The Start of Summer

This is the first summer I have looked forward to in a long time.  I usually prefer the organized structure of the kids being in school, having homework, going to bed earlier.  :  ) But something about warmer weather and a looser, more relaxed lifestyle sounds so appealing.  Unfortunately, my office still expects me to work 40 hours a week, so "more relaxed" is going to be a relative term.  

We spent Memorial Day watching S and her Girl Scout troop walk in a parade.  Poor S (and poor me) had to wake up at 6:00 am for a 6:30 am pickup by her troop leader.  Her troop leader deserves the most sympathy for hanging out with nine 7 & 8 year olds from 7:00 a.m. until the parade started at 10:00 a.m. We were very lucky to find a nice, shady spot under trees to watch the parade.  The troop was handing our candy down the parade route, and I told S it would be nice for her to try to give some candy to her sisters as she walked by.  As she walked past, S smiled and waved at us and then immediately walked to other side of the street!  It was so funny and so perfectly S.  She said later that she was told to stay on the other side of the road to keep the girls from clumping up together.  E & G got plenty of candy of other people in the parade, so don't feel too bad for them.  This is the best picture of S I could get.  Do you see the girl on the left in a white shirt and brown sash who looks like a street lamp is growing out of her head? Yep, that is S.  I know, I should be a professional photog.  

Here are G and E enjoying the parade (and the shade).  G is on her phone- shocking.

S saw a couple of school friends she knew in the crowd as she walked the parade route, and I think it made her feel extra special.  She said they were yelling and waving at her and she liked it.  She's already a pop star in her own mind, so she should really be used to the attention.  : ) And side effect of waking a kid up at 6:00 a.m. and having them walk over two miles in the heat is they tend to fall asleep on the couch pretty early. 

S & E started summer camp on Tuesday and have field trips every week.  Just this week, their field trips have been playing in the park and jumping on trampolines.  Maybe if they keep this up, we won't have later bedtimes this summer after all.  

No Rest for the Weary

I came home last Friday night after spending two of the last three weeks out of state on work trips.  My first trip was to Miami, where I greatly appreciated the 80 degree weather and incredibly delicious Cuban food. It was also a (rare) treat to a) travel with other people, and b) travel with people I like.  Like, enjoy having lunch and dinner with them kind of people.  I took one solitary picture while I was in Miami from a moving car (no, I was not driving at the time).  Actually, the prettiest view I saw of Miami was on the Miami people mover train thing that carried me from the terminal to the rental car center.  I would have taken a photo there if I wasn't afraid of looking like a tourist (horror).

I was home for a week after that, then went to White Plains, NY.  I was extremely lucky to take the train into NYC and have dinner with one of my favorite people, who happens to also be my aunt.  We celebrated Cinco de Mayo at a Mexican restaurant with the most amazing taco sauce.  They also served fantastic watermelon basil margaritas, of which I may have had more than one.  I took this photo of Grand Central Station on my way home to dazzle my kids.  They were duly dazzled.  I even overcame my fear of looking "touristy" as I figured most New Yorkers are not impressed by anyone anyway.

My flight home on Friday was cancelled due to low lying thunderstorms.  Ordinarily, I would be very upset about a last minute change in plans, but considering my plane in and out of White Plains was of the 17 row tin can variety, I was fine with it.  I was able to get a later flight out of LaGuardia and switch my return of the rental car there.  Unlike typical heavy and slowed down Atlanta traffic, the drive to LaGuardia was heavy traffic but still speedy.  Even going through the toll booth was...efficient.  One fabulous thing about LaGuardia was their gate areas.  Every little table had an iPad with free (free!) Internet access and plugs to charge up your phone.  There was even a a credit card swiper to pay for food and drinks if you wanted to order something off the iPad.  It was probably the nicest gate area I've occupied in quite a while.

Upon coming home, little kids wanted all my attention and Hubs wanted some peace and quiet (ha!).  As school comes to an end, there is a constant stream of pre-K graduation, awards night, field days, final exams, and trying to cram every last bit into the year.  It also happens to be my absolute busiest, most time consuming project time of year at work.  I'm very happy to be home, but I will be even happier when I can take some time off.  There is a massage table just waiting for me.  : )