Goodbye to Summer

It is always so nice to go home to MA where I grew up and spend time with friends and family in the area, but I am always amazed at how Annapolis really feels like home to me now. I couldn't imagine living any where else right now and am so lucky to live in such an awesome place.

Brad and his team had a terrific time at the Worlds and finished in 23rd place out of 104 boats. Their best race earned a 3rd place and their worst was somewhere in the 60's. All in all, they did better than they had anticipated and arrived home very late Sunday night.

I had a great time with my family and was fortunate enough to be in town for an unfortunate family matter. My uncle, who fondly refers to me as "Number One" (I was the first born and his god daughter) suffered a heart attack and landed himself in the ICU for a few days. He was then trasferred to a larger hospital for more testing and is meeting with a heart surgeon on Friday. At first they did not want to do surgery on him. He is a very brittle diabetic and his body has been beaten up severly by this awful disease and surgery didn't seem like an option. However, after more testing, they think it may be his best chance. We'll know more later today.

This weekend our community has a party at the pool which marks the end of summer. As of Monday, the pool will be closed and won't be reopened until May. While I will miss summer, wearing skirts and flip flops every day and hanging out at our pool on weekends, I am very excited for the fall. I love when the weather is a crisp 60 degrees and sunny, raking leaves (or lying in the hammock with a good book watching B rake the leaves) and having a nice pot of home made chili for dinner. In all honesty, the year 2008 has not been a very good year for us, so maybe I'm trying to rush into 2009 with high hopes of a better one.

Hope everyone has a fun and safe Labor Day Weekend!

Part 1: Update from the J22 Worlds Part 2: Why husbands should listen to their wives the first time around

First I want to congratulate Brad and his team for finishing in 12th place yesterday out of 105 boats! They did awesome. Today is another day though and hopefully they'll continue to sail as well as they did yesterday. Awesome job guys!


About 3 weeks ago, the conversation went something like this:

Brad (getting home from the car dealership after routine maintenace): "The guy at the service department said there is a bubble in the right rear tire and we will have to replace both rear tires very soon."

Christy: "I didn't even notice the bubble. Let's make an appointment to have the tires replaced asap then. I don't want to drive up to Mass in a few weeks with the bubble."

Brad: "No, we're going to wait. The tires are very expensive. I noticed the bubble a few weeks ago and it's been fine."

Christy: "I don't know, it makes me really nervous. I can foresee a problem. Let's just replace them."

Brad: "No. The car comes with roadside assistance. We'll be fine."

Lesson Christy learned: Make the executive decision and do what needs to be done.

Winston and I headed up to my parents yesterday afternoon. We were only a few hours into the trip and just when my book on CD was getting really good, a sensor on the computer in the car went off. Having no idea what it meant, I pulled over at the next exit, about 10 miles up the road, got out the manual and realized I had a tire malfunction. Sure enough, the right rear tire (yes, that's right the one with the bubble) was leaking air directly from the bubble on the side of the tire. I had pulled over in Nowheresville, PA into a little mom and pop auto shop. They couldn't help me with the tire, but they were very nice guys. After calling roadside assistance, Winston and I hung out in the blazing sun for an hour until our tow truck arrived.
The nearest BMW dealership was 45 miles away and I had called and luckily they had 2 tires in stock, which is a rareity for the type of sport tire we have. It was my luckiest unlucky day! After surviving 2 near death experiences with the tow truck driver, we made it to Allentown, PA to the dealership. The folks in the dealership were AMAZING! They stayed open after 5 to put my tires on and everyone gave Winston treats and lots of pets. Saying he was a huge hit with the women in the showroom is an understatement. An hour and a half later, we were on our way and safely arrived at my parents home at 10:30 last night. After telling B what happened, he felt terrible. Since B's been out of work we naturally are on a budget these days, so I can understand not wanting to shell out mucho dinero for tires. But we agreed that we can't cut corners where safety is involved. Surprisingly, I didn't give him too much grief. Very unlike me :-)

BIG HAPPENINGS AT THE 'RENTS:

1. The world wide web has made it to my parents house! Yes, that's right, it is 2008 and they are finally connected. Instead of working from the local Starbucks like I usually have to when I'm home, I'm sitting in their beautiful four seasons room working on the very comfy couch today and tomorrow.

2. The trees separating my parents property from my aunt and uncles have all been removed and a professional bocci court with a huge fire pit and seating is being built. These Italians don't mess around!

Off to the J22 Worlds!

Brad leaves this afternoon with his team to head for the J22 World Championship Regatta up in Rochester, NY. Last time we checked there were 130 boats signed up, which is huge! They spent this weekend packing up the boat and getting it ready for the drive up to NY. It's been sitting in front of our house since Saturday and thankfully, none of our neighbors have reported us to the HOA yet. The races begin on Wednesday and go until Sunday. Winston and I will also be headed up north on Wednesday to visit my family in MA and then will head to Rochester on Saturday or Sunday. Good Luck Brad and team!

Dogs Best Friend

I know the saying is "Dog is mans best friend," but my dad is dogs best friend. He is such an animal lover and the dogs he meets can sense it. It's really funny to watch. He's in town this week doing some work for B's mom and I took a short video of just how excited Winston gets when his "best friend" comes into town. Make sure your volume is on so you can hear the cries of excitement!

The Trips Turn Two

This past Saturday we celebrated the triplets turning 2. I am so amazed at how much they've grown into such amazing little people over the past 2 years, each with their own distinctive personalities. I think they really enjoyed their party and loved the attention from everyone. Miss Mackenzie was the hostess with the mostess, Kyle was happy as a clam playing with his new train table top and Brady enjoyed all the hats from Grandma Di Di.