There's nothing like old friends (the ones that come with suitcases AND the ones that come IN suitcases)

We had our first visitors from the States this past weekend! Our friends Rob and Kelly stopped off for a few days in London on their way home from Copenhagen and were just in time to help celebrate Paul's 40th birthday in style. We enjoyed many, many things about their visit, but I must confess that one of the highlights was receiving the care package they brought us from home.

Rob and Kelly don't have kids, and I could tell in Rob's voice that he thought I was a little nuts when I rattled off my shopping list to him a few weeks before they were due to arrive. But good man that he is, he procured the items I requested anyway. I know that every mother who sees this will instantly understand why the pub crawling, sightseeing, good conversation and comfort of being with old friends that we enjoyed this weekend, while lovely, all pale in comparison to the moment when Rob pulled these familiar items out of his suitcase:

Thanks, Rob and Kelly! Come back any time... if you'll keep refilling our American essentials, then the pub refills are on us! That goes for the rest of you all, too. I'm starting to run low on shampoo and ziplock bags...