Monday I started a new routine. After the gym I visited mom to make a grocery list and meal schedule for the week then took her to the store. Marly was a huge help then got her situated with lunch back at her house. Abby had her first gym class to work on tricks for acro class. Fascinating that we have to pay for her to learn things outside of her class, but let's not open that can of worms. That night we all met up to watch USA play Belgium. I didn't know about the whole Trump red card thing until after the fact, just noticed we played like crap. Still a fun night cheering, though. Tuesday, Voss went to play soccer with friends after swim and then a water slide play date. So he was nice and crabby that evening. Mom came over for Taco Tuesday. Phil played tennis. Marly and I had a zoom call to get her psyked for Urban Plunge next week. I got invited to play tennis with Diane, Katherine and Bunny Wednesday morning then met Matt with mom to meet with a caregiver. Mom was less than thrilled to say the least, but we all know it needs to happen. Matt took mom and a few of my kids to lunch. I dipped out for a Dreamer party, Alaskan cruise, wow! Then, had a middle school PTSA board meeting. Getting all set for the new school year! Marly and a pal took the boat out for the day and then an afternoon dance class. The littles, Phil and I played in a late night pickleball match. Thursday morning, I did a HIIT class then hitched a ride with Katie to Orlando for the Florida PTA convention. We had a great group of people from Ellie's school with us. I learned a few things, but there was also a lot of wasted time. We had a fun night out for an Indian dinner on Thursday night, pretty tame. Friday got crazy with each city having their own council party. So, it was like trick or treating for parties. Waaaayyyy too much fun! So then Saturday was a bit rough but we powered through. It was interesting hearing from governor candidates, especially their perspectives on teacher salaries and vouchers. I hitched a ride with Emma. Ellie was supposed to sit for the ACT, and had been practicing so hard for it. Unfortunately there was a computer glitch and they sent them all home. Phil took the kids to a swim meet that was absolutely brutal with a 2pm start time. It's so hot down here these days. After hearing them all complain to me, I put my phone down on the floor of the car to enjoy my ride with Emma. Then, Phil called Emma (after trying to reach me) freaking because the front door of our house was open. He has alerts on his phone. I called the neighbor to pop over to check it out and the guest bedroom door was ajar. So, I called 911 and we all headed to the house. Come to find out, it was just my mom passing through. So, that was a crazy 30min but it all ended up being okay. I got mom a ride to mass and out to dinner. We all headed to TCC to watch England vs Norway for a match. We were all rowing and cheering but it didn't pan out. Voss wore his England polo to church on Sunday. We slept in for 10:30 mass then had a chill afternoon. Ellie headed out to Marywood for a week of Camp I Am Special. Phil, Voss and I headed to play soccer in the rain....the only way to do it in this heat! Publix dinner and early bedtime. Here are the pics of the week.
