Posts from — July 2007

So I just got back from a road trip with my sister and all three of our kids. We drove to my mom’s house near Rochester, NY. We rented a minivan, so we could drive together, since both of us have regular cars. We have not graduated to minivan ownership yet. Ten hours on the road with my two two-year-olds and her three-month-old. It was only 7 hours of actual driving, but we had to make lots of stops.

Some highlights of our trip. . .

Two days at Finger Lakes CFO. . . a camp that we went to every summer when we were growing up. It was really great to see so many friends that I haven’t seen in years, but I have known for so long. I mean, these people have known me since I was, like, eight years old.

We had a picnic at Harris Hill with some of our extended family, just like when we were kids, except now we have a new generation of kids. It felt so familiar, even though it’s been probably twenty years since the last time we went there. There is a kiddie amusement park. We took Emily and Erica on the carousel, but couldn’t get them to go on the horses. So we went round and round on the little benches.

Sarah and I sang a song, “All I Am,” by Reuben Morgan, at my mom’s church on Sunday, just like when we were teenagers. I played the piano and sang background vocals. Sarah and I had similar feelings about this. . . that it’s crazy how even with so much performing experience, doing it in a place like that stirs up so many emotions, memories, and old insecurities. Of course there is so much love and support for us from the people there, so it’s all in our heads. . . but these sure can be powerful feelings.

We went to the Strong National Museum of Play, in Rochester, NY. It was awewome. Emily and Erica’s favorite part is the child-size Wegman’s Market. Real shopping carts, just their size. . . real-looking fake food to load into the shopping carts. . . and real checkouts with real conveyor belts, just their size. The older kids run the cash registers, and even give the little shoppers a real receipt! And, of course, when Emily and Erica figured out how to press the button that prints out receipts, we printed a lot of receipts. We also went to a butterfly garden, had hot dogs at Bill Gray’s, and the best part is that we got to do all of this with some of my dad’s family who we haven’t seen for a really long time. Emily and Erica got to ride on a carousel again, and by the sixth or seventh time, they both went on the big horses. Emily tried it first. It took a lot more convincing and reassuring for Erica, but when she finally did it, she had a blast. They loved going “up and down.”

I got to see my mom’s new house. Yes, my mom just bought a house, for the first time in her whole life. It’s just so exciting that she has a place all her own. And it has a really nice yard.

Emily and Erica are already asking to go back to Grandma Lynn’s house.

There is a little playground right next to us, and we walk over there all the time. Taking the baby doll strollers is the best way to keep the girls from asking me to carry them home.

Erica

Emily

Erica walking home.

“Come on, Mommy!”