Great Vacation

This week we were on vacation, entertaining my sister, brother-in-law, and fabulous niece. The highlight for me was taking Abby to NYC to the American Museum of Natural History. Any kid who has seen Night at the Museum is simply amazed that such a museum really exists. I've been promising a "dinosaur hunt" for almost a year and Abby doesn't let you forget such promises easily. I'm happy to say that the trip was a success. We tracked down many memorable figures from the movie, including Dum-Dum. When the museum closed, we were sitting on a bench outside resting for a bit before we took a walk in Central Park. My sister handed Abby a bottle of water, she took a sip, leaned back on the bench overlooking the park, and proclaimed very sincerely: "Ahh, this is the life!"

Central Park was an added bonus (aside from the fact that we got horribly lost and the New Yorkers were not very helpful with directions). Little did I know at the time that Giselle from Enchanted danced in Central Park. Later in the week, Abby also got to ride a horse for the first time, collect eggs from a real chicken (also named Abby), and -- of course-- she also got lots of quality time with our pets, who she simply adores.

Since I wrote earlier about Bob's sorry state, I thought I should post an update. Here is Bob sitting on Abby's "I Love My Aunt" t-shirt. Thanks to my sister, she has had major reconstructive surgery. She still looks pretty worn, but has "new skin."