Hello, hello! Happy Humpday to ya! My mother-in-law is here visiting for the week, so we’re fixing to run out to grab lunch while the girls are at school before a completely full afternoon of dance, swim lessons, a few other random things, and finally a local community Easter egg hunt tonight at my best friend’s church. Whew!
I have a few minutes of downtime though right now, and since blogging has always been a way for me to decompress and relax, I thought I’d take a little bit to share a few stories and pictures from a pretty darn near perfect weekend spent running around beautiful New England.
I first visited New England on a work trip in 2011 and fell completely in love with its charm, weather (in the spring and fall, the only times I visit, ha!), and just generally how different it is from other parts of the country. Since then, I’ve visited half a dozen times and enjoy it every single time.
When my brother found out last September(ish) that he got into the Boston Marathon, Jamie and I booked flights immediately. We had points on Southwest and the flights were sooooo cheap, so we figured that even though we had no clue what life would look like in April, we could always cancel or revise our plans if necessary (since doing so is always free on Southwest!)
Sure enough, Jamie had his annual training for the Army Reserve this month, so we canceled his flight. No big deal though since I was planning to spend the weekend with my best friend Jessica and her family at their home in New Hampshire anyway! She lives just north of Boston, so getting to see her family + cheer on my brother was a total win.
I got in Saturday night, and though I had to leave her home by Monday morning to cheer for my brother, we still packed in so much. We had plenty of downtime, allowing me quality time with her whole family (her amazing parents too!), but we were also able to explore too. We spent nearly the entire day Sunday running around southern Maine and eating and shopping our way through Kennebunk. What a stinkin’ cute area! I am already thinking about when all five of us can fly back up to vacation with them up there. The beaches, shopping, restaurants, and more are just so fun! I can’t wait to go back with my family and hang with Jessica’s.
Marathon Monday was wild but fun! I packed lightly (a backpack + small shoulder duffle bag) and literally ran around the city all day dunking in and out of stores, exploring various neighborhoods (loved the North End/Little Italy!), and finally screaming at the top of my lungs when I saw my brother David at mile 20! He was killing it and honestly looked like he was having a ball! Some significant people in his life were also there to cheer him on, and it was really nice meeting up with them briefly and sharing in how proud we were of David!
I unfortunately didn’t get a chance to hug my brother after the race because I had to book it to the airport for my evening flight back home. I got home around 9 p.m., and it was back to the grind Tuesday morning! I was so happy to see the kids, and was even more grateful to Jamie’s mom and grandmother for what a fun weekend they created for the girls while I was away and Jamie was at work with the Reserve. Hadley and Sadie really didn’t miss me a bit, which I know is a good thing. 🙂
Regarding the marathon, gosh I love watching it. It’s truly electric, inspiring, and a fabulous (though exhausting) experience as a spectator. Jamie ran it in 2014, and I loved being up there so much, which is why we were SO quick to book tickets this time around. This race is everything it’s cracked up to be. So grateful to have known and loved two different runners!
More: All about our trip to the Boston Marathon in 2014
Let’s chat!
Have you ever been to or ran the Boston Marathon?
What do you love about Boston, or New England in general?
Hi! I’m Erica, and I absolutely adore sharing my life on this website with you! I come here almost daily to blab about all of the things related to being a regular wife and mother in today’s ever-evolving society. I share about our new home, what’s on our kitchen table, what we’re hanging in our closets, where we’re traveling to next, my crazy 5 a.m. work outs, how I make time for girlfriends, our faith, and much more. We always have a lot of balls in the air and somewhat thrive on the chaos. I believe in the power of story-telling as a form of inspiration and entertainment, so I’m here to do both! I was born and raised in north Alabama and recently re-planted roots here again after my husband transitioned out of the Army (he is now in the Reserve and it’s going so well!) I’m a super proud mom to three little girls (ages 7, 4, and 1) who seem to be the stars of the show around here (for good reason – they’re pretty great!) I’m so glad you found me and are here reading! I hope we can get to know each other here on the blog as well as Facebook and/or Instagram. xoxo