This visit started off differently from all the rest. Instead of heading to Hockessin, we went to Rehoboth Beach where Blaine's grandparents lived before they moved to Idaho. Rehoboth Beach is such a cute place. I'm not fond of the colder water, but the boardwalk is so worth it. We ate Grotto's Pizza and Dollie's caramel popcorn. We also had ice cream and other treats while we were there. The boardwalk is always so packed, full of life, with shops and all types of fun. Speaking of fun, we went to Funland (a little tiny amusement park that has been around as long as Keith, Blaine's dad, has been around) twice while we were there. It was so much fun to see all the little cute nephews and nieces enjoy the rides. It was hilarious to see how much Chase enjoyed them. I could barely get a smile from her in the beginning. Put her on a ride and she's all smiles, all the time. Her twin brother, Aston, wasn't as fond of them. Miles and Tyson warmed up to them eventually. And Tucker, well I have him in a whole other category now. He's so big! He rode the big boy rides after much persuasion from his dad. Connor is basically my height and Lexi was bigger too. It's crazy how fast they've grown since I met them 2 years ago!
Tuesday during the day, the guys went golfing at the Bay Club with Poppy. Blaine won the round. While they were out and about, I went with Eileen to visit Grandma Sepulveda, Stacey and the kids, Aunt Karen, and I finally got to meet cousin Sarah, Olivia and Baby Victoria. Sarah has been the last of the family that I've met. Unfortunately, I didn't get to meet her husband, Pawel. But it was so nice to finally meet her and her adorable daughters! We had lunch and talked. Women don't need to do much to be entertained :) When Sarah and her girls left, I helped Stacey put the kids down for a nap. I put Tyson down, went into the living room, and was reading a little. Out of nowhere, I felt like the whole house was moving. The ceiling lamps were swinging, as well as the rocking chairs. I was pretty creeped out and had no idea what was going on. Eileen, Aunt Karen and Grandma were outside checking out Eileen's new Jetta TDI. Stacey ran out of the room holding Miles, asking if we just experienced an earthquake. It had never occurred to me that an earthquake could occur in the East. I've always associated earthquakes with California! So we definitely did experience one. Cell phone service was down for a while and we couldn't contact the guys other than through text. Apparently, they didn't feel a thing. There was some damage in D.C. - the temple had several spires come off and some marble chipped on the foundation. It was a 5.8 earthquake. I'm glad that we weren't closer to the epicenter and that it wasn't any worse!
Wednesday we spent the day at the beach house. We went out on the boat while we were there. Some of the family stayed behind and went to the beach instead. We rode by them and waved. Chris decided it'd be fun to swim out to see us. He asked the lifeguards for permission and they let him do it. You know, nothing like a little half-mile swim to get in your day's workout. I thought he was going to stay with us on the boat but he just said that he wanted to swim. So we said hi and then bye and he was on his way back. While we were there, we saw a ton of porpoises around the boat. I was on the jetski with Blaine and was creeped out when they got too close. They're cute but I know they're super powerful creatures. I like them at a distance.
That day, everybody headed back home. Blaine and I decided to go spend some more time with Grandma and Poppy. We spent the night with them, ate dinner, told stories and looked at old pictures. We were also able to pick a picture for Grandma to paint for us! Part of our wedding present was that she'd paint whatever picture we'd like. She doesn't like doing faces so we had a hard time finding a picture that we wanted and that would work. While we were in St. Thomas, I decided to take some pictures of us walking along the beach, holding hands. I'm so excited to see how it turns out!
Thursday was a great day as well. Blaine's grandparents have taken him school shopping every year. Last summer, we didn't have the time so this year he had 2 years worth of back-to-school shopping! This will probably be Blaine's last year. We had a great time, discovering that Poppy likes Express because of their tailored fit and skinny ties. Blaine was able to get some nice clothes for the business school and future interviews. Thanks Grandma and Poppy! While we were staying with them, we found out about Hurricane Irene. Dun dun dunnnn. An earthquake and now a hurricane? So we decided to head to Hockessin just in case conditions outside started to get worse! We made it just in time to eat dinner with the family at a new Italian restaurant at Lantana Square. Brian's high school friend is the owner and we decided to check it out. It was really good. Before dinner, we visited our nephew Jason at Christiana Hospital. We were so so excited to meet him! We had waited a while and have had him in our prayers on a daily basis. He was so cute and much bigger than I expected! He looked healthier than I thought too. I got to hold him for a while. I could've stayed there the whole day! Jason is definitely a special child. He was diagnosed with Rubenstein Taybi Syndrome (RTS), a rare genetic disease. As I sat there looking into his little face, I could sense how strong he was. He has experienced so much since the day he was born. I already admire him.
