This weekend, the kids and I are leaving my dear-husband-with-the-bum-leg home and heading down to Virginia to see my brother and his wife.  Since I immediately began to panic when I realized that “A” would not be making the trip with us (and by that I mean DRIVING), my sister and her husband have agreed to put their lives at risk and be my passengers.  My parents are driving separately from us and with good reason I’m sure.

It’s the bazillion lane highway near DC that is giving me a case of the bubbly guts.  It’s just too many lanes, too many cars, and too many choices.

But anyway, I’m very much looking forward to this trip.  We are celebrating both my brother and his wife’s graduation from whatever Master’s programs they were attending.  It’s a great accomplishment for both and one that I should probably know the actual terms for but I don’t.  But I do know that a great time will be had by all as we get to catch up with family and friends.

Not to mention that they are expecting their first child(a little girl!) in October which means we get to see their nursery and look at all the cute baby stuff they’ve accumulated so far.  With Kiki about to turn 8 in a couple of weeks and AJ already 3, I feel like the baby stuff for us was so long ago.  I’m sure we will all be looking at the teeny-weeny outfits saying all the “Ooohs and Aaaahs” that go along with little things. I love it!

And don’t worry about my husband.  I have my neighbor checking in on him periodically throughout the weekend.  I’m sure he will be just fine.  I think  he is very much looking forward to a weekend of peace and quiet although he is pretty good at downplaying it for me.  But I see through it!  And who wouldn’t want a quiet weekend to themselves!?  Enjoy it, love!

Avalon 2009

For more Wordless Wednesday pictures, head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom.

Well, the trip to Las Vegas that I agonized over for months has already come and gone.  I made it there and back in one piece, completely unscathed.  And I had an amazing time! Who would have thought!?

I only cried slightly when we left.  I managed to have myself completely composed by the time I walked out the front door.  I didn’t panic at all during the 4 hour and 50 minute flight out.  When we landed in Las Vegas, people in the plane started yelling with excitement.  One woman even started singing “Viva Las Vegas.”  I’m sure her little outburst had absolutely nothing to do with the six pack of beer she pounded down during the flight!

So much happened in the 3 days that we were out there that I couldn’t possibly type it all out.  I’ll think I’ll do some bullets with the finer points.

• The weather was in the 90’s and sunny.  It was such a nice break from the weather that we had been having in PA.  Although we came back to a crazy heat wave!
• I loved walking through all the different casinos and shops.  My MIL and I walked around a lot while my husband and FIL played some tables.  Lady Luck was not on our side this trip at all! Not one of us came back any richer!
• The Venetian pumps some strong perfume throughout their casino to cover up the cigarette smoke.  It is excessive to the point that you can start to taste it the longer you are in there.  I think I would almost rather smell the smoke!
• For a people watcher such as myself, Las Vegas is like heaven.  It is overflowing with all sorts of interesting characters providing hours upon hours of entertainment.
• Battista’s Hole in the Wall is a little Italian restaurant with a 90 year old accordion player named Gordy.  He is adorable and I was contemplating bringing him home in my suitcase.
• Every night, my in-laws stayed out later than my husband and I did.  We would be exhausted and call it a night, and they would stay out a while longer.  I think initially they thought that they would hold us back.  They did not at all.  In fact, I think we might have been the ones holding them back!
• We saw Criss Angel’s Cirque du Soleil show “Believe”.  We had heard many negative reviews about it but we all kept an open mind.  It ended up being a great show! I would recommend it!

As wonderful a time as I had, hugging my children when we got back was awesome! I’m so glad we went, but I did miss them!

I want to thank my in-laws for going with us.  It was great having you both there to help me experience Las Vegas for the first time! I will go back with you guys anytime but I’ll have to practice staying out later for the next time!

I want to thank my parents for taking care of Kiki and AJ.  I was able to relax more and enjoy the trip because I knew they were in good hands!

My husband took amazing pictures while we were there.  More to come…

My list of lessons this week are completely random.  Some are serious and some…not so much.

1. My husband and I leave for Las Vegas in two weeks.  Normal people would be jumping up and down with excitement at the mere thought of spending quality time with the love of their life sans kids.  I have learned…that I am apparently not normal. I’ll give that a minute for that to settle with ya!  I am anxiety ridden with the thought of leaving Kiki and AJ.  I know they are in good hands because my mom is coming to stay with them.  But my thoughts are more along the lines of: What if we don’t come back? What if the plane crashes? My kids would lose both parents AND a set of grandparents because we are taking this trip with my in-laws.  I know once we get there, I will be ok.  But when I leave that morning, should anyone see me as I depart the house, they may think I am on my way to a funeral rather than a fun-filled vacation!

