I Got Tired

Blogging burn-out! I can also blame Facebook...

Memorial Day weekend. The official (or unofficial) weekend that marks the beginning of summer. There are 9 1/2 days left of school for Noah; Jonah's preschool program finished last week and will hold a "graduation" ceremony this week. We are mapping out activities for summer and putting away long-sleeved shirts and pants. Some of our neighbors are already running their a/c all day; we are only running ours because there's currently lots of pollen and allergens in the air that are making us miserable. I have "allergy eyes," puffy and itchy; the guys are sneezing and coughing. We are tossing back Benadryl shots.

James' brother, Uncle Ernie, has been staying with us. He was in the Virginia area for some training and afterwards drove up here. We had a friend from home visit back in the fall, but it was only for an evening and we met for dinner. Uncle Ernie is our first visitor who we could "show the sights." (we live in a small town...) First: Hershey's Chocolate World, not Hershey Park. Chocolate World is free. Uncle Ernie likes free stuff! It has a ride that shows the process of a cacao bean being transformed into chocolate and you get chocolate samples at the end of the ride. Then we showed him the gym on base where James and I workout. Uncle Ernie used the sauna; he called it "the lazy man's workout." The only other "site" was the Army Heritage Center; a museum and "park." Unfortunately, despite what the sign said, the museum was closed, so the guys roamed around the park area which featured all kinds of historical military displays: tanks, vehicles, and airplanes, barracks, and the boys' favorite: a trench maze.

Yesterday after church we drove out to Philadelphia; it's not that far and since there is rarely traffic, it was a nice drive. We visited Independence Hall, but found out all the tour tickets for the day were gone. (We'll be back.) Then a side trip to a bakery in Chinatown. Not the largest Chinatown, but the crowd seemed the same. Of course there was no parking either. James said he would "do laps" as I jumped out of the car to the first bakery, located on a corner. It was disappointing! There was hardly anything in the display cases and the woman behind the counter was less than helpful. Halfway down the street I saw James approaching and at the same time found another bakery so I darted in. After a bit of patience-trying (due to a couple who could not decided what they wanted and had to ask what was in EVERY bun even though everything was clearly labeled! They were even testing the patience of the bakery lady.) I got my char-siu baos, boloh baos, "snowballs" and egg tarts; I even got free pieces of sponge cake. I quickly dashed back to the meeting corner, the whole time hoping my family did not leave me behind -- because James just hates Chinatown traffic!!! But I knew I had the upper hand, I picked out things I knew they would like to eat...

The trip was topped off with a meal at the Nordstrom Cafe at King of Prussia Mall. James likes the cafe; he says it reminds him of home. Funny, when we're at home I think we never go there. It's usually InNOut or Rubios. Well, whatever makes him happy. Besides, he was paying.