|
Okay, still road tripping. Last I blogged we were driving from Boston to PA. We stayed in my friend, Meredith's cottage high up in Enola with this amazing view of the Susquehanna River. Despite the accommodations, attitudes were ripe and bedtime was early. The littles caught lightening bugs. Ellie had another sesh with her tutor. The next morning Marly drove us down to Gettysburg for a driving tour of the battlefield. Attitudes didn't soften until after lunch in the city. I guess they were hangry. The lunch took too long and we had traffic in VA but we finally made it to Chapel Hill, NC. Listening to the Martian helped. The Stanelles welcomed us with open arms and a home cooked pasta dinner. The ladies stayed up late catching up while the guys watched the World Cup. The next morning we walked to the Chapel Hill Botanical Gardens, said our good byes and went to Wegmans for lunch. Our last night of the road trip we stopped at my penpal, Cindy's in Fort Mill, SC. We were greeted by deer as we pulled into their driveway. Their "new" house backs up to acres of a private reserve. Matt grilled burgers, then showed us the hikes in their backyard. It was great to catch up with my girl scout/swim team pal from childhood! The next morning we had the last leg of our road trip and came back to Florida! We listened to the Swimmers. (That hit me hard). As a kina welcome home we met a gang of 50 up at Lillians to watch the USA win a World Cup match. Phil and I ended up staying out waaay too late so Thursday was rough. I made the kids go to swim team while I unpacked, did laundry, tried to get the house back together. We had a family movie night watching Ellie's vlogs and eating Thai. Marly spent the night at Langley's. Ellie is dog sitting the VanWies pets. Friday I went to the gym, more getting the house back together. I picked up Marly and Abby had a pool date with her pal, Annabelle at Mimi's. Mom spent the holiday weekend with the Kuklas. We went to the Freemans for a BBQ dinner. More fun times with the crew catching up. The morning of the 4th of July, I did an American themed HIIT class then we had a family pickleball match. Phil and I beat the Nixons but then they beat Ellie and I. We met Suzanne at the pool and had a chill day swimming and grilling. Then, we went to TCC for the amazing fireworks! We stayed up late eating Papa Johns and watching Independence Day. Sunday the kids altar served at mass. Suzanne met us for TCC breakfast. Marly drove to pick my mom up from the airport. I had so much anxiety about her flying alone, but she made it! Thankful to have her back. We played a rainy day family soccer match. Phil took the younger three out to dinner, Ellie and I went to sleep super early to catch up. Here are the pics of the week.
We packed up and headed out to PEI. It’s so nice having so much help driving! Right now Marly is driving along another 2 lane highway in PA. Ellie drove us onto Prince Edward Island. We went right up to the top to the Greenwich Dunes. I thought we’d be walking on a dock through the dunes but maybe we went on the wrong side; it was more like a walk along the coast, even down to the beach. About 5min in, Marly bailed to sit in the car. The rest of us continued for a peaceful walk through the National park. Next, we drove to Charlottetown for dinner. Ellie and I split the infamous PEI oysters and mussels. Such a great dinner! We walked around the cute town, got ice cream and took some great sunset photos along the bay. We checked into our hotel and got another great night of sleep. The next morning we hit Victoria by the Sea on our way off the island, back through New Brunswick and then over to Nova Scotia. We had a grueling drive up to Cape Breton National Park. Upon arrival we realized we went to the wrong side of the park. So we got back in the van and drove the 2 hours through the park to get to the other side. Voss helped me navigate with the map and no cell service. When we finally got to the campsite, the rangers were gone so we struggled to find where to go. We found an open otentik, made ramen and hot chocolate. Lots of fighting. Voss and I walked to the coast in the drizzle just to get out and move around. It was nice to wake up to the sound of drizzling rain on the otentik. But was bummed our whale watching tour was canceled due to the weather. Turns out I had the otentik number in my notes (miraculously it was the one we chose!) along with the right side of the park. So shame on me for not reading my notes before mapping. My punishment was a white knuckling ride through fog down the coast. We made it to Halifax listening to Yesteryear (could have been a neat book but that ending was ugh). We walked around the waterfront boardwalk and ran into the Giddon family. We checked into the hotel so Ellie could do a session with her SAT tutor and Marly found us a cool place for dinner. Halibut fish and chips and World Cup watch party for the win! On Thursday we got up and drove down the coast, through boarder control to Maine. The Napoleon’s welcomed us with a fresh lobster dinner right on the beach of their house. It was awesome! They had some other friends at the house, too. The next day we headed to Acadia National Park. We met up with the Bentons (and Emma's dad) for lunch then did a hike together around Jordan Pond. Kerri had a reservation for all the adults for dinner. Ellie dropped me off at the harbor-side restaurant and then got take out and did laundry. The next morning, Voss and Kerri went on a morning kayak adventure while we packed up the car. From there we drove down to MA and met Andrew and his family at the Crane Estate. Then, he had a stellar idea for the kids to go to a mall while we got Indian take out and chatted around the fire. It was a great night. The kids all got along and their twins were cracking us all up. Here are the pics of the week.
