Catskills!

We are sitting in Uncle Greg and Aunt Mary's house in the Catskills... lovin' life. :-)

Tori and I just spotted a mama deer and her beautiful baby fawn prancing through the grass outside the window. Birds are chirping, a cool breeze is blowing and our bellies are full of fresh berries.

Oh there's a beautiful blue bird!

We got up here around 7:30 and unpacked the car. Mary and Greg had the house open and welcoming. Uncle Greg entertained the kids with stories... some true and some "fiction" and Aunt Mary's job was to clarify which was which.

Greg has so many plans for the kids today... They include but are not limited to:

stream exploring

beaver dam viewing

baby hawk spying

lizard hunting

wildlife watching

tractor riding

berry picking

cookout

lightening bug catching

I gotta get moving!

On our way to the Catskills today!

We spent a beautifully sunny afternoon at the Pitt Zoo yesterday with Mary, Michael, and Stephen. Back at Buff and Mary's we had a relaxing dinner and visit with family. Eric and I pray our kids turn out as good as Matt, Michael, and Stephen... all good boys. Buff and Mary's parenting style is a great role models for us!

We drop Eric off at the airport this am. It will be a sad event of course.

I head to the Catskills with the kids for about a week. They may be a bit board but the quiet is much needed for this mommy. My Aunt Mary and Uncle Greg have a beautiful home they have generously opened to family and friends. When we lived in NY we were able to benefit from their generosity often but I have not been there for a while now. I am SSSSSOOOO looking forward to it! A good friend from our Fort Drum days is coming up for the day to join us. I look forward to seeing her again... it has been too long since our last visit! I also hear my uncle may be up there for a couple of days too... it will be nice to catch up with him in his happy place!!!

I am a little freaked out watching the news about the trains that collided outside D.C. The kids and I were just on that train last week when visiting D.C. from Veronica's. So sad for those in the crash.

I don't think I will have Internet at the cabin. So I will have to update this and check e-mail on our next stop. Thanks for trackin' me! Have a great week!

PA with PATERS!

After a picnic of PB&J & a little bit of clothes shopping on the way to pitt... we picked Daddy up at the airport! Always a joyous event! Eric has been working out down in the bayou so he is looking great! Nice and fit in his old man strength.

We headed for dinner and then to visit Mom at the hospital. Mom looks great and was adamant she will be discharging ASAP. Period. And Mom owns McKeesport as Lisa, my sister-in-law, says so she got her way.

Hotel and swimming... bed and up to visit with the Boyds who drove down from Erie to visit!

We visited Mom at the hospital first thing in the am. She was dressed and standing over the nurse at the nurse station asking yet again when her doctor would be coming in to discharge her. Mom humored me by letting me lecture her with my very best discharge planner lecture but in the end she and we knew she was going home no matter what her doctor planned on telling her during rounds.

The Boyds joined us at the Carnegie Museum of Natural History. It was great to see Scott and the kids again. Such a nice family. Natalie and Tori are about the same age, as well as Aaron and Nicholas. Leah thinks she is around my age and is so mature for her young years. I whole-heartedly enjoy her company. After spending the good part of the day with us Eric headed back to Glassport where he made Mom a yummy dinner much to her joy. Scott and I had the kids in the pool when Eric and I switched out. I went to be with Mom until she was tucked in to her bed, happy to be home. The boys (Eric and Scott) kept me and the kids up way to late (LOL!).

The morning (Father's Day!!!) came too soon but we jumped in to the pool anyway, ate a leisurely breakfast at the hotel, had a pillow fight, and grabbed lunch before the Boyds headed back up to Erie to spend Father's Day with grandpa.

We were at Mom's home after lunch were I took a nap (:-)) and awoke to Buff, Mary, Matt, Michael, and Stephen playing with E, N, & T. They brought their cool bean bag toss (VERY high speed Pitt sports team themed!). I think I was the only one who tossed the poor bean bag over the neighbors fence. But Matt was my hero.

Buff and Mary made us all dinner, awesome! We enjoyed the down-time with family. Mom was so happy to have family milling about and relaxing in her home.

We headed back to Buff and Mary's where we spent the night and met Cloe, the newest addition to the family!

So now it's morning. Nicholas is still sleeping, Tori is playing with the cats and dog while watching TV, and Eric is visiting with Mom again before we head out to the zoo with Mary and the kids. I love to see the kids spending time with family!!! We miss that connection. The Pater's are good to let us interrupt normalcy when we breeze through town.

On the road again to PA

Dinner with Radhika was just what I needed! Nicholas, Tara and Tori were great friends fast of course. It was wonderful seeing Dr. Joglekar as well. Made me happy.
We are on our way to Pitt to pick up Eric & visit the Paters. Mom Pater is coming home after her heart surgery so we thought it would be a good time to visit.
So the kids are gonna see their Dad for Father's Day!

Day off. Extended.

We hung out at Veronica's Wednesday until she was able to take Tori to get her nails done... a special Aunt Veronica treat. After entertaining the whole salon in true Tori fashion we all went to Chili's for dinner and Dave and Buster's for Nicholas' special treat from Aunt Veronica. I think V and I are finally getting our hearing back and the kids may be coming off from the high of kiddie gambling! The kids did not get to bed until after 11:30! Such a wonderful day with Aunt Veronica for all of us.
So I had planned on heading in to Baltimore, MD today but I do not have the energy. It is a rainy day and I need to take a day off from adventures. I am washing clothes, reorganizing the suitcases, and figuring out what I need to do when and why. Oh and I plan on finishing up Veronica's garden today which makes me REAL happy. I think well in the garden. :-)
Plans for this afternoon: chillin' and Dinner with Radhika, Tara, and Dr. Joglekar! I can not wait to catch up. !!!

D.C.!

We got up as early as I could tolerate and headed in to D.C. via the train. That was fun in and of itself of course. We saw and did so much..
-Admired Union Station
-U.S. Capitol
-Smithsonian Air and Space Museum where we focused on the and the "How Things Fly" hands on room, "Exploring the Planets" room, and the "Wright Brothers"room. Laura reminded me to get the kids dehydrated astronaut ice cream!
-National Gallery of Art where we, um... saw art, had lunch in the cafe, and I took a picture of the kids in front of a fountain Mom took a picture of me and my siblings in front of when I was around their age.
-Washington Monument
-WW II Memorial where we found all the states we have lived and will live.
-Lincoln Memorial where we watched a school from Newark, NJ recite Martin Luther King Jr.'s Civil Rights March speech. It was so moving! I love when little, unexpected things happen like that.
-Korean War Veterans Memorial
-The White House (in the distance)
-and the Spy Museum.
We were soooooo tired since I was too cheap to pay for a trolley! A quick grocery shop after getting back on the train and we enjoyed a late dinner with Veronica before hittin' the hay.
Such a fun-filled day!!! The weather was PERFECT. warm and slightly overcast. Could not have ordered better weather.

NJ, Delaware, and Maryland again!

After a relaxing morning with Chip, Sue & kids we packed up my car and were off again. As nice as it was to be with family I was really looking forward to continuing our adventure.
We decided to drive back down to stay with Veronica in Maryland. Aunt Veronica is spoiling the kids ROTTEN!!!
I did not get to take the kids on the Cape May-Lewes ferry or to see D.C., or to the Baltimore Aquarium for that matter! So we had no choice but to turn around.
Cape May was beautiful. adorable. The kids tried Salt Water Taffy for the first time and liked it! The ferry was perfect. I saw a dolphin but the kids missed it.
We got to Veronica's kinda late but had a little visit before bedtime.