Hello again.

Hello all “Tale of Two Cities” blog fans (meaning you, Mom and Dad). I’m finally in San Diego and feeling back to normal. No more packing, driving, hotel stays, restaurants (okay, maybe a few more of these), or boxes. We have mostly moved in and are loving life here in San Diego. So much has happened in the past month and I can’t wait to share our adventures with you. Over the next week, I will try to catch up on everything that has been going on in our lives.

 

Until then, love from the West Coast!

 

Here is a sneak peek…

Just a few boxes in Milton, Florida

My favorite picture from the entire trip. This was taken at the Grand Canyon during sunset. And, yes, I am holding Sadie because she kept trying to wiggle out of her collar. I'm not sure she grasped how far that fall would be...

Best road trip partner EVER! Judging from that face, not sure she would say the same about me.

Just a few boxes in San Diego, CA

Working for the Weekends

I have a little catch up to do on the blog...I know, I know...sorry! So, it's not really spring here yet...we're still wearing our winter coats, scarfs, hats, and even gloves and we're still doing some winter activities. To pass the cold we've spent the past couple weekends having quality visits with friends, family, and a trip to Ireland (full blog post on that next week).

The last weekend in February we headed to southern Vermont for some outdoor fun and skiing! Our good friends, Trace and Natalie rented a ski house with a dozen other people for the winter in Wilmington, VT near the ski resort, Mount Snow. They invited us up and it was such a welcome getaway and definitely delivered some relaxation.

As we drove the 4 hours from NYC to VT the snow was falling and the back roads were getting a little treacherous. Luckily we made it to the house all in one piece and let cole out to run free in the wilderness!

The weekend was spent meeting some cool new people, eating family style meals, relaxing around a fire with beers and skiing two very full days...with no cell reception (loved that!) As for Cole...Natalie made a joke about Cole being at "Camp Vermont" for the weekend because he played with his camp buddies (3 other big dogs who were there for the weekend), enjoyed the great outdoors, and literally had the best time of his life.

We didn't have to put a leash on Cole all weekend...we just let him outside with the other dogs and they went exploring through the snow, wrestled and chased each other, and then came back to lots of love and affection from all the people in the house. He was also taken on a snow-shoe hike and backwoods ski expedition with the other dogs and 3 guys from the house. With deep snow over his head, I can only imagine how much fun he had....I could also tell from how exhausted he was!

Skiing on Saturday and Sunday was great - there was tons of fresh snow on the mountain...6 new inches on Sunday morning! The weather was perfect Sunday, sunny and no wind...plus the mountain was free of crowds. There were a few times when we were the only people on some trails. We caught the last lift of the day as they pulled the rope behind us and made the most of our last run...it felt like the 7 of us (5 snowboarded and nick and I skiing) were the only people there! It was awesome...perfect way to end the weekend.

The weekend was just what the dr ordered for us...away from the stress of work and the city...and there is something about meeting new, interesting, and funny people that is really refreshing.

The next weekend our friends Tracy and Joe came up from DC to visit. It was such a great weekend!! Mostly we just ate really good food while enjoying each other's company...mexican, two yummy brunches (one homecooked where the 4 of squeezed around our balcony table), Pizza, and rustic Italian. We ended up at most of our favorite neighborhood spots, plus a new favorite in Chelsea - Eataly! Eataly is a brand new, open Italian market created by Mario Batali and collaborators. It has tons of authentic foods to buy...pasta, sauce, cheese, wine, bread, meat, fish...plus about 5 open market restaurants. We had pizza and wine at one...DELISH. Click on the food to see the restaurants...sooooo good! Before indulging at Eataly we took a stroll through Central Park.

The 4 of us also got "day of" tickets to the musical, Avenue Q. It was HILARIOUS....we were laughing the entire time. It's definitely some offensive, off color humor...played by puppets! The puppets just make it that much more ridiculous. Ever seen a puppet sex scene?! Well we did, haha! The actors were fantastic and we were really happy we went.

We had such a great visit - thanks for coming guys! It's just so nice to hang out with your best friends and know that some things never change :)

The weekend after that Nick had some of his good friends visit while I went up to Boston to see my family including my cuter than cute niece. Will post some of those pictures soon!

love from the city!

Mount Snow trails


view from the top of Mount Snow


Mount Snow run


Nick & I skiing in Vermont


Me skiing!


Alice & Wonderland statue in Central Park


The 4 of us in Central Park


Eataly


Tray & I having some pizza and vino at Eataly

Eataly!

Avenue Q

Winging Weekend

This past weekend we celebrated Matt's Winging. He has been working for his Wings for the past two and a half years and now he can finally say that he is "officially" a Navy pilot. It was a long wonderful fantastic fabulous weekend and we had family and friends here to share it with us. Instead of going into all the details, I thought that I would do a picture blog to show all of the Winging weekend moments.

 

On a side note to Matt (when he gets around to reading this blog - which better be soon;)). I could not possibly be more proud of you. You had a dream and you went for it. How many people can really say that. But you can. You did it. I love you.

 

And without further ado, here was our weekend.

Thursday night was the soft patch winging. This is the day when they get the wings for their flight suits. The instructors tell funny stories about the students and then give them their wings. Here we are right after. Finally...wings!

The whole gang

Friday morning Matt scheduled us for a Sim. We were able to simulate flying a helicopter. In this picture, Matt is my co-pilot. Not long after this moment, I crashed.

Before the official winging, some of the students participate in the Blessing of the Wings. Here Matt's Wings are being blessed by the priest.

The picture didn't turn out too well, but this is me pinning Matt with his wings. At this moment I was thinking "Do not drop the wings, do not drop the wings...." And you can't see it in this picture, but Matt is smiling like a four year old on Christmas morning.

YES!!!

The whole class

Matt's buddy, Jason, flew down to be there for the ceremony. It wouldn't have been the same without him. On a side note, this is the helicopter that Matt trained on for the past couple of months.

This is the traditional ceremony after the winging. The wingers give a toast and get a mug with their new helicopter on it. It is now a treasured possession in our house.

Some of my favorite spouses...

I think that this calls for a drink (or two)...

We threw a little party on Saturday night for Matt and a couple of the other wingers. It was the perfect night for burgers, brats, beers, and craw fish. It also gave our families all a chance to meet. Judging from all the pictures, I can safely say it was a success!

Just a little (20 pounds) of craw fish. This was a definite favorite.

This is the moment the buzzer rang on the VT v. Duke game. I think we know who won that one.

The Moms. I think that this is when they were planning their trip to Seattle together.

Congratulations, guys!