We got up and found a place for bagels then explored the public library. Then, I made us walk all 20k steps of the Freedom Trail. Yes, it was a lot. But the weather was perfect and we got lots of stamps and stopped for a delicious lunch (lobstah roll!). We listened to some live music and found an obscure bookstore. Marly found us a dinner reservation close by where we had a seafood boil and talked about things we could change about each other (rage baiting game)! The next morning we headed to Cambridge for more bagels and walking the Harvard campus. Next we had lunch at Fenway Park then took Phil to the airport. From there we headed to New Hampshire. We met Clare and got a quick tour of the Grabher compound then did a hike to Diane’s bath waterfall. We had dinner at Flatbread’s then headed back to the cabin. The next morning we had a delicious breakfast at the Sunrise Shack then hiked to Mt. Willard. It started raining on the climb and we had a wet hike. We did make it to the top then headed up to VT. Mr. Knoll welcomed us to his barn on the Derby pond. Crazy how I felt nostalgic for a place I’ve never been. So much of childhood in the farms was up there. It was nice to catch up with Frank and the kids got a bit of Camp Knoll running around in the golf cart. He grilled salmon for dinner and home grown raspberry pancakes with local maple syrup for breakfast. From there we headed up to Canada. In general, I think I was ill prepared for the whole Canadian experience. I got a hand slap at the boarder for not having a document signed by Phil saying it was okay that I took the kids out of the country. Although, he did still let me go. I kept having to calculate the math for miles/kilometers. I should have Duolingo practiced some French and learned a bit about the provinces and government up here. It rained the whole way to Quebec City, and we were all ready to be out of the car. The hotel was not as central as I thought. We had a rainy walk to a Thai dinner place Ellie chose. The next day was better with the sun coming out. We walked the hour to Old Town and saw umbrella alley and all the sights. We had lunch at a traditional Canadian restaurant and walked back to our hotel. I snuck out and had a glass of wine on a balcony with my friend, Zoie after she saw my social media post and saw we were in the same city. It was a nice treat. The next morning we spent the whole day driving up to Forillion National Park. It was a gorgeous drive up the St. Lawrence River but man, it was long. At one point the map went with an ETA of 25min to 33min and then to 28min…like I was in the twilight zone. Turns out we went through a time zone change. The calm 2 lane highway turned into a winding mountain road. Marly drove through a lot of it before I freaked and took the wheel. It was cold and drizzly when we arrived at the otentik. We had ramen and hot chocolate then settled in for bed. It was a cold night. All about that body heat, despite all the space we had! We were all groggy that morning but got up and had coffee and hot chocolate and did a walk by the coast, chased by a seal. We drove around a bit and did part of another hike then got back on the road. Another long drive to New Brunswick. This was really just a halfway mark to PEI but it turned out to be a cute town on the water. We walked to a pizza place for dinner. I’ve been getting awesome sleep, 8.5 hour each night and we have listened to 3 Freida McFadden books! Here are the pics of the week.
