September, 2008 | The Angel Forever

Monthly Archives September 2008

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Plans – they often change

Posted on September 15, 2008 8:53 am by TheAngelForever

When you become a parent, you learn how to go with the flow a lot more. Heck, you also learn how to function (or so they say) with little or no sleep. This weekend would be a great example of that.

Friday we were supposed to leave after JL arrived home from work to travel five hours to see my brother, SIL, and niece S for a first birthday party weekend. My parents left earlier in the day and told me that the rain was horrible going in the direction. By the time JL was home from work it was 3:40 in the afternoon. We knew that by the time we finished packing, loading the car and kids to head out it would be 4:30-5:00 at best. That means with a stop to eat we would not arrive at our destination until 10:00 at best. Add the weather and kids into the travel and it would likely be later.

We quickly looked at the radar of weather conditions for the evening. It looked miserable. The rain showed no end and was quite heavy in the direction we were going in. We changed our plans. Rather than leave at night we would get up VERY early and load the sleeping boys into the car and go before the sun was up.

Dinner was made, a quick errand and everyone went to sleep early. I set the alarm for 3:00 and hoped to be on the road at 4:00. NHL was up at 2:00 and hardly went back to sleep after that. I moved the alarm to 4:00. Since it was shabbat I was doing all of the driving and wanted a little extra sleep. At 4:00 I quickly packed the rest of the items, both boys were up (GAH) and we hauled everything into the car. We were on the road by 5:00 heading to see Uncle I, Aunt M, and Cousin S.

Do you prefer getting up early to drive or doing the trip at night? Although I was exhausted and the sun was not out and there was thick fog, it was smooth sailing at this hour of day. I was pretty much the only car on the road with all of the big trucks. We made it to our destination in just under 5 hours including a stop at Dunkin Donuts for breakfast and a pit stop.

Once we were there the kids quickly started to play. Here is Uncle I reading all of the kiddos a story.

We had a fabulous weekend spending lots of time with family. The kids enjoyed playing with Cousin S and did not want to leave yesterday afternoon. We arrived home late last night. JL and I were exhausted from little sleep. This is what we hope to catch up on soon.

Great photos of the kids playing and of course Cousin S’s birthday party from yesterday coming soon.

Categories:
family jsl looking back nhl photos road trip sleep travel weekend

A whole lot of rides going on

Posted on September 14, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Lots of happy thoughts as we head home today from our weekend away for my niece’s first birthday (a long drive home with the boys). Trying to think optimistically, holding back on the positively pessimistic Eeyore thoughts from within.

Here are happy pictures from Labor Day to give us good road tripping vibes.

Thanks to Aunt L, Uncle J, Nana and Papa for a fabulous end of summer!

Categories:
family fun jl jsl nhl photos road trip summer

Train time

Posted on September 13, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Memories from childhood are wonderful, especially when you can relive them with your own children. I vividly recall going to our local amusement park and riding on their train. The train there is very special. It is old fashioned, has amazing details and has been taken care of with extreme care by the owner of the park through the years.

On Labor Day we went to the park before it opened. JL was thrilled to be able to get close to the train for some gorgeous photos. I have to admit, prior to this I had never seen the train without swarms of people around it. These photos show the real beauty of these antique trains.

It really is a wonderful place to take our kids. The park is small enough with lots of choices and most importantly it is SO clean. The people that work there love their jobs and are so polite with the guests, and especially patient with the kids.

Of course our visit would not be complete without a ride on the legendary train. JL, Aunt L, Uncle J, NHL, and JSL all climbed aboard and went for a ride before it was time to leave (almost two hours later).

More ride photos to come soon!

Categories:
family fun holidays jsl nhl photos summer

Aloha Friday #13

Posted on September 12, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Aloha and TGIF everyone!

Thanks to Kailani at An Island Life for starting this fun for Friday. Please be sure to head over to her blog to say hello and sign the Mr. Linky there if you are participating.

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My questions for this week are:

Do you like to pack when you go away? Do you make lists when you do so? Has your style of packing changed since you had kids (if you have any?

See the theme going here?

Seriously, I sit here getting this ready for Friday (it is Thursday now) and have a list of things to do. This weekend we are traveling to my niece’s 1st birthday party. There is a lot to do. The laundry is almost finished, I am making a list of items to pack for everyone, and this evening when the boys are in bed I will get the clothing into a suitcase.

Packing used to be so easy for me. I could just do it on the fly when it was only adults I had to worry about. Now things are more complicated. How many days of clothing do we need? How many spares for the boys should I take? Do I have enough to keep them busy on the road? This is why I make a list and check the items off as we load them into the car/bags. It just may be the teacher in me making lists, but it helps me organize what needs to be done and ready to go.

In honor of the trip a little song that we love to sing when driving.

Have a wonderful weekend!

Categories:
Aloha Friday family road trip video

Merry-go-round memories

Posted on September 11, 2008 12:05 am by TheAngelForever

Each year we take photos on the Merry-go-round as a tradition with the boys. We started this when NHL was little. On Labor Day we went back to the local park with my parents, Aunt L and Uncle J (in town visiting) for some fun in the sun. We had a wonderful time. Since we arrived at the park before it opened JL was able to get some gorgeous photos before the crowds arrived. I love how the park takes amazing care of their ride.

Here are some of the horses up close.

Once the park was opened, it was time for the boys to ride. NHL went with Aunt L for a spin and JSL with Papa (starting the tradition).

Of course we HAD to get a photo of Papa with NHL since we were not thrilled with the ones from May of this year. In order to keep the tradition going Aunt L switched with Papa for a few seconds.

*** Please note, no flags were injured in the making of my father’s shirt!

There are many more photos from the day, but I figured I would split it up some. We hope to go back to the park one more time before they close for the season, but if not we have fabulous memories from our trips this year.