I Went to Boston!

Every year around this time,  I go on vacation. One year it was St. Thomas, then Aruba, Jamaica, and Disney two years in a row. So, this is the first time in a long time that I didn't have a vacation planned. But I had the itch, so on a whim Wednesday morning I purchased tickets and left Thursday morning for Boston!

I was in Boston by 10AM on Thursday. My first stop? To visit my sister and her new puppy! I was so excited to meet Maggie! She was crazy when I first met her, eating my hair, biting my fingers, and playing fetch. She's just so damn cute!

I didn't tell my Dad I was coming up, so next up I had to surprise him! And he was SO surprised! That night Mom made dinner and we had some fun just hanging out around the house.

Friday I visited with my great-grandmother and grandparents. Me and Mom did some shopping. Tried to watch Lincoln (yawn) and did some more shopping. That night me and Michelle went out for dinner. Thank goodness the beer flights were good because it's probably the worst meal I've ever had! I had a good time just catching up with my sister though. During dinner she mentioned that her and her boyfriend, Steve, were both working on Saturday....so I offered to puppy sit!

Soooo...I was up bright and early with the puppy on Saturday. She played rough with Roxy for a few hours - I can't wait to see what they are like with Miley this summer! Maggie was so snuggly with me all day...now I have puppy fever!

"Auntie, she's teasing me! I'm too small to go down the stairs!"

I hungout with my friend, Lindsey, for a few hours on Saturday. Went out to lunch...but I'm not sure if we actually ate anything, we were so busy talking! 

Saturday night I went out with the family for dinner - parents, sister, Steve, cousins, aunt and uncle...the whole family! There was a lot of laughing, food, and beer...we had a good time! I love seeing family when I go home, even if it's just for a quick dinner.

I passed out early Saturday - I had another early flight on Sunday. I wanted to make sure I was home for Easter with Danny. Not that it mattered - we tried finding a fantastic place for Easter dinner...but that didn't work out so well. But we did end up with a delicious pizza and Easter baskets from my Mom!

I had such a great trip home...I'm already counting down the days until we go up for our summer vacation!!

New Years...and More!

Happy New Year, friends! I rang in 2013 with some amazing friends and family. But lets start at the beginning....

Saturday morning was like Christmas morning...except better than Santa: Mom and Dad were on their way! It was their first time visiting in a year and the first time seeing our new house. I was so excited! After giving them the tour of the house, we took them around the neighborhood and showed them how close we are to the ocean (shockingly close...and we didn't even visit in 2012!) For lunch we had fresh local seafood, right on the water. After, me and Mom did our favorite thing: grocery shopping!

Sunday I woke up and within minutes a plan had been made: Myrtle Beach bound for the day! My parents have a time share and they are looking into different places to visit with it. It was c-o-l-d at the beach. We showed them around the area, went to Broadway, had lunch, and on the way home we stopped at Bass Pro Shops. I'm not so sure what the hype is, or maybe the Myrtle Beach location just isn't that exciting?

When we got back into town, we dropped Dad and Danny off at the bar to watch some football games and me and Mom came home to relax for a little bit. After we picked the guys up we had dinner and passed out pretty early. Which is a good thing...we had to rest up for New Years Eve!

Monday while the guys went golfing, me and Mom planned for our New Years Eve party. Lets just say....a lot of food was involved! Everyone got to our house around 6:30, we ate a ton and played some games. It started with LRC, went to 99, and then while I did karaoke (.....) everyone else played golf and screw your neighbor. And yes, I did do karaoke....I'll blame it on the White Russians!

I'll also blame my insane hangover on the White Russians. Tuesday was a bad baaaaad day. I don't even want to talk about it, but just know...I had a ton of fun singing and shaking my booty on New Years Eve! I celebrated with all my favorite people and am so happy I got to ring in new year with all of them!

My parents flew out this morning. I already miss them. I wish we lived closer (or they lived here!) BUT since we are further away, it just makes each time I see them that much better!

Homeward Bound!

You know when you're looking forward to something it makes everything else crawl by? Well, last week went by at a snails pace....because I was so excited for my trip up North! But even though the week went by slow, for some reason I still waited until last minute to pack: which means I forgot my camera. Pictures are limited for this trip....but it was such a great time!