Whew! What a whirlwind of a week with the patrols in DC! But first, the report from the home front. Marly took drivers ed and was able to take the exam early and passed! She was nervous about it, but did so well. Ellie worked at Camp Sunshine (Angels for Allison) and helped drive all the places. Abby went to swim in the morning then lived her best life home alone, eating snacks and sinking into screen time each afternoon. Phil worked at the bank, of course. Voss and I had a packed schedule for Monday: group pic at the Capitol, Vietnam Memorial, Air & Space Museum (his favorite!!) all the way at Dulles then Arlington Cemetery (with his pal, Evie laying on the wreath for the tomb of the unknown soldier). With dinner at Catholic University. The next day we went to the WWII memorial then walked over to the Korean War memorial then the Natural Science Smithsonian, lunch in the food court then back to the Natural History Smithsonian. That night we went to the Marines sunset review at the Iwo Jima memorial, one of my favorites. Voss would toggle back and forth between running with the guys (there were 6 total on the trip) and taking a break with me. There were 50 of us total on the bus. Only 3 kids didn’t have a parent with them. We had a great group! Wednesday morning it was rainy, perfect morning to tour the inside of the capitol. Our tour guide was hilarious! Had me chuckling the whole time. The sun did come out for our tour of the FDR and MLK memorials, walking along the tidal basin in between. Then the Lincoln Memorial and quick pop in of the White House. We couldn’t get close with the fencing for blocks around…setting up the WWE wrestling. Really proud of our tour guide who was able to guide the entire week without even mentioning Trump. Even with his name on so many buildings, he just omitted it…or talked about the office of the president in general terms. Very classy. We had a few hours in the African American Museum on the way out of town. I think the group enjoyed the break and drive down to Williamsburg. Oh and that Golden Corral before checking into the next hotel. This one was much nicer! The final day of the trip we did a full day in Busch Gardens. We were first in line and RAN to the largest roller coaster in the back of the park being led by Ms. Greer. We rode the Griffin 3 times in a row before it filled up! We spent the rest of the day RUNNING from ride to ride making it to every rollercoaster in the park (some of them multiple times). It was epic. I was wiped out! Still had a nightcap, did a load of laundry and packed up before crashing. The bus left at 6am, Voss and I said goodbye then snoozed for a bit before ubering to Yorktown. We got lucky with a whole 250th celebration and boat parade of historic British sailboats. We got more National Park stamps then headed back to the hotel to meet up with Phil and the girls. We had lunch then drove over to Deltaville, VA and crashed my old roomie, Julia’s camping trip. We swam in the Chesapeake, had fresh oysters and local beer catching up with the Taylors. Phil bailed on the camping and Marly booked us a hotel room close by. The next morning (after a sibling knockdown drag out) we drove to PA. Phil booked us a room in Hershey. We went to chocolate world and let the kids each pick out a treat. I was kina grossed out by the whole concept, it reminded me of Buckees. Later, we had a nice family dinner going around the table talking about each other’s best attributes. We caught lightning bugs and saw a groundhog. The next morning we got up and drove to Boston. I was worried people wouldn’t like this hotel room because the bathrooms were down the hall but this turned out to be a great amenity for a large family. We each got a tote bag for the bathroom with slippers and a robe. I never waited for the potty or shower. It was very nice, and central. The girls and I walked through the gardens and found a rooftop bar for dinner. The guys went to a pub to watch the World Cup. We walked for ice cream. Here are the pics of the week.
We just steamrolled right into the first week of summer. Voss and Marly did swim team each morning. I drove the crew to practice at 7:30 then one of the neighbor carpools brought them home. I took Abby to rowing camp all week. I’m so excited I finally got a child who wanted to learn to row, my high school gig. One of her friends from school invited her and sent me the info so it didn’t even come from me! Amee and I walked the neighborhoods along the river while the girls rowed. It was a great week. Monday I did possibly the most wise move of the spring: got my Mother’s Day gift, a massage with Sherry! Heaven. Abby and I sat in on a NCL zoom that evening. Tuesday we picked mom up for dinner. Wednesday we went right from rowing to Rummikub with April. Then, we had a middle school PTSA board meeting with margaritas and chips. Phil and I ended up having a date night at TCC that night. Thursday we went out with the Hogans and Strassers to a new restaurant in town. Friday we had a pizza movie night in watching Crash. Marly hosted a party at mom’s house, an end of the year party. I popped in and out checking on things. It went well and it was good to have action in the house again. Saturday morning we went out to Eagle Landing for a swim meet. Lots of heat winners. Marly’s buddy, Langley came with us. Lunch at Raising Canes! I spent the afternoon packing and getting organized. We went to 5pm mass and got a special travel blessing. We met mom, Suzanne and Matt for dinner at the Loop. Phil, Voss and I were up super early to meet up with 500 patrols to caravan to DC. It was a long day! But we made it to DC! Here are the pics from our week.
