Summer Summary

Yes, another season! I am loving this fall already, and it's only just begun. I had the opportunity to turn my a/c off for an entire week, which is a HUGE novelty for anyone from the Gulf of Mexico area of the U.S.

I am so sorry it's been two months since my last blog. I've been all over the place lately. At the end of August/beginning of September, my parents came to visit us here in Virginia, and we had an absolutely fabulous time hanging out together. We all went to Boston, Massachusetts for a few days and then headed to Lancaster, Pennsylvania for a few more. It was a FANTASTIC vacation.

Boston was fun. We kind of kept to ourselves and followed the historic walk through downtown. Naturally, we ate clam chowder, drove through the Harvard area, and got lost a few times. Other than that, it wasn't a hugely impressive time. It was a chill out, get reacquainted with Grandma and Grandpa time. Let's just say that was VERY successful. Thing #3 definitely got "Gamma" down in no time at all. Grandpa ended up just being "Dada" with a finger pointing at the proper one. :)

It was Lancaster that we had the best time. Probably because we were staying a lovely bed and breakfast instead of the cheapest hotel I could find on priceline.com. I managed our budget to make that B&B possible, and boy am I glad I did! We stayed at Stumptown Manor, hosted by Carl and Sharon. They were SO wonderful. We discovered that Lancaster has a lot of hipness as well as old-schoolness to it. It was cool to explore and observe the Amish lifestyle during the day and hang out at the downtown arts and crafts night out in the evening.

Anyhow, that's about it for the "official" vacation. Here in NoVA, we took my history buff dad to the Manassas battlefields and visited various siblings of his a few times (Things #1 and 2 LOVE their "huge" family). The big girls got back in the swing of school, and Mama and I visited the cafe at the Tysons Corner American Girl. Pricey, but YUM! :)

Two weeks after their departure, Thing #3 still wakes up and goes to the guest room looking for Gamma and Dada. It breaks my heart, especially when she's upset about something and looking for Gamma. She really enjoys video chat with her grandparents. Thank God for technology!!!

Challenge: Call or video chat with special family members this week.

-Domestic Goddess out.