My vacation is over and I think this is one of those times that I need a vacation to recover!  My sister and I flew back to Missouri to visit my parents.  Those of you who have followed my blog for a while might remember that my hometown is pretty small.  It's one of those places that you might miss if you blink:

Yup folks – that's it!  It was a little traumatic seeing my parents' house for the first time in a few years as they had to cut down the old maple tree in the front yard.  It was huge – I couldn't put my arms around the trunk – and had been there as long as I could remember.  But age and disease had taken its toll. 

Other than that the old homestead was as I remembered.  One of the nice things about Thomasville is the laid back lifestyle.  An exciting evening consists of hanging out on the front porch swing:

While I was there I relaxed and spent a lot of time knitting.  I found a good pattern for my handspun and completed a Multnomah shawl:

I wasn't able to make it full sized, but it turned out to be a nice little shoulder scarf/shawlette.

My parents flew back to Washington with us and it was great fun to see them meet their great-granddaughters:

The girls took to them immediately and showered them with hugs and kisses.  The girls had come up to our house on Wednesday and met my parents for the first time.  On Thursday we went down to their house.  When Mei-Mei saw my Dad she went running up to him, hugged him and said, "I missed you so much!"  Yes – they definitely made big points.

We were even able to get the whole family together for a portrait:

On Saturday we had our 4th Annual Spring Tea.  The tea was almost over before I remembered to break out the camera.  As you can see, Mei-Mei was quite proficient at serving tea;

Mom and Dad left yesterday and made it back home without incident.  The house is strangely quiet, but I've managed to fill my time productively.  I spent most of the day in my sewing room, straightening up and spinning.  Maggie even got to go out for a walk.  Life is back to normal.