2. I went to a Pickle Purse party this past week.  For those of you who may be unfamiliar with such parties, you basically design yourself a purse.  You choose the style, which is anything from wristlets to beach bags (with some wallets thrown in), the fabric, the hardware, pockets or no pockets, one strap or two, pickle logo or no pickle logo.  The choices are endless!  I have learned…that Pickle Purse parties stress me out with all the choices! But I think I designed a gorgeous one and I can’t wait to get it! I’ll have to put a picture up when it arrives so you can marvel at my wicked designer skills! HA!!

3. I learned CPR (again) and how to use an AED device properly. I may have passed the written test with a 100%, but the real test would be having to actually use what I was taught in an actual event.  When you turn our AED device on, one of the first things it says is “Calm down.”  If only it had a hand built in that would slap me in the face as well!  Then I know I would be able to focus on the task at hand!

What did you learn this week?  To see more, head on over to Musings of a Housewife.

It’s been a great week. We’ve relaxed on the beach, spent a day at a family friend’s pool, and hit the rides in Ocean City. Memories have definitely been made.

After my crab incident, my husband got a nice little present from a seagull on his shoulder while sitting on the beach. And while we were walking the board walk at Ocean City, my sister-in-law received that same present from another seagull! The critters around here are out of control!!

We will go to the beach these last two days and then head home tomorrow night. Unfortunately, we received word that my husband’s great aunt passed away unexpectedly this week so on Saturday morning we will attend her funeral. It just goes to show you that we all need to savor family time and cherish the memories that we have of one another. Ok, I’ll get off of my soapbox now and share some photos with you.

Kiki is sitting by herself on the musical express in the first picture. She is such a dare devil! I am just amazed that she went on that ride by herself and even threw her hands up in the air as it went around. Since I can’t stomach those rides, I watched from the side lines in awe at her bravery but also more than a little frightened that she was going to fly out the side!!

Today sitting on the beach, talking with family was your typical day on the beach. Until I met my new BFF. My father-in-law got up out of his chair and is staring under my chair. Obviously, this is not normal behavior. So we all start asking what he is doing.

F-I-L: Is that a…?

Me: A what?

F-I-L: Is that a crab under your chair?

Me: A WHAT???

F-I-L: Now don’t panic.

Don’t panic! I’m thinking it’s just a matter of seconds before a portion of my rear end is missing!

So I say: I need to get out of my chair!! (Panic creeping up in my voice.)

F-I-L: Well, go ahead. Just do it slowly.

At this point, slowly doesn’t exist. I catapult out of my chair like I’m trying out for the Olympics and make a run for it. As I slowly creep back up to my chair to observe my new buddy, my husband is taking pictures of him. Needless to say, I am going to be checking under my seat for the rest of the week.

We got down here this afternoon with only a small amount of expletives released until we reached our destination. By the time we unloaded it was too late to get the beach. So we hung out on the deck catching up with everyone. After dinner my brother-in-law and sister-in-law went to Atlantic City to see a show. So we walked down with the kids to the local five and dime store to stack up on beach toys for the week. We stopped off at an ice cream place, where I forgot the camera!! But you can just imagine the cleanliness of 4 youngins ages 2 to 7 eating ice cream. It was swell!

As I type this out on the deck, I’m being teased by this great bar on the corner. It’s all lit up with pretty lights and calypso music fills the air. It’s calling my name. But, sadly, I must decline as I’m tethered here by the kids! Oh well, there’s always another day!

I was delinquent with getting pictures of the kids devouring their ice cream, but I did manage to snap one of the house we shall call home this week.

I’ll be in touch!

That would be my father-in-law peering out over the deck. I think he was trying to sneak in some peace and quiet. A task that is pretty much impossible this week!

Lucky for you, I’m not really singing. Even if I was, you couldn’t hear me so it’s a win-win for you readers. Anyway, tomorrow we leave for the beach. To be truthful, I haven’t been that psyched about it because I was putting everything off until the last minute. Now that I’m making headway tonight I’m starting to get excited. My mom asked why I do this to myself every year, meaning put things off until the last minute. And my answer to that is…I don’t know Mom, GOSH!!

So we go to the shore every year with my husband’s parents, his brother and his family, and then us. Making it a grand total of 6 adults and 4 kids. We spend our days at the beach and a different activity in the evenings. One night we will take the kids to the rides in Ocean City. Another night my in-laws are watching the kids so we can go to Atlantic City. And the rest of the nights are usually walking into town for ice cream and shopping. And once the little ones go to bed then the adults settle in for some sort of card game. Which, can I just tell you, can get pretty vicious!! Ahh, memories!

My plan is to continue to post from down there. I’m not cool enough yet for guest bloggers!! Maybe someday. But until then, I’ll be in touch.