Whoa!

Ok, so my last post was on February 15th of this year. So much has happened since then. So, I will attempt to recap the last four months.

John, Lily, and I went to James Madison University in February for a CHOICES orientation of accepted students. It was a fun weekend in Harrisonburg. Shelly spent her weekend in Williamsburg at the Great Wolf Lodge with a friend.

In February, we had the kitchen backsplash tiled and were thrilled with the outcome.

John and the girls took a trip to North Carolina and I stayed back and enjoyed a walk on the beach with Fynley. The sky was beautiful.

Lily and her friends cheered on her high school basketball team as they made their way to the state finals.

On March 5th, I took a drive down to 47th Street at the beach where my mom has a brick dedicated to her in a beautiful garden. I sat for quite awhile and chatted with her and really felt peaceful with the sun on my face and the ocean breeze behind me.

On that same date, the 5th, Lily found out if she had been accepted to Virginia Tech. And, she had!!!! We were beyond thrilled for her. She immediately let us know she wanted to be a Hokie! It was a great day and I'd like to think my mom had a little hand in helping Lily along the way.

Lily served as one of two presenters for the National Honor Society induction at her school.

At the end of March, we celebrated my dad's 85th birthday with a family party. We had everyone over for stromboli and cake. As a special gift for my father, we asked loved ones and some well known people he admired to write a letter to him. We presented him with a box of letters filled with memories from his past and present. It was a great evening for all of us.

John and I are the co-owners of a new company and we are happy to see it growing and becoming successful. Shelly and I accompanied him one night when he was working on a project at the airport.

We celebrated Easter early and then set off on a trip to Ft. Lauderdale and Miami for Spring Break. It was such a fun family adventure and I'm always happy when we are able to travel together.

More updates to come!!!!

NYC ***2 0 1 7***

Over Spring break, we took a fun trip to NYC. On our way there, we stopped in Rehoboth Beach and enjoyed this cute little beach town. So many fun shops and it was super dog friendly.  We didn't have Fynley with us, but we loved seeing all of the cute dogs. From Rehoboth, we took a ferry to Cape May to continue our journey up the east coast.

We stayed the night in Asbury Park, NJ, and had a delicious bagel the next morning. From there, it was on to New York City. It was a fun to drive into the city and John was eager to take a spin around the city before we made it to our hotel. I was impressed with his NYC driving skills. He handled it all very well.



We checked into the Affinia Shelburne (a hotel where we had previously stayed) and then we were ready for an afternoon of fun. We walked to Times Square, had lunch at a diner (Scotty's), and then went to see the Broadway show On Your Feet (so good). After dinner, we headed back to the hotel and then went to a great restaurant (Jackson Hole) not far away. After dinner, we walked to the Baked by Melissa shop for our favorite mini cupcakes.

The next day was busy with an early morning visit to the Today Show where Shelly high-fived Al Roker!!! Then breakfast (at a Chick Fil-A in New York) and a visit at Madame Tussauds Wax Museum. We took a walk to Tiffany's (where John bought me my birthday gift). We enjoyed some time hanging out in Central Park and we did some great people watching. From there, we hopped on the subway to the 9/11 memorial. The lines were long for the actual museum, but we spent time at the outdoor memorial which was beautiful. We had lunch in the area (at Skinny Pizza) and then took a subway back to the American Museum of Natural History. We all agreed this was our least favorite stop on our whirlwind NYC trip. After checking out the museum, we took a taxi to our hotel and enjoyed the wine reception in the lobby (John and I). We all took a visit to the rooftop and loved the views of the city from high above the buildings. 










We had dinner at the hotel restaurant (Rare) and headed for dessert at the Shake Shack (yummy).

Our final morning in NYC, we went to breakfast at Delmonico's and then took another scenic drive around the city. From New York, we headed to Virginia to tour around James Madison University. Six hours later, we arrived at the college and were able to experience a great walk around the school in some beautiful weather. We had dinner at a yummy Mexican restaurant in Harrisonburg and then we were off again to head home. We arrived back at the house at about 11:15 and were all worn out from our adventure. It was a terrific road trip with the family and another fun opportunity to make memories with one another.

Spring Break

We spent our five Spring Break (we lost several days of the break due to snow) in Virginia Beach.

We love to be able to see so much family when we're there. It's always busy and fun.

Boats at Rudee Inlet

The big chair at Zero's

Taking a walk with Spiderman and Kensi

On the beach and in the sun

Yummy lunch at Zero's

Lunch time

My fave surf shop! WRV

Beach hugs

Too cool

Lovin' the sea and the sun

Silly at Target

The girls took a walk through Thoroughgood

A bear on their walk through Thoroughgood

In Thoroughgood

Standing in a pipe along the walk

Dinner at Buoy 44

Chesapeake Bay Bridge Tunnel in the background

Homemade sushi