Sunday, July 6, 2014

Family Fun Times

Despite the fact that the wet heat of Florida was palpable when our plane landed at 9am, I'm glad to be back. Our trip to Ohio continued on July 4 with our family reunion. My dad's side of the family is pretty small compared to my mom's, and while there were definitely some unfamiliar faces, it was mostly a chance to catch up with people I've known my whole life.
The spread. My Aunt Kathi - who hosted - has always known how to put a table together...and that includes gluten free desserts!
Family photo!
My favorite cousin!
Steph enjoying her lunch.
There's something really liberating about being around people who knew you growing up, know where you come from, and understand or even share your idiosyncrasies.
All of us!
After the reunion we stopped by Chagrin Falls. There are so many hidden gems in Cleveland and its suburbs. 
On Saturday we met my grandpa at the Cleveland Museum of Art - Grandma left for Eveleth, Minnesota on  Friday to visit family and play the slots, so it was just him and us. I love going to museums, and I haven't gotten to go since last summer's trip to LA. The Cleveland Museum has a variety of collections, from ancient Egyptian and Medieval European artifacts to Pollocks, Picassos, and Monets.
Dali's "The Dream", one of my favorites...taken before I was reprimanded for taking photos of the art haha.
Dad enjoying the impressionist gallery.
Zach, Steph, and I took a detour to Westside Market after the museum, then grabbed some chicken salad from Corky & Lenny's for a late lunch. 

The highlight of the day was dinner. We went to Cheesecake Factory with our childhood friends and neighbors, the Sterns! We've known each other since I was three and the four Stern girls (Meredith, Jacqueline, Alexandra, and Caroline) were daily playmates for me and Steph. 
We slept at their house the night before we moved away.
Leaving Beachwood was a million times harder because it meant leaving the Sterns. Meredith was one of my bridesmaids, but I haven't seen her since my wedding four years ago!
Even when it's been years since we last saw each other, it's always like no time has passed at all.
Reunited!
Mere's fiance's family lives in Miami so we're hoping that we'll be able to see each other in the winter when they go to visit.

Overall, we had a fantastic trip. Now I'm back in the sweltering humidity of the tropics and staring down marathon training, which officially begins tomorrow. I'm a little nervous to start carving out new routes around the new neighborhood, but I'm definitely excited to get started! 

Do you have any really old childhood friendships that can just pick up where you left off?
Do you like museums? What's your favorite kind of art?
How was your 4th of July?

ABK

14 comments:

  1. Awe what a great reunion you it looks like you had! I especially love all of the food LOL! I remember when we bought our house in the new neighborhood I was feeling the same way about learning new running routes. I'm very excited about following your marathon training---keep us posted!

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    1. I was able to run a new route today...It was a little boring, but convenient! haha

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  2. It looks like you had a great time! And yay for gluten free desserts! Steph has some amazing arms! I'm slightly jealous. I can't believe you start marathon training tomorrow. Good luck! You're going to rock it.

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    1. You can credit crossfit for her arms! It's her workout of choice!

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  3. Old school NSYNC poster! I forgot that Chris Kirkpatrick's hair looked like that, too funny!

    I hope that your first day of marathon training went perfectly :)

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  4. What an awesome trip! Yay for being able to see people who knew you growing up!
    You will ROCK marathon training! So excited for you!!!
    I have actually been loving planning the new routes. My running buddy and I were discussing that now we have to plan routes that involve us running from town to town instead of just in town. CRAZYYYYY lol!!!

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    1. I love planning new routes, too, but looking for something easy/fast to get to at 5am is a little rough! OMG planning the 20 miler is going to be crazy.

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  5. This looks like such an amazing weekend <3 You are going to rock marathon training!! :D

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  6. I'm also a fan of Steph's arms hahaha!

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  7. Love the NSYNC posters...reminds me of my bedroom in high school, haha! Times with family can be so great, and you can truly be yourself with no apologies!

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    1. I always liked JC because it annoyed me that so many people liked Justin haha!

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