Mom's visit & Longwood Gardens

My mom, Ann, sent me an awesome birthday present last weekend - herself! Last time she was in B'more to see Mark and me was Thanksgiving of '06. It was soooo nice to spend some quality time together. As wonderful as it is to go back to MN and see everybody, I never get to spend much time with any one person. The time always flies by way too fast :(

We went out for birthday/belated Christmas dinner at Ruth's Chris Steakhouse. The three of us enjoyed our filet mignon to the last morsel! Mmmmm... wish we could go there more often. While she was here, Mom wanted to visit Longwood Gardens in Kennett Square, PA - only 1.5 hours from here. I didn't think there would be much to see as it is wintertime, but my expectations were totally surpassed! There were 4.5 acres of indoor gardens, and room after room filled with different types of plants, cacti, trees, and flowers. It was absolutely incredible. I hope we can go back to this horticultural wonderland in the spring when there is more to see outside, too. Enjoy a few snapshots! (Here are some more for my Facebook friends.)

The rest of Mom's visit was spent relaxing, catching up, shopping, and playing with the pugs. She met Ryleigh on her last trip out, but this was her first time meeting her youngest grand-pug, Caoihme. We also brought her to one of our local favorite restaurants, The Helmand. I'm not sure she loved the Afghan food as much as we do, but she was a good sport and cleaned her plate ;)

Thank you for spending my birthday with me, Mama Pea! We miss you already...

Love, your little Sweet Pea + Mark & the Puglets