Family Time

Had such a wonderful week with T while she was home and I absolutely hated to see her get on that plane back to Memphis.  The weather was AMAZING while she was here and we did some relaxing, some rollercoasters and some sight-seeing, too!




She flew into BWI late Thursday night and we woke up early Friday and headed to Hershey.  It's an easy drive from our house, almost 2 hours exactly from door to door.  The weather was absolutely perfect, low 80's, not a bit of humidity.  The lines were short and we rode all the big rides, had a nice lunch and even took in the sea lion show.  Lots of silly laughs and screams and the big joke of the day was whether or not I was tall enough to ride some of the rides (I am a "twizzler" so yes, I was tall enough!).  T and KJ had figured out where all the cameras were on each ride so they would do funny faces and goofy poses.  http://www.hersheypark.com/




Saturday we spent the day at the pool and grilled.  This was T's first time here in the summer so she had never been in the pool before.  Just a nice, relaxing day.  That night we had Jimmie Cone.  Sunday we went to a Miss Maryland trunk show.  I didn't originally want to go but ended up having a fun time.  T got to meet several contestants and Miss Maryland 2013.  She tried on a few things and bought two cute dresses -- a white one and a red one.  Monday the girls met Cosmo for lunch and did some shopping and then we met him for dinner at our favorite Mexican restaurant. 


Tuesday the girls and I spent the day at Mount Vernon.  The last time T was there she was in the stroller . . . I guess she was around 15 or 16 months old and KJ had never been.  We had a wonderful day walking around the estate and had a nice lunch.  I'm such a history geek and totally love that stuff!  http://www.mountvernon.org

Move it Along Folks

So crazy to think that at this time next week I'll be both homeless and unemployed! We've had a super busy week with parties, dinners and get-togethers saying good-by to friends. Cosmo came home last weekend and we had a huge blowout at the house. It was so good to see everyone -- neighborhood friends, lax friends, Hoover friends, volleyball friends, work friends, even friends from Cincinnati! All I wanted to do was clean-out the bar and get rid of our liquor. Somehow, I'm +6 bottles of wine which is amazing considering we threw away 4 huge trashbags of nothing but beer, wine, rum and tequila bottles. Say what you want about the Cos family but man! We can throw a party! Lots of toasts, lots of shots.

I had all the chicks in the nest last week which may not happen for a long time. T drove in Saturday morning and of course her daddy had to make her favorite macaroni for dinner and I had to make her favorite chilli cheese dip for the party. She had to be back in Oxford early Sunday morning so it was a quick, emotional trip for her. It hit her hard that she will never come home to this house ever again. We had a long talk Saturday night (morning???) and I told her it's just a house. It's just four walls. Memories are made any where and every where. It's what's you keep in your heart.

KJ had a ton of kids over Saturday night, too. Naturally it ended in a cake fight. Sunday she spent the day w/ her sweet friend Mo shopping and doing fun girly stuff (I think strawberry shortcake was dessert of the day). Monday KJ got her eyebrows waxed and we did some last minute stuff (shoe shopping), Tuesday we had a relaxing evening getting pedicures (hey! a girl's gotta look good for her first day of school!). Wednesday we met Jo and GW for dinner at the Mexican place and Thursday we had dinner w/ The W Women. Tonight KJ has a b-day party to go to, she'll probably have some friends sleep over and tomorrow she heads to BWI so she can start 8th grade on Monday! Whoop! Whoop!

When we lived in Madrid there was a group of gypsies that lived near our apartment complex.  I am too young to remember this of course but my mom and dad said they roamed across Europe.  I may have been secretly switched at birth and swear I have some gypsy blood in me.  I like to keep moving, I don't like to be stagnant or complacent.  I like to try new things.  I like to read about new places, different people.  I like a little chaos in my life.  It's fun to mix things up a bit. 

I am so absolutely awful at good-byes and totally dreaded my last day at the hotel.  I work(ed) with an amazing group of people and we always had fun no matter what.  Lots of laughs and a lot of silliness.  The girls and I had a nice quiet lunch, no fuss and I tried to sneak out as best as I could.  One of the ladies I work with said, "You and you're family always go on the best adventures!" and I kept that with me all day today.  This next chapter in our lives is definitely going to be an adventure and I'm really looking forward to it! 

"It's time to say goodbye, but I think goodbyes are sad and I'd much rather say hello. Hello to a new adventure." == Ernie Harwell

MD

Totally forgot to blog about my quick trip to MD last month!  I flew in to BWI Thursday evening and Coach and I had a great dinner at Uncle Julio's at the Washingtonian.  Friday I did a few things while Coach was at work and that night we had a wonderful time walking around Mount Airy and had an alfresco dinner at the Laurienzo Brick Oven Café.  I had the lobster and shrimp ravioli and it was to die for!  I totally lucked out and had the most amazing weather while I was in MD and it was so nice to sit outside and enjoy my husband's company! 

Saturday evening we had dinner at a sports bar so we could watch the lacrosse game and then we went to see Despicable Me 2.  Sunday morning we drove into Georgetown for brunch at Martin's Tavern.  We sat in the Madeline Albright booth and had mimosas.  http://www.martins-tavern.com/index.cfm 

We walked over to Georgetown Cupcakes but didn't go in.  It hadn't opened yet for the day and the line was about 50 deep already.  Next trip I'd like to go to http://www.macaronbee.com/

After brunch we headed to DC and went to the Marine Corps War Memorial just outside Arlington.  From there we headed over to Jefferson Memorial.  We found a great parking spot and walked around the Tidal Basin.  After a quick little nap we headed to the airport and I had a great flight home!  Quick weekend but just what I needed!

Memorial Day

According to Wikipedia, "Memorial Day is a United States federal holiday which occurs every year on the final Monday of May. Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving in the United States Armed Forces."

Also according to Wikipedia, "Veterans Day is an official United States holiday which honors people who have served in armed service also known as veterans.  It is a federal holiday that is observed on November 11. It coincides with other holidays such as Armistice Day and Remembrance Day, which are celebrated in other parts of the world and also mark the anniversary of the end of World War I." 

Wikipedia also goes on to state:  Veterans Day is not to be confused with Memorial Day; Veterans Day celebrates the service of all U.S. military veterans, while Memorial Day is a day of remembering the men and women who died while serving.

 

 

While there does seem to be a distinct difference in the holidays, I do think it's important to honor, respect and remember ALL of our service men and women. 

We had a very nice couple of days and loved having a 3-day weekend.  Coach flew in from Baltimore Friday afternoon and we had a nice family night.  Saturday morning Coach made bacon and eggs for breakfast, T worked at the lax store and had a couple of graduation parties to attend to while KJ and I got pedicures so we could be "sandal worthy."  Saturday night we joined friends for their weekly steak dinner.  The last time we were at their house, a huge possum walked by their front door and scared the heck out of all of us so the big joke was "were we eating steak or are we eating possum?" 

Sunday Cosmo made French toast for breakfast and Sunday he got Bagels.  Love when the
bagel boy is home!  Monday Coach and KJ went to TreeTops out on 280 for some father/daughter bonding time and then we all had Outback. 

 

Coach's flight back to BWI left BHM at 6 AM.  Daughter #1 got up at 4 AM and drove him to the airport.  Such a good girl.  She worked at the lax store this afternoon and took KJ with her.  After work, they headed downtown to the Baron's gamel  Some good, quality sisterly bonding time.