feeling nervous . . .

it doesn't happen to me very often, that butterflies in the stomach (or, perhaps more accurately, from esophagus to upper thigh) but whoa i could NOT sleep last night; can't seem to eat [though i keep trying richer + unhealthier options just in case]; not very focused . . .

wha's'up? 

-- well, some of you know, some of you don't:

but our oldest daughter, avery, 14, leaves in about 24 hours to spend the year abroad.

she'll be living with a terrific family outside berlin.

as in berlin, GERMANY, as in many time zones away.

whoa. there are those butterflies again.

we had a fun + friend-filled bon voyage party (pictures here)

ave has started a travel blog (link here)

passport is in hand; bags nearly packed but O-M-G

aargh, did i have a point?

um, yeah, perhaps:

a. i've been out-of-pocket for a bit; give me a couple more days and i'll launch into returning those phone calls + emails + keeping SilverBox a big priority

b. i think, ultimately, this degree of case-of-nerves is going to help me, as a photographer at your wedding . . . i'll try to explain that more later, but i do think it might be the Silver Lining

c. for the friends + family (and oh, please know we count our past clients in that group) ~ if you think of us, think positive, smiley, you-guys-can-do-this-we-believe-in-you thoughts, ok?

wasn't sure how avery would feel about this, but she said, "sure, why not"

so here are a few pictures to share from send-off celebration:

the party was at reichmann pavillion by stephens lake, a great new facility and wonderful place to have a party.
ours included:
a SLUSH MACHINE (a sweet sticky treat for kids post dip-in-the lake)
a cookie cook-off (complete with blue ribbons)
and traveling B-I-N-G-O, too

terrific friends from so many different points in our lives came by
(teri + rita, for example, knew paul and i before we were even dating. fun, fabulous, and mean-cookie makers, too...thanks for being there you two!!!)

here's avery with MY parents:



and with paul's parents, too:

and look, avery's friends were there in full force + humor, too:

fun times! we'll call this "classic grammy" from now on out!
and there's one of our fantabulous nephews proudly displaying the ribbon his big brother won:

these are my PARENTS oldest friends.
"uncle" rick HATES having his photo taken; so capturing this was a big accomplishment:


oh have i mentioned the yummy, yummy food.
uber-talented caterer
sara fougere tickled taste buds of young and old alike and even had the teenagers coming back for seconds and thirds. soooo delicious. if you're looking for a caterer, gosh keep her on your short list.

aah, the wagner gang.
i'm wearing black, back row; married to the guy wearing bright yellow.
don't you love when you can see the love!!!!

perhaps a few more pics, or not...hey, the link to all of them makes it easier.
there's a lot of images i DIDN'T get; the decorations were SO cute for example. reminded me why you should commission a photographer to come and document rather than just think "ah, i'll take pictures myself" ~ but heck, i digress....off to check on those bulging suitcases; back at SilverBox stuff next week.

have a great weekend, all!
amy