Family Reunion

We try to hook up with the family on our annual trip home. This year I left my camera inside. Can you believe it? I have personally taken no pictures of the event. Fortunately, my cousin Dana had her digital camera and she was snapping shots like crazy because after two years of ownership, she finally learned that the camera has a zoom function. :) Before she left, I snagged all of her pictures and here are the highlights...

She got a really cute picture of Sanjay and Sam (my youngest cousin, starting 9th grade this year). It's rare that you get either one of these boys looking at the camera, much less with a smile on their face.



You're more likely to end up with a photo like this when these two are your subjects.



She also got this lovely one of Priya... can you tell she just loves having her picture taken?



Among all the photos, I found a LOT of blurry ones and some great candids where no one is looking at the camera and some people are even picking their noses. Just kidding, but Dana is kind of known for walking around with the camera and just snapping away. You have to be careful. This has to be the best one from today... I cracked up when I saw it. What the heck is my Dad doing with that bungee cord? :)



Actually, I did have my camera out when our first guests arrived. Here they are: Cuteness Squared.



Let's do it all over again next year!

Deep Creek Lake

We spent a couple of days this week with my Aunt Weezie and her family on the lake in Western Maryland. Great weather, great company and great fun. We took the boat out every day and although the anchor didn't do a great job of holding us in place, after cruising around a bit on the lake, we'd look for a cove to go swimming and just cut the engine and enjoy being out there. Neither Sanjay nor Priya much enjoyed their tubing rides at a snail's pace (you can see the fear on Sanjay's face), but they did have a fun time overall. Here are the promised pictures of the tubing, my cousin water skiing and the extremely hot firepit where we roasted marshmallows at night. :)

Four Days...

at Nana and Pappy's house will do this to a little boy in the late afternoon.



We've been picnicing with old friends, biking, swinging, pony-riding and swimming in between all that. Tomorrow we're heading to western Maryland with Aunt Weezie and family to bask in the sun some more and maybe do some tubing behind her motorboat. Come back for photos of those adventures.

The Girls Who Knew Me As Sandee

Way back in elementary school we were on the same bus route, we were neighbors, we had slumber parties at each other's houses in the small town that was Frederick in the late 1970's. Everyone knew each other. The "thanks for letting me pass" wave on the one-lane bridge off Shookstown was often received by someone you knew. A lot has changed around here since then with the suburbs of DC sprawling to accommodate all the people that live and work down there trying to escape the dreadful traffic that has made the I-495 beltway famous.

After high school, I lost touch with these girls. Again, it was Facebook that brought us back together and sparked this mini-reunion at my parent's place. They all remember our house before the renovations (in 1997) so it was a lot of fun to show them around and watch their reactions to the extra square footage. While sipping on Mojitos and Gin and Tonics, we talked about the good old days. We reminisced about the kindergarten big-wheel trek that landed me grounded for the first time in my life at age 5. We talked about playing fast food drive-thru by circling on our bikes around the trailer parked in my parent's driveway. We discussed our childhood phone numbers and how they are still ingrained in our brains. These were the days before cell phones when you had to memorize phone numbers or - egads - actually grab a phone book to look them up. We remembered the time we had our first taste of beer by sharing one can of Coors between several of us and those days at Prospect Hall dances where we hid drinks in our trench coats to sip on between singing along to "Blister In The Sun" and "Dancing With Myself". Then, we followed up with how we hope our children make better choices about certain things than we did. It was fun to see the personalities of "the next generation" and how, for example, Kristen's oldest is not-at-all like her. She may look like her Mommy but is so much more outgoing and talkative.

It was so much fun that we're already planning what we'll do different next year, and we are hoping to see some more of the girls and their kids before we head back to Colorado. Here's a shot of us on the deck. Unfortunately, I don't have one where everyone's eyes are open. :(



Besides swimming and eating, we threw in some pony rides. Karen still lives within walking distance of my parent's place so she brought over Cassie (who was not thrilled with the plan) to take the kids for a ride.



For more photos of the day, check out the album on Facebook.

Hiking Lily Pad Trail

We like to take the Lily Pad trail from Wildernest into Frisco, then bus back. The hike takes us about 2 hours with kids in tow, but it's mostly downhill so that keeps the complaining to a minimum. If the weather is warm enough, reaching Frisco promises a paddle boat ride on Lake Dillon.

Here's a brief four minutes of our two hour hike in the mountains. Enjoy!

Silverthorne, Colorado

It's like every other American city... only with better backdrops.

Mommies Don't Get Sick

Until now, I think I've left my kids with the impression that Mommies just don't get sick. I've been able to just suck it up and push through with the daily grind of cooking, cleaning and getting the kids off to school, without them even suspecting that I might not be feeling well. Not this time. The laundry which I started on Saturday still sits half-finished on the hall floor (3 days have passed). Some of you would say that has absolutely nothing to do with my illness, but I assure you this time it does. On Sunday I got the early stages of a cold... the dreaded sore throat. The sore throat always lasts longer in Colorado; I suspect because of the drier air. So on Monday morning I woke up as usual and went to work out knowing that the sore throat would eventually pass. Probably was one of the poorest decisions I made that day.

Afterwards, I spent the remainder of the morning on the couch with a blanket and heating pad trying to stay warm. By 2pm it finally struck me that I should really see a doctor. Having waited so long, all the appointments were taken so I'd have to wait until 8am this morning to be seen. The sore throat grew worse overnight and by 8am my voice was weak and I was looking forward to getting to the doctor's office. Throat swab results: positive for strep. As a youngster I was a seasoned pro at strep. I contracted it ALL the time. I remember specifically the doctor telling me (perhaps I was in 5th or 6th grade) that if I got strep one more time, they were going to have to remove my tonsils. This is indeed the first time since my doctor revealed that tidbit that I've had strep. Mind over matter? Perhaps, but either way... having strep is way more miserable than I remember. I spent the majority of yesterday and today in a fog, barely able to swallow and napping as often as possible. Thank goodness for great neighbors and friends who delivered me tea and took my kids for hours at a time. And, Bartee took over the cooking and nighttime routine with the kids. Besides the fact that I felt absolutely miserable, it was a nice mini vacation from Mommyville.