Saturday morning I was up at the crack of dawn for my flight. I was on the ground and with my parents by 10AM. When I originally planned my trip I asked Mom if she could make her stuffing. She took that request and ran with it...she spent the day Saturday preparing a Thanksgiving meal for 20 people. Saturday night my sister, her boyfriend, aunts, uncles and cousins all came over and we celebrated Fakesgiving. It was such a great time! The only thing missing was my Hubby!

Sunday morning I woke up to a surprise...Mom surprised me with a new outfit...ripped straight off of my own blog! She even got me that exact necklace!

After putting on my new outfit me and Mom headed out for the day. Our first stop was the cemetery to visit Pa and put a new flag at his grave. Then we headed off for a day of shopping. And just like real Thanksgiving, we feasted on leftovers! Sunday night I crashed my parents date. They are way too cute together. They are such great role models for me and my sister...30 years married and they still totally in love!

Sunday night me and Mom attempted to watch Magic Mike. She claims the acting was bad, and I was totally uncomfortable...so we turned it off and settled for a nice family movie! I did bring Magic Mike home to view in the privacy of my own home!

I wanted to make sure I got to enjoy my whole long weekend so I scheduled my flight for late Monday night. I spent Monday morning at my great-grandmothers house..who had me and Mom cracking up all morning. 94 and she's still making everyone laugh! After that me and Mom grabbed a quick lunch and just hungout for the rest of the day.

It was such a great trip home! I'm sure some friends are upset with me for not making plans with them...but I really just wanted to see my parents this trip. I've missed them a lot over the past few months! I seriously already miss them...and am counting down to their trip to visit us!

Weekend Getaway

Early Thursday morning I packed a small carry on and jumped on an airplane headed to Massachusetts. I know, it seems like I'm always there. But there is always some kind of event that I don't want to miss out on. This weekend it was a baby shower! Thank goodness for cheap, fast commuter flights!

From the second I got off the plane I was busy. I had a two hour coffee date with Veronica. I miss marathon coffee dates with a good friend. Catching up on anything and everything and not having to give back stories...because they already know the back stories! After that me, Mom and Michelle got mani and pedis...followed by dinner with Dad. We decided on Chinese food....not because I was craving it, but because I haven't had a scorpion bowl in ages! And of course, Thursday night ended watching Grey's Anatomy with Mom. Seriously...what kind of season finale was that?!?

Friday I had lunch with June and my uncle, Rick. Again it was another two hour catch up session. When food and/or coffee are involved...time flies by! After lunch I went into Boston with my friend Jen. We went to my favorite bar, Hennessys, for overpriced beer and a great cover band. Since I moved three years ago, Happy Hour has changed...but change isn't always a bad thing. This band was actually pretty good! We grabbed a brick oven pizza and then, because we're old, called it a night. I used to be able to stay out until 2AM. I was home by 10!

Saturday was such a good day. Me and Mom spent the whole day in and out of stores searching for decorations for our house. She helped me decide on themes for our room and Kaleb's room and one of the bathrooms. We got so much stuff I had to send myself a giant box! Saturday night Mom made delicious lamb chops, we drank some wine and watched The Vow. I miss these nights with my Mom.

Sunday was the baby shower. June is due at the end of June with a baby boy. This will be there (combined) 6th kid...but the first together. They got a ton of great stuff. I liked catching up with family and enjoying an awesome brunch. With mimosa. Mmmmm....

Sunday night my Roomie came over, we had dinner with Mom and Dad and then sat at the dinner table for what seemed like forever just talking. That is my favorite kind of night. I have great friends in North Carolina but nothing compares to a night in with Mom and Ashley.

Monday me and Michelle went up to New Hampshire for something I have been craving: fried clams. Seriously, North Carolina claims to have good seafood but I haven't found anything I crave. But oh-em-gee. My fried clams from Browns were amaaaaaaaazing. I'm already counting down the days until my next trip up there! Seriously - DELICIOUS.

I came home yesterday to a pile of bills and a leaking roof. Nothing like coming home.....

Sidenote: My lack of pictures is weird. My camera is coming out of retirement this week. I promise!

Dear Blog...

I'm sorry I have neglected you!

