Well, we are finally home from vacation. We went to Niagara Falls; Burlington, Vermont; Bar Harbor, Maine; Boston, Massachusetts; Newport, Rhode Island; Mystic, Connecticut, and then spent last night in Pennsylvania before driving the rest of the way home today. We drove a total of 2,600 miles! (with a 6 month old) I will post some pictures soon. So, now Elyse has been to a total of 11 states and one other country, Canada. Her passport picture is hilarious!
We really enjoyed our time together. That was our first big car trip since we have been married. However, we had to stop about every 2.5 or 3 hours because Elyse needed to eat and get out of her car seat. And with Ryan being 6'4" he doesn't exactly fit well in a car. So, even with frequent stops, we made the most of it and had a great trip. We traveled around the first week and then stayed in a condo the second week. Here is where we stayed the second week, http://www.oceancliff1and2.com/ We were not too familiar with Newport before we went. The city is well known for their mansions, www.newportmansions.org/ Even though we did not walk through any of the mansions, we were able to enjoy them from the outside on the cliff walk, www.cliffwalk.com Names like the Kennedy's, and the Vanderbilt's built these homes and lived here in the early 1900's. It was just a great place for a week of relaxing!
While we were on our road trip, I accepted a new job. This is a long story, but I will try to make it short. After Elyse was born I searched for a job that would allow me to stay at home with her and still work in some capacity. I really enjoy teaching. I also know that for me I would not be able to stay at home all of the time without having something to call my own. So, I looked for teaching jobs online. I didn't hear anything for a long time and finally the first week of July I had an interview with ECOT, www.ecotohio.org This is the school that I really wanted to work for if I was going to go this route. They said that it would be a few weeks before I would hear anything from them. They called the following week and offered me the job.
Even when they offered me the job, I didn't know what to do. I have loved my job at Miami Trace. They have been so good to me and I really like the people I work with. But, I also really love my daughter. I was torn by this decision. I felt like God had provided this wonderful opportunity for me to stay at home with Elyse and still work from home. I had prayed from the beginning that if this was meant to be that God would just open the door. Then, He did.
All of that to say, I now teach for ECOT, from home. So, now I am a teaching from home mother.
Saturday, July 25, 2009
Monday, July 13, 2009
Vacation
We left on Sunday, July 12th for a two week vacation in New England. We are traveling to Niagara Falls, NY, Burlington, VT, Bar Harbor, ME, Boston, MA, Newport, RI and a few drives through NH and CT.
In our family vacations are serious business.
Let me introduce you to the vacation notebook. I know what you are thinking, why don’t you just call the local travel company and let them set things up for the trip. You make a simple phone call and they do all the work. They get the airline ticket and the hotel rooms and the renal car and tell you all the sights to see. First, I agree that it is the easy way.
Well, we actually enjoy all of the planning and research.
Last summer Ryan planned our entire trip to Europe; from hotels to flights to eating establishments to sights to see to trains. ALL OF IT! Before our trip he complied a one inch portfolio binder of travel and sightseeing information. He also had 2 Rick Steve’s travel books full of markings and highlights. The man was a picture of a fully prepared traveler.
So, this year it was my turn. How could I ever Iive up to this standard of trip planning perfection?
Now let me introduce you to a 'Walters' vacation. This type of vacation requires little planning. It could range from; my dad coming home from work early on Friday to tell us that we were going to Chicago for pizza that evening; to a surprise trip to NYC for New Years; to going to New Orleans for the Olympic Track and Field Trials. Don't get me wrong, BOTH TYPES OF VACATIONS ARE WONDERFUL, just very, very different!
So far we are on day two of our trip. I have completely failed in trip planning if you compare the hours I have spent planning verses what Ryan would have spent. Don't get me wrong, I have a notebook, but it really isn't up to par. It has missing details, information and directions are absent.
However, I did just have a baby a few months ago and she has taken up the majority of my free time. Also, I think Ryan was born to be a trip planner. Currently he is mapping out the direction we will take to get from VT to ME tomorrow. I really love vacationing with him. It is just so nice to get away for a little while.
We are having a wonderful trip so far. Elyse has been an angel, especially in the car.
Sunday morning we had breakfast with my parents and then left for Niagara Falls. We even went across the boarder to the Canadian side. (Elyse had to get a passport. It is hilarious!) Then we spent the night and got up this morning for the even longer drive to Burlington, VT. It was a beautiful drive! Tomorrow we will head to Maine!
