Visiting the East coast

As I noted in my last post, I was home for one day from Colorado.  Then I hopped on another plane with my mom and flew to Philadelphia.  My older brothers both live just outside of there which makes it nice easy to visit.  This visit, though, served a dual purpose.  My mom and I were planning to come out around the 23, but one of my sisters-in-law was running in a half ironman and my brother was going down to be here support.  Of course, that meant that they needed someone to watch their kids.  Since they were going to be gone overnight, they wanted to be able to leave their kids at home and not have to go to a friend's house.  That meant that my mom and I got to go out 10 days earlier than planned!  The kids were so excited to see us and they were so wonderful.  We got to take the to church, and watch online as my sister-in-law finished her race.  Since our initial plan was to be there around the 23 in order to prep for our family reunion in New Hampshire, we just stayed.

The saying goes that visitors are like cheese.  They stink after 3 days.  Well, my brother and his family must be saints because they were stuck with us for 2 weeks!  It was nice, though, to just watch them live their lives.  We were a part of their daily routines and I just loved it!  We went to the store, watched swim team practice, went to the pool, the museum, and so many other awesome activities.  It has been so much fun to just watch my nieces and nephews grow over the couple weeks that we have been here.  I watched my niece swim in a meet and learn how to be part of a relay team.  I also got to watch my nephew swim in his first race.  The other coaches were saying he wasn't ready to swim in a meet this year, only in the warm-ups, but his coach kept pushing him and he was ready!  Previously, he had only swam in the lane closest to the wall so he could grab on if needed.  He would swim on his stomach for a while, then roll over to his back to breathe, and keep swimming.  Well, they put him in lane four, right in the middle of the pool.  And he swam the whole way!  It was a very proud moment.  It just helps solidify in my mind that I want my children involved in some type of activity or sport that pushes them and helps them grow socially, physically, emotionally, and mentally.

We also got to take one of my nieces and nephews to the Deleware Museum of Natural History.  They were so excited to show us around.  We saw animals, dinosaurs, carbon atoms, etc., etc., etc.  I really enjoyed watching the kids learn and grow.  I love sharing learning experiences with kids.  You get to impart your own knowledge and help them gain a deeper understanding of the world.  It is pretty awesome.  Then to be able to explain how important carbon atoms are and help build an example one and how how strong it is was a lot of fun.  Then, as the aunt, I knew I had to do some spoiling and buy my niece and nephew something at the gift shop.  So, I let them each pick two items.  They each chose a stuffed animal (a wolf for my niece and a hammerhead shark for my nephew).  Then they each chose another item.  My niece chose a little notepad for pictures and notes.  My nephew chose this painting kit that had two white, resin dinosaurs.  I was expecting him to just go home and paint it, but as we were leaving he turned to his sister and asked her which dinosaur she wanted to paint.  It was so sweet to watch them share.  Definitely a good learning opportunity for me as I think about my own future children.  It is essential that they spend time around other kids, and have siblings, If possible, to learn how to share, be kind, and have that amazing and deep love of family that I have with my brothers.

My mom and I also got to spend a couple days in New Jersey with my other nieces and nephew from my oldest brother's family.  They were heading up to New Hampshire early because we were going to my sister-in-law's lake house for our family reunion.  So, we came over for a couple days to watch the kids while my sister-in-law packed and got ready to go.  Then we had a couple ore days back in Deleware before heading up to New Hampshire.  We also had some fun because you can't go and spend time with little ones without having a great time!  We went to the tall ships summer fest in Philadelphia.  It was hot and crowded, but still pretty cool.  I had never been to south Philly before and I really enjoy seeing new places.  It was a cool little area with little restaurants and shops and row houses.  It would be fun to live in one for a little while.  I don't know that I could do it for a long time because I like my wide, open, spaces.  Well... It was a bit of a bust because there was some delay that meant the ships didn't do the parade when they were supposed to so we didn't get to see the giant rubber duck that the whole thing is famous for.  That was okay, though, because I was able to spend time with family and that pretty much makes it all worth it!

It is nice to spend time with family and see multiple parenting styles.  It means that I have a lot to draw on when my time comes and I get to see the personalities of my own little ones!

Beginning of summer

What a crazy summer this is turning out to be and I couldn't be happier!  I finished my second year of school at the end of May, and then early in June Jer and I headed off to Colorado for a wedding and family fun.

Things were a little crazy at first because we were in wedding central.  Our good friends (we think of them more as family) Howie and Ambur got married.  We were excited to be there.  They live in Texas but decided to have their wedding in Colorado where Ambur's parents live.  It was a beautiful ceremony and awesome party with just family and close friends.  It was really sad when it was over because we extremely enjoy spending time with them and were sad they had to leave the day after the wedding.  After that we spent a couple days with Jeremy's dad just relaxing and Jeremy learned some welding techniques (his dad is an AMAZING welder).  We got to visit I Jeremy's brother and his wife, as well as their four kids.  We had a big barbecue, laughed, and went for a bike ride.  Of course, it became pretty competitive and there was a big race.  Jeremy and his brother, along with one of our nieces, were so into it.  One of our nephews was just along for the ride to laugh at them.


Later, we went up to Denver to visit one of Jeremy's oldest friends.  We had a nice barbecue with him and his wife and a few other old friends.  It was really nice to all just be able to talk and for Jeremy to catch up with old friends.  It is also incredibly fun to see them because they are hilarious and we always have a lot of great laughs.  It always feels nice to just laugh hard and release any pent up emotion.  Laughter really is the best medicine and is generally better than a good cry.  The next day we went to the Denver Museum of Nature and Science.  They had an amazing Egyptian display with two mummies.  One of a poor woman and another of a rich woman and it was so fascinating to see the difference.  I bought some papyrus paintings to use in my classroom.  Then they had a special exhibit of mythical creatures which was really cool.  It had mermaids, unicorns, Griffins, sea monsters, dragons, etc.  and it showed all of the different ways these animals are depicted in different cultures and the different myths about them.  I'll be honest, I was completely geeking out.  We went into a few other exhibits like the space one and the African animals one.  We would have gone into the South America exhibit, but there was this MASSIVE rubber Anaconda at the entrance, and it completely freaked me out.  I don't know what it is about snakes, but I have a completely irrational and debilitating fear of them.  Just looking at this fake snake from the other end of the hall put me into a minor panic attack.  I figured it was best to just avoid that area.  So I did.  We went to the gift shop where I picked up the papyri paintings, and a Chinese dragon statue, as well as a fun European dragon magnet that was on springs and all jiggly.  As we left Jeremy slipped a bag to me and inside was a heart shaped rock painted blue and with the word "LOVE" painted on it.  He said I could put it on my desk and always remember how much he loves me.  (Insert awwwwww here).  He is a pretty amazing guy.

Unfortunately our Colorado trip had to come to an end.  It is always so sad to leave because it is so relaxing and wonderful to spend time with Jeremy's family.  They are so loving and kind.  You always feel welcome and know they have your back.  I was definitely blessed with some of the best in-laws in the world.  I couldn't ask for a more amazing family to be a part of.

We returned home and I spent one day re-packing and resting before I headed off to Deleware and New Jersey.