Nana's Big 7-0!

Decade birthday's are meant to be made a fuss about!  So, when we asked Nana what she wanted to do to celebrate her 7 decades on the planet, she made it clear she just wanted to be surrounded by family.  With January being a hectic time in our household, we knew we had to put everything aside and make it down to Nana and Grandpa's for a visit.

We arrived with sleeping kids on Friday night, who settled into their beds easily and let us enjoy a lovely Peg cooked meal for dinner.  The kids slept until 7am and Peg whisked them downstairs, fed them breakfast and let John and me sleep in until 8:30!  I'm not really sure if we've ever both slept past 7am.

Because our visit was less than two weeks after X-mas, Nana and Grandpa decided to extend the gift giving madness and we had two little critters who were thrilled about opening a few more packages!

 Cally was thrilled to get a talking monkey (which made both her and her Nana laugh like little school girls) and a new book about her body (more on this later, but she's pretty much obsessed with the human body, the circulatory system and kidneys are her favorite).  Hazen was immediately throwing the balls that he got and using his new magnifying glass.

And both kids are looking even cuter than ever with adorable new Nana made sweaters!

Grandpa and Nana were kind enough to watch the kids for most of the afternoon so that John and I could visit with Mark and catch up with some of John's old elementary school buddies.  It was so great to see Mark.  He's six months out from the stem cell transplant and everything is looking great.  It hasn't been without it's stumbling blocks, but he's keeping such an amazing attitude.  The big news is that he was given the green light to eat hot food prepared outside of the home!  He hasn't been able to eat anything that wasn't cooked in his own kitchen for six months!  I can't even imagine having to make so many home cooked meals.

The real treat was getting to take Nana out for an adult only dinner with Lynn, Chris, and  Catherine.  Peg chose a trendy Oyster Bar/Restaurant in West Hartford and we had a great evening.

As Art put it, "I never thought, when I took this gal out for a date 51 years ago, I'd end up with this-- 8 grandkids, 3 kids......."  We are all so lucky that Baby Peg was born 70 years ago!  She's raised great children, been an amazing grandmother, and a wonderful mother-in-law!  May she have many more trips around the sun.