We did it and more!

The weekend of October 10-12, 2014 was a fantastic one!  On Saturday my sister came home from Waynesburg, PA via bus into Boston (and survived with little tears shed).  My Mom, Aunt, Grandmother, cousins, sister, daughter and I spent the day in Boston.  We used to go every year in November since I was 12.  We stopped going a few years ago due to a few things. We took the train down and back and had fantastic girl time.  It was great to bond again during this trip.  We managed not to lose anyone and only had one incident where my mother may or may not have forgotten about my daughter in H&M.  All is good as we did make it home together.

On Sunday we got up at the crack of dawn to head down to Skydive New England and jump.  My sister still didn't know she was going until we got there.  She was so shocked.  So my mother, sister and I went to our getting ready to jump out of a plan survival class, which in my opinion was just a place where I signed my life away and promised I wouldn't blame them.  I did also learn that there is no perfectly good plane, pilot, parachute, jumper...you get the idea.  We finish the "class" and go outside and wait for our names to be called.  We watch a few groups jump before us from the class the day before.  Their jumps got cancelled due to the weather, but we had clear blue beautiful skies.  Finally our names get called, we meet our jumping companions, and suit up.  Then we get on a tractor and drive over to the plane.  It's about a 15 minute ride up to the 14,000 feet we will be jumping from, but the views are beautiful and remind me to be thankful for these moments I have.  They remind me of how wonderful my God truly is and what he has done. So we are there, 14,000 feet in the air.  My sister is the first to go out of the three of us, then me, then my mom.  The feeling is spectacular and I loved every moment of it.  The feeling of free falling and the views and serenity the moments after the parachute open we so peaceful and calming.  The motion sickness part I did not anticipate, but I will be prepared for next time.  When my mother got her barrings she clearly stated that she was "never doing that again!"  Overall it was a great success and my grandfather and I are making plans to go in June.

After the skydiving adventure and a few naps, we headed out to my aunts camp and had a lobster feeding frenzy.  My mothers whole family (which is just her parents and sister's family) were all there.  We enjoy endless lobsters and laughs.  The view was beautiful and we all had a great time.  

My parents stayed the weekend along with my sister, so they headed home Monday.  It was an amazing fun filled weekend that I will remember for the rest of my life.  I'll ever forget my mother's first words after landing from skydiving, her excitement for us to spend the weekend together, and all the things we got to do together.  While my mother may not remember it for long, it was definitely worth doing and made me realize that I should never question why or for who we are making memories for.  

Yes we have cereal for supper. So?

Yes, we have cereal for supper.  I'll even make Hamburger Helper just to see them smile.  They love that stuff so don't judge.  It may not be that great being all processed and stuff, but hey they like it (and I may like it too). But I mean seriously they would love anything I make.

Who am I kidding?  They absolutely do not like everything or even half the stuff I cook.  That's why I am married to a chef.  So why am I cooking you ask?  Because he's off cooking for others tonight. Sooo I am home "creating" this fabulous supper with groceries I didn't buy because I forgot I needed to go grocery shopping. I do have pork I pulled out that says 'perfect for the grill' and comes with skewers.  Sounds easy enough, but there's no way I'm going to wait for that charcoal grill.  I'll just marinade it with some teriyaki sauce and sauté it.  I have some wonderful, colorful peppers and orzo. What more does one need to make an awesome stir fry.  So I make stir fry.  My princess comes into the house after playing outside and the first thing she says is "I hope you don't expect me to eat that if that's the stuff in the sauce. I'll have a sandwich"  Why no my sweet, angelic, non attitudal princess, I do not expect you to eat it, but I do suspect you will because you are NOT getting anything else.  My son, on the other hand thinks it smells spicy.  Spicy?  Seriously, I just can't win.  It now makes sense to why when I make Hamburger Helper or we have cereal, my kids smile.  It definitely would not have gone like this if the hubs made this.  They probably would have loved it.

Now I am happy to report that my son had two helpings of the "rice" and princess proudly proclaimed that she ate all her chicken and peppers.  It's pork, but who am I to nit pick.  Plus that she ate her peppers, that's an amazement in itself.  She doesn't like her peppers cooked (or raw but whose keeping track?)  So I hear you asking, "Why, if you know she doesn't like it , would you make that?" Well it's the same answer I give her, because we may not like everything that we are served or that's provided for us, but we have to be thankful we have something.  

Yes, I'm the one who forgot about grocery shopping because we stayed at the library until they closed.  Yes, I bought the food they don't like. And yes, I eat things I don't like too.  Just ask my husband, he thinks it's entertaining when I HAVE TO eat brussel sprouts because everyone else likes them.  But we are thankful that we have food and the means to provide food to nourish our bodies.  And while we are not always as thankful as we should be and complain more than we should, He still provides for us.  We need to remember in a time of dislike or turmoil to have peace and thankfulness that He has provided and will continue to provide.


Don't worry,tomorrow night we'll have liver and onions....PSYCH!