For the second year in a row, our family has gathered in the mountains of Western Maryland to celebrate my favorite holiday.  We came from near and far.  In addition to Seth’s coming from Brazil, we had his adorable Brazilian godson and family who now live in California.  My college freshman grandson joined us from Minnesota.

The non-food-focused rest of the weekend is a blur of the World Cup, a bunch of lakeside walks, a surprise visit by RV from the kids’ former neighbors from South Carolina and their two little boys plus dog. 

For four days, we left the challenges of the world behind us and just enjoyed each other.

(A special shout-out to my daughter-in-law Katrina who coordinated everything.)