Back from Vacation

We are back from our whirlwind tour of the east coast and we had a great time. We saw lots of family, ate great meals with fabulous company and even did some sightseeing in NYC.

We started out around 1 pm and drove the 10+ hours to Maryland to visit my sister Stacie, her husband Paul, niece and nephew Bridgette and Craig. We had to stop more often than usual to let Jenna get out and crawl around. But we made it in about 11:30 or so. We were happy that the drive was uneventful although we were all happy when it was over.

Highlights from the trip include watching Bridgette compete in a 5K race, having some alone time with my hubby while Aunt Stacie, Uncle Paul, Bridgette and friends watched Jenna (dinner and Harry Potter), getting to see my brother's house for the first time (it's a lot bigger than I thought it would be!), playing with Sayer and Miles at their house (such a treat to spend time with them in their own surroundings), staying up late to talk to my brother and sister in law (about everything and nothing), swimming in Aunt Stacie's pool for the first time (if only for a little bit), seeing Stacie and Bridgette's reaction to Times Square (they didn't think it would be so lit up and so busy), hearing about Phantom of the Opera the day after (thank goodness Bridgette said she liked it better than the movie. It is one of my all time favorite musicals. I still cry at certain parts of it), and watching Uncle Paul entertain Jenna while the rest of us ate (she isn't just a lump anymore).

The only bad things about the trip were Sayer waking up in the middle of the night complaining about his ear hurting (turned out he was okay, just swimmer's ear from swimming twice a day at day camp), Craig totaling his car the night Stacie and Bridgette went to Phantom (he is okay too, although I think his pride was injured), and Bridgette coming down with strep on the last day of the vacation (antibiotics seems to have cured that right up). And of course the 28 hours spent in the car in 7 days with an 8 month old.

It was worth it! Thanks to everyone for their hospitality. We had a great time. It was a nice way to spend a week with my family.