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Okay, so after all of those posts about my music listening and purging, I figure I should write something a bit more substantive and give an update. Mostly I'm writing about this weekend, but I'll probably also wander into other assorted updates.
Saturday I took the day off since I had already put in my hours for the week and I needed to have the day free to get to Nashua. I got up early on Saturday so I could get outside and clean out the truck before we brought it to Nashua. Once that was done, I barely had enough time to pack, eat breakfast and feed Ian before my parents called to say they were on their way up. Kathy and I showered and got ready to go and my parents arrived. We worked on getting the truck started and then we were off running. Kathy, Ian and I drove down in my Mom's car while my parents took the truck since my Dad is better and more experienced at driving a vehicle with bad brakes. We got the truck to Nashua safe and sound and parked it. We had a great time just hanging out and visiting. Later that night we went to my Pepere's grave to clean it up, place flags for Memorial Day, and to remember him. My Mom made us all a great dinner of ham, vegetables, and rice and we all sat down (Mom, Dad, us, Cat, Johnny and the kids) together to eat.
Sunday was the big celebration day for Kathy. We chilled out for the morning. My parents ran to the store for food for the cookout and then my sister ran out for the tres leches cake. By the afternoon we were ready for some barbeque. My sister Jess and her family came over, as did Gram. My Dad and Mom grilled burgers, hot dogs, and teryaki chicken, and we also had potato salad (I love it when it's homemade!) and deviled eggs. After we had finished eating dinner, the cake came out and we celebrated Kathy's graduation. If you've never had tres leches cake, you must. It is so delicious and moist! No lie! The kids went swimming afterward and we put Ian in the pool for his first swim. He had fun floating around in the panda float and splashing.
Monday was a crazy day for me. I drove all the way back up to Plymouth in my Mom's car so I could work at the Plymouth Memorial Day Parade. Before leaving I looked at my keys and thought "Nah, I have to leave those so my Dad can work on my truck!" Big mistake. I arrive in a very smoky Plymouth. The smoke from the Canadian forest fires was very thick in the air, so thick you couldn't really see much of the mountains behind the smoke. I pulled into our driveway and thought, "I'll just run inside and grab a few things, and then... wait... how do I get in without my keys?" Thankfully I had lots of experience breaking into my own residence from years of forgetting my house key as a teenager, so I got in (and in the interest of home security I'll spare the details). I grabbed a few things and then I was off to work and figure out how I was to get in. Thankfully Wally already volunteered, so I called him up and asked him to meet me at the library with the spare keys and he let me in. I took a different approach to covering the parade that actually worked out better and was more efficient. I got some better camera angles and the production work was all out of the way and out of sight except for Wally and a single camera on the lawn. Oh, and Paul was at Town Hall when I arrived, so he was able to let me in there. It all worked out!
After the parade was done, I ran home to lock up quickly and get home. The Memorial Day traffic was crazy on I-93 South! I discovered that the song "Bite Me (Hard)" by Jim's Big Ego is great when stuck in traffic with drivers from Massachusetts that seem to lack a fundamental understanding and/or observance of proper braking distance. I got back just in time for some cookout leftovers for lunch and then a dip in the pool, which was very much welcome! Kathy showed me the photos she took of the Nashua Memorial Day Parade and we all spent time as a family together, which was nice. Dad had me take the truck out for a test drive after lunch and it drove very nice. We ended up ordering out pizza for dinner from Milano's and I had to explain how the best pizza place in Plymouth is about the equivalent of the worst pizza place in Nashua. It was nice to actually get some good pizza for a change! Ian wore his new Red Sox pajamas to bed. Ian also got a bunch of new clothes this weekend and a couple of new toys, like the Mozart Musical Block.
Tuesday we spent the morning getting packed up and ready to go. I also did what little I could to help my Dad fix the passenger side door handle on the truck. After Mom came home for lunch and we got a chance to say goodbye, we took one of Dad's friends with us to Wilton so he could get home and stopped in to visit Fred, Aunt Terri, Uncle Bob, and some of the kids. It was great to spend time with them again! Uncle Bob gave Ian some new toys, including a little tambourine that he loved. They had a walker there and we put Ian in. He loved the new mobility he had! Aunt Terri called up Christian (my cousin) and had her bring over a walker for us to take home that she didn't need. Aunt Terri also gave us a bunch of baby food that they didn't need anymore. Unfortunately we weren't able to stay long and visit after that because we had to get home.
We stopped in Manchester to check on Ian after he started crying and screaming and wouldn't stop even after nursing. We took him out of the truck to cool off and go for a little walk around a parking lot and he calmed down and fell asleep. Back on the road and we stopped in Concord for some drive-thru late lunch. We finally got back to Plymouth just in time for me to drop off Kathy, Ian, and all of our stuff and then run to work for the Zoning Board meeting. Thankfully the meeting was only about two hours long, which was about two hours short of what I expected. I ran out and did some grocery shopping since we were low on food at home and then ran home to cook dinner and relax a little before bed.
I didn't get to work on my grad school application at all this weekend, but it's almost done so I should be able to finish up in the next couple of days. Kathy heard back from CSUMB finally through email. She's been listed as an alternative. They said they had a really tough time choosing candidates for the program this year and so the placed her on as an alternate in case someone doesn't show up. They also encouraged her to apply again for next year if an opening doesn't appear and they would gladly give her tips to improve her portfolio submission.
