Ponte Vedra Beach - Relaxation!

Our departure from NY was quite a bit less lucky than our arrival. The bad weather finally caught up to us, and we sat in McArthur airport on Christmas afternoon and watched the cancellation of the first leg of our flight. We had hoped to get down to PVB on Christmas, to enjoy the last bit of the day with TJ's family....but we had to resort to plan B.

After a quick call to Sparky and Kathy, we had a solution. Due to Kerry, Kevin and Charlie spending the holiday with the Dillons, their apartment in Manhattan was free. We switched our flights to fly out of Newark the next morning. I quickly stood in line at Avis, while TJ got our bags and called Hertz. We literally got the last car available and headed to Manhattan.

We spent a fun Christmas night ordering Thai take out, and were saved from too much trauma.

We couldn't wait to arrive and let the PVB festivities begin!

It was a fabulous week, (we'd been looking forward to it since our last visit in May.) Charlie was the center of attention, and I loved waking up to hear his sweet squeels of laughter downstairs each morning!

Aunt Sheila and Uncle Don stopped in for a few nights on their way from the Cape to Marco Island. It was so sweet to see everyone with Charlie and to catch up on what was new with Kevin, Jen and Emma.


We spent the week lounging, catching up on rest, running, eating well, and generally relaxing!

I got plenty of snuggle time and tried to the best of my Aunt-ly abilities to get as much 'Charlie-time' as possible. We had a few eye-to-eye moments where I swear we bonded, and I turned into a pile of mush each time it happened.

We played golf a few times - it was a true miracle week for my game! I actually made a true par on a hole! I jumped up and down and shouted with glee as a I sunk the put. My swing is coming along and I think it's due to my back feeling great and the amazing teaching and encouragement I get from everyone each time I play there.

I am inspired, and already looking into a weekly outing that the KCWC does each Monday....

Just thinking about the trip relaxes me...we're already booked to go back in May!

Christmas!

We finished the NY leg of the trip with a visit from Rob and August, and a lovely Christmas Eve dinner at John and Lisa's with mom, dad, Mary, Ken, Jason and Maryanne.


We ate a full turkey dinner, enjoyed the fire and laughed a lot.




It started to get a bit silly during the present opening... and name-calling began ('ribbon head' caused the biggest reaction from the crowd.)


The much debated, annual gift of a cashmere hat that I give to my brother, TJ and other family members (often called the 'backstreet boy hat' by Sparky,) caused much frivolity that quickly somehow turned into an episode of 'white guys with gang signs'.

It was a very, merry Christmas!

Working Long Island...

During our holiday visit to New York, we had a few visits with family and friends. We met Aunt Cathy for a quick drink and catch up.

And then headed to Stacia and Doug's new home to see them, Karen and Justin and 'the girls'.

It is amazing to see how much they grow each year - not only in size but in personality. It's very sweet to see them all become friends as they share birthday sleepovers like we did, (I still clearly remember ones in Karen's basement.)


They showed us the latest fashion trends, (skinny jeans, Uggs and Abercrombie t-shirt or hoodie,) and amazed us with their energy levels. I still remember holding Emily when she was only a few days old.

Karen and Justin were the first among us to get married and start a family and meeting Emily for the first time was an emotional thing for me. I remember thinking, 'when will I ever meet my husband?' and 'how will this ever happen for me'.

Visiting with TJ answered a big part of those questions and I cannot wait to see the growth next year! (As well as get some fashion tips from those in the know.)

Meeting Charles Kane Dillon

Our trip 'back home' for the holidays is one we look forward to all year. We've gotten down a nice balance of seeing both of our families and as many friends as possible.

Now that Kerry and Kevin are in Manhattan, and my brothers are in NY we get to see all of them - spending our first night or two in Manhattan and then heading out to Long Island until Christmas day. We then have Christmas morning at my brother John's for breakfast, and fly out to have Christmas dinner with TJ's parents in Florida and stay until the New Year.

This year, we left London with news of a snowstorm in New York. The flight was not delayed so we enjoyed some relaxation in the BA lounge at Heathrow and many movies on the flight. About a half hour before we landed the pilot came on and gave us an update about the snow, and told us he didn't know if we'd be diverted. A plane full of cross fingers worked, and we landed in NY as the storm was just starting.

At baggage claim we met some fun college students who were just arriving back in the US after spending the semester abroad in Greece. One sweet girl started crying as they began canceling flights due to the snow. She was about to say goodbye to friends she'd just spent the last 4 months with..and just wanted to get home to her family in San Francisco. It nearly broke my heart as I could relate. If our flight was canceled, I too would have been crying. I was very excited to see our family this year. With everything that my dad has been through, I couldn't wait to see my family...and we had something huge to celebrate with TJ's family....the birth of sweet Charles (Charlie) Kane Dillon!


New York was beautiful in the snow and we were treated to a fantastic walk in the park with our new nephew.


He is perfect...and we swear we saw him grow in front of our eyes during our time with him in New York and Florida.


He is so good natured and amazingly curious. At just 3 months he is all cuddly kisses and hugs, fun smiles, great noises, and basically perfectly brilliant.





Kerry and Kevin's new apartment is fantastic. Amazing views from their roof deck, so close to the park...(I'm moving in=)





We spent a beautiful couple of days starting our time 'home'. And I spent them making funny noises, getting teary-eyed, and being a gushing Aunt.


I am so very thankful that the only tears I shed were due to meeting Charlie, not being stranded at an airport.

Stockholm - The Vasa

For the last part of the Stockholm wrap-up..... We went to see the Vasa, the world's only surviving 17th century ship.

It only sailed for about a mile before tipping over in the channel in Stockholm. It was immense, and beautiful.




I could just picture the amusement our nephew August would get, (as well as my family of history-lovers.) We watched a movie about the amazing restoration that was performed in 60's.




A bit of culture to help us balance the shopping and eating.