Home, Sweet Home

Just some of the highlights of our vacation. . .

The idea of crossing the Mason Dixon Line fills me with joy knowing I'm "home" up North.  I have this bizarre love/hate thing for the state of Pennsylvania.  Once we're across the MDLine I'm excited because we're up North, officially.  The farms that dot the landscape & the mountains make me giddy & remind me of home, but as we continue on I-81 I find myself cursing the state for being so.incredibly.long.  Or so it seems.  Especially in the winter.

*sigh*  Main Street in Burlington.  You can see the lake & Adirondack Mountains from here.  And the sunsets?  Amazing.   And yes, that is Nectar's on the right hand side.  Best fries with gravy, ever!

Sunshine is a huge fan of street performers, so Church Street is a never ending source of entertainment for her.  This guy was incredible, weird mask thing aside.  

The Church Street Marketplace.   Love. it.  

Sunshine all decked out for the 4th of July, waiting for the clouds to pass & the sun to go down so the fireworks would start.  This was the 2nd time we were able to watch them from the Melosira.   It's a great location but the walk up the hill to our car was UGH!

Sunshine on her first ski lift ride---she loved it!  She also loved the Alpine Slide.  I was nervous as the first trip down (we had 3) as she went down in the run ahead of mine.  The whole way down I was panicking.  I was convinced I'd see that my poor sweet girl had fallen off the slide & got hurt on the track.  Nope,  she flew down that thing & had a blast on subsequent runs.  

Stowe, VT.  'Nuf said.  

When I was a little girl & would see these little waterfalls coming down the rock formations on the side of the road, I was convinced that fairies lived behind them.   They do, right?

Sunshine with her "big boy" cousins, T & C.  She had so much fun with them, especially C.  And we are so very proud of T, who as a junior in high school has been offered a scholarship to Clarkson University.  Yes, as a junior!  After talking to my older brother (his uncle), he's decided to wait & see what offers come to him as a senior, because as Uncle Michael said "if this is what they're offering you as a junior, imagine what they'll offer as a senior."   Both boys are pretty incredible  guys all around.  

My cousin & her daughter planned a trip from central NY state just to see Sunshine & I.  Don't you hate when everyone in the picture leans & you're the only one sitting upright & look 18 feet tall??

Today's been a wonderful first day home.  We all slept in until 9 which was great.  Hunter took Sunshine out to lunch & to Monkey Joes to play so I could have some quiet time & get some things done around the house.   All I've really done is laundry, clean out the drawers in the bathroom & watch reruns of 90210.  I guess that counts as quiet time, right?