Where have you been, and where do you want to go?

We have been on quite a few family trips, particularly over the past five years. We have been to Disney World at Christmastime, in the fall, winter, spring and summer and each season had its benefits. For my fortieth birthday, my mother gave us a trip to Italy, which was amazing. We went out to Idaho and stayed at a friend's house to help her work on her rental house, and we drove into Canada and roasted marshmallows over a fire. We've been to the beaches of North Carolina, we took my father-in-law to Long Beach Island, visited Cape May (and that wouldn't be complete without a ride on the ferry) and gone to Ocean City when our son was younger. I guess we started out as beach people in the beginning, and then progressed into wanting to visit any new place.

Even our honeymoon was an adventure. It all started with a round-trip, first class flight and me very pregnant. Why? Because my husband had earned a bunch of frequent-flyer miles in his job. Oh, the pregnant part. We had been married 13 months before, and we said that we would take the honeymoon after we had saved some money. Well, I got pregnant a bit prematurely, and it got to the point where I said, "We better take our honeymoon, or this is going to be a family vacation." So, we scraped together some cash and stayed at the most affordable place we could. We chose a bed and breakfast called the Hai'ku Plantation Inn. On our arrival, we walked up to the owner of the place and we greeted each other, and then he looked at me and said, "And I'm a retired obstetrician." Imagine our luck, and imagine his amazing stuffed French toast! We even worked in a layover in San Fransisco to visit my aunt and cousin. Swimming is an adventure when you're seven months pregnant, let me tell you. And we went whale-watching and explored every inch of Maui by car. We experienced a sunrise on the top of Haleakala, toured a pineapple farm, visited the Seven Sacred Pools and saw the most beautiful grave site I have ever seen, Charles Lindburgh's burial place. My favorite meal was the mahi-mahi from the Paia Fish Market. As we left, we were witness to a rare occurrence: snow topping the peak of Mt. Haleakala. Note: this is Hawaii, folks.

That trip was the beginning of many adventures that we have taken over almost two decades; it makes me wonder what adventures lie ahead. It also seems that it doesn't matter where we go since we always manage to be entertained and inspired by every place we visit.

Done once it's an event, done twice, it's a tradition

I hope that our son understands some of the traditions that we have established over the years, especially at Christmas. Sometimes it seems like we do something different every year, but that's not so true. So, for the record:

I believe that I have spent every single Christmas with my parents. I think maybe there was one year when Daniel was very young and both Jay and I had a terrible cold, at which point we stayed home and Mom and Dad stayed home. But all in all, my parents got Christmas, Jay's dad got Thanksgiving (when he was alive) and Jay's mom got Easter (when she was alive and we were talking).

We've had Christmases where we have done very little decorating, but we have almost always had a tree, first one that we would cut down, and then an artificial one that we recycled year after year. Don't get me started on the crime of cutting down trees for a two- to perhaps four-week use then to brazenly toss aside.

We always bake cookies. If Nestle's Toll House cookies aren't consumed, then it's not Christmas.

No comment is to be made about what we're having for Christmas dinner, as it is quite often a discussion from August to December. Every year, whether we're joking or serious. Really.

New Year's Eve always has some special dinner, then so does New Year's Day, and then we swear off eating forever by the end of it. Also at this time, we try to complete some indoor house project; this year is was new blinds in a couple of the rooms.

Snow days from school are "found" days. They are not allowed to be used for catch-up whenever possible. Uno (or the game du jour), hot chocolate are the traditions of these lovely days, and walks in the snow. Snowmen and sledding have become optional.

Barring snow days, we ignore tradition with any event that occurs in the winter and spring, pretty much until Memorial Day when we have a picnic. Usually the plan is to ready the pool at least two weeks prior to Memorial Day, just to be able to say that we've been in the pool before Memorial Day. I generally ignore this part of the tradition, as comfort in body warmth is important to me.

The Fourth of July is another picnic, and one big party for me as my birthday is four days after this event.

Labor Day, you'll never guess: another picnic.

Thanksgiving is now with my parents, and we have had a tradition of renting a house on the Outer Banks of North Carolina. This tradition may end soon however, as we may now be closer to having all families come together at my parents' house (as my mother has always wanted). More to follow on that one.

So as I write this, it occurs to me that maybe we don't have a whole lot of traditions and many of them seem to be clustered at one end of the year (we should probably spread the wealth a bit), but what we have is fairly much centered around food and being together.

What traditions do you have?

Daisy and the Apple

Daisy has decided to stop chewing our shoes and carpet and has taken up fruit.

Daisy and Squirrel

Here is my favorite picture of Daisy and Squirrel. It is one of the rare moments that Daisy was not chasing Squirrel.

Nice quote: stay educated

This from the Disney Great Leader Strategies:

"In times of drastic change, it is the learners who inherit the future. The learned usually find themselves equipped to live in a world that no longer exists."

Experience love whenever possible

So about a week into school resuming this year, the hubby said, "It's lonely around here without you all the time. Tim has been gone for two years. I think we need a dog."

We have been pet-less since the beginning of the summer when our cat Georgia died, but we have had no dog for even longer. I have been used to not walking a dog, not taking a dog to the vet, etc., but when Jay approached me with this request, I realized it was time to expand the family in just that way. So he visited CAWL, the local Humane Society facility and he saw a four-month-old puppy that reminded him of Tim. She was a beagle-mix by the name of Bella. The next day we had a scheduled appointment in Williamsburg, VA, but we showed up at CAWL the next day when they opened. It was a good thing we did; ten minutes into filling out paperwork on acquiring this dog and someone called in asking if anyone had adopted her. We have named her Daisy.

To add to the mayhem, the hubby stopped by our vet to make an appointment for Daisy, and it just so happened that there was a cat there whose litter was up for adoption. There was only one 15-week-old kitten left from that litter, which broke Jay's heart; he snatched her up also. Coming up for a name for this one was more interesting. I was outside playing catch with Daisy, and I was talking to our son and commenting on how distracted Daisy was by the dog next door, and I said, "Squirrel!" If you've seen the movie Up you know what I'm talking about. So it suddenly hit me to call the cat Squirrel, and everyone else liked the name as well. It also helps to describe her squirrel-y behavior. I was barely able to get this picture of her, and that's with Jay trying to hold her still.

So while it was nice to be on break from pet duties, it is nice to be back in it as well. Plus, the return love of animals is tenfold what you give them.

Wear a different hat every once in a while...

...especially when it comes to being more child-like! A great time was had by all in Washington, D.C. this weekend by Susan, her family, and by Jay and me. We enjoyed an (almost) rain-free day on the Mall, and everybody got what they wanted. Susan's youngest got to play with gravel, her middle son found truck parts even on aircraft at the Air and Space Museum, her oldest read everything she could get her eyes on (what a voracious learner she is) and we adults did a little catching up while walking around.




My personal favorite exhibit that we saw was at the Museum of Natural History called Written in Bone. It was absolutely fascinating, combining science with history, talking about how the study of bones helps determine so much about a person's life and death. I highly recommend it!