Our last week of elementary school: all the feels but it felt just right. I drove the middle school carpool for those last few days. I went with Voss to Main Event on a field trip on Tuesday morning. Not much for me to do other than chat with the other parent chaperones. I had been stressing over the cake for the middle school promotion ceremony but it all worked out okay. I let the younger two skip swim, picked up my mom and the cake then headed to the ceremony to cut up a sheet cake and pass it out as they were exiting the building. It all went well with the help I brought. We had a late dinner of shrimp Caesar salad and were able to catch the older girls coming out of dance rehearsal. Wednesday, I volunteered for the GABI bus field trip then ran around getting teacher gifts. That afternoon, Marly (bc high school had a week of half days) came with me to the clap out at Voss' school. Ellie was uber driving for the Freemans all week. I worked all week on a video montage of all our time at elementary school; the end of an era. I'll post it in the video section. It was emotional going through all those photos. That night I played in a round robin with some C & B friends. Thursday was the official last day of school. I did a HIIT class then went to Voss' school to deliver gifts, say goodbye and thank yous. We're so lucky to have had this experience. We went out for ice cream. I had a happy hour with Sara while all the rising 8th graders ran around her house. That night was my tennis team end of the year party. Friday felt like a Saturday all day. I went for a run (feels so great to be running again!) then lunch with Voss and Phil. We raced around getting last minute recital ready. Finally getting some rain again!! That night we surprised Chris Chewning for his Birthday at Lillians. Saturday was a full day starting with a home swim meet. Lots of heat ribbons! We had Publix lunch then I went with the girls downtown to the dress rehearsal, my favorite! I loved sitting, catching up with all the dance moms and watching the girls do their thing. It's a great show. Ellie is the Queen of Hearts in Alice in Wonderland. She fit the part! I'll post all their dances in the videos. They dropped me off at the Deerings on the way home where we sang into the wee hours some karaoke for JD's 60th. I went alone to mass on Sunday then everyone met me for breakfast. I went with the girls again to the theatre. Lauren and I met for a coke and fries while waiting for the others to arrive. Phil and Voss picked up my mom and the flowers. Aunt Suzanne met up with us, too. It was an awesome show! I'm so proud of all of the girls! My mom got out of hand in the second half. Dementia showing its true colors. I think this will be her last recital. Phil took her home then met us all for pizza after the show. What a week! Here are the pics.
We just hit the ground running on Monday with high school carpool, tennis clinic, WD and all the chores. I had book club at Aubree's to discuss Wild Dark Shore. We all agreed it should have ended better. Tuesday I went to sculpt class then got Ellie signed up for ACT tutoring then proctored an APUSH make up exam at her school while listening to Demi Moore's Inside Out. I picked up mom for dinner and smoked salmon bowls. The girls have studio rehearsals all the week so the dance schedule has been all over the place. I played a pick up match on Wednesday with Maureen, Anna and Rachael then took mom to her annual check up. I feel like that was sort of a waste of time, but at least I was there with her. Suzanne went with Marly to her dance end of the year banquet. I'm so glad she was with her because Marly was awarded a model dance award! I was with Abby at her end of the year swim banquet. That stressed me out a bit because we had to provide drinks and I was coordinating with the other spring sports teams to provide additional items. Phil had a bank president summit with all the heavy hitters in town. He was stressed hosting everyone. I told them Maycember was an awful time to do this, but apparently not everyone participates in Maycember. Wednesday was a stressful morning. I drove carpool then rushed back to get my mom. Ellie (who was dog sitting all week) helped by driving her siblings and we all met (my brother, too) for Voss' 5th grade promotion ceremony. Our last bit of elementary school! He was awarded the dynamic dolphin award for his class along with citizenship, honor roll and a presidential award. I'm so proud of all of his hard work! I let the girls all burn the day and we took mom out to lunch to TCC to celebrate. It was a nice morning. I took Voss to a pool party at his pal, Mable's house then that evening I was able to dip out and meet up with Phil's bank friends for a happy hour to say hi to everyone. I was back in time for swim team drop off and dance pick up. Later, I met the gals at Lillians for two glasses for a nightcap...and to talk PTA with the Stuckeys. The next day was Readers Beach at Abby's school. I spent the day bouncing the water slides and talking PTA for next year. I was wiped after all that. We met the Bentons for dinner at La Cena then crashed at home for an early bedtime. Saturday was a chill morning. I did a HIIT class then took Voss to a Birthday party at Get Air. I walked along the river while listening to The Chemist (loved it!) That night I went with the older girls to the Virginia Dell dance recital. Sunday we read and altar served, went to breakfast then to the Freemans epic Memorial Day party. Fun was had by all....maybe even a little bit too much fun! I made the family work it off with the Murph challenge on Monday morning. TCC for lunch then I drove Marly to a Birthday party in St. Augustine. Whew! WD wraps for dinner, pointe shoe sewing and an early bedtime for all. Here are the pics of the week.
