Summer Time Fun

I’m back to work this week; the boys are back to school next week. We are all trying to soak up as much sun and fun as we can before the stress of tests, homework, training, work, booster club, and life get in the way. 

After Freshman Orientation this week, Keagan hung out by the pool with a group of friends, to include his girlfriend Madilyn in the purple suit. On our way to soccer tonight he said Ms. Amber makes killer subs and I need to look into her recipe. 😂

Evan went to the beach with a group of three or four families - to include his girlfriend Madalyn. He says he didn’t miss me, but I’m certain he’s not telling the truth. I mean these pics clearly show his misery. 😂

On Sunday, Wes and I hosted our dear friends from Virginia, the Davis Family. It was so great catching up with them. It was as if days had passed instead of years since our last visit. 

This week is the official start to fall soccer season. It truly is the only way I can easily say goodbye to summer. 

House # I Lost Count

It’s been one week since we flew back home from vacation and spent our first night in our new house.

 All of our boxes are unpacked, the laundry is done, the pantry is stocked, and the pictures are hung. My dad did much of the work putting together beds, moving furniture, hanging pictures, changing plugs. He may never come to visit us again. I don’t understand, though, I let him rest every evening for a couple of hours. 😂

The grandfather clock was delivered last night, and we pick up our newly painted tables on Friday. The new buffet should be delivered next week. The built ins will be added to the loft in the next two weeks. And the screened in porch should be done in the next month. 

My sister and her family spent the night with us after driving through the area on their way home from vacation. I found this on my phone tonight. 

I hope I’m helping them move next! 

I’ve got four days to rest before I go back to work on Monday. This has been the most eventful, crazy, busy, unexpected summer - ever! I feel like it has been years since I’ve been to work, and yet, I still need another month to tie up loose ends. 

Keagan Funny

Keagan and I were in the car driving down a four lane highway. On the side of the road lay a dead opossum. Keagan says, “Did you see that? Was it a possum? What was he doing? Sunning on the asphalt on this nice day?” 

😂 a Possum sunning! 

Where does he come up with this? 

Saturday night he went to a quinceanera. Look at these cuties! 

NSLC

After eight days, I finally have Evan back home. He loved his week at the National Student Leadership Conference. He met so many people who share a common interest in the love of sports but who also had very diverse backgrounds. 

He was challenged to think critically; he was forced to evaluate his stance on pressing social and moral issues; he was exposed to lifestyles he could have never imagined; he was pushed outside of his comfort zone; he toured a city he had never seen before. This was a wonderful experience for him, and I’m so grateful he had this opportunity. 

Final Day

It has been nine days since we left home. Eight nights in hotels. Eight days of constant moving, walking. We’re ready to be home! Our last day, though, began at Union Station, where we picked up a train that took us to Harlem and then the Bronx. 

By the time we picked up Keagan’s second breakfast (he’s eaten so much food this week!), Evan was ready to check out of his NSLC conference. He was filled with so many stories, experiences, and eye-opening encounters. It was a wonderful week for him. The first thing he said to us, though, was, “I’m sleep deprived.” 

Keagan is not sleep deprived, but both boys fell asleep on the subway. 

We traveled from one end of the city to the other to find Battery Park and catch the ferry to Liberty Island. 

My years long awaited trip to see The Statue of Liberty had finally arrived! 

We had tickets to climb all 1900 steps to the crown. It was almost too much for me; I considered turning around when the spiral staircase became tight and looked like this. Then the wind started to blow and I could feel the tower sway. I could hear a young boy crying and thought I just might, too. Keagan was running up the stairs like a billy goat. Evan was bent down at the knees crouching trying to avoid hitting his head. 

But I pressed on and we made it to the highest point, the crown! What a feat! What a view!

We took the ferry to Ellis Island. I was captivated by the stories of our nation’s earliest immigrants and the hardships they faced. 

I loved the Ellis Island museum, but Evan was done at this point. I came out of the museum to see this. 

We walked over 68 miles this week. We have no traction left on the souls of our shoes. We miss the Southern hospitality of home. We want to sleep in our own beds. We miss the dog and cat. But WHAT A WEEK! We saw and did more than this blog can possibly document. We are forever changed by what we saw on the streets of these two great cities, what we learned in the museums and historical sites, and what we experienced with such diverse people. 

Our next vacay takes us to Peru. Travel. See the world. It will change you! I promise.

Back to the Big Apple

We antrakked back to The Big Apple today. While on the train, we sold our house on Edgewater and bought a house on Dixie Bee. 

As soon as we got back to the city, we headed straight for Chinatown! It was as if we were in a different country. The kids were leaving Chinese school. The vegetable stands were selling dried fish. The signs on the stores were spelled using Chinese characters. 

We ate dinner at Wo Hop on Mott Street.

We then walked just a few street up to Little Italy where we grabbed gelato. 

We walked along the Brooklyn Bridge along with every other tourist in town. 

We are back in the room - on the 40th floor - getting ready to watch the sunset. 

Tomorrow we pick up Evan! It’s been a lifetime since I saw him last!!

Boston Day 3

Our last full day in Boston; the only place (except maybe Colorado) where you can take deep breaths and get high with the locals while taking a simple stroll through the city. Seriously, no one seems the least bit bothered by the use of marijuana.

We began our day at historic Fenway with a stadium tour. 

It was 1:00 at this point in the day, and Keagan was already asking for a nap. This whole week has mirrored life traveling with a 14 month old - frequent needs to both eat and sleep. I told my 14 YEAR old, “We’re only in Boston once. Pretend to have fun and maybe go to sleep before midnight.” My nocturnal teen can’t comprehend that cause/effect relationship. He wants to know when we get back on the four hour Amtrak train. 

Next up was the aquarium at the harbor. There were way too many people for this to be enjoyable. I swallowed my own advice “to have fun” and suggested we move on to something without toddlers in the midst.

So we took a harbor cruise. This was by far more enjoyable, for me anyway. Keagan fell asleep before we left the port. 

John Hancock’s building - the second oldest building in town behind Paul Revere’s house

USS Cassin Young

USS Constitution “Old Ironsides”

Boston Harbor

At this point, the boys were ready to go back to the hotel. I could have grabbed a “soooda” and people watched in the park while taking deep breaths. Nobody was up for that kind of fun, so I made them take one more picture. 

I love this city - the architecture, the history, the cleanliness, the food. I was only thrown for a loop with the abrasiveness of the locals; there is no warm Southern hospitality here!

Tomorrow Keagan’s dream of taking his four nap on a swaying train comes true!