The bachelorette party was excellent! We stayed at an AirBnB in Orleans, and the bridal party did a great job preparing different activities. Including “beer olympics” (which ended with a single game of Root that lasted at least an hour), a cooperative game called “Crossroads” which had the bride choose different actions if she did anything predictable, plus dinner and breakfast at some great local joints.

The beach was also lovely, even though it was a bit cool. The tide was out and you could walk out as far as the eye could see.

It was also wonderful to meet all of Jess's friends from medical school. It's funny; when you're close with someone and then meet the friends they've made in your absence, it's great to immediately be able to recognize why they became friends and see their individual chemistries. And I feel like it ends up being easier to get along with the friends of the friends you are closest with, because they end up having a similar set of values and senses of humor.

Anyway, that last sentence didn't make much sense. Here are some photos!

Getting ready for the bachelorette weekend in the Cape! I haven’t seen the bride in ages so I’m excited to catch up. Before leaving, I’ve been working on some appetizers for tonight. Including deviled eggs. And sugar cookies. Hopefully we'll get some beach time tomorrow!

Got a lot of travel coming up, so working on some thumbnail sketches today so I don't lose my place.

The next couple months are going to be pretty crazy. I have everything down in my Google calendar at work, but my head was still starting to spin so I made a calendar to organize everything.

The second to last weekend in July, I have a bachelorette party for one of my best friends from high school, who is getting married Labor Day weekend. We'll be in the Cape Friday to Sunday.

The first weekend in August, we have a couple of birthday parties for some local friends, and a going away party for a work friend who is moving to London for a year-long graduate degree program.

The following week, Chris and I will be babysitting Juliette in New Haven, CT, while her folks attend a wedding. Pretty stoked to see how much she's grown since she was only 2 days old!

4 days later, I head out to Europe for my cousin Katie's wedding in Austria. The wedding is that Saturday, and then my folks and I will spend a week in Vienna. I'll fly back and resume work, though they will continue on traveling Austria and Germany for another 4 weeks! Retirement looks pretty appealing...

The following weekend, I will have a rehearsal dinner and be in a wedding for the friend I mentioned earlier, which is on a Saturday in Avon, CT. Meanwhile, Chris will be prepping to be in his best friend from high school's wedding, which will be on Sunday, so he can't attend the one I'll be in. That Sunday, I'm going to wrap up in CT and then drive up to Western Mass for the wedding he is in.

As an introverted person, it can be challenging for me to maintain the level of energy needed to bounce around every weekend and not recharge with some quiet time as a homebody. I think once we hit mid-September, I'll probably barricade myself in my apartment with my guinea pigs and cherish some time at my desk. In the fall I can resume using weekend time to work on my comic. Though I'm planning to work all of the holidays coming up (including today, Indigenous People's Day, and Veteran's Day) so that I can earn back some vacation days to use in December.

Found these shells at Boca Grande in Florida last September. Used some toy blocks that I had on hand to build a mobile in a similar color scheme to baby Juliette's room. The sound it makes is pretty lovely.