After a weekend like last, a 36hr fast was in order. Set me right again. Maybe my best Build study week yet! I drove middle school carpool this week. Monday was Voss' last flag raising! I thought I'd be more emotional but I was busy trying to register Marly for drivers ed (opened right at 9 and fills up) so I was a hot mess, as usual. He seems ready to be moving on, but looking forward to a fun few weeks ahead. I went to tennis clinic then WD. Matt came over and we went to the credit union to have a chat with the bank manager about how to handle Dementia mom getting cashiers checks. I got mom her cash and drove TCC swim carpool (on to the next thing!) Tuesday was a nice, chill day of the week. It rained all day. I went to a packed sculpt class then the eliptical listening to The Book Club for Troublesome Women. I washed the dog and the couch and enjoyed the quiet. Ellie had a busy day of AP Pre-Cal in the morning and AP Psychology in the afternoon with a quick lunch break in between. She also took AP Lang this week and spent 3 nights out dog sitting. So, I hardly saw her. Prepping me for college life, I guess! I made chicken picada for dinner and picked up mom. Wednesday, Abby was in school for an hour and then I pulled her out to get her braces off! Voss stayed home sick (with a man cold) so I ran back to check on him, brought Abby back to school, had lunch with my friend, Alex, then picked Abby up early to get fit for a retainer. I dipped out early and met the gals for ritas and tacos downtown and then to see Beetlejuice. It was odd. Meanwhile, Voss had a parents vs kids soccer match and got a trophy. Sounds like parents dominated (again). Thursday, I went to a HIIT class then went to Voss' living museum at school where he dressed as FDR and gave a little speech. I was impressed with how all the kids memorized their parts. It was a cute set up, you walk around the media center and they each have a set up with a poster and are in costume. You press a button, and the kids starts talking. It was cute. I stayed and had lunch with Voss. I took the van in for a recall at the dealership, my least favorite place! I went back to school with Voss for a patrol meeting with the officer leading us. Later, Phil and I met the crew out for a nightcap at Lillians, still making good choices with my 12oz and home by 11! Friday I went to a barre class then Emma picked me up for the presidents and principals luncheon. We had a full middle school table this year. I was a little overwhelmed at first feeling the pressure to bob between all the schools. Then, I was feeling frustrated because we weren't winning all the awards I applied for. By the end, I was relieved because we won the big ones that mattered. It was a looong luncheon! That evening we went to Phil's tennis friend's 70th Birthday! It was such a fun night, toasting and roasting. What a wonderful family. We stayed late chatting with my friend, Sam. The next morning we were up early with the first pre-season TCC swim meet. Phil timed. I perched around the pool cheering for all the kids. It was such a nice morning. From there we went right to Voss' last soccer game. It was epic, he scored the final game winning goal with a minute to go while a P-8 is flying over. Awesome! We had Zaxbys lunch then went all different ways. Abby went to a Birthday party to the Melting Pot. Marly babysat. Ellie went with friends. We took Voss and a friend to the pool. I nice, chill night. This morning we had mass, our last CCD class then family meeting breakfast. Marly went to a party. The guys played soccer. Publix for dinner. Here are the pics of the week.
