Paying my respects

I had a terrific birthday party Saturday, and I'll tell you all about it later in the week, but first I want to talk about my trip to Ohio for Uncle John's funeral.

I got to see Aunt Paula, Grandma, Grandpa, Aunt Jess, Uncle Ryan and lots of other people. Everyone seemed downcast, so I did my best to put a smile on their faces by being my usual adorable self. During the viewing, I kept running to all the flowers, smelling them and counting the bows. At one point I pointed out to Dad that I saw a "man sleeping," but otherwise I entertained myself, sometimes by just running in a circle and singing "Old MacDonald Had a Farm."

Aunt Paula was very sad but she was thrilled to see me, so I'm happy that I helped cheer her up a bit. I also met my Uncle Dan, who is married to frequent Ask Julia contributor Aunt Rebecca, along with their daughter Diana. Plus I got to spend time with Aunt Paula's dog Gracie. Aunt Paula gave me some of bread to feed her, and I'm still talking about how much fun that was! And I also finally got to meet my Great-Grandma, which was a nice treat. Grandpa took some pictures of the two of us, which I'll post next week after we get a copy of them.

Getting there and back was quite a feat, involving planes, trains and automobiles traveling through four states (from NJ to an airport in NY to an airport in PA to our final destination in OH). I loved watching the planes take off from the gate, and when I got on the plane I told Dad it looked a little like the inside of a choo-choo. Aunt Jess flew with us, so she helped take care of me too.

I was on my best behavior the whole time (I did get a little cranky during the two-hour flight delay on our way home, but you would too!), and everyone talked about how sweet and well-behaved I was. You're welcome, Dad!