Connecticut for a day

One of my best friends from California, Kristen, grew up in Connecticut and had flown back east with her three darling kids to spend about a month with her family this summer. When we realized we'd be so close, we knew we had to get together. 

Leah, Kate and I left right after school got out on Thursday, drove about three and a half hours south and showed up on the doorstep of the most charming New England house I have ever seen. We were immediately welcomed by Kristen and her entire family and from that second on, the fun did not stop. 

We took a trip to Stew Leondards, a local grocery chain that is the most fabulous mix of Trader Joe's and Costco and a farmer's market and a petting zoo. It was darling! We got ice cream and had fun watching the kids pick up right where they left off last summer. 

That night, we rode the golf cart around their beautiful yard, jumped on the tramp and ran inside just in time to miss an incredible rainstorm that made the power go out multiple times. We had a yummy, yummy grilled cheese bar for dinner {seriously! such a fun idea!} before we put the kids to bed. Leah and Kate went down like champs and Kristen and I stayed up chatting like we hadn't missed a beat since last July.

The next morning, we woke to another delicious meal {monkey bread french toast with the most amazing vanilla syrup...Kristen is an amazing cook and it's apparent she learned everything from her mom!}. After breakfast we headed east with Kristen's sister and her four darling boys to the Pez factory. It wasn't as much of a tour as we had anticipated - just looking through large windows to see the machines. But it was so fun to see all the different flavors and dispensers and learn all about the history of Pez. Everyone got to pick out a dispenser {Leah picked Rapunzel - shocker - and she picked Ferb for her dad}. 

We had a picnic lunch outside the factory in the ridiculous heat and humidity and on our way home we stopped at a local farm to sample their fresh, homemade ice cream. I have never in my life tasted better ice cream. I chose peach and Leah didn't want any of it, so I gladly gobbled it up myself. 

On the way home, we had the whole vomiting catastrophe so after I got Leah cleaned up {while everyone else cleaned up Leah's clothes and car seat and watched Kate - they were wonderful!}, my trio climbed in the car and we headed back home. 

It was a fast and furious 24 hours, but I'm so glad we made the trip. Miss Syndey had warned her entire family that Leah was her friend and they had to be nice to her. It was fun to see them all interact and remember each other after an entire year away. I wasn't sure Leah would remember them, but she did, and they picked up like they had never been apart. Kristen's mom just loves Leah and it was fun to see them interact too. I couldn't believe how much all the kids had grown and it made my heart ache to not be living close to them again. I've been lucky in life to have some great friends, and Kristen is definitely one of the greatest.