I've Got a Mule Her Name is Sal

15 miles on the Erie Canal!  Okay, more like 6 but that song has kept running through my head since yesterday.

I was up visiting my in-laws and had to find a way to get my long run in for the week so this morning won.  I found a great bike path along the Erie Canal and did a nice 3 mile out and back run.  I felt very good and pushed myself for the first five and back off on the 6th to give myself time to cool down.  I love how running lets me see parts of where I visit I wouldn't otherwise.  I got to see a lock in the canal, something I've been singing about for years and had no idea of what it really looked like.

The weekend was a good one and with all my nephews and nieces there it was fun.  They are great kids and it's great to see them all playing together now that the youngest is old enough to really play.  Here are a couple of cute pics from the weekend, enjoy!

Christmas #3

The past 3 days we spent upstate with Sarge's sister, brother-in-law, nephew and mom.  We didn't "do" much other than hang around but it was great to see them and re-connect.  We did a small gift exchange, had some good meals and relaxed.  I got plenty of time with T-Man, he just turned 2 and is really fun.  He's really talking and I'm getting much better at understanding him.  Here are the highlights!

Read books Aunt Lolo!

Yummy cookies

I spilled potato chips on the floor and Star is helping me clean up

My hosts were very concerned for my safety...

Lollipop drum for Christmas!

Merry Christmas! (Very Belated)

Christmas with my family was lovely as always.  We still do the PJ's on Christmas morning, only now it involves coffee and isn't as early.  We open gifts and then enjoy breakfast (yay for Marty's!)  Then it's cleaning, set-up and cooking for the party that afternoon.

The aunts, uncle and cousins came over in the afternoon for dinner, something I look forward to each year.  Roast beef, Yorkshire pudding, gravy.....yummmm!!  We do a white elephant swap, all re-gifts.  This year I was the proud recipient of an electric plate warmer.  I think the box and warmer are almost as old as I am.  My uncle said he planned to give it as a wedding gift and changed his mind, haha!

The family also got to Skype with Sarge for a few minutes which was a big gift.  My mom came and sat with me and we all talked for about 15 minutes which was great.  I think they both really enjoyed reconnecting live.  I was crying afterwards and my brother-in-law came to give me a hug and told me that the day he comes home will be so wonderful and that he still remembers how great brother's homecoming was.  It was the perfect thing to hear and I knew he didn't expect me to stop crying either.

Tomorrow: catching up with Sarge's family upstate!

Aunt Eileen's Birthday

Last night was my Aunt Eileen's birthday celebration.  She threw herself a party which is just great!  The extended family (16 of us) met up for dinner in Harrison and had a great time.  The food was amazing and we all had a fantastic time.  Eileen looked absolutely amazing and was a great hostess.

One highlight of the party was the unexpected photos.  When we arrived at the dinner table Eileen had place cards out with photos of each of us from earlier and in my case, less attractive time.  They were surprising, cute and great conversation starters.

My mom, Aunt Kathy, sisters and I collaborated on a photo collage frame for Eileen featuring her over the years.  There were photos from before there were any kids to some just a few years ago.  We collected so many pics that we included a small album of all the extras that Erin put together.  Watching everyone go through the photos and reminiscing was a lot of fun.  The hairstyles, the "trendy" clothes and the very large glasses were especially funny!

Beach time!

Bethany Beach, DE

I have been enjoying the last two days with my family at two different beaches.  I am so lucky to have the time to take "away" from real life.  I am also so fortunate to have a family that I really enjoy being with.  They are weird and whacky but wonderful!

Ferry Ride to Lewes

I had a great new experience yesterday, I took the ferry from Cape May, NJ to Lewes, DE.  It was a beautiful day and a good break from driving.  The whole trip took me almost 6 hours but didn't feel much like it.  I even had the energy to get to the gym when I arrived!








Today was the perfect day.  I went to the beach with my parents this morning, fishing with my dad this afternoon, drinks with friends for happy hour and then dinner out with my mom tonight.  I enjoyed the beach time this morning.  I read, slept and swam in the ocean.  We brought our lunch and ate on the beach, too.  I love a day at the beach!  It's one of my favorite things to do, hands down.  It was really nice to have alone time with each of the 'rents today, that doesn't happen too often any more.

Mango-rita!!

Sometime today, talk to a family member and remind yourself how much better life is because they are in your life!

Next stop...

We are now less than 2 weeks from life's next big adventure. In July I will be driving the hubby down to base for his deployment.  I have known for a while that this is coming but I can't say that I am thrilled about it.  I know that in the long run this deployment is going to be good for us and Hubby wants to go but I am NOT ready yet.  I don't know that I would ever "be ready" to spend a year with minimal communication and knowing he is putting himself in a dangerous spot but I'm doing my best to close.  I am focused on planning what to send him, when to do it and how to keep busy while he's gone so I don't get mopey.

We will be spending the next 2 weeks with as many friends and family as we can manage.  We have a couple barbeques, a paintball day and who knows what else.  Our goal is to have fun but make sure that we make some alone time for ourselves as well.  We have been out with friends or had friends over the last 4 nights.  Tonight is date night, yay!!  Now it's just time to decide where/what we're going to do.  Any suggestions?

Happy Last Day of School!!