Vacation (Round 2)

Well folks, I had a really fun post all written out for you, but as of five minutes ago it has become nothing more than stardust lost in the abyss of deleted internet files.  C'est la vie, I suppose.  I wish I could say I'd attempt to recreate it from scratch for you, but it's currently 1:25 a.m. and I've already spent the past hour shuffling photos and writing.  My apologies for the less than stellar narrative you're about to receive.

Eily is already worried

Okay, so the previous post went something like this:  "Moving to NY is great.  We have lots of friends and already know our way around. Yadda yadda yadda."  Except better.  Much better.  I'm talking NY Times best-selling, Pulitzer Prize winning novel material*. 

(*It wasn't really all that good.  I'm just feeling too lazy to try to remember what I wrote.)

The early part of this week was spent revisiting some old haunts with Kelsey and the kids.  On Monday, we bummed around the fair city of Albany, a place that will always be near and dear to my heart.  Our first stop after running some errands was to grab breakfast at Professor Java's Coffee Sanctuary, where my fellow Javateer Kevin and I met 9 or so years ago.  Who knew almost a decade later I would be shacking up with him and his family in a sweet little commune?

Eily's first cup of joe water in the same to-go cups we used to use back in my day.

Eily and Rayleigh eating oatmeal in the library at Java's.

Later that morning we hit up the mall (coincidentally the first place I worked when I moved to the Capital Region back in 2001).  Eily and Rayleigh got in some shopping while we were there.

"What do you think, Rayleigh?  Can I pull off red, or are they a little too Wizard of Oz?"

"Thanks for convincing me to go with the blue water shoes.  They're much more practical!"

Once the retail therapy session had concluded, we drove over to Bombers Burrito Bar to grab some take out for a picnic in the park.  Just stepping into Bombers was enough to fill me with the kind of nostalgia that lets you know you're home.  I spent many a night closing down the bar upstairs with my boys Armando and Adam in my early days living in the area (last call is 4 a.m. for all you non-New Yorkers).  Those nights were filled with bottles of Newcastle, philosophical discourse, unwritten drafts of the next great American novel, and the best friends a shy, broken girl like me could have ever asked for at a time like that.  (I'm getting a bit weepy with the memories.  A different post for a different day, I suppose.)  Anyway, as I was saying, we grabbed our food to go and had a lovely picnic in Washington Park.  Here's Eily playing around on one of the big shady trees:

 

Later in the week, we headed south to Oak Hill, NY for our annual pilgrimage to the Grey Fox Bluegrass Festival.  Kevin, Kelsey, Rayleigh, Dillon, Eily, Jesse, and I (forever after known as "the tribe") met up with our friends the Adams family (Jim, Natasha, and Rory) and the Shillidays (Andy, Nicole, Liam, and Keen).  The festival runs from Wednesday to Sunday, so camping is the only way to get the full experience.  This year we ditched the dusty ghetto of Pickers Paradise for a more suburban setting on the High Meadow.

Base camp - the social hub of our camping party.

  

Base camp went classy this year with fancy kerosene lanterns giving off ambient light after the sun went down.

I'm not really a big fan of bluegrass, per se, but the festival this year was particularly fun.  Being up on the meadow, behind the main stage, afforded everyone in our group the opportunity to switch off from kid duty to catch a few acts here and there.  Even without being into the bluegrass scene, there are always a million things to do at Grey Fox.  The event is family friendly, so getting the kids out for some fun was never hard. 

Eily, Keen, and Liam sharing a camp chair.

Eily and Rory walking back from the swimming hole.

The "big kids" circle - Liam, Rory, Rayleigh, and Eily.

Learning about constellations in the Family Tent.

Little cowgirl and her daddy.

Hippie dress & cowgirl hat day!

The trip itself is all a blur at this point (I'm still detoxing).  Our days were filled with lots of cooking, child chasing, dancing, yoga (barely), bathing in the local swimming hole, beer drinking, and of course, music listening.  The cool thing about Grey Fox is that almost everyone who goes is also a musician.  So even if you're not hanging out at one of the stages, you just have to walk around to different campsites to catch some really talented people jamming with their friends. 

Eily hanging out, listening to the sounds of bluegrass floating on the breeze from the main stage to base camp.

Like any good vacation, we played hard all day long and slept like babies in the crisp cool air each night.

Eily passed out in her very own sleeping bag.  She's a natural camper!

We're off on more adventures yet again this week, so be sure to tune in again soon.  Until then, here's my favorite shot of Eily from the festival.  She's growing up to be such a little lady!

Hello from the North Country!

Howdy y'all!**  As always, we've been busy since the last time I posted.  Truth be told, I'm grateful for the modern convenience of cell phone photography since it's the only way for me to go back and remember everything we've done.  If it weren't for my smartphone, I would probably be wrapping up this post right....about.....(wait for it).....now.  Hope you enjoyed the update.  I'll post again in six months!

 (**Note:  This is NOT something people say in NY....I need to work on re-acclimating myself to the local vernacular.)
 
