What we've been doing

The theatre kids at school and I were invited to participate in "Ham it Up" at our local library. MK and T. Willy both helped, and we had a lot of fun. We led the kids in some acting games, and I was so proud of my personal kids as well as the theatre kids who helped. We heard some nice feedback, and the best part was when we were browsing the library when it was over, and a kid went out of his way to get our attention and wave. That really was the best compliment.

T. Willy has been swimming and having fun, and MK had color guard camp this week. She was named a leader this year (flag sergeant specifically) and is having a great time helping and being a part of some of the decision making. She is leaving on Friday to go on a trip with a friend of hers to Georgia. We will miss her but know she is in good hands.

Let's see if I remember how to do this

I have been absent for awhile. We have been sick. I was sick in Delaware. T. Willy went to the doctor last Monday with tonsillitis, and we spent most of the day at the doctor and hospital with MK thinking she might have appendicitis. After a few tests, we found it was something different, and she was given some prescriptions, and we were sent home. She is still feeling pain, but her medication is helping.

T. Willy is feeling better, and we are enjoying our summer. We did very little last week, so we have some things planned this week. I'm hoping we all stay well enough to enjoy them.

Pictures today are of the plate that the Big Man had made for MK's car, and the other is of T. Willy sleeping because he just doesn't get cuter.

Short but sweet

We are already going home tomorrow. I'm ready but wish we could have done more while we were here. I was sick the entire time! I can't believe it. I haven't been sick in a couple of years, but I spent this trip coughing and hacking. I even went to the doctor, but she thought it was viral and didn't prescribe anything. I'm feeling better now, but my cough continues.

No matter. We did get a couple of trips to Dairy Palace and Cheesecake Factory, my brother did senior pictures for MK, and we visited with friends and family. We just didn't make it to Capriotti's - sorry MM - maybe another time.

I'm not looking forward to the drive home, but I am ready to sleep in my own bed. Here are a few pictures of our visit.

The long and the short of it.

The short: we left Florida on Thursday. We stopped that night to visit family in North Carolina. We arrived in Delaware last night.

That may be all you want to read. It's all true, and it explains what you need to know. In writing we call it "the main idea," but without supporting details, it doesn't make for much of a story.

So, here is the long of it.

We left Florida on Thursday for our big adventure. Our travelers are MK, T. Willy, MK's boyfriend, MM, and me. We rented a car (okay, mini-van, but I insist I am not a mini-van mom;)). We had a mostly uneventful trip on Thursday on the way to see my mom's sister. I showed the kids some familiar sights along the way, and it went really well. GPS is a wonderful thing. We had a couple of navigational errors, but we arrived safe and sound.

My aunt invited my other aunt and cousins and their children, and it was a lot of fun. We caught up and watched the kids play in the yard and roasted marshmallows and listened to an orchestra of frogs that finally grew so loud that it forced us inside. It was a lot of fun, and it reminded me that it's been too long since I'd visited with the family.

We were exhausted so hadn't set an exact time to leave on Friday. I'd mentioned 7, but we didn't get on the road till about 8:30. I wasn't feeling well, so I'd woken early, taken some medicine and gone back to sleep.

I had planned the trip so that we could drive through the town where we lived when MK was born: Statesville, NC. I showed her the hospital where she was born, the apartments where we lived, and then we went to the restaurant where the Big Man worked. I was so excited to be there that I told our server our reason for going, and she has been with them since they opened and remembered him! I didn't expect that, but it was neat.

Then we drove...and drove...and drove. Good grief. I-81 was so much longer than I'd remembered. My dad had given me directions to avoid the traffic in DC, so I was really glad that it required getting off of the interstate for awhile. It was a really pretty drive. We stopped for a photo op at "Dinosaur Land." We have pictures of my brother and me there as children, and one of MK as a toddler, so it was nice to add T. Willy to it (and MM.)

We ate and filled the gas tank and went on our way, and just ahead going up the hill to Harper's Ferry, WV, was gridlocked traffic. I debated getting in it because I wasn't sure if it was just moving slowly or not at all, so I pulled into a produce stand and waited. I was so glad I did. We bought some grapes and waited it out. A man gave us an alternate route, so since the traffic wasn't moving at all, we decided to try it.

We didn't even make it a mile when the traffic backed up going that direction too. By now we realized that we were going to be there for awhile. We were able to pull over into a parking lot while we waited it out. Eventually we realized that traffic was moving in the direction we wanted to go in the first place, and we easily got back on the road and kept going. We were so glad that we went that way too, because it was beautiful!! The rest of the trip was uneventful, and we made it to my parents' house around 10. Late - but safe.

MM has lived in Florida all of his life. He has never been to the Northeast, so he saw some new states and scenery. He and the other two were great but weary travelers, and they are ready for some fun before we do it all over again on Thursday.

So here are a few pictures taken along the way.

My poor poor neglected blog.

How I miss you! Yet it's been so hectic and crazy that I never think to post. That is behind us now - school is out, and we don't go back till August. Since MK will be a senior (she was in elementary when I started blogging) I choose to live in denial all summer - kidding - I'm thrilled that she did well in school this year and is ready for her next big adventure. T. Willy also finished second grade well, and we are ready to relax.

We are starting our summer with a road trip! We are heading to Delaware to visit my family and stopping in North Carolina to visit family there on the way. I'm driving, because the Big Man will be staying here to work, so please pray for me! The trip will be halved by stopping to see family, so I won't be driving the thousand miles straight through.

Then who knows? Rest and rest - my plans for the summer. It's great to have a job I love plus get some extended time off too.

Speaking of my job, I needed to take a test that I'd put off for quite some time, and I finally took it last week. I was so nervous, but I passed! So the picture for today is from my results.