Dear Blog, I missed you.

I think this is a record for the longest stretch between blogs, things have been CRAZY!!!!!

I mean if you know me, you know my life is crazy anyway, so for me to say that, you know it has been insane!

Well I got back from my trip to Boston and started getting settled into my little happlily crazy life, when totally unexpected and out of the blue I got a once in a lifetime opportunity from my parents to go to Guatemala with them!

And...after praying and thinking and more praying, I accepted!!!! Which set off a whirlwind of events that can only translate to C-H-A-O-S times 12.
I had to find caretakers for my kids, Halloween stuff, covering my work shifts, convincing my sweet husband to have the kids all to himself for the 10 days, carpool, Primary program rescheduling, picking up a million hours to make up for the time off, house in order, etc, etc, etc!!!! So that is where I have been. I have not forgotten you my dear sweet blog and 2 readers. (okay maybe 3 :)

In the middle of all this insanity, I have been trying to maintain as much normalcy in my kids' lives and reassure them that things are just fine, mommy is just losing her mind, that is all, it will be back later, I hope.

Here are a few of the happenings~

Jasmine graduated from her little tumbling class:

We went on a little outing with my work to Wheeler Farm and froze while we rode a tractor ride and picked pumpkins:

We spent and afternoon with our good friends the Skidmore's:

And Jasmine had her first Joy School Fieldtrip at Gardner Village:

She loved petting the animals and seeing the witches all over the village!

And now in two days, I shall be on my way to this:I can't wait! It is my first time back in 13 years!

Trip to Boston

Last week we got back from another fun visit to Boston, the land of so much to see!

I remember what it was like living in the D.C. area when I was a little girl and feeling like I had the whole world at my fingertips because we would drive a few hours each weekend and literely be in such a unique and different place each time! (I think that is where I got the travel bug btw). Well that is how I feel about Massachusetts. This was my 6th visit, so not new to me and can you believe there are still so many places I haven't seen? I miss the east coast.

Our trip began with a bit of an adventure. We got to New York (JFK) on time for our connection to Boston but then because of my error, such a slight overlook of a little sign saying go that way, I went the other way, through the revolving doors and bam! we were trapped, we were suddenly at the baggage claim and had to go all the way through security all over again! Did I mention we only had a 30 min window to get to our connecting flight? I turned around and pleaded with the security guard (who's job it is to divert people from making this very same mistake) and he said no, he would not let us through again, but only after taking the earphones out of his ears! I typically do not make a habit of begging in public, especially to complete strangers, however in this case I was willing to make an exception. But my efforts were in vain because no amount of begging and pleading could change this man's mind and allow him to open the one little door standing between us and the hallway that would take us to the connecting flight.

Then things got really comical because after begrudgingly going through security again or the "strip search" as my dad calls it, we go up to meet Jonas only to find out that they changed the gate on us so we could have just stayed put right where we were in the first place when we landed from our first flight! Neverthless we darted back on the shuttle that would take us there and ran all the way to the back of the terminal only to be informed that the flight just left! ahhh!

Now I really started to laugh! The thing of it all is that there are flights almost every hour from JFK to Boston so it really was no big deal, it was just too much run around for 4 adults and 2 children at the unsightly hour of 5am eastern, 3am our time! Well needless to say, we needed a bit of rest when we finally arrived at my brother Derick's cute little home on Thursday morning.

That day was spent on the boat, and it was a beautiful day for it! It was in the 80's. Jonas got to try Wakeboarding again which he was dying to do and he got up with so much ease it was sickening. I was so proud of him out there, he did awesome!

Then Friday was picturesque day because I felt like I was in a postcard everytime I turned around! We decided to take what's called the Mohawk Trail up to Vermont and and try and see some changing foliage. But turns out there was very little change so far, too bad for us. We stopped at this bridge and my daring dad walked down a cliff of dense forest almost to the river itself.

We then stumbled upon an Emu farm and decided to stop by and take a look. Jonas and I felt right at home as it reminded us of our beloved Aruba:) After that we went across the street and had lunch at the cutest little place and ate outside because it was a beautiful day. Derick and my parents even ate an Emu Burger!

Then we were off to Vermont, ah the land of the pretty. My brother keeps insisting that I don't want to live there but I will keep dreaming about it anyway. It is just so beautiful! We saw quaint little towns and bridges and churches, and divine little shops, trees and bushes! Ok that's enough.

Then Saturday we went to the famous Colonial Faire

where people are all decked out in Colonial attire, pretty fascinating to watch. Later we did lot's of shopping including a visit to the newly redone mall because we are small mall people. (family joke) The next day was church and then a yummy guatemalan dinner at the home of some friends. We just kind of relaxed that night and packed and watched old family videos. It was so nice to be together. And just as fast as the trip came, it was over!

Until the next one that is...