Wendy and I are getting ready to say good-bye to "Sin City," and we're packing for home. We enjoyed our week here, and I appreciated the conference I attended. The truth is, however, that the highlight of the week was not the bright lights, slot machines and shows. The highlight was catching up with old family and friends.

Last night we went to Buca Di Beppo's and met my cousin, Amy. Wendy had never met Amy and it had been years since I'd seen her. Me and my siblings grew up making a lot of fun memories with Amy and her siblings. There is something special about all of those early, shared experiences. We sat down at the table and immediately dove in to catch up on one-another's lives. Poor Amy, she was fighting a cold and clearly didn't feel that well. Hopefully the good food and laughter made her feel a little better!

We thoroughly enjoyed our time with Amy, and we left with those pangs of sadness that they happen far too seldom.

Creative Commons photo courtesy of Flickr and thomashawk