It was the best of times...

We'd made plans to attend our niece Olivia's First Communion in Chicago a couple months ago. We didn't realize at the time that I would be horribly ill that weekend and that Allen would be under a White House imposed deadline. We made it to Chicago (though Allen arrived 9 hours later than Owen and I after missing the flight for a meeting with White House staff and flying stand-by) and we're able to attend the festivities (though Allen was working on the analysis throughout most of the day with only a slight reprieve for breakfast and the ceremony), but it was a bit of a haze for us all. In the end, Olivia looked beautiful and is now a Communicant, Owen had an amazing time with all of his cousins, the White House approved Allen's analysis of the Houses' latest climate change legislation,* and the only the losses were my voice and Owen's beloved baseball hat (which got left on the flight back).**

* For the wonky out there, the above link is to the executive summary, here's where you can find the rest of the analysis.

**Also possibly Panda, the Zimmerman kids' pet hamster who went MIA after the party. We're hoping he shows up soon.