I spent most of last week enjoying springtime in beautiful Tucson, Arizona, where my whole family helped celebrate my birthday. Paul flew in for the first 48 hours—all he could spare from work—and it was quite the emotional reunion after more than 2 months. Email communication is great and made being apart a lot more bearable, but it sure is no replacement for the real in-person contact!

Above is a photo of my family at my birthday lunch. My parents are on the far left, and moving around the table to the right is my older brother Chuck and his wife Stacy, my younger brother Kurt and his wife Terri, my sister Kristin and her husband Craig (they live in Brooklyn, NY), Paul, Me, then in front are my teen nephews Bobby and Zack (Chuck’s kids). The 3 toddler nephews were with a baby sitter. My two brothers live in Tucson, so we’ve all been gathering there once a year.

Here’s what it was like the day after I got back from Arizona:

I am so ready for spring I definitely don’t want to see any more snow. What a shock after wearing summer clothes and sandals in Tucson! This was supposed to be a massive storm all over the front range of the Rockies, but fortunately Boulder got almost 100% rain and we only have about an inch of wet snow on the grass here. The foothills just an hour west of us got 34″ and it’s still coming down up there! ! !

This week I am doing the last of the packing for England. I want to fly with only a small suitcase when I go, so everything I want with me over there has to be ready in a few days. In the studio this week I have just a few china horses to finish up that didn’t get done before Arizona, and I am also starting on all the Keeshond tiles.