: Our Particularly Good [Full] Weekend

When Heather and Ash are called away, it is typical for me to swoop in with bag and baggage, to spend a full and fun weekend with my two favorite little ladies.

This particular weekend started off with Kate on a playdate

and Sarah and I at my headshot shoot,

followed by a [very exciting]
Wegmans date of shared sushi and dumplings.

Upon retrieving the little one, we met up with some of my friends for a Sweet Frog treat, before returning home and crashing into beds comfy (and new!).

The next morning we stretched and woke,

lounged around, creating culinary feasts.

We played old games for old times' sake,

[having ourselves a little bit of healthy conflict
while we were at it...]

and took advantage of a beautiful day,

with a bit of outdoor exploration.

We played and prodded,

and took a few selfies to document the moments.

[Moments such as this child, being a hilarious little nut.]

Speaking of hilarity, selfies, and nuts,
now for a 'when you give a kid a camera' break:

Yes, after lunch, we went for a drive.

We headed out into the countryside

and discussed--among many other things-- how lovely it is

to live in the middle of Pennsylvania

[How lovely, indeed.]

Our destination was my favorite little store out in Amish country, where we got so enmeshed in our decisions about which candy to buy and whether or not Kate absolutely-needed-and-could-not-live-without the little tea set they were offering for sale that we did not document a moment of it.

But, after our decisions were made (vanilla caramels, mint nonpareils, and no to the tea set as sweet as it was), we found ourselves in the town's antique shop.

My directive to "not touch" was taken as "you must tiptoe, and above all else, do not allow your voice to be heard"

as these two whispered in furtive phrases

and sweetly muffled giggles
regarding all that they were finding hidden away.

We felt fortunate that Kate was reunited with her "one true love!" [inexplicably, a drawer full of forks...]

that we found this beautiful old ivory-keyed piano,

and this fascinatingly old type-writer,

upon which Kate felt the need to state that she was "here".

[We had no doubt, darling hilarious child...]

We drove home, refreshed,

but ready for some downtime,

and dinner.
[More dumplings! More sushi!]

Soon enough, we were ready for pajamas, snuggles,
and Good Luck Charlie [our favorite!],
feeling happy and content with our day well spent.

The next morning,

Kate and I had some quality time

with each other

and with her new [and very thrilling] antique knife/fork

[what the heck is this thing?!]

before climbing back into the car for yet another drive into the countryside, this time to church, and to the variety of little cats that are in residence out there, who were just waiting for some playtime with these two little cat lovers.