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Saturday, July 27, 2013

New England, Part 2

After our quick visit in Vermont, we made our way to New Hampshire for a week at Kim's family lake house. Lucky? I'd say so. I could really get to used to the lake life. It was such a treat that Kim was there for a day while we were there! There's no way that I can recap it all, but I think the following pictures will give you a good idea of our time at the lake.
Kathryn loves Kim, obviously ;)
Despite his really busy work schedule, Andy stuck around to spend some time with Kathryn. 
The love is mutual :).
We asked Kathryn if she wanted to try to jump off the dock within an hour of our arrival. Without any hesitation and much to our surprise, she went for it. She is quite the dare devil. Although when she popped back up from under the water she did tell us "I'm not doing that again."
This is probably one of my favorite pictures from the week. We were so proud of her!
We were in lake mode from the moment we got there. And it was glorious!
It's probably been about 10 years since I last waterskied. I gave it a try on the first day and was only up for about 5 seconds, but it was a start (more on that later). It was fitting though because this is the same lake I learned how to waterski with Kim as my teacher!
Sam always has a saying that he's using for the moment, and of course they're normally really bizarre. This week he had two; "the cat's pajamas" and "shredding the gnar". 
Here you can find him doing just that, shredding the gnar, slalom!
Little Captain (who prefers the boat going as fast as possible at all times).

Windy


Much needed Nana and Pop Pop time makes Kathryn a happy girl


I'm so bummed we missed it, but about 30 seconds before we arrived to meet my dad, he was getting off the paddle board and fell into the water, backwards! I would have love to have seen that.  
We only got to see him soaked :).
Sometimes the lake life is exhausting.
Taking extra special care of Kim's stuffed animals.

 I'll take this place. Please and thank you.





Kathryn and Uncle Sam are two peas in a pod (even if K is still talking about wanting to pull Uncle Sam's finger - the "trick" that he taught her. Oy vey). 
She's smitten with him.


The two of them are "the cat's pajamas"
When you're on vacation, you eat like you're on vacation. And that we did.
Telling Uncle Sam how it is.
Trying out her first donut

I'm *a little* obsessive when it comes to sprinkles. 
Also, my eyes were bigger than my stomach on this one.
I think I could eat crab cakes everyday.
On our last full day in New Hampshire E. J. had to head back home for work. That day I also thought I was 15 again. In one day I paddle boarded, jet skied, swam and was finally truly successful water skiing. We won't talk about how I could barely walk the following day.







Here's the proof! (and yes, that is Sam saying "enema" at the end of the video because I'm pretty sure I got a couple of them during my waterskiing adventures)
You know it's a a real vacation when you don't wear make up all week, completely forget about all your responsibilities and don't even recall having a job to go back to.

New Hampshire was great to us.

Friday, July 19, 2013

New England, Part 1

Despite our vacation having a rough ending, it started out much better. Our busy vacation began on the Fourth of July. K was an ever-so-helpful traveler. First stop: Connecticut!
We're big pizza fans in our house, so like last year I hyped up another New England pizza staple that E. J. had to try, the famous Pepe's Pizza. Soon after landing, getting our rental car and making our way to New Haven, we called in an order before settling into the hotel.
It didn't disappoint.
 After a day of traveling and a tasty meal, we unwound and watched fireworks from our hotel room.
 Especially excited for milk and cookies...in bed! When on vacation...
 Good morning, Yale.
Although New Haven was recently ranked one of the top 10 worst cities to visit, it was still fun to explore on a morning walk. Of course, I had to take E. J. by the Skull and Bones house (a.k.a. the "Tomb") on Yale's campus. I have a slight obsession with secret societies.





One of the main reasons for our visit to Connecticut was to attend the wedding of my dear college friend, Danielle. On our way to her wedding, we made a detour and I gave E. J. and Kathryn a quick tour of my hometown. 

It was a must for us to stop by the house I grew up in. It's terribly sad because the owners who purchased it from my parents got into legal trouble and it's now owned by the bank and a complete mess inside and out. I was able to peak in the windows and despite it being a wreck inside, happy memories came back instantly.

I was so excited to see Danielle and just as I imagined, she was stunning as was the wedding. I couldn't be happier for my amazing friend and her wonderful husband, Antonio!



Danielle should also be a matchmaker. She sat us with her cousins and their families and they couldn't have been any sweeter and made us feel like we were family. Kathryn loved all of the girls at our table because she was instantly calling them her friends. Plus, anyone who will get on the dance floor with Kathryn is a instant friend.
Questionable dance moves.


The beautiful bride. It was such a treat to be there for their special day.


While in New England, I usually go a bit overboard with Dunkin' Donuts, which is not exactly a place where people tend to go overboard since (especially as of late) they aren't exactly known for their high quality. But honestly, I can't get enough. Obviously. I made to sure to document each time I went during our vacation.

The day after Danielle and Antonio's picture perfect wedding, we made our way up to Vermont to my parent's!

Skype is a wonderful thing to make distance a little more bearable. Kathryn took no time at all to get comfortable at nana and pop pop's house. She made herself at home.
She's pretty smitten with her Uncle Sam
The following day, we had a great family picnic and unfortunately I didn't remember to take many pictures, but I'm so glad we all got to spend the day together and everyone was kind enough to drive up from CT!
Jen, adorable Ava and her family were even able to make it! How is it possible that we've been friends for 25 years?!

This picture has an extra special gem in it...I spy Zach and Carly!

The day after the picnic we loaded up in two vehicles and made our way to New Hampshire (this was an on-the-go vacation). 

To be continued...