Nicholson

While Joe was away at a confrence in NY, the children and I took a road trip to Northeastern Pennsylvania to visit with my parents and brother.


We took our time getting there on Wednesday, witnessing two car fires along the way, hitting snow in the Poconos, and not stopping til Nicholson! It was a little after four p.m. when we finally got in and my brother, Nick, took the girls outside to play in the snow as soon as we finished saying hello. They got to go sledding-even our timid Carmellina went down the hill! That night we ate a dinner of tomato soup and grilled cheese around the coffee table in the living room, with everyone, including grandparents, squished together on the couch. It was very cozy.


Thursday was a day at home away from home. The girls and Joey and I just did our usual routine, but at my parents' house instead. Rosemary observed that it was strange to have our regular day somewhere else. Somehow it was relaxing for me. I even enjoyed cooking dinner that night with Nick...we took turns holding the baby so we could cook. He even found time to take Carmellina outside to play again.


Dad took off on Friday and shared his love for skiing with us by taking us for a trip up to Elk Mountain. We went just to take a look and to get the girls thinking about it a bit. The most exciting thing to them was not watching people ski, but watching them sit down on the chair lift! For me it's been over ten years since I went skiing, but I felt the same thrill over the sport that I felt when I was little, standing at the base of the mountain with my dad. We hope to go next year- all of us, except the baby, I guess. :)


That night we went to Chuck E Cheese for dinner and play. I think we grown ups were a bit put off by the change in their choice of game systems. It seemed that many of the games were bent on gambling, like primers for children to become gamblers. Thankfully Rosie and Carmellina were only interested in climbing through the aerial tunnels, but I think we won't be going back for a long while...if ever. :(


On the way back to my parents' house a snow storm began, which ended Saturday morning leaving four more inches of snow on top of what was already there! Once again my bro took his nieces outside and played away the morning, with Rosie stopping to help Dad shovel.


It was hard to leave, but we finally pulled out around 2:30. The drive would not have gone well if it hadn't been for Rosemary! Baby Joey was awake for the first fourty-five minutes and started to get very unhappy. I was able to pull over and move Rosemary's seat up next to the baby so she could take care of him as we drove. She did great! And when Carmellina woke up, she helped too, peek-a-booing around the seat. What great sisters! What a relief to have little helpers like them!

Can you believe the trip wasn't over? We stopped at my cousin's house on the way home to meet her new baby Brianna Lynn. What a sweet baby! The girls played with their other cousin, Hailey, and baby Joey ate a whole container of bananas...uh-oh. Not long after we were on our way home, eager to be in our own beds.

The girls went to sleep cheerfully, snuggled in and sleepy. I waited up for Joe and felt, at his homecoming, home when I heard his voice in our house. For all the fun of traveling, it was good to be together at the end of the journey.

Christmas Day Part 3: Reprise

Hey, this is Jessie's blog entry about our Christmas Day Part 3. Well, we said farewell to Joe's folks on Friday the 28th and drove the four hours out to my parents in Northeastern Pennsylvania. We slowly rolled out of New York over the Throgs Neck Bridge and had an easy ride to the Delaware Water Gap. After a fun break at the newly constructed rest stop, we pushed through to Nicholson, where we arrived just in time for a dinner of Mom's wimpies (sloppy joe's). The girls stayed up late as we indulged in Mom's homemade cookies for dessert. After the girls went to sleep in "My Room" (Mom's oasis), we quietly and oh-so-excitedly played Santa. On Christmas Day Part 3 we opened and opened and opened and wondered how we were going to get it all home (in the end most of the gifts we recieved from my family had to stay behind! We'll get them at a later date). It's nice to be so loved- by both our families!
We had fun the next day visiting with the Senatore's and the Deschaine's in Allentown (my mother's side). While we were there it started snowing- had to be the biggest snow flakes I've ever seen! Also, there was more eating and more gift exchanging and more good times despite the weather. My brother, my father, Joe, and our four month old son fell asleep watching football that afternoon! Oh dear!
Well, after the naps and the dessert and the long goodbyes that families make, we headed back to Nicholson where it continued to snow through the night. The girls were very excited when they woke up to a true winter wonderland on New Year's Eve. They didn't get to go out to play until the afternoon, but when Uncle Nick got home from work we all had a blast pelting each other with snow balls until only the pink of the sunset shone above the mountains. And after- what warmth awaited indoors with hot ovaltine and candy canes! (I know, hot OVALTINE?)
Cozily indoors, we hung out snacking and playing and watching television with the girls until ten or so. Too tired to stay up until midnight, they went to sleep easily. We grown-ups played Yahtzee until 11:56 when we rounded up the last minute "lucky charms" to welcome 2008. Gathered in the living room, we tuned in just in time for the ten second count down in Times Square. Smiling, clutching money in one hand and straw from a blessed manger scene in the other (oops! I had both in one hand and Joe stuck it all in his pocket), my little family watched the ball drop. "...3...2...1...Happy New Year" went up our cheer as we turned to hug and kiss each other in the thrill of the fresh start. Then, as is our custom, we threw open the doors, fanned out the old and welcomed the new, and shouted into the silent street "Happy New Year!"
Five minutes later we were back around the table playing the end of Yahtzee. Did I mention the original score pads from 1976 were still in use? I think there were just enough sheets for us to play the last game of 2007 and Dad was the winner!
The next day there was a fresh powdering of snow, an irresistable treat to Rosie and Bean. My brother dutifully took his nieces out and stirred up a winter delight of snowman building and sled riding they won't soon forget. Almost an hour later they came in rosy cheeked and cherry nosed and so frozen they had to sit under blankets with hot water bottles while sipping real hot chocolate to defrost. All the while Joe and I made the final cuts on what gifts would get to come home this time. It was tough to decide! Hopefully, in future Christmases, we'll remember not to go straight from one adoring family circle to the other without stopping home for a night or two to unload!
Now we are home, Joe's happily back to work, and we are adjusting well to reality...although today was a bit bumpy for me. :) Amazingly the laundry from our trip was washed, folded, AND put away the next day! Usually it haunts me, doubling the daily loads, remaining in the limbo state of "clean, folded and in the basket" so long we start to go there for clean things rather than into our drawers...but that is another story for some other time.
I hope you had a happy holiday and that you have many warmy, happy memories of those days!