surprise birthday trek

I left Highland on Tuesday in between winter weather systems for North Carolina. I made it to the Cooks' about 5 hours later to spend the night so I didn't have to drive the whole way at once. Plus, it gave me time to visit them and the Wilsons.

For those of you who have known the Cooks for a while, maybe this will seem as weird to you as it did to me - McKennan driving himself to school!

The Cooks have a new dog, Sadie. This is her with Madison right before we all left in the morning.

I got to my dad's school right before his last class. I had my camera up to my face so he couldn't really tell it was me immediately. Anyway, this was his first reaction. We went home and ate supper after rescuing my mom from the side of the road. The Passat, it seems, is having some kind of oil issue that made it lose pressure. Mom made great blueberry pie, my dad's favorite, for dessert.

This is Skye, Mia & Weezer's kitten that was born the day after we left in July. She's really sweet and likes to follow me around. She especially likes to be on the counter and help me get ready in the morning. She's also helping me blog, sitting on the armrest beside me.

Myrrh and one of her 5 kittens

This might be Prada (or Jolie, Chantilly, or Chloe). All I know is it's not Gibbs, the only boy.

Solomon & me