Last week Luke and I traveled home to Connecticut to see my family and to attend the wedding of Dayna and Brian, my friends from high school.

The wedding was beautiful, with an outside ceremony and a lively reception with WAY too much good food. It was a great time to catch up with old friends, and I was so glad to be able to be there to celebrate with Dayna and Brian.

Dayna and Brian

Bridesmaids, including Kim, Tay and Kristen (friends from h.s.)

Cromwell High-ers and/or their men: Kristen's boyfriend, Rob,
Kim, me, Luke, Christine, Laura and her boyfriend Bob

We match when we go to weddings. I know, it's cheesy.

Unfortunately, I was a complete slacker when it came to taking pictures while we were home (even the ones above are ones I stole from Christine). But we got to spend lots of quality time with family, whether we were making S'mores, shopping, eating, or playing with Sadie.

Luke even got in a round of golf with my dad and Michael, and some time at the driving range with my aunt.

On our last full day in CT, we took a little day trip up to Northhampton, MA with my mom, aunt and grandma. It's a town that I love for its quirky, liberal atmosphere, and its fun stores; my favorite being FACES.

We stopped for lunch at the Northampton Brewery before we headed home. It was a beautiful day for sitting out on the patio, and I'm always up for having a beer with my lunch!

Mom, Grandma, Auntie and me (look at the camera, Mom!)

Luke and Mom

Back at home, Sadie rules the roost.

Typical Sadie: complete nonchalance in
response to constant doting and affection.

A trip to the park with Sadie

Of course we had to stop (several times over the course of the week) at our favorite Italian ice place, Vechitto's. It's just a tiny little family-run place, but I've never had better Italian ice.

Michael, Mom, Luke and I enjoying our Italian ice

So now we are back in Chicago, bracing ourselves for the start of the school year, and holding onto summer as tightly as possible.