Vacation story to be continued....
In our family vacations are serious business.
Let me introduce you to the vacation notebook. I know what you are thinking, why don’t you just call the local travel company and let them set things up for the trip. You make a simple phone call and they do all the work. They get the airline ticket and the hotel rooms and the renal car and tell you all the sights to see. First, I agree that it is the easy way.
Well, we actually enjoy all of the planning and research.
Last summer Ryan planned our entire trip to Europe; from hotels to flights to eating establishments to sights to see to trains. ALL OF IT! Before our trip he complied a one inch portfolio binder of travel and sightseeing information. He also had 2 Rick Steve’s travel books full of markings and highlights. The man was a picture of a fully prepared traveler.
So, this year it was my turn. How could I ever Iive up to this standard of trip planning perfection?
Now let me introduce you to a 'Walters' vacation. This type of vacation requires little planning. It could range from; my dad coming home from work early on Friday to tell us that we were going to Chicago for pizza that evening; to a surprise trip to NYC for New Years; to going to New Orleans for the Olympic Track and Field Trials. Don't get me wrong, BOTH TYPES OF VACATIONS ARE WONDERFUL, just very, very different!
So far we are on day two of our trip. I have completely failed in trip planning if you compare the hours I have spent planning verses what Ryan would have spent. Don't get me wrong, I have a notebook, but it really isn't up to par. It has missing details, information and directions are absent.
However, I did just have a baby a few months ago and she has taken up the majority of my free time. Also, I think Ryan was born to be a trip planner. Currently he is mapping out the direction we will take to get from VT to ME tomorrow. I really love vacationing with him. It is just so nice to get away for a little while.
We are having a wonderful trip so far. Elyse has been an angel, especially in the car.
Sunday morning we had breakfast with my parents and then left for Niagara Falls. We even went across the boarder to the Canadian side. (Elyse had to get a passport. It is hilarious!) Then we spent the night and got up this morning for the even longer drive to Burlington, VT. It was a beautiful drive! Tomorrow we will head to Maine!
Vacation story to be continued....
Saturday, July 4, 2009
HAPPY 4th of JULY!
I absolutely love Independence Day! It is my favorite holiday. The day just combines so many of my favorite things into one day. The sun, fireworks, grilling out and swimming makes the 4th of July my absolute favorite! We went to a Red's game today (the 5th) and then had a cookout tonight at my parents house. Here is a funny story....
So every major holiday, when the weather is nice, my family makes homemade vanilla ice cream. Granny makes the ice cream and my mother takes care of freezing it. The process of freezing it involves getting tons of ice and the right amount of ice cream salt in the canister so that the motor can run and freeze the ice cream. And you MUST use ice cream salt, or the whole process will not work.
So tonight, while we were eating, my mom and granny had to keep getting up to check on the ice cream. They had the wrong motor in the canister, so it wasn't freezing correctly. While they were in the basement getting the other ice cream motor, my dad said to Ryan and me, "I have been in this family now for almost 38 years and there is always something going on with the ice cream." No truer statement has ever been spoken. There is always something going on with the homemade ice cream. It could be the machine, we do not have enough eggs, we need vanilla, there isn't enough ice, the wrong type of milk products, we need more ice cream salt or any number of other things that can go wrong.
I must say, however, when I had a bowl of homemade vanilla ice cream tonight I thought, I am so thankful that my mother and granny always go to all the effort to make it for us! Even though it never seems to go smoothly!
A quick note about our 3rd anniversary. Ryan returned from Europe late on July 1st. We got to bed after midnight. However, we had tickets to a Red's game on the 2nd at 1:00. We got up and went to the game. He suggested that we leave Elyse with my mom and dad. After the game we were walking back to our car and he looked at me and said, "Would you rather turn right and go to our car, or turn left and go to the Cincinnatian Hotel?" Long story short, this is our favorite hotel. It is a historic hotel in downtown Cincinnati. We went out that evening to
J. Alexanders, and then spent the night downtown. J. Alexanders is one of our favorite restaurants. It was my first night away from Elyse, but it was very comforting to know that she was with my parents.
Thank You Ryan for a WONDERFUL 3rd Anniversary!
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