As you know, the computer broke on Thanksgiving...thanks to a super nasty virus. I tried to fix it, but well, my degree in History doesn't really help in that department. Since then we have been computer free. I blogged from my phone, which resulted in ugly formats and poor blogging. Oh, and to do my 2011 review it took TWO days from the iPhone! Needless to say, blogging has been very frustrating!

The plan was to only use the USO computers. That's where I spent an hour this morning....uploading 30 pictures. Holy smokes that is slow. And, since you know me so well, I am not patient!! I enlisted the help of my uber smart cousin and he helped me and the Hubby pick out a new computer.

I swore up and down we weren't going to buy a computer right away. But I couldn't pass up this deal! So, we are owners of a new laptop. And this time....we will not murder it!

So, dear blog...and blog readers...I'm back! I've missed my religious blogging and reading all of your blogs! I'll be commenting again and, of course, finding new bloggy loves!

To celebrate my return to blogging here are some pictures on events you have missed out on!

Me and Lindsey celebrated Beermas with NC Girls Pint Out!

Kaleb was here for Christmas!

My parents visited us!

Love,
Nicole

Maine Vacation: Part 2

Day 6: Aquaboggin

The only thing I wanted to do on vacation was go to a water park. I wanted to go on Monday because everything is half priced...but because the guys went golfing we were stuck going on Tuesday. But it was so worth it! They had an amazing military discount....Danny got in free and me and Kaleb each saved $5 on our ticket. That's less than we were planning to spend on Monday!

The three of us went on a bunch of water slides! We had a yummy picnic lunch. And then Kaleb did a few more slides by himself. He must have done one slide atleast 10 times..he had so much fun, I love bringing him to new places!

 

Included in our super cheap tickets was unlimited mini golf. We didn't keep score but we had so much fun. It was the fasted round of mini golf ever...and I'm the only one that got a hole in one...with an assist from Kaleb!

After our fun day out we headed back to the beach. I took Kaleb frogging (he sqooshed one between his fingers!) Me and my sister used to go frogging all the time, they are super tiny frogs, I wouldn't be able to pick up the big ones!

For dinner we went to one of my favorite places, the Muddy Rudder. They have awesome clam chowder! I had grilled swordfish...but I should have had the fishermans platter, the few pieces I stole from my Dad was amazing!

Day 7: Portland

After the guys went golfing and the girls (and Kaleb!) went shopping we all headed to South Portland. My parents always go to the same bar and sit outside...this time they wouldn't let us sit outside, even when we threatened to leave! So, we decided to go to another bar...and sit outside. It was a gorgeous day in Portland!

 

After some yummy food and drinks we walked around downtown. Kaleb and my Dad got some ice cream, I bought some peach balsamic vinegar and a Life is Good shirt. We had fun navigating the streets...and trying to find a public bathroom!

Day 8: Big Sebago

Thursday we took the boat to the big lake for a day of fun! And BONUS...my sister came up for the day! We literally sat in the sun all day drinking and eating. And yes, the drinking started at the early hour of 10AM. Hey, it's 5 o'clock somewhere, right?

 

Day 9: Family Day!

Friday morning the guys went golfing (again!) After that we had tons of family come up...my cousin Brian, his wife and little girl, my Nana and Grampy and two of my cousins. We hungout on the beach, my Dad took all the kids tubing...and of course we ate yummy food!

Day 10: Roadtrip!

Saturday morning we were up early packing the car for our trip home. We had a yummy breakfast and said all of our goodbyes. Kaleb did not want to leave! He said next summer we are staying for 20 days and flying up! 

We left Maine at 9AM. There was so much traffic. We sat in an hour of traffic before the GW Bridge. Then we sat in two hours of traffic in Maryland because of a really bad accident. We finally got to Raleigh at 1AM.

We stayed at the in-laws and woke up to a yummy breakfast. We were back on the road at 9AM Sunday morning and finally pulled into our driveway around noon. Longest trip ever. I'm saving my pennies now for flights next summer!

We had such a great vacation! It went by at just the right speed...not too slow or too fast. We relaxed, ate yummy food and did everything we wanted to. We've already decided that we are going to take this same exact vacation every summer...a little tradition for our family! I'm already looking forward to next year! 

