Home again!

We have come to the portion of our summer when I've returned from visiting friends and family in Delaware and I'm wondering why I don't live there. But with school starting in a month and band camp starting today for MK, the running around has begun and we're getting back into the routine here.

MK loved the Brandywine Zoo and the sloth, along with several other animals. It is a very small zoo, but the setting is absolutely beautiful. It is set by a river and the word to describe it was LUSH. The weather was perfect. Rain threatened but didn't bother us at all. We had Grotto's pizza for lunch and Dairy Palace for dessert, two Delaware institutions that just scream "home" to me. On the 3rd my brother took his younger son, MK and me to Northeast, MD to watch fireworks. It was a total taste of Americana and we sat on rocks by the water and watched fireworks on all sides. My parents hosted a July 4th party for some old friends and we had a great time catching up and watching kids from 1 - 17 running around and swimming and having a great time. My sister in law and I had our annual crab feast and we had enough for two days of picking. Others joined in, but she and I are still the champs.

There was a "first" for us. We missed our flight home! I only fly twice a year and this had never happened before, but in hindsight, I'm glad it did, because I now know what to do. We left in what should have been plenty of time, but there was a lot of construction traffic so we just made it to the airport in time to check in. The skycap told me to hurry and tell the people that we were on the 8:30 flight. We hurried as much as you can with a 3 year old who is too heavy to carry and too little to run very fast and told the people at security that we were on the 8:30 flight. They directed us to the 8:30 line and I thought it wouldn't be so bad...until I noticed that what I thought was the end of the line was only the middle because it wrapped around a corner. The woman behind me was friendly and she sounded like an experienced traveler, so she assured me that if we missed the flight, the airlines are usually accommodating. We made it to our gate in time to hear the airline employee tell the woman in front of me that the pilot wasn't allowing anyone else on the flight. Yikes. But the airline was accommodating and quickly booked us on later flights, no questions asked. In fact, they had to put us in first class, so we didn't exactly suffer. Wow...the stories are true...first class really is different!

And for those of you who know me, you know that I run into people I know everywhere. Here was an almost...the friendly lady from the line missed her flight too, so she was booked on our flight to Atlanta. She sat by us while we waited and we started talking. Somehow the subject of West Virginia came up, which is where my parents grew up. She mentioned that she grew up in Clarksburg, WV and I mentioned that I had a lot of relatives there. (Two of my dad's sisters married brothers and between them had 21 children, many of whom are married with children and still live in the area, so I really meant A LOT of relatives.) She asked their last name and I told her and she knew the families! One of my cousins, Joe, had been her tennis coach and she said she'd had a huge crush on him. So, Joe, if you're reading this, Robin Williams (the girl not the actor) says, "Hello!"

And now we're home and I can't believe you're still reading this. But if you are, thanks, and let me know some adventures you've had this summer!!!

Have a great day!