Visiting Richmond - Our Own War of Northern Aggression

Hannah and I took the little one south this weekend to Richmond by God Virginia to visit our burgeoning group of friends who live there. Historically speaking, the locals haven't always been excited to have people from Hannah's home state or mine visiting Richmond because one time things got a little out of control. Thankfully, times have changed and the only flames we saw this time were from the barbeque!

We stayed with Aunt Crazy (who we prefer to call Anne) in her lovely home in the Fan District close to Carytown - a great area for walking, eating at wonderful restaurants, or even just hanging out on the front porch (Daddy is a porchophile).

Aunt Crazy posted some photos of our visit on her blog.

We were a little worried about how the girl would act because Madeleine was in full teething mode on Friday and Saturday, but she was still a very sweet girl even when she was at her most uncomfortable.

We had a lovely time catching up with Aunt Janeen, who recently moved down to Richmond, at one of our favorite eateries down by the VCU campus.

We also had fun catching up with our friend (and fellow Fan resident) Mike, who assured us that the real estate market will rebound in 2009 - and he should know!

We had a lovely bookend to the weekend - after returning from a visit with Aunt Crazy, we got to see my Crazy Uncle (who just became a grandpa himself!) for dinner last night since he's in town for a conference.

Daddy got some great news from the orthopaedist yesterday. Physical therapy can officially end on August 1, and I will be cleared to play sports by the end of September - about 5 months ahead of the original diagnosis. Time to start planning my next major injury!!!

Also, we finally completed the search for a new Daddymobile. Yes, I was originally leaning toward getting a Family Truckster - but none of the cars on the market really revved my proverbial engine. We decided that Hannah's car would be fine for road trips and toting the little one around - and rather than owning 2 SUVs at a time of spiraling gas prices, maybe Daddy could get away with something a little sportier for another couple of years. So, Daddy went out and got something a little sportier - 306 horsepower sporty, to be exact.