Thistle-and-her-man We have been settling into summer around here. Our days are filled with softball tournaments, barbecues and more softball tournaments. But on our girl’s last day of school, we had some special lunch guests to start our summer off right. KariAnne of Thistlewood Farms and her family were driving through to a family vacation and were swinging right by our neck of the woods. Now, I say, her whole family, but the truth be told, her oldest son was not there and his presence was greatly missed! The-Thistle-Wood It is such a strange feeling, someone who has been such a good friend to me – but all through the phone or occasional blogging events, was now in my home. I will admit, I was nervous, afraid it wouldn’t meet up to her expectations. But as soon as I saw her pull in the driveway, none of that mattered. It was just so great to have her smiling face here and be able to talk with her in person. And, even better, the kids were fast friends. The younger girls are all the same age and Kari’s younger son is the same age as my older girl. They quickly were bored with the adult conversation and went off to the pool. The-youngters Of course, we had to get a group picture to mark this special event. The-whole-crew This was after Kari took a bunch of pictures of our home – which did make me nervous all over again. But watching her and her sweet husband interact as she took the pictures was priceless. She shared them over on her blog if you would like to take a look. But my favorite part of the afternoon is when the kids all sat down with Kari and I at the kitchen table. We got to hear from all of them what it is like to be the child of a blogger. They had us in stitches. And let me tell you, KariAnne is not the only story teller of the family. I now officially know who to go to for any scoop! And-her-girl The greatest gift of the afternoon was that we were not bloggers, we were friends and we were moms spending a summer afternoon with our kids. And KariAnne shines even more as a mom that she does as a blogger, and that is saying a lot. All-smiles I feel very lucky to not only have had this time with my sweet friend, but her crew as well. I am hoping it will work out again for them stop by our neck of the woods (hint hint!). Oh, and while she was on vacation, she and her hubby completed the most amazing makeover ever! You have to go check our her beach bedroom makeover here. Wishing you a great day and thanks so much for reading! Newpostsignature_thumb.jpg
July 08, 2014 — Laura Putnam