August 9

Abby spent the night at Adam's parents' house last night. Since his dad is out of town, it was a purely grandma-and-Abby bonding experience, and from the looks of it, they lived it up: they made dozens of molasses cookies (a large number of which Abby brought home), painted their nails (light purple with glitter -- she is indeed my daughter), and created balloon animals with some supplies they found in an old closet.

Abby was especially pleased to show off her balloon animals; she texted us a photo of them last night and brought one home with her today. Apparently they tried to make balloon flowers, but kept popping them, so they ad-libbed and made animals instead.

Anyway, it was clear that they both had a good time together. We may live a few thousand miles from my family, but it's a blessing that we're close enough to Adam's family that my kiddos can spend time with them every now and then.