A 19-year tradition had a hiccup this year: there was no Chili Bowl XIX! Unfortunately, just that weekend, a bug swept through the house, knocking most of the family out of commission for 48 hours. Undeterred, we are already making plans for Chili Bowl XX--two decades of chili!
On a far, far better note, the four of us (for the first time) elected to go to Canaan Valley, WV, to share in the Troop 688 annual ski weekend. Sarah chose to learn snowboarding, and was doing really, really well: until she lost control on one slope and twisted an ankle. Hors de combat for the rest of the day, she joined Mary, who was reading in the lodge. We posted video of this weekend to our blog--check it out!
Over the winter, our clothes dryer finally died, which gave Mary the opening she was looking for to completely redo the laundry room. Several weeks later, we had it all completed--we did almost all the work ourselves, having tradesmen in just for the electrical and duct work. Check out our story about it, here!
Probably our biggest single family adventure, though, was our one-week Disney Cruise aboard the Disney Fantasy for Spring Break. We had days at sea, time in St Thomas, a day in San Juan, and a day at the Disney island, Castaway Cay. This was almost perfect for everyone: the kids made friends instantly, and were gone from awakening until midnight (or later, right David?), leaving Mary and Eric to essentially have a weeklong cruise by themselves. The four of us kayaked together on St Thomas, and explored various parts of Puerto Rico, and made terrific memories. The kids now want their next cruise to be even longer (!), and to be maybe over in the Mediterranean. (We'll see, says the college budget.) Click here for our photo album from the week!
Summer wouldn't be complete without our annual visit to Uncle Rod's for the Fourth, and a week in Vermont with the cousins and the rest of the family at the end of July into August. We also took our second week on the Outer Banks with the Schiponos, and it was unanimous: Mike did a great job picking our beachfront rental, when we can walk out our deck to a view like this:
We were in Southern Shores, just south of Duck and right where the bridge comes across from the mainland, so everything (including Duck Donuts) was close at hand. Very enjoyable, very relaxing!
We also closed out the year with a return to West Virginia: well, at least some of us did. Eric, Mary and Sarah brought Fergie to a cabin we rented near Seneca Rocks, WV, in early November (David, we forgot, had a Scout camping commitment that weekend--apparently Eric cannot actually read a calendar). Sarah and Fergie had a great time exploring the trails through the ravines, down to the ponds and back. A great relaxing weekend, and we learned Fergie doesn't mind three-hour car rides!
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