l-r: Kerri, Me, Erin, Shannon, Megan, Heidi, Cindy, Kate
Nothing can replace friends that have known you long and know you well. It was a long trip up to PA, but it was perfect.
Jim didn't get out of work early as we'd hoped, so our trip began just before 6:30pm. That meant that after avoiding DC traffic and a quick dinner at Chick-fil-a (we got a free ice cream cone for singing a song!), we arrived in Hazleton, PA well after midnight. Not to worry - almost everyone was awake, awaiting for our arrival! So began our weekend.
Saturday we awoke to the pitter-patter (read "loud and happy noises") of our friends' 11 kids. We made brown bag lunches and headed to the lake for swimming, dock-jumping, kayaking, paddle-boating and sandcastle building. After returning to the house and putting the kids down to nap, the guys had kid-duty while the girls went to the pool for a little more chit-chat and sun. Then we switched places - they went out for some basketball and we made dinner.
After melting a spatula on the grill (flames and everything), we enjoyed a delicious dinner of burgers/dogs, homemade baked beans (yum, Shannon!), salads and watermelon. The evening progressed into Wii tournaments, a fun game I don't remember the name of, and a birthday party for Kate and I! Oh, and lots of talking. I'm amazed at how easily we can all simply "hang-out" without any pretenses. Just good friends catching up after a year and sharing our joys, concerns, and the latest news. I still kick myself for not staying up later with the die-hard night owls, but I suppose I was catching up after the night before. To my credit, it was still "late" - maybe even 1?
Sunday morning the kids let most of us sleep in until after 8 when we enjoyed a breakfast of bacon, egg and cheese biscuits prepared lovingly by our husbands. And eat we did. I'm not even sure what we did with the leftovers. We had a ton.
Next, the photoshoot. Every year you have to get one, right? Cameras flashed and cheeks hurt, but we got them all. The Everyone pic. The Kids pic. The Guys pic. And of course, us Girls.
Then our goodbyes. Always sad, but plans for next year are already in the works.
Jim and I then took the opportunity to head east to check out the new Cigars International store. Let's call it what it is: a cigar mecca. It's basically a big walk-in humidor that you shop in, smoke in, and enjoy free wi-fi in. They even have cigar lockers that you store your previously bought cigars so they're ready to use when you come to hang-out with your buddies. Like a cigar bar. Crazy. Jim loved it.
Afterwards we began the long trek home which included too many thunderstorms and a spontaneous dinner with the Crane's, whom we hadn't seen since their wedding. Eventually we finished the rainy drive down 95 and turned into the driveway just before midnight.
Today I took a 4 hour nap.
4 comments:
Sounds like a fun weekend! I was thinking of you several times this weekend, hoping you were having a good time catching up with everyone.
Cigar land sounds like it would be Jim's favorite place on earth... like his own Disney World.
I get such joy when I think of our kids (you and Jim - and Lifeatthecircus and our son) getting together with your high school and college friends for weekends. Friends are a "Good thing."
Love Ya!
It sounds like you had a great time! I'm envious of your 4 hour nap today, LOL!
Those egg sandwiches sat out until the last possible minute and then we tossed them :(
So glad you guys were committed to being there, despite the long trip (any longer than usual for you though?). Also - it was definitely at least one on Saturday night and two on Friday. So you did a good job of staying up!
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