It was nice to be in good ol' Hickory Hills. Every time I've visited, I've slept in Blaine's room while Blaine had to sleep in the couch. Now that we're married, Blaine was really looking forward to having his room back and sleeping in his comfy bed! Well, it was a full house (Kim, Brian, Stace & Chris + all the kids) and since I married to the bottom of the totem pole, we were assigned to the living room. It was pretty funny. We went out on the boat again, this time to the usual place - the Elk River. Every summer trip to Delaware isn't complete with some water-sports. I skied for the first time ever last summer. I wasn't really feeling it this trip but I couldn't let the opportunity go by. So I did, and it was great. I was able to waterski with Blaine at my side and he kept trying to get me to hold his hand. I was pretty scared but I did it. It lasted for like 2 seconds...or maybe less. Keith also had me take pictures of all the Dawson "kids", now grown up, for a collage that he wanted to put together for the living room. It was fun trying to catch them in action. Brian and Blaine still played around like if they've never grown up. That night, the guys went to play basketball - another thing that a trip to Delaware isn't complete without. They all came back sweaty and in need of showers. I guess it's their definition of a good time. Again, the girls just had to sit around and talk. I love all the new sisters I've acquired in this family. They're all such amazing, strong, fun, and smart women. After Blaine returned from basketball, we went to Rita's. I'm not crazy about it but Blaine is. I think my first experience there wasn't great and it has ruined it for me. But I'll keep trying it till I like it!
Saturday morning, the Boston clan left earlier than anticipated to be home before the hurricane hit. I can't wait till we see them again! The rest of us went to Philadelphia. At this point, the hurricane was going to hit Saturday night/Sunday morning. Our flight for Sunday morning had been cancelled. The weather wasn't too bad and Chris had been waiting to try an authentic Philly cheesesteak for too long. A little hurricane wasn't about to stop him. So we made the trip to Philly and ate some seriously good cheesesteaks at Jim's Steaks. This is the place to go if you're in Philly. I've been here once before and thought that it was 'OK.' This time, it was absolutely delicious. Chris was really happy. After 5 years of patiently waiting, his mission was complete. Since it was a rainy day, nobody was really in the mood to do any historic sightseeing or anything. Instead, we took a trip to Ikea. Keith wanted to find some furniture for the beach house. Saturday night was full of hurricane preparations, replacing dead batteries in flashlights, getting things off of the ground in the basement, and listening to the Weather Channel. We were on a tornado watch for about an hour, but fortunately nothing came our way.
Sunday morning, we woke up with no electricity. The wind outside had picked up some speed but it wasn't anything crazy. We didn't have any electricity for about 8 hours and then the hurricane was gone. I'm so grateful that nothing else happened. It could've been much worse. For some reason though, our Monday morning flight that was rescheduled was also cancelled. At this point, I was getting a little anxious about work and missing out on school. Our flight didn't get rescheduled till late Tuesday afternoon! But this was a nice way of having a forced extended vacation :)
Monday, we went to visit Baby Jason one last time. We also went early birthday shopping for Blaine. This lucky guy got an iPad 2 from his parents for his birthday. We were both really really excited! Blaine has been wanting a tablet forever with no hopes of getting one anytime soon. He looked like this when he got it. And I have to say, I was like the little girl in the background celebrating too. He's been having a lot of fun playing with his tablet and also using it for school. I like to use it to look up recipes. It's so much easier than bringing out my laptop or squinting to read the text on my phone. It's handy but definitely not a necessity. It's just something fun to have! We also went to Strasburg (a city in Amish Country) to ride a steam engine train. Miles was so excited. Miles is a little obsessed with trains. It's so cute. I now know more about trains than I ever have, due to Miles' extensive knowledge about trains. It's awesome. As we were riding the train, I realized that it was my first real train ride ever. So that was kinda cool :) Afterwards, we ate at a smorgasbord. I was already stuffed because Blaine and I ate a pizza cheesesteak (my favorite) and cream cheese filled pretzels from Wawa before. But it was delicious nonetheless. We met up with Kevin, Demery's boyfriend, after for some ice cream - although we didn't need any more food in our systems for another week or so. That night, Keith gave me and Blaine a father's blessing for school. Every time we're in Delaware we get a father's blessing. I love it. He always says exactly what I need to hear and I feel his love, and Heavenly Father's love, for me. I'm so grateful for the great Priesthood example that Blaine has had all his life.
Tuesday was our last day. Our 3 week vacation came to an end. We spent the day packing and leaving everything ready. The Culvers also left Tuesday, just on an earlier flight. As much as I wanted to be back for school, I really didn't want to go. I didn't want to leave Blaine's sweet parents. I miss them so much. They're so much fun to be with. A week and a half wasn't enough time! Once we finished packing, we headed over to Two Cousins for a chicken cheesesteak - our last cheesesteak before heading to the land where cheesesteaks are lame! Boo! Blaine was really sad to leave the East Coast. It is just so different out west! Right before heading out the door, Eileen surprised me with a small, traveling Janome sewing machine. I was so happy. I've been wanting a sewing machine for awhile but don't have the space or money. This is tiny, perfect for our apartment and for trips to Aunt Jan's so that she can teach me how to sew! Thank goodness TSA had no problem with me carrying it on. I can't wait to use it!
Eileen dropped us off at the airport and she was the last of family for us to see before we left. Saying goodbye is always so hard! I hate it! But we were really grateful for the time that we got to spend with both families this summer. As much as we missed our apartment, we would trade it for having family around any day. We're already looking forward to our Christmas trip. It's only 2 months and 3 weeks away! But who's counting? :)
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| The whole gang. |
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