Vacations Were Meant to Be Relaxing, Not Hard Work!

Well, it's been a long time but we're finally back from our whirlwind vacation. It's my first chance to post in all this time, and I'm going to do my best to try to recap. There's been a lot of livin' in these last few weeks.

First, the girls' turn on the theater boards was wonderful. Their "Seussical" performance before we left for vacation was fabulous. Had a wonderful time, they were great, and Michelle, Josh, Jacob and MaryAnn were able to make the evening performance. Ice cream at Friendly's followed and Auntie Shell presented her Baby B with Brigid's own Shrek doll so she doesn't have to take the Shrek movie boxes to bed with her any more. Aside from the fact that the doll says, "Better out than in I always say" it's a wonderful addition to our family. Thank you, Auntie Shell!!

We left on the 27th for Buffalo via Syracuse, trying to break up the trip so it wasn't an all-day marathon for the baby. It worked out well, and we just relaxed at the hotel. Brigid had a great time in the hotel pool. I would hold her on the side and count, "One, two, .... three!" and bring her in the water on three! She laughed and wanted it "'gain! 'gain!" She started counting, "un, ooooo, eeeee!" as she was pulled from the ledge into the water. It was very cute.

We made good time to Buffalo on Saturday and since Grandma Wright had to work that night anyway, it was a good time to meet up with Chet and Marilyn and have dinner. The Residence Inn in Cheektowaga was nice -- we've been there before -- and had a two-bedroom suite. It's the only way to go. Very comfortable and big enough for us all. Dinner at a nice Chinese buffet around the corner with Chet and Mar was lovely. It was nice to come back to the room and be able to relax and chat in the "living room" while the girls went to the pool and Brigid ran around entertaining us.

Sunday we went to Mass at Nativity -- a very different experience from the Nativity of my childhood. It was built in the mid-1960s when churches were modern, but it has been renovated since then and looks awful! The altar area looks like a tag sale of furniture all over the place. The choir sits in these weird raised seats off to the left and the organ and piano are thrown over there as well. Just weird. Had a priest who was very hard to understand -- he was foreign -- so it wasn't a very satisfactory experience for me overall. But we had the afternoon at Grandma's to visit with family and play catch-up with everyone. The kids had fun playing around the yard, with the exception of Patricia who had a nasty fall off a playground merry-go-round when they went to the Harris Hill park. Otherwise, the day was capped off when Connie and Tim brought his mini (horse) over for everyone to see. He had been at a show that day so we didn't get to see them during the afternoon. He did very well at the show, and the kids loved seeing his passion up close and personal.

We made plans to meet Tim and Stephanie at their grandpa's barn so he could show us the rest of the minis and Stephanie could let the girls ride her horse, Tonka. The next morning, we picked up Grandma and went out to the barn, which is quite an impressive operation. Tim was great, answering questions and showing us around like a pro; Stephanie was very gracious, giving the girls rides on Tonka in the ring. Thanks to the cousins for their wonderful hospitality! We then planned a trip to an old 5 and 10 store in East Aurora, Vidler's, to poke around. That was a lot of fun, but there is no such thing as a 5 and 10 anymore, unless you're talking $5 and $10. We had a nice visit with Sandy and Cassandra as well and re-grouped with them later at the Build-a-Bear store in the Galleria Mall, which was conveniently located across from the hotel. Girls got new animals for their collection. When we got back to the hotel, it was nice to be able to tell the girls they can go down to the pool without worrying about us going with them.

We went to the Buffalo Zoo on Tuesday, meeting up with Grandma, Sandy, Cassandra and Emily (another cousin). It was hot, and the animals were a bit lazy in the heat, and the zoo was doing some major renovations so we didn't get to see all the animals we usually like to visit, but it worked out fine. We didn't have to be there all day as a result and were able to go back and relax at the hotel following the trip. We first took the girls to Johnny Rocket's at the mall for lunch, something I promised and something they've come to expect when we go to a mall where there is one. Then girls swam while the baby took her nap and I just relaxed by the pool. The girls watched Brigid that evening for us so we could go to dinner for our anniversary -- 18 years! They watched "Shrek the 3rd" in the room and Brigid was in Shrek heaven. Dinner at a place in Williamsville called Eagle House was OK. It was nice because we were able to eat outdoors. Food was OK, but it was more about being there alone to celebrate our anniversary that made it so special.

We stopped by 8590 Sunset to say goodbye to Grandma before getting back on the road. That day was going to be a marathon trip back home. We stopped for lunch in Syracuse; stopped for dinner in Glens Falls; and made it home in time for everyone to fall exhaused into bed. Thursday, Patricia had an orthodontist appointment, so she, Brigid and I stayed in Plattsburgh and Jack took Margaret up to the lake for the night. Patricia, Brigid and I had a girls' day and night, did a few garage sales on Friday and then headed up to the lake ourselves. Saturday we went to the Franklin County Fair, which was OK -- more to look at than at the Clinton County Fair, but not so much more. I look forward to the fair in Vermont. It's not as large as the New York State Fair, but it's a lot bigger than anything else we have over here. The girls had to serve at Mass at St. Peter's on Sunday, so it was back to Plattsburgh Sunday morning, go to church, then grab a bite to eat before we went back up to the lake for one more night. On Monday, it was raining so we poked around in Chateaugay shopping a bit and after dinner, the girls and I went back to Plattsburgh (Jack stayed one more night at the lake). I had an appointment in Albany on Tuesday, so we all went down and got a jump-start on school shopping on the way home. It was a long day, but it was fun and fruitful as far as clothes shopping goes. I'm back at the grind at work as of today. Whew! What a vacation! I need a vacation from the vacation.

Two new developments on Brigid's part, however, and they both happened yesterday -- at least that I was able to mark definitively. She played real, true Peek-a-Boo with her hands covering her face. She started over the weekend, but yesterday she got it down. Very cute. And, she started nodding "yes." She knows how to shake her head "no" but yesterday she started nodding "yes." Again, very cute.

She turns 17 months on Sunday. Hard to believe where the time has gone. But if you look at the last two weeks, you can see how packed our time really is.