Active Summer

These days, I mostly live life off-line. But from time-to-time, I come back to give a short news report. It has been an active summer full of new and interesting activities.

My dear friend Phim and I took a couple of road trips early in the Summer. One trip was to New Jersey, prior to that trip I had only seen the Newark airport. We had an excellent time with girlfriends in Atlantic City - walking the Boardwalk, looking at the ocean, sitting by the pool of our hotel, listening to live music and laughing until the wee hours of the morning.

Our second road trip was inspired by a calendar with a photo of the Blue Ridge mountains. She made a comment that she wanted to go there...so we did. We spent some time in North Carolina with her friends and with mine. We felt welcomed everywhere we went, but at one stop, our hosts made sure we knew it.

One of the highlights from the visit to North Carolina was meeting beautiful Valentina. She was a baby born of the heart, but conceived by others. This family and ours shared this journey. Valentina is their blessing brought through adoption. My friend Jan used to be such a curmudgeonly Brit, it was a pleasant surprise to see him smiling so much!

We also hosted a housewarming. I learned why they call it this - "housewarming." After everyone left, it felt more like home than it had before. Why? I think because it was filled with memories of people and laughter and fun. Thanks friends (and family) for warming our house.

I've had some wonderful times with Vy, too. We continue to share new experiences. I took her and her sister to an Independence Day parade -thier first live parade.

They took me to a celebration at the Vietnamese Buddhist Temple in Maryland. There were Vietnamese celebrities, lots of food, and a fun atmosphere.

This is only a sampling of our active summer. There has still been plenty of kayaking and hiking adventures. Some golf outings. Lots of food. A visit from family and time spent with people.

As kids are headed back to school and (supposedly) the weather starts to cool - what are the highlights of your summer?

just Sheri, active off-line