Fourth of July

On Saturday morning, I woke up and The Man asked me if I wanted the good news or the bad news. I just looked at him and said, "What?" He had his laptop out with directions to my sister's house. We originally thought it would take approximately 6 hours to get there. WRONG! He said we could either take the long way and cross the Bay Bridge again, OR we could take the 'short way' and cross the Bay Bridge Tunnel. Good times.

We said our good-byes to Patty, Ed, Molly, and Gypsy, plugged in Sassy Manassy and headed out of town. We made it to the bridge tunnel in 2 hours. We got to the toll booth, The Man pulled up and the lady taking the money just stared at him. He smiled and stared back. No signs stating the price, etc. She just sat there. Seriously. Finally, he looked at her and said, "What do you need?" TWELVE DOLLARS! Yes, folks, you heard that right...so let's see, after paying $8 to cross Indiana, $13 to cross Ohio, $6 to cross the Bay Bridge, our tolls have now totaled $39! Craziness!

So, we paid our money (it was that or swim the 30 some odd miles across the Chesapeake Bay) and off we went. Here are some pictures of the Bay...











When we got to the other side, we were suddenly in Virginia Beach. Listen, we used to live in Virginia Beach, but believe me when I tell you I had no clue that this bridge/tunnel ended there! Maybe the city expanded since we left in the late 80s? Who knows? Anyway, by this time we were starved, so The Man typed "Fuddruckers" into Sassy to see if there was one close by. OH YES! 3.8 miles away. So, off we went for some tasty goodness! We used to love to eat here when we lived at "the beach." My dad L.O.V.E.D. this place! The man said that he wanted to eat here in honor of my dad. ;) See why I love him so? Before we left, I stopped at the bakery department at Fudd's and got a few chocolate chip cookies and the biggest krispy treats I've ever seen. YUMMY

So, once we got back onto the interstate, we drove and drove and drove some more. I chatted with my sister a few times and The Man wanted me to assure her we'd be arriving sometime in the millenium. She just asked that we call when we got about 1/2 hour away so that she could order the pizzas so that none of us would starve.

Finally....we reached Wild, Wonderful West Virginia!


I took this picture at the welcome center...

And then about 2 hours later, we finally arrived at my sister's house! Craig had driven to town for something and he saw us on the way back home, so the girls and my sister were on their front porch waiting for us. Aubrey was jumping around when we pulled into the driveway. :) We went in, had our pizza and visited before heading to bed. It was a very long day! Oh, and by the way, I had been craving corn on the cob for a few days. There is something to be said about sister e.s.p. because my precious sister had TWO DOZEN ears of corn waiting to be cooked on her counter for the 4th! I love her so!

On the 4th, Craig and The Man left a bit early so that they could golf, so we girls just hung out around the house. The girls were getting antsy because 'Uncle Doc* brought fireworks!!!' We stopped in Ohio when we were 'home' for the reunion and went to Phantom Fireworks for the girls. Then, along the way to VA, we purchased a bit more. We didn't over do it like in years' past, but you know....The Man is just a big kid at heart.

While we were waiting for the guys to get home, we prepared the food, shucked corn, took pictures, chatted, etc.


picture courtesy of Allison


Aubrey taking a break from picture taking


Al reading 'her' Kindle


Aunt Dawn! Take a picture of me jumping! (notice the Raggedy Ann in the background? That was Margie's when she was a little girl...Mom had to make her new legs because she put 'boo boos' on Raggedy with Magic Marker...plus we put 'make up' on her face with chalk. lol)

Finally, the guys got home and Uncle Doc and Aubrey started shooting off fireworks. The Man gave her a punk, taught her how to light and run and oh boy! What fun they had!


Who is having more fun here?

Then Allison decided to get in on the action...

Seriously...we're innocent here! ;)

Do it like this....light it and then RUN!


This is fun!






My beautiful Sister

After Craig grilled burgers, hot dogs, and kielbasa, he made a fire in the fire ring that he built. Isn't it beautiful?




Craig and Margie taking picture of the fire on their iphones. :)

The Man taking a break from entertaining the chicks. :)

And what's a fire without s'mores? Mmmm...yummy, gooey marshmallow-y goodness...




Sparkler girls with attitude...






watching the fireworks show


The girls made sure we all had glow jewelry.

The fifth came way too soon and we had to leave. The Man had to be back to work by the 6th. Out of the 10 days we were gone, we spent 4 full days on the road. The next time, we'll have to take 2 weeks in order to really be able to rest and enjoy our vacation. All in all, we had a wonderful time...well, except for the eye incident. :( And, of course, it would have been perfect had The Boy been able to join us.

*Allison used to call The Man 'Uncle Doc' when she was a baby. Isn't that ADORABLE?