teamgaither

"It’s gonna be a long, hot summer, we should be together, with your feet up on the dashboard now, singing along with the radio, it’s such a beautiful sound..."

Maine/Cape Cod cont'd....

Day 36: Said So Long to my Maine ladies, hauled butt to Cape Cod for Mom's 70th birthday - friends, neighbors, aunts and uncles, another scorcher on the terrace made worthwhile by sunset.

Day 37: Today we participated in the greatest experience the world has to offer. SUMMER CAMP!

Day 38: Summer Camp drop off; 3m run; Shop till you Drop; late afternoon swim and kayak; dinner w fam; playing with supa amazing UP digital bracelet by Jawbone - this thing is Bad Ass!

Day 39: summer camp drop-off, kayaking, floating lunch w baby bro on lake, seafood dinner harbor-side w the fam

Day 40: Say what you will about "plugged-in kids" but today my children swam in the lake, played duck-duck-goose, and learned to ride bikes without training wheels thanks to me and my mom, who taught them the way our folks taught us.. by running alongside and "pretending" to hold on until they were riding solo down the street with grins from ear to ear.

Day 41: Lagos shop and stock w Mom, kayak and swim, dinner w fam, Classic rock road trip trip to Beantown w Bro, crashing at Dads.

Day 42: Lagos pre-pack; 3m run; lunch at funky Food Network resto Flour and Retail Therapy with Big Sis; School Supply Shopping; steak and corn on the cob with Mom and Dad on The Cape.

Day 43: breakfast with Mom, Dad and kids; biking, swimming, kayaking; wine, salmon, and a nap; meeting the neighbors at our special little neighborhood beach.

Day 44: Today I made the bittersweet decision to turn in my Texas license and become an official resident of Massachusetts. I would be a lot happier about it if I hadn't spent 1/2 a vacation day at the RMV.

Day 45: Massive packing effort; windy kayak; amazing visit with my bestie and her family complete with huge ice cream indulgence at Sundae School in Dennisport. A perfect way to end a Cape Cod Day.

Day 46: Cape house clean-up and seafood at Wimpy's w Mom; final packing effort by baby bro and Dad for Houston flight; 2 kids, 12 bags, 1 long day ahead. While I know I missed seeing many of my friends this time around, I loved my Cape Cod vacation!

Day 47: Bittersweet goodbyes with my East Coast fam, heavy Logan logistics, dashes and tips at every turn, poolside chips and salsa at the hotel, happy kids in an air conditioned apartment and play dates underway.

Houston...

Day 48: Car rental pickup; Houston Zoo; sushi lunch; Splash & Play at Discovery Green; Swirll's indulgence; Allergist appt; all-out-crazy group catch-up at Kelley's in Katy.

Day 49: Spent a small fortune at Stride Rite/ Imagination Toys/Michaels; suspended judgement at Chuck e Cheese (and ran into friends - classic!); gorgeous swim at The Houstonian; traditional Tex Mex and Catch Phrase hysteria in West U at The Hutchinsons

Day 50: FIFTY?! of 70?!.. and I am feeling it...American Girl store with Kelley Buck and the kids; our fav pizza place in Meyerland; annual girl-power play-date with Kim Raney Marklund and Angela Watts; DIY hotel laundry, baths, and an early night; gymnastics camp tomorrow.

Day 51: Sad news from home made it all the easier to spoil my kids (even more than usual) today. Life is short. Memories are forever.

Day 52: Uniforms- check, school supplies- check, sneakers (cleats!)- check, holidays- check, birthdays - check, docs/dentists - check. Running out of steam but still a few boxes to tick...

Day 53: gymnastics camp; pedi; impulse buys; massive doses of iced coffee; play-date with Bellaire kids; wonderful catch-up and dinner with old friends of mommy's from the Heights. Sigh.. Missing Houston already!

Day 54: insanely hot memorial park run; lunch and shoe shopping w newly re-patted Lagos gal pal; awesome pick-ups at Penzey's Spices; Houston "Aquarium" (groan); tex mex and coronas w dear friend; pack and chat w Kells. Huge Day Ahead.

Houston Part 2.. groan

Day 55: This post was supposed to be a thank you and farewell to the USA but alas, the universe (United? Nigeria?) had something different planned. So here we are.. back at the hotel, with ALL our bags, re-applying for Visas. My angel.. Kelley Buck is with me. And she brought WINE. Also, my kids really are rock-stars.

Day 56: Today I did what I could to expedite our Visas.. On a Saturday..during Ramaddan.. with Embassy threats underfoot. So now we wait. Thank god for my patient kids, family and Kelley who gave me food, her car, her mommy skills, and most importantly her very strong shoulders! Sometimes even Mommies need sleepovers.

Day 57: Massive sleep-in after uber stressful day; hotel brekky and DIY laundry, supa relaxing arvo in Katy pool w Kelley Buck and friends, last minute dash to Fedex/Kinkos; Visa office 1st thing tomorrow!

Day 58: early start and a fortune in fees at the Visa office; brekky w kids, TV w kids, lunch w kids, pool w kids; pizza and movie night and a 108 heat index; fingers crossed for our flight to breezy Lagos.

Day 59: Kolache factory w kids; the long awaited (and promised) trip to "ITZ" indoor game park (groan); Girl Scout gallery and badges for my Lagos troop (yay!); sushi and pool time w the kids (yum!); early night and packing (again) w high hopes for a flight home tomorrow (eek).

Day 60 (of 70!): 6 wks of holidays is probably 4 too many and it's finally time to go home! Thank you to everyone for supporting our slightly nomadic existence! Honestly, if someone had told me a yr ago that I would work this hard to get back to Lagos, I would have said they were crazy. But we chose this life and the bottom line is, I love it. Game on Naija.

Day 61: Successful flight to Lagos w my rock star kids and an entourage of "helpers" that only drew more attention to the insane amount of luggage I brought back. Note to self: Never underestimate the power of Cash and Cleavage.

Lagos..

Day 62: Sun + surf + jetlag = zzzzzz

Day 63: Lagos re-entry made simple with gorgeous weather and good friends. Enjoying the calm before the storm! — with Mandy Pfister.

Day 64: Last jet-lagged sleep-in; GQ lunch; 3m run on Banana; pool-time with Daddy; hints of friends and neighbors returning to camp; back-to-school time within reach.

Day 65: School visit and teacher assignments; kid-friendly lunch w mommies, food shop, pool time; bus lists and phone trees- 45 of our kids starting school on Wednesday!

Day 66: So... technically.. today was the last day of summer since tomorrow is the 1st day of school but we all know the Wed/Thurs/Fri "soft start" doesn't count and half the ex-pat kids blow it off anyway. Besides, I'm not messing up 70 days of Facebook updates, so suck it.

Day 67: successful 1st day of school (1st and 3rd gr!), coffee w ladies, watching American goodies disappear from pantry at rapid speed.

Day 68: 3mile run, Housing meeting, massive food shop (and Lagos epicurean reality check), newbie correspondence, 5mile run (yup that's eight), the big 4-0 within reach.

Day 69: Fall wardrobe tryonathon, newbie correspondence, play date w everyone's favorite baby (Ginny!), party prep, 5k Fun Run and post Fun Run Happy Hour - Champagne and Fried Chicken.. Yeah, I said it.

Day 70: For my facebook- official last day of summer, we chose to spend it touring the amazing Makoko village - a floating community built on stilts where children swim in sewage and women give birth in shacks. It was a wonderfully amazing reminder of how blessed we are to live this life. And now.. Tablecloth Toga!

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