Nancy's sister Elaine and her husband Karl returned to Michigan yesterday. It was their annual "get out of the Michigan winter" visit, and we all had a great time. Karl was invaluable helping me complete a couple major projects around the house. And I'm sure Elaine had a great time at Nancy's Thursday Stitcher get-together.

Last Sunday we all drove to Birmingham for a short visit with our son Mark, wife Jenny, and the kids. It took a little doing, but I finally got the 3 kids; Jackson (10), Margaret (4), and John Michael (7); to sit still long enough for a picture with Elaine and Karl. And I know that it took all of Karl's will power to keep from putting 2 fingers up behind John Michael's head!

While we were there we celebrated a couple birthdays. Jenny's is the 4th, and mine is the 12th; albeit separated by 30-some-odd years. Margaret hasn't forgotten that her birthday was last month, so she insisted on being in the picture. We made a wish, blew out the candles, and everybody enjoyed a piece of cake. On the way home that evening, we stopped at a new Cracker Barrel on I-65 for our dinner. I only mention that because Karl apparently hates Cracker Barrel and let us all know that his steak was the worst he'd ever eaten. But it was so convenient...