Mom & Dad in North Carolina!

This weekend went by way too fast! My Mom and Dad came down for the long weekend, my Dad's first time down here since he dropped me off in Carrboro when I moved last June. We had such a fun weekend, I've never laughed so hard!

They flew into Raleigh late Thursday night, so they stayed the night in the city. My parents are early birds so I was expecting them to show up at my front door around 7 Friday morning. Oh no, they decided to sleep in, go out for breakfast, and get stuck in lots of traffic on their way out here. They got stuck in traffic due to "a house in the middle of the road."  Seriously! Mom even sent me a picture.

When they finally got around the house and made it to my house, we headed over to New Bern. We had some lunch at Captain Ratty's, picked up my ball gown (which needs to be altered like crazy...sucks that I'm a midget even with high heels!) and walked around the marina for a little bit. I knew Dad would like seeing all the boats. It was such a beautiful fall day...I love walking around in the cool but sunny weather. We stopped at a make-shift car museum...I decided I will only start driving if I can have a 1966 Ford Mustang Convertible...in blue. How's that sound?

Bright and early Saturday the guys headed out for a day of golf. So what did me and Mom do? Shop, of course! The goal was to get everything for Katie's bridal shower present, but that didn't go as well as I wanted...so now I have two weeks to come up with something perfect! Then we went to Mike's Farm, I was expecting so much more. The country store isn't like the country stores at home, it was mostly candles. But oh.my.goodness...we got lots of fudge! Pumpkin fudge is amazing!

After the farm me and Mom headed to Ruby Tuesday for lunch, just as we were getting ready to leave Danny sent me a text message. I told him we just got done eating lunch and the plan for the night was "to go to Mike's Farm for dinner." Danny and Dad decided not to get lunch, come home and hangout until 3:00 until they were hungry. Me and Mom dropped them off at a bar, did some more shopping, and by the time we picked them up....I knew we wouldn't be going to Mike's Farm. We ended up coming home, hanging out...and decided pretty late that we wanted the Olive Garden. We ate too much, had some wine, Mom and Dad had bellinis, and took some pretty goofy pictures. Mom took pictures of me and Danny "pretending that we liked each other." So of course, I had to take pictures of Mom and Dad..and I think they were making fun of us!

Sunday morning we dropped Miley off at daycare which she loves. Seriously, whenever I bring her there she drags me to the door and runs right to the girl...and doesn't even look back to say "see ya later Mom!" We had some breakfast then headed down to Wilmington for the day!

Our first stop was the Battleship. Since we had so much rain last week everything was so flooded. The parking lot was completely under water. We weren't sure how we were supposed to get to the Battleship, so we decided to just jump the fence. Just as we got over....we saw the shuttle that was bringing people right to the ship. OOPS!

The USS North Carolina is huge. I think this was my third time on it, but every time I find something different. This time, my electronics were going crazy. My camera and phone stopped working at the exact same time..which leads me to believe that it really is haunted. My batteries completly drained, but in the next part of the ship everything was fully charged. CREEPY! We were on the ship for three hours and didn't even see the upper part of it! I could never work on a ship, I'd get so lost.

After the battleship we went to the Front Street Brewery. I think the oatmeal stout is always the mug of the day, good thing its so good! It was that awkward eating time again, 3pm. Lunch, dinner, snack? Either way, we ate too much! The guys went to another bar and me and Mom headed to David's Bridal to pick up my dress for Katie's wedding and...World Market. I seriously love that place. I made my own 6-pack...check out all the good stuff.

Oktoberfest, Raging Bitch, 400 Pound Monkey, Pumpkin Ale, The Poet, and Weeping Willow Witt

Today was their last day. Danny and Dad headed to the golf course again. It was too early for me and Mom to do anything...so we just hungout. Eventually we made our way to Barnes and Noble and Walmart. We made a Halloween package for Kaleb and sent those out. We headed out for a light lunch and picked Miley up. I'm so happy that she loves daycamp because I love that it wears her out!

Mom and Dad just pulled out of the driveway. It will only be five weeks until I see them again! We went all summer without seeing them, and now I feel like we'll be seeing them a lot. I love the holiday season!

Hope everyone is enjoying their Columbus Day weekend! It's not over yet!