We celebrated Emily’s 9th birthday this past weekend in an atypically low-key manner. We were all still pretty well worn out from Kathy’s folks’ visit, the work on the garage, and the marathon sightseeing escapades. (“Behold, the Alamo!”) A few of Emily’s friends and family assembled on Sunday after church for a good long swim, chicken fajitas, and general relaxed fun-having.

Kathy found Emily a bike at a garage sale, which she and Abby heavily customized with colored spoke covers and nail polish to patch the nicks in the paint. It was one of those things that, looking at it, I knew Emily would either be crazy about or completely abhor. Fortunately, she very much liked her unique bike, and has been having a good deal of fun with it.