Yesterday we took a vacation day from work and spent the day with Helen, a friend of hers, and the kids at Martha's Vineyard!  We left about 9am to get to the ferry in time for the 10:45 departure.  We thought we would have plenty of time but as it turned out we got there with less than 5 minutes to spare before the ferry took off!  Talk about your close call!

Here are the crazy kids "posing" on the bus to the ferry!  They are so funny.  I just love them :)




It was SO windy that you had to brace yourself on the side of the ferry or the wind would try to knock you back.  Just check out the crazy hair:





Once at Martha's Vineyard we hit the beach by the big bridge.  It was cloudy and windy and not very warm for a beach day but we enjoyed it anyway.  It was low tide so no wave action and the sand was very rocky.  I can't say it was my favorite beach but it was fun to watch the kids bury each other in the sand, play in the water, and jump from the high bridge :)  Cristian thought it was SOOO funny that the boys gave Charbel "boobs" out of sand when they buried him.  LOL...We heard about Charbel's "boobies" ALL day..







After leaving the beach we headed into town for lunch.  Lara caught some pretty shots on the walk.  We ended up eating at this little Thai Food Cafe.  The food was pretty good but no Edamame and boy was I craving some Edamame! 











We stopped for some Homemade Ice Cream and at a gift shop where we got the COOLEST shirt and Pirate sign for Cristian.  He also decided he had to have a Pirate Flag on a stick that said "Surrender Yer Booty" which he carried all over the place and even had it in his hand when he fell asleep on the way back on the ferry.  He is too cute.  He had so much fun with his cousins.  That was only his 2nd time at a beach!




See that shot of the Seagull I captured?  That little culprit flew overhead and POOPED on this little kid's face while he was hanging over the side of the rail of the ferry looking at the water.  Poor kid...it was funny but only because it didn't poop on my face.  I felt bad for him but man...what are the odds?

We had a fun vacation day... :) 

Cristian is loving having his older cousins to romp around with all day.  I am dreading August 12th when we have to go back to Texas. He is going to be so sad to leave them.  :(  I wish he had cousins and family around where we live.  It is a whole different childhood experience to grow up with cousins and all kinds of family around than to grow up without them and I hate that he won't get to have that.  They are so great with him too.  Such an awesome group of kids. :)

Cheers,

It has been a while since I have sat down and published anything on here.  Since it is 1am and I am not even remotely interested in going to sleep I thought this would be a good time to catch up.

We landed in Rhode Island a little after midnight yesterday.  It is funny how familiar surroundings send you shooting down memory lane.  I really hate that feeling.  A lot has changed since I have been here - things have been built, torn down, added on...Post Road doesn't look the same at all. Looks different but still feels the same...funny how something as simple as a place can be so unsettling.

My nephews have grown so much it is unbelievable. The oldest seems so grown for his age.  It saddens me in a way because I feel like I have missed out so much on their lives.  We have never lived close and I hate that because I miss out on all the day-to-day important parts of their lives.  They are just the sweetest kids.  Cristian has had so much fun with his cousins. He is just so happy.  I love seeing him smile and laugh like that.  His older cousin actually taught him how to tie his new shoes with laces all by himself in less than an hour. Not only did he grown up on me but he was able to do something I have been trying to do with Cristian since he was in Kindergarten!  I couldn't believe it!  Now - they need to teach him to ride a bike without training wheels and catch a baseball and we are good to go :)  He is going to be so bummed and sad when it is time for us to go back to Texas.  He never has any family around back home...no cousins to play with, no aunts or uncles to visit with...once in a while he gets to see his grandparents but that is about it.  I will miss him having all that here too. 

We all went to the movies this evening to see Harry Potter in 3D and it was actually pretty good.  It didn't follow the book entirely but I still enjoyed it.  It was nice to get out for a little while.  The weather here at night in MA is so beautiful...it cools down to the 70's and there is a cool breeze.  Now that is something you don't get in Texas in the summer.  Last week at midnight it was still in the upper 90's and so humid.  This is definitely a nice break from all that. 

Lara and I took Thursday off as a vacation day and we are going to join my sis and her family on a trip to Martha's Vineyard.  That will be fun and it is something I have never done.  I think that we will hit the beach this weekend too.  I can't wait for that.  I want to go to Newport at some point.  It is just so peaceful and pretty there.  That is one thing I really miss about living in Florida...the beach.  I used to love to sit on the sand at the beach at night and just listen to the sound of the waves crashing and the seagulls chatting...it was so peaceful and soothing, especially when I couldn't stop my mind from racing about things.  I really miss that...for the longest time I couldn't sleep without the dumb "sound of the ocean" cd I used to have...

I sure could use those ocean sounds now.. :)

Cheers,
M E