Any Chance I Get

About two weeks ago D told me he needed to go home for work.  Before he could fully ask me if I wanted to go, I jumped with joy and shouted "YES" (much louder than necessary).
I didn't think I was going to get to go home until the end of April.  At the time, I was fine with that.  But, once I knew I was going ... I wanted to go RIGHT THEN.  It felt like an eternity to wait 5 WHOLE days.
We decided to make this trip a surprise ... obviously!  Any chance I get.  This time my dad was the only one 'in the know' to help with logistics.  I thought it was only fair to let my mom be surprised this time.
We showed up at 10pm Friday night (March 8) and surprised the crap out of my mom and my sister just as they were about to head up to bed.  It was the best!!!!!

The next few days were spent happily at home, with a short visit to NYC on the tail end.

Chasing the sunset. Get me homeeee!

Girls dinner for my aunt's birthday. (Wish we got a pic of the 5 of us.)

A highlight reel of baby J

Grace wasn't happy that I was leaving..."Stay, stay, stay, stay Aunt Val"

Off to New York City....

I glided around the city feeling like Mary Tyler Moore in her show's intro song.

I was sooo happy.
Gosh, I miss NYC.

Unfortunately I didn't get to see many people this trip.  As much as I wish I could see all of my family and friends, every time, it's so hard to coordinate with everyone's busy schedules in such a short amount of time.  Sorry people :( 

Sunset in our old hood. (Tried to block out the thought of how wonderful it would be to see this from our apartment. Sigh.)

And of course the guy clipping his finger nails, then brushing them (the ones that didn't flick in our faces) onto the floor.  So gross ... and WRONG! 

My sister/bro-in law came in and we met up with KK and A&J for dinner.  It was such a great night.  

Thanks to D's work schedule, I got a short trip home and it was such a nice refresher.  Although, it definitely makes it much harder to come back after a fun and relaxing week with my family.  Sometimes I wonder if going home does more harm than good.  But then I remember if I say that too many times out loud, it may not bode well for future 'going home' opportunities.  

Until next time ...