May 31, 2013: Went to the library with the girls in the AM and read books with Em. Cameron came over for lunch while Karissa and Jen headed out. We moved some firewood, cut down a tree, caught a few ground squirrels, and Em ended up dancing in the rain… in her skivvies.
For dinner, I told Jen I was just in the mood for something light…. Quinoa fritters and coconut fruit salad? This girl is unreal.
May 30, 2013: Ground squirrel trapping begins. I caught 7 today, and was releasing them down past the creek on our lot. Justin said I was probably catching the same ones again and again… so I spraypainted one’s tail blue. 3 hours later, he was back. Time to load them up and take them somewhere else!
May 29, 2013: Another day, another goodbye… Matt’s packing up and heading to Colorado! I’ve enjoyed getting to know him over the past year, first through mutual friends and then later on our winter basketball team together! He’s a great dude, and CO’s lucky to have him. Safe travels friend, keep in touch!
May 28, 2013: The day that’s been circled on our calendar for weeks… but we’ve been trying to not think of. Saying goodbye to the Goeglein’s. Really going to miss having them down the road and seeing them every week! They’ve been a huge part of our lives for nearly 2 years, and we’re so excited for their move to Michigan… but it’s definitely bittersweet. Visit often! Gotta keep Graham thinking about those Ward girls… ;)
Went on a bike ride this evening for FroYo. Was so sweet to see the girls riding together :)
May 25, 2013: Historic Soulard Market, followed by Zagat’s #1 rated BBQ in the USA … Bogart’s. It’s funny, there’s a huge Bogarts vs. Pappy’s rivalry, but we talked to the pitmaster… who used to work at Pappy’s… and he said they’re owned by the same company now. Haha!
Cookout at Josh and Angie’s, where we got to see Jen’s aunt/uncle/cousins/grandma/grandpa, which was nice! We haven’t seen them for awhile. Tomorrow… the drive home.
May 20, 2013: Took the 4:30am hotel shuttle for a 5:15am flight to CLT… 8 minute shuttle, 4 minutes from the door through TSA Precheck to Gate B8, and straight on the plane. At JFK I made the rookie mistake of saying “72 Fifth Ave”, which in cabbie speak is “72nd St and Fifth Ave”, about 20 minutes uptown from where I needed to be. A 1 hour cab ride later, I made it to the New School. Quick, but productive, meetings with the team and then back to the airport for a 4pm flight. I got there early enough to walk right on the 3pm, which put me to DCA in time to walk onto the 4:20pm to IND…. but of course there was a 2.5 hour delay which had us leave about the same time as my previously booked 6:40pm flight. Still made it home about 20 minutes earlier, so I’ll take it. 6 days of pretty intense east coast travel… good to be home for a few days.
May 19, 2013: #siena2013, then we rushed to ALB to get home. Slight weather delay to DTW, then the real fun began…. 3.5 hour mechanical delay for our 40 minute flight. We were out to the runway, then they decided to pull it back in because of an A/C issue. Then we spent about 2 hours at the gate, door opened, waiting… so glad we had the bulkhead. What a lifesaver. Girls did great, were doted all over by fellow passengers, and complimented on how well they did. #seasonedvets
They finally moved us to a new plane and we got on our way. At that point I was 6 hours from my 5:15am flight so instead of spending 100 minutes of that driving + 45-60 minutes getting settled at home, we decided it would be best for me to grab some work clothes and stay at the airport hotel. But I wanted to just take a backpack for my Monday day trip… so I took off my shoes, belt, and polo and checked in shoeless + white tee. And my first stop tomorrow will be duty-free, so I can spritz some cologne on this day-old undershirt. Haha! Thankfully I bought a new pair of boxers at the Gap Outlet yesterday :)
May 18, 2013: 1st Annual Lake George Italian Festival! We took Em to Million Dollar Beach, where she enjoyed getting absolutely messy in the sand and water. She also got to take a pony ride and hold a bunny! We cashed in her free ice cream certificate and hit the road back to Albany. After a late arrival we thought we’d just stop by a little Vietnamese joint for a quick meal… Em thought the chopsticks were drumsticks and jammed out instead of eating. Oh well.
May 17, 2013: Today we packed up the kids and drove to Fort Ticonderoga, a historic battlefield at the north tip of Lake George and bottom of Lake Champlain. Jen really enjoyed it, especially walking through the same entrance as George Washington, Benjamin Franklin and many others.
We bummed around Ticonderoga, NY for a bit. Grabbed some food and did a picnic next to a waterfall and covered bridge. From there it was up to the Adirondacks for a hike! We did a short little 3-miler, nothing too crazy. It was just nice to be the only people around, to hear nothing but ourselves, and to go exploring together!
