Farewell Crab Feast

Saying goodbye to people, pets, and places are a part of life that we can't avoid - it's a part of growing up, growing older, and moving on. Goodbyes are often sad, but they can be filled with happy feelings and memories too!  A couple of weekends ago, the Halbrook clan got together to say goodbye Pete's childhood home in Maryland. We spent the afternoon in our favorite spaces of the house - the kitchen and the deck - eating delicious and lovingly prepared food: traditional Maryland blue crabs seasoned with Old Bay, steamed corn on the cob, fried chicken, avocado black bean salad, fresh fruit salad (from the local farms), tomato salad and chips with mango salsa.   

​As per usual, there was music filling the house while we sang, laughed and ate. It was Jolene's last run through her favorite yard as well as Jack's second (and last) time there.  The picture above is of Pete showing Jack the tree house he and his father built in the woods of the backyard - something he hopes to one day be able to do with Jack too.​  It was a lovely time we'll always remember.

Time and time again, we're often reminded of the phrase "There is no place like home" and although it'll tear at our heart strings not to be able to go back here, we know that it's not the bricks and wood that make the house a home, it's not even the furniture, but the people, the hugs, the food and the sounds of music (or tv), barks and laughter - luckily we'll have plenty of pictures of this house to remind of us of the memories made there, formative years, leading all the way back to when Pete's parents would drive from their previous house to see the construction of this one.

And, in this case, when the front door closes for the final time, a new one opens! We're excited to have Pete's parents live closer to us in DC - a stones throw and metro ride away from where we currently live will make a world of difference now that little Jack is around. Currently, the next house they'll live in is under construction for renovations to get it ready for future family dinners, living room dancing, football watching, kitchen cook-offs, and potentially maybe even marshmallow roasting in an outdoor fire pit (potentially). We'll keep you posted about it in the future! In the meantime, let us all bid farewell to the house we all love on Hackett Court. Thanks for the memories!