6 Weeks

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We are already into our 6th week of summer vacation and I’m already getting anxious thinking about it being over. 

I really love summer vacation and it takes me awhile to unwind and let go.

Today I am still feeling jet lagged and so I did a little less and relaxed and it felt so good.

I tried to not have a plan and let the day unfold without a schedule and boy did that feel great and turned our remarkably fulfilling. Here’s what an unstructured day looked like.

I slept in and played with the kittens. J stopped by for a cup of tea and drove with me to drop CJ off at his practice.

We came back and played SpikeBall with the other kids in the front yard and got such a kick out of it.

I cooked lunch and did some paper work and then took the kids and friends to the pool to cool off and play.  The kids were so happy playing and he moms chatting that no one wanted to leave and we stayed an extra hour.

The only plans we had was dinner with our friends and that was spectacular!

  
What a perfectly, unplanned and unscheduled, fulfilling day just living in the moment.

I love summer! 

nAMaste

Home Again 

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I love California and am happy to be home again.

I love the cool air coming through the open windows. 

I love the light and sunshine that radiates.

I loved sleeping in my own bed again and waking up to coffee already made when the timer went off.

I loved taking things slowly today, catching up with loads and loads of laundry and talking with friends and family.

I enjoyed easily knowing where to go to get groceries and bubble teas to make everyone happy.

I loved seeing the kids hanging out with their friends and being outside and bringing them snacks.

  
I love traveling and I love coming home and appreciate this wonderfully, perfectly,  imperfect life.

Life is good.

What I Love About Traveling

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We are finally wrapping up our 10 day east coast traveling journey and I have time on the 6 hour flight home to reflect on what I love about traveling. 

Here are a few of my favorite things:

– seeing the world

– comparing and contrasting where we live with the places we visit

– visiting with family and friends we don’t get to see all the time and enjoying them in their homes

– learning together and making connections about our history and cultures and customs of the places we visit

– getting out of my comfort zone which makes me appreciate my comfort zone and the comfort of everyday life

– seeing how my family has learned to adapt quickly and can sleep anywhere

– enjoying local foods like Philly cheesesteaks, Maryland crab cakes, and New York bagels and pizza

– sharing experiences with my family

– watching my kids enjoy their experience and working together as a team to make decisions

– watching my son become our knowledgable leader 

– spending several days together engaged with one another as a team

– seeing my kids help one another to make each other comfortable

– making memories and sharing stories.

We all have a story to share and we learn from other’s stories and making connections. What do you love about traveling?

I am thankful for this last experience and for my family for sharing the journey together. Thank you to C and D and your families for hosting us for a couple of the days. Love y’all.

Life is good. 

 

Loving the East Coast

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We enjoyed Mystic, Connecticut today and wished we had more time to spend there. The weather was gorgeous and the water was calling my name. I especially loved seeing the paddle boarders in the calm water.

We also drove out to Rhode Island to see an east coast beach and to stick my toes in the water. The east coast is very different from the west coast and was wall to wall people still at 4 pm!

   
    
The rest of the time was spent with family and seeing M’s play. There is nothing better to me than time spent with good friends and family. I loved watching the cousins run around and play together and build friendships, and sitting around and sharing time with C&S.

Life is good.  Hope you’re enjoying your weekend and doing something great!

 

Happiness in the Moment

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We left our hotel in Virginia around 10 am and stopped in DC to see the Iwo Jima Memorial statue and tried to see the MLK Memorial and could not find parking before heading out of town.

  
It was a lot cooler today and we appreciated the irony from the car as we drove to Maryland.

We wanted to checkout Annapolis and try crab cakes for lunch.  The United States Naval Academy is a beautiful campus and the town by the water was very quaint. We enjoyed our brief visit before spending the rest of the day in the car, which wasn’t exactly how we anticipated the day unfolding.

 

serving others = happiness

  

Midshipmen walking across campus

  

beautiful landscape on the USNA, campus

  

USNA

  

sea themed stained glass window in the chapel

 

 

Maryland blue crab cake. YUM!

 
We hit lots of standstill traffic as we approached and eventually crawled across the Delaware Memorial Bridge.

We were hoping to be at our next destination for dinner yet we are still traveling at a snail’s pace and our estimated arrival time is approaching tomorrow.

We stopped at a rest area around 7pm for a “healthy” dinner in the car and stopped again at 10 pm for sugary snacks to keep us awake.  I chose Pop Rocks because they make me laugh and I needed a laugh to balance out the weary day of travel. 

I choose to focus on feeling lucky to be experiencing the East Coast and being with family despite being tired. We’re creating memories, right?  And happiness is a state of mind that we get to choose despite our circumstances, every moment.

I choose happiness.

nAMaste

Persevere and Don’t Give Up

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We explored Washington, D.C. today during the hottest parts of the day and into the night.

We wanted to turn around and go back to the hotel or find an indoor, air conditioned place to sit. There was a lot of complaining and resistance and whining in the heat. There was so much to see and we only had a day to do as much as possible and we are not quitters, yet we were very uncomfortable.

We bought cold drinks from the corner vendor and continued our journey to the steps of the Lincoln Memorial.

We sat in the shade for awhile and rested more than we usually do, but we wouldn’t let anyone give up. We kept being cheerleaders for each other.

This was almost as important to me as sharing, touching and experiencing our nation’s history.

We were hot. We were sweaty. We were exhausted. We stuck together. We endured. And we shared an amazing day and experience and walked over 20,000 steps which is equivalent to 9 miles, together.

I am proud of my kids. I am proud of my husband. I am proud of our country. And I am proud to be an American.

 

The White House

 

Lincoln Memorial

  

Abraham Lincoln Statue

U.S. Capitol

 

Peace on the Potomac

 

Persevere BeLoveRs!

xo

Duty, Honor, Country

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Today we celebrated the life of a distinguished and honorable man at Arlington National Cemetery.

Jeff’s Great Uncle received a Full Military Honors Funeral and we were lucky to be present to witness such a magnificent and formal celebration with friends and family.

I will share a couple pictures that hopefully display the grace and significance of this day, while respecting the privacy of the family. I am proud of Jeff’s family and their dedicated service to our country and was honored to be here today.

 
   

 Peace be with you. 

Liberty and Love

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We visited Philadelphia today and showed the kids the liberty bell.  It’s not exactly thrilling for kids, but I felt the significance of it as a big kid.

I’m especially glad we went to see it near Independence Day as it represents our freedom, our pursuit of happiness and our rights to living freely and equally. I think it is just as significant a symbol today as it was 239 years ago.

  

My dream is that we continue to practice loving one another every day and accept and be curious about our differences that make us all so very interesting! 

BeLoved.  nAMaste

Life As A Tourist

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Tonight, Juliana and I sat on the couch of our Times Square hotel, reminiscing about our day and what to blog about…she mentioned our favorite Facebook blog, Humans of New York.

Throughout our time in New York, Juliana has mentioned being interviewed by Brandon Stanton, the blogger behind HONY. She’s constantly thinking of how amazing it would be to be featured on his Facebook page, fantasizing about what the humans of the world would say in the comments section. 

So, back to our night on the couch when we were talking about blog themes, Juliana says, “You know mom, I know what I would say to Brandon if he saw me on the streets of New York, he would probably ask me what I was doing. I would let him know that I am a tourist, then I would say that in life, you are like a tourist. Sometimes you find yourself in foreign places, knowing where to go, yet not knowing how to get there.”

I love the way that girl thinks. We didn’t see Brandon today, but maybe there is still time to cross paths before we continue our journey. Fingers crossed, baby girl.  

  Life is good!