The World's Longest (Catching-Up) Post

This is going to take me forever but I'd better just get it over with! Here it all is, in reverse chronological order. Sorry I don't have many pictures of ANY of this. I'm still in recovery mode. Or survival mode? I'm not sure. What's that word when SO MUCH has happened you're just trying to keep your head above water? Anyway. That just means you're going to have to do more reading than usual to know what we've *really* been doing. I know mostly you just want to skim through the pictures. Sorry, that's not gonna fly this time.

Saturday
Travis was jealous of all the attention Brooklyn has been getting after her surgery, so we finally let him go in for one of his one. Saturday morning he woke up with appendicitis, and he was sicker than I have ever seen him. He spent the afternoon in a hallway in the ER (below) and finally that night was wheeled into surgery. Unfortunately, I didn't really take any pictures other than this one! He is recovering well and we have been enjoying all the attention (much of it in the form of FOOD) from our close friends! Thank you so much everyone!!! Clearly they all know that the way to the Lundells' hearts (and appendix... appendices?) is through their stomachs.
The best part about the whole ordeal: My best friend Wendi came from Virginia to stay with me that night! She stayed with the girls while I went to the hospital to see Trav after surgery, and then helped me take the girls to church in the morning! We enjoyed some much-needed girl time and of course I was suffering from withdrawals from cute little baby Carter! EEK! So adorable!

The worst part about the whole ordeal: (apart from Travis being in pain of course. I mean this is the icing on the cake) That afternoon when I left to be with Travis while he waited for surgery, I discovered that the newly "fixed" leak in the ceiling of our pantry was not fixed at all and instead had grown worse. I knew it was related to the air conditioning drainage, so I called maintenance once again and figured they'd come in and tighten some screws while I was gone. WRONG! Melissa graciously came over last-minute to stay with my girls, and I got a call from her a while later telling me that they had had to tear down the ceiling of our pantry which required the removal of EVERYTHING IN IT!!! So... you can see where this is going... YES Melissa did it ALL HERSELF! I was so mortified to hear that she spent her Saturday afternoon - not enjoying the pool with her darling daughter - but watching three mischievous girls and simultaneously emptying out my pantry for me! I was mortified. THANK YOU SO MUCH Melissa! I only wish I had pictures. Also, I just barely got it all put back together this afternoon. (And NO the problem isn't fixed but I was dying living in such a mess!) Keep in mind this was all only THREE DAYS after the Infamous Kitchen Disaster of 2009.

Thursday
Was our FIFTH wedding anniversary!!! Many couples choose to mark this momentous event with a [child-free] vacation or a fancy dinner or even a party or some such. For us... we had crepes for dinner [kids invited] and watched The Office reruns. We joked that we'd really gone downhill in five years. It was a little anti-climactic, but neither of us minded that we did... nothing... and we reassured ourselves that we would celebrate over the weekend. (And, as you just read, we did. With an appendectomy.) Ah well, maybe this summer we will plan a little belated getaway! At least the MARRIAGE is great even when the ANNIVERSARY isn't! You can read last year's account if you want a real anniversary post. I won't repost the slide-show for you! Anyway, happy anniversary Trav! I LOVE YOU!

Tuesday
The day before Brooklyn's surgery, we found out my grandma and her friend Bill were stopping through DC on her way home to North Dakota. I haven't seen her since my sister's wedding three years ago, and she's never even met EITHER of my girls, so we definitely had to see her! Amazingly, the whole excursion went perfectly and Travis was even able to join us!

Kate, Bill, my grandma Gloria, and Brooklyn

We also got a chance to tour Union Station

We even met a few celebrities...
Kate was a little freaked out by Abe...

And Brooklyn was wiped out. Kate made sure she was comfy by lending her her blankie.

Sunday (two weeks ago)
So my brother-in-law Tim is getting married in July, and he and his fiancee asked me to make their wedding cake! (BRAVE aren't they?) Maybe this wouldn't be a significant piece of information if I were the type of person who, say, made wedding cakes. But this is not really an area of talent for me (you may remember Brooklyn's first birthday masterpiece.) However. That is something about me that I soon hope to remedy! Starting with lots (and lots. And lots.) of practice.

This is the cake that saved me during the aforementioned Infamous Kitchen Disaster of 2009.

Please do not judge its lack of aesthetic presentation. I DID say this was my first practice cake. We were mainly working on taste. It was delicious. And of course we needed (and will continue to need... consider that an open invitation!) plenty of help eating such a strenuously-built cake. Enter the small children. Kate and Logan were more than willing subjects. And later, here is what I found when I peeked into Kate's room to check on them...
Thursday (same week)
We went to the Amish market in Germantown (although technically I think they are all actually Meninites? Just to be P.C.) We were tipped off to this amazing event by our friends Karen and Jeremy. We must have spent an hour in the candy shop!
And we ate pretty much the most ridiculously amazing pretzels I have ever tasted. The girls and I even went back the next day with Shauna and her kids for MORE PRETZELS! YUM!

Sometime Before That
We went berry-picking! I realize it was a long time ago, but Brooklyn just had such a great time I have to take a moment to remember this. Once she realized what exactly we were doing, she plopped down in the middle of a row and ate to her heart's content. I even taught her how to choose only the red strawberries! (That or else she just figured it out on her own after tasting too many unripe ones...)

That's it for now. I'm exhausted. And pretty hungry.