The Gang's All Here!

The Gang's All Here!

Wednesday, July 31, 2013

The Old Stomping Grounds

The kids and I had a wonderful trip to Virginia! The kids were GREAT in the car and other than our last leg of the trip, (that was ugly, between Stella's headphones running out of batteries and Simon screaming most of the way - poor kid has an ear infection) they really were awesome. It was fabulous having a chance to catch up with friends and family (and sorry to those I missed, there's just never enough time!). I finally got to meet my nephew Nate, who is seriously the happiest, cutest baby ever. The kids were really excited to meet and play with their newest cousin. The weather was also perfect so we spent the majority of our time outside, which is my favorite place to be. It was just like the Virginia summers I remember from growing up. We took the kids to an apple orchard (tons of fun, by the way!) and I was struck by how beautiful it is back home. It's amazing how much I forget by not being there. As often as we made fun of Winchester (That would be "Funchester" and "Fred-neck County" to those who are local) growing up, it really is a beautiful place. Why did we call it Funchester? Because, back in ancient times (or the 80's and 90's) there was NOTHING to do there, hence the name. I'm proud to say that Winchester has come a long way since then!

Some highlights of our trip included a fire truck ride (my kids minds = blown - they were beyond excited), swimming at the "Pirate Pool" or as Stella pronounces it, Purt Pooool, and shopping. Oh, my children are masters at shopping. I'm not sure if Toys R Us knew what hit them. They were also introduced to Sweet Frog, which is a very yummy FroYo place. Stella just "naturally" assumed that we should eat there everyday. Left to her own devices, she may have actually been able to talk my parents into it! One of the other really cool parts of going home, was having my kids meet the kids of my good friends from back home. It was so much fun to see our kids playing together, a new generation of awesomeness :) I think the part of our trip that brought me the most unexpected joy, was stopping at JMU with the kids. Stella was VERY excited to see where I went to school. She charmed everyone in the bookstore and managed to keep up a very spirited one-way conversation the ENTIRE time we were in there. Where does she get that from??? It was a beautiful day, so I decided to hoof it over to the quad with the kids which was so worth it. I was so excited to have them with me and be able to show them such an important part of my life. And, can I just say WOW, I can't believe how much campus has changed! I hadn't been to JMU in about 10 years (way too long, I know). Campus is as beautiful as I remember (probably more so), but it just seemed so big!

I'm still having car drama, but we made the trip without any huge issues. Stay tuned to see how all of that plays out. I made the mistake of going to Target today and ran smack into the Back-to-School madness. I completely forgot that most of the schools around here are back in session beginning next week. How is it already August?!?! So, much to Stella's dismay, she ended up in the cart too because Target was completely out of control. I couldn't even park where I normally do...madness I tell you!

On Friday I meet with my oncologist and then I have a pre-op appointment with my plastic surgeon. I can't believe my surgery date is almost here!!

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