Even the blog title is a lot! Maycember is upon us and I'm running from thing to thing. Teacher Appreciation at 3 different schools this week- but it takes many hands. Other than donating a gift card, there was nothing to do at Voss' school, which was nice. I popped in to serve coffee on Monday at Marly's school....really running coffees from the coffee truck to the teacher. Still learning my way around there! I was able to make it to tennis clinic then my WD shopping trip, cash for mom then drive middle school swim carpool. Phil, Abby and I joined Voss for a boy scout potluck court of honor that night. He's missing some fun this summer but I'm really excited for him to do some of their high adventure trips! Looks like an awesome troop! Tuesday, I listened to The Dead Romantics while walking in a gorgeous neighborhood close to Marly's school between drop off and serving a cinco de mayo lunch for teachers. Abby was dropped after swim and we brought Voss with us to Sasha's Birthday party. Fun sipping spicy ritas around the pool on a Tuesday. Voss made a 5 on his math state exam, super cool! Wednesday I got to play in a match with Danielle and we won: 6-2, 6-2! It felt great to crush it! I was able to get out quick and run to Abby's school to help make smoothies for teachers and get students to write thank you notes. From there I bought a bunch of gift cards for teachers and did a bit of Birthday/Mothers Day shopping. Tracy showed up to walk with Laurie and I for a bit. It had been a while! I picked up mom for dinner and made a salmon lemon farfalle which was really good. Thursday was a busy morning at Abby's school with our final PTSA meeting (I was voted in again to be treasurer so two schools of that next year!) and then MomCo with a bracelet craft and me holding babies. I ubered to Phil's bank for a grand opening party of the top floor. Extrovert extreme test with lots of conversations and a list of people I needed to meet and greet, whew! Fun to see so many of our best friends in one place! Phil hosted a bank exec dinner after at RH, which was so fun. After party in the hotel lobby. Friday morning, bright and early with Ellie taking APUSH as I ubered mom, SQ and I to the airport to fly to Atlanta for Matt's MBV graduation. Learning of a tree guy trying to scam my mom and a cashiers check taped to the top of a trash can AS WE'RE BOARDING THE FLIGHT caused me to stress as we left. But the flights were fine and on time and we beat Matt to the party. Emory did such a nice job with the graduation ceremonies. There was a reception before, then an awards ceremony and a bagpipe procession to the graduation. Very cool. Another reception after and then we headed to 3 Urban Licks for live jazz music before bidding farewell to Matt, Tara and P. Mom, SQ and I stayed for dinner and then a walk along the skyway. I was up early to fly home on Phil's Birthday. I ubered to the pool to catch Abby's final event in the city champs swim meet. Her school came in 4th overall so that's cool. From there we went to Voss' soccer game. He scored two awesome goals and we beat the other team I think 7-1. Voss also scored a fabulous goal in his game on Friday night, too. He's fun to watch! Marly wins best sis for going to Abby's meet and Voss' game. Ellie met us for a Birthday lunch at Larry's then we packed up and headed down to St. Augustine. It rained the whole way down but we were welcomed by friends as we pulled into the inn across from the harbor. First, it was just Jenny that kicked things off with us with martinis. Then, the others joined in, too. We went to another fun, quaint bar for another round. I ran back to change then met the others for dinner at The Columbia. Such a fun night out with besties with live music and then clubbing! Luckily, we had Carl tell us when it was time to head back. The kids all did their own thing, too. The Freemans and us and Marly went to mass at the Basillica that morning. Then, Ellie drove most of the kids home in the minivan. Voss and Will got to ride in the bow. We did an adult cruise back to town. It was awesome! We stopped at Capps for lunch and dined and dashed just in time to avoid the storm. Probably my best mothers day! Ellie and I walked up for Chinese food for dinner then took it over to my mom's to have al fresco. What a weekend! I even got great chore coupons and a massage with Sherry from the kids. Here are the pics from the week.
|
RSS Feed
