Lots to catch up on, especially since we are now literally on the verge of summer - Gabe's last day of school is TOMORROW!!!! I'm both excited and terrified about the impending 8 weeks of unscheduled time. We have plenty of things planned, though, so we'll do our best to keep busy, and hope for lots of nice weather. And I know that before I know it, I'll be lamenting the end of the summer and the beginning of another school year, and wondering how those 8 weeks went by so fast.
The beach is going to be a very different experience this year, though, with Carmine being completely mobile - and fearless. We may not be quite the beach bums we were last year, but we'll still have our fair share of beach days.
This past weekend was the air show in Quonset. Fabulous, as always, especially seeing the Blue Angels. Beyond impressive! Gabe and Dante were thrilled and awed by the noise - Carmine was terrified.
But Sunday, we were at a birthday party close to the show, and we got to see the Blue Angels fly almost directly overhead, but since they were just flying over and not actually doing any maneuvers, it wasn't nearly as loud, and Carmine was soooo interested - looking up and pointing and following the planes. It was a treat for all of us to be able to see them twice like that!
We've been super busy with Gabe's end-of-year school activities - talent show, Field Day, and today a field trip to a local farm, and then out for ice cream. And Scott took today off to watch Dante and Carmine so that I could be a chaperone on the field trip. Gabe was so thrilled to have me there, and I had so much fun. It was a great trip, and it's always so cute to see your kids at school with their friends. This is the first time I've been able to chaperone a field trip, and I will definitely be doing it again as soon as I can.
Tomorrow will be the last time that it's just me and Dante and Carmine, so I want to do something special, just the three of us. When I thought about that today, I got a little sad. Carmine and I are both going to miss our little buddy next year. It's going to be very, very, very quiet around the house without him here.
He told me last week that he and his friend Alexandra from school are going to get married on the beach, and they're going to wait for a nice warm day, so that everyone can wear their bathing suits and go swimming. Oh, and he's going to send me an invitation to the "marrying party." Isn't that nice of him to invite his mom? : )
He also told me last week that Christmas is "a very candyish time of year." I'm not sure why we were even talking about Christmas, but I thought that was a pretty funny observation.
Our veggie garden is positively thriving this year! So much better than last year's, and we've been enjoying lots and lots of salads with freshly picked lettuce. Gabe resisted the first few times I tried to serve it to him, because it wasn't the crunchy romaine hearts that he's used to from the grocery store, but when he finally took a bite, he said "Oh my god! Don't ever buy lettuce from the store again! This is the only salad I ever want to eat!" Now if we can get him to feel that way about all the other veggies we have planted.....
Carmine is thriving, too - getting into everything, climbing on everything, and terrorizing his big brothers by throwing toys at them. He loves nothing better than roughhousing with them, and I try to keep it to a minimum, because I don't want him to get hurt, and I also don't want him thinking it's ok to go up and tackle other little kids. But it is pretty awesome to see him and Gabe and Dante rolling around on the floor, all giggling and having the time of their lives.
It's also amzingly adorable to see him run over and give them a hug and a kiss at bedtime. So, so cute : )
As for me - there are lots of things to catch up on there, too, including the fact that I ran EIGHTEEN miles on Saturday morning (!!!!!!), and am at a point where 20-mile runs are not the least bit intimidating - but I think I need to save that for another time.
I do have to quickly note, though, that when I came home from the field trip today, Scott told me he had to run an errand. I was a bit suspicious when he came up with some weird explanation for why he had to go out, but I was so distracted by the kids that I didn't take the time to delve into it any further, and he was off.
Half an hour later, he was back in the driveway, pulling my NEW BIKE out of the back of the car!!!! Ok, so it's not a 'new' bike - it's used - but it's new to me. And it is awesome!!!! It's a Trek 2200, and it's so much ligher, and SO much faster than my old bike! I had a Giant OCR, which was a great entry-level road bike, but I never felt completely comfortable on it, and I just couldn't really go terribly fast on it. And anyone who reads this blog regularly knows that I like to go fast.
So my awesome, super-fantastic, amazing husband took it upon himself to go and get me a new bike, because, as he put it, "I deserve it, because I'm so dedicated and I work so hard." How incredible is he???!!!!
I know a lot of people wouldn't trust someone else to go pick out a bike for them, but I trust him, and he made a good choice. We may need to make some small adjustments, but overall the bike fits me well, and although it felt a little odd when I first got on, as I rode around the neighborhood a bit, it felt more and more comfortable. It's definitely got a more aggressive feel to it, but I think it actually fits me better than my old bike did.
And I could seriously lift it up with one finger, if I wanted to - it's soooo light! And did I mention fast, fast, fast!!!!! I've been averaging 17.5 mph on my bike rides these past few weeks, but I know this week's ride on the new bike is going to be a lot faster. I can't wait to get out there!
First things first, though - tomorrow's Tuesday, which means it's track time. Mile repeats at 7:02 pace. Yikes!!!! I can do this. And it will make me stronger. And it will make me faster. And Fast. Is. Good. : )
congrats on the new bike! we'll definitely be expecting more speed out of you :-)
Posted by: Wes | June 28, 2011 at 10:50 AM