Friends and Family on Friday

Suzanna was invited to a friend's birthday sleepover . . . in Rapid City, SD!  Our friends are taking their daughter there overnight for a birthday treat, and she invited Suzanna to join her.  Their family picked up Suzanna around 7:00 A.M., and they'll return tomorrow night.

Shortly after Suzanna left, so did we.  We went to Mandan, ND to see our friends Travis and Sedie, who live in MA but are visiting Travis' parents at their farm outside Mandan.  We met up with Travis and Sedie last year over Memorial Day weekend and again in July.  But this year, they have something that they didn't when we saw them last year:

Anastasia Renee

A new baby!  Yep, their son Vladimir now has a sister, Anastasia, born just a couple months ago.  Travis served us pancakes, fruit, and coffee, and we brought Donut Hole (a local bakery) treats to share.  Abigail and Hillary took turns playing with Vlad and doting on Anastasia while the adults visited.  We were there for just a couple hours before heading to our next destination, but it's good to stay in touch with friends--and it's always fun to be around a sweet new baby!

Abigail got to hold Anastasia for a while as I chatted with Sedie.

Hillary helped Vlad get started in his new coloring book, a gift from us.

Then we headed to the hospital in Bismarck to see my stepmom Beverly.  We visited her there on Mother's Day a couple weeks ago, and several days later she got to return home.  Then she got sick again and this time was flown to Bismarck and admitted into the ICU.  We learned today that she is much improved from when she arrived a few days ago, and they were expecting to hear this evening that she could be moved into a regular hospital room for the remainder of her stay.  As a precaution against spreading germs, we had to "suit up" in blue plastic gowns and medical gloves, which explains this photo of Abigail and Hillary with my dad:

After bidding Dad and Beverly farewell, we ate supper (at China Star) and then returned home.  Tomorrow we have more baby-related fun in store . . . stay tuned!