Alright, alright, it's not that bad.  But seriously, with everything we've had on our plates these past two months, I can't believe all of the other (read: awesomely fun) stuff we've managed to cram in there.  In addition to taking my final and most demanding undergraduate class, we packed up all of our stuff and moved it either into storage or the home of our dear friends Kevin and Kelsey (and their two kiddos Rayleigh and Dillon).  When I say these people are sweet, I mean they are the kind of friends who go above and beyond for the people they care about.  Because they are so awesomely generous, Jesse, Eily, and I will be living with them while I attend grad school at the College of Saint Rose in Albany.  Jesse will be making frequent trips back down to PA/NJ for work and keeping the house in order, but for now Hudson Falls is home base.

The move went smoothly, although Eily and I both shed some tears on moving day.  The cats survived the 4.5 hour drive.  Fionn's voice, however, did not. He lost it somewhere on I-87 after meowing until Jesse's ears bled serenading Jesse in the moving truck.  It has since returned, and the little scamp even makes an occasional foray up to the first floor from his basement hiding place.  Once I set him loose on the neighborhood, I'm sure he'll start catching all sorts of tasty little critters and finding himself right at home again.  All in all, everyone is settling in nicely.

But wait, there's more!  

So on top of the big events happening in the land of JJ&e, there have been some lesser-advertised adventures.  I'll try not to bore everyone to tears (too much), but here are some pictures from the last couple of months to give you an idea of what else we've been up to.

 

Eily and I spent a May afternoon at the Bucks County Children's Museum in New Hope.  Her favorite exhibit was the giant Lite Brite - she spent most of the time here rearranging the lights.

 While Jesse and our friends Andy and Nicole spent Memorial Day weekend in Colorado celebrating a friend's 30th birthday, Eily and I joined Liam, Keen, Mia, P-Pop, Grandmom, and Aunt Ju-Ju at the shore in Somers Point.  We had a blast at the beach, the boardwalk, the pool, and the parade!

 Eily and I had an impromptu playdate at Sesame Place with Auntie Alyssa and Haley in mid-June.   My little dare-devil went on everything from the big swings to the tower-of-terror-esqe "Blastoff".  There were 12 year olds in line ahead of her that were more scared, ha!

 Unfortunately, part of moving means saying goodbye to friends.  Here is Eily with her first-ever friend, Ava.  Casey (Ava's mom) was Eily's first babysitter, and we've had so much fun watching these two girls grow up together.  We won't be close enough for last-minute playdates anymore, but we're certainly going to be keeping in touch with them and getting together whenever possible!

 The month of June ends on a high note for us every year now.  Eily's third birthday (I will not have a panic attack, I will not have a panic attack, I will not have a panic attack) fell the weekend before moving day, but we still managed to squeak in a birthday party for her.  Partly because we thought it would be fun, but mostly because she guilted us into it.  Starting around February she began telling me, "At my birthday party, there will be balloons, and party hats, and cake, and all of my friends will be there."  (Insert sweet, angelic smile here.) Yeah, you can bet I wasn't getting away without a party this year.  Just look at that face, though.  How could I say no?  (Note to future self:  Remember to teach Eily that blue frosting is fine, but it is not a suitable lipstick choice.)

 Here are a few more of the favorite people we had to bid farewell to before leaving.  This is Eily's sitter/second mom, Cindy.  She has watched Eily for almost two years now, and I am forever grateful for how good she's been to Eily.  Eily comes home everyday full of stories about all the fun she has at Miss Cindy's house, and she adores Cindy's twins Eddie & Alyssa (above).  They are officially on our list of "people we must visit" whenever we return to the PA/NJ area.

 Here we are on moving day (July 4).  What a difference five years makes.  (For a visual idea of those differences, check out my previous post.)

And that brings us to this week.

So remember how I said Kevin & Kelsey are some of the coolest, most generous people we know?  Well, just to prove it, they invited us to join them on their annual family vacation with Kevin's parents and brother.  In true JJ&e form, we set out on the six hour road trip just one week after moving in.  Destination:  Cape Cod.  The added bonus was being able to visit with my mom while we were there.  Here are some pics of the fun we had.

Swimming at Long Pond.

 Eily's first game of mini golf.  (Uncle B - what do you think of her form?)

Walking into Provincetown and sporting the new hat Mimi (Kevin's mom) made for her.
 

 Eily, Rayleigh, Dillon, and Mimi (aka Jill) hanging with Bubbles the Whale in Provincetown.

 Getting in some ocean time with Nana and Howard.  Nothing like having an entire beach to yourselves on a hot summer day!

Daddy teaching Eily to skip rocks.  (There were plenty of them!)

And here is Eily last night while we were packing up the cars and getting ready to head back to NY. 



Wow, that was a lot.  And I didn't even tell you everything!  Like how we somehow squeezed in an afternoon at Celtic Fling at the PA Renn Faire in late June.  Or how Eily and I attempted to hit every local park at least once throughout June.  Or visiting with Ack Ack and Auntie Heather at their place on the farm and going Jeep riding and fishing.  I may have to put up a second post of pics just to prove we did all that (and more!). But first, it's time to start packing for the next adventure.  That's right, on Wednesday we head out for our annual camping trip to the Gray Fox bluegrass festival. And the insanity doesn't end there!  Every week from now until the start of the semester is chock full of trips, parties, visits with old friends, and as much fun as three people can possibly fit into one summer. No rest for the wicked!  (And by "wicked," I mean wicked crazy.  Oh, to be close enough to New England to use that word again!)


Here's hoping I take enough pictures on my phone to remember what I'm going to tell you all about next time. Until then, stay cool and have a great summer!