Saturday I took the day off since I had already put in my hours for the week and I needed to have the day free to get to Nashua. I got up early on Saturday so I could get outside and clean out the truck before we brought it to Nashua. Once that was done, I barely had enough time to pack, eat breakfast and feed Ian before my parents called to say they were on their way up. Kathy and I showered and got ready to go and my parents arrived. We worked on getting the truck started and then we were off running. Kathy, Ian and I drove down in my Mom's car while my parents took the truck since my Dad is better and more experienced at driving a vehicle with bad brakes. We got the truck to Nashua safe and sound and parked it. We had a great time just hanging out and visiting. Later that night we went to my Pepere's grave to clean it up, place flags for Memorial Day, and to remember him. My Mom made us all a great dinner of ham, vegetables, and rice and we all sat down (Mom, Dad, us, Cat, Johnny and the kids) together to eat.
Sunday was the big celebration day for Kathy. We chilled out for the morning. My parents ran to the store for food for the cookout and then my sister ran out for the tres leches cake. By the afternoon we were ready for some barbeque. My sister Jess and her family came over, as did Gram. My Dad and Mom grilled burgers, hot dogs, and teryaki chicken, and we also had potato salad (I love it when it's homemade!) and deviled eggs. After we had finished eating dinner, the cake came out and we celebrated Kathy's graduation. If you've never had tres leches cake, you must. It is so delicious and moist! No lie! The kids went swimming afterward and we put Ian in the pool for his first swim. He had fun floating around in the panda float and splashing.
Monday was a crazy day for me. I drove all the way back up to Plymouth in my Mom's car so I could work at the Plymouth Memorial Day Parade. Before leaving I looked at my keys and thought "Nah, I have to leave those so my Dad can work on my truck!" Big mistake. I arrive in a very smoky Plymouth. The smoke from the Canadian forest fires was very thick in the air, so thick you couldn't really see much of the mountains behind the smoke. I pulled into our driveway and thought, "I'll just run inside and grab a few things, and then... wait... how do I get in without my keys?" Thankfully I had lots of experience breaking into my own residence from years of forgetting my house key as a teenager, so I got in (and in the interest of home security I'll spare the details). I grabbed a few things and then I was off to work and figure out how I was to get in. Thankfully Wally already volunteered, so I called him up and asked him to meet me at the library with the spare keys and he let me in. I took a different approach to covering the parade that actually worked out better and was more efficient. I got some better camera angles and the production work was all out of the way and out of sight except for Wally and a single camera on the lawn. Oh, and Paul was at Town Hall when I arrived, so he was able to let me in there. It all worked out!
After the parade was done, I ran home to lock up quickly and get home. The Memorial Day traffic was crazy on I-93 South! I discovered that the song "Bite Me (Hard)" by Jim's Big Ego is great when stuck in traffic with drivers from Massachusetts that seem to lack a fundamental understanding and/or observance of proper braking distance. I got back just in time for some cookout leftovers for lunch and then a dip in the pool, which was very much welcome! Kathy showed me the photos she took of the Nashua Memorial Day Parade and we all spent time as a family together, which was nice. Dad had me take the truck out for a test drive after lunch and it drove very nice. We ended up ordering out pizza for dinner from Milano's and I had to explain how the best pizza place in Plymouth is about the equivalent of the worst pizza place in Nashua. It was nice to actually get some good pizza for a change! Ian wore his new Red Sox pajamas to bed. Ian also got a bunch of new clothes this weekend and a couple of new toys, like the Mozart Musical Block.
Tuesday we spent the morning getting packed up and ready to go. I also did what little I could to help my Dad fix the passenger side door handle on the truck. After Mom came home for lunch and we got a chance to say goodbye, we took one of Dad's friends with us to Wilton so he could get home and stopped in to visit Fred, Aunt Terri, Uncle Bob, and some of the kids. It was great to spend time with them again! Uncle Bob gave Ian some new toys, including a little tambourine that he loved. They had a walker there and we put Ian in. He loved the new mobility he had! Aunt Terri called up Christian (my cousin) and had her bring over a walker for us to take home that she didn't need. Aunt Terri also gave us a bunch of baby food that they didn't need anymore. Unfortunately we weren't able to stay long and visit after that because we had to get home.
We stopped in Manchester to check on Ian after he started crying and screaming and wouldn't stop even after nursing. We took him out of the truck to cool off and go for a little walk around a parking lot and he calmed down and fell asleep. Back on the road and we stopped in Concord for some drive-thru late lunch. We finally got back to Plymouth just in time for me to drop off Kathy, Ian, and all of our stuff and then run to work for the Zoning Board meeting. Thankfully the meeting was only about two hours long, which was about two hours short of what I expected. I ran out and did some grocery shopping since we were low on food at home and then ran home to cook dinner and relax a little before bed.
I didn't get to work on my grad school application at all this weekend, but it's almost done so I should be able to finish up in the next couple of days. Kathy heard back from CSUMB finally through email. She's been listed as an alternative. They said they had a really tough time choosing candidates for the program this year and so the placed her on as an alternate in case someone doesn't show up. They also encouraged her to apply again for next year if an opening doesn't appear and they would gladly give her tips to improve her portfolio submission.
