Birthdays, germs, and castles

First of all, happy birthday to my sister Susie. For 35 years she has let me tag along after her while she imagined, invented and explored. I feel so lucky that after all these years, here we are, back in the same town, watching our kids run around together. That beats the Colorado mountains, hands down.

In not-so-fun news, Shep is sick. Way sick. Pathetically sick. Snot is pouring out of his nose and he’s so congested that he’s drooling, too. So he’s just one big mess. I took him to the doctor and discovered that he’s got an ear infection to boot. Poor kid. You just want to scoop him up and hug the germs out of him.

I dropped Neko off with my dad so she wouldn’t pick up germs at the doctor’s office, and when I returned, she and my dad had built this fabulous castle.