Sara's Peruvian Exile

I just heard from Sara, and it looks like she and her 15 suitcases made it on the plane without incident. A minor miracle in itself, and according to her it wouldn't have happened without Mom & Dad's incredible powers of luggage-stuffing. (They have had lots of practice!) It also seems that I'll be finding random piles of "didn't fit"s around the house for quite some time, although I'm not complaining. At least some of those involve Belgian chocolate.

Sorry, Daniel.

It was a whirlwind of a week, although come to think of it any week that includes all or part of the Walters Fam generally is- but such a treat to get to see the temporarily-in-Peruvian-exile Sara. Sadly, Seth and I were up to our eyebrows in school and couldn't take much time off, but Mom & Dad came out to join the fun too. The return of the Arkansasans (?) was a godsend in that 1) Sara had during-the-day shopping buddies (and boy, did she have shopping lists...!) and 2) Mom did all the cooking. The manicotti (Sara's favorite) was devoured, and I had a creme de menthe brownie for breakfast. Winning.

Oh, and they took Finley to the zoo and the park while Sara and I made insane and hilarious across-state-lines trips to run down out of season cold water wetsuits.

I felt bad that the weather wasn't better for the Hawaiian princess, but she and Finley bundled up (they apparently feel the same way about the cold)

and consoled themselves with cupcakes. 

Sara maintains that Finley is the only baby that has ever liked her, and Finley definitely turned on the charm for her Aunt Sara. And not just because Aunt Sara is a much better sharer than Mom.

And let the little messmaker eat kiwi with a spoon. 

And introduced her to Tibetan singing bowls. 

We also made a pilgrimage to the Inka Trail exhibit at the American Indian museum, where Finley definitely extracted the promise of an alpaca ride in Peru.

All in all, a success for all concerned, since Sara managed to find both wetsuits and inflatable SUPS (not to mention the discontinued beanie boo we had all been hunting for), Seth got to sample Pisco (which made for a rough morning), some serious belly laughs were had, and we got to FaceTime with the priceless Lehua, who started preschool today (!!) And Nat and Ty in Japan!

We didn't, as per usual, take nearly as many pictures as we should have, although I brought Finley's camera to Harper's Ferry Sunday and we snagged a few. They're here.

It will be tough for all of us to return to the rat race (minus Sara, since it does not sound very rat race-y in Cusco), but the fun's definitely over in Bethesda. Seth and I are frantically scrambling to finish papers and exams before the baby arrives, so it's off to the coal mines we go. Wish us luck!