Sorry for the Delay- - Weary Traveler

Okay, taking some heat for not blogging for awhile. It has been a hectic month. Where to start, hmmmm. Colleen's high school graduation was held indoors for the first time in 21 years and only the 3rd time in 77 years. We had 24 inches of rain in 5 days. So should we cut the school some slack that Jim and I not only didn't sit together, but he had to watch on closed circuit tv from an alternate location? I think not, the powers that be had almost a week to get it together. Anyway, it was a lovely ceremony, she looked beautiful in her white dress and white gloves. The after party was a success even with a deluge of rain as we were arriving. Another Bolles graduate. She is off to Villanova in August! We had a pleasant weekend with Peg and Nancy and the girls. Jim unfortunately was not feeling up to par, long story short we spent 2 of 3 days in the ER, tests that came back normal, different meds, bad reaction to meds, back to Boston.....turns out it was a bad gout attack.  He was feeling ready for golf by Saturday so I knew he was on the mend.

Colleen and I began our road trip to MVY and the summer months. En route we had a lovely visit with sisters Jo and Kate and their families. Stopped for an overnight in the Poconos with Aunt Mary. We had good travel weather, and it was cool and crisp by the time we got to Boston on Sunday in time for Em's 24th birthday. We had a lovely dinner in the North End (endless yummy restaurants). It was a long four days of travel, but that should be the last Florida/Boston road trip!  Two of Colleen's best friends surprised her by flying to Boston for a visit. She was so surprised! They drove over to MVY with us on Monday afternoon. Feels good to finally be here, lots of work to get settled for the summer and I am exhausted every evening. As a matter of fact, I am ready for bed now! Jim gave me an Apple Macbook for our anniversary so I am getting acclimated. Unfortunately, no pictures yet. I am having issues with my camera, hope to have a resolution this weekend and I can post some pics. The girls have started work, business is slow although I think there seems to be a good amount of people here for the shoulder season. Hope to have the house in tiptop shape for when Jimbo comes over for the first time next weekend. For now....I'm exhausted zzzzzzzzz.

Cat Photographer

I read an article recently in the Jacksonville Times Union about a couple who was curious about what their cat did all day. They found a small camera that took a photograph every few minutes and attached it to the cats collar. They found out that their cat was quite the wanderer and socialite. They are actually now selling the pictures and making money from them. Where do people come up with this stuff!?

OMG PROM!!!

Prom was last night and she (Colleen) looked beautiful. Judge for yourself..

Actually, they all looked beautiful...

She attended solo in a large group of girls and guys. They ate at the Tree Steakhouse, it took forever so by the time they arrived at the dance most of the seniors had already departed. So they went to the after party at a friends house. Not sure how much sleep she had, but she said it was a great last fling. Graduation is only 1 month and 4 days away. It will be a hectic last month with senior week, grad night, environthon state competition, visit to Villanova with dad, grad parties, exams (of course), and then the big event itself on 5/23. Hardly a last fling!

Bonk or Bust

bonk v. in bicycling, to become exhausted. Also bonk out and bonking, n.

My training blog for the PMC is finally up and running! http://www.bonkorbust.blogspot.com.

I also created my profile page on the PMC website at http://www.pmc.org/EM0131. Check me out!

She's Legal!!

Here's Sleeping Beauty on the start of her long awaited 21st BIRTHDAY! Just as beautiful and angelic as the day she was born oh so long ago. Em and dad flew in for the celebratory weekend. As the girls headed off to the spa for the day, dad headed for the links. Although the weather was foggy the air was warm and the hot tub welcoming. We quickly donned our robes

and proceeded to relax poolside with a glass of champagne prior to our services and lunch.

All that relaxing was exhausting.

Here is dad and his girls primed, primped and ready for a night on the town.

Our server brought a sampling of drinks for Melissa to taste. Yummy.....

A fun day for sure. Unfortunately, after 36 holes of golf and 6 hours of spa we were all bushed, home, and in bed before the stroke of midnight.

Happy Birthday Mel. Hope you had a good time. We all love you!!!

I <3 Colorado

Denver pretty much combines everything I love into one place: tons of dogs; outdoorsy pursuits like skiing, biking, and running; parks; 300 days of SUNSHINE a year. I think I might just have to move there someday soon. It is the closest thing I have found to heaven on earth. Ok, maybe I'm over-exaggerating out of exhaustion, but it ranks WAAAAAY up there.

(Kevin and me at Vail)

Kevin and I had a blast skiing, hanging out with his sister and brother-in-law, and riding all around the city on bikes. The weather was really nice while we were out there -- with temps reaching the 60s in the city, and hovering around 35 in the mountains.

(The crew at A-basin -- I'm the one in the middle with the white helmet)

The snow conditions on Friday and Saturday were less than ideal, but a few inches of snow and warm/sunny weather on Sunday more than made up for it. We skied Vail on Friday, a non-resort mountain called Arapahoe Basin (A-basin) on Saturday, and Breckenridge on Sunday. The mountains were all about 1.5 hours from Meghan and Matt's house (Meg is Kevin's sister). At A-basin we parked right next to the lift -- Beachfront parking as they call it -- and cooked some breakfast on the hibachi grill.

(View from Breckenridge)

Despite not having skied in almost 5 years, I managed to keep up with Kevin, Meg and Matt -- cruising down black and double black diamonds. I even did a few jumps in the mini-terrain park. I reached my limit on the "Extreme Conditions" runs and had to slide down a nearly sheer cliff on my butt. Oh well -- maybe next year.

(Sliding down the cliff)

Monster Jam!

I know I haven't blogged in a while, so I figured I would catch up on it. I am now 18 (woo!) and I had such a great time at my surprise party. As part of my birthday present, Melody got Sarah, Benny, and me tickets to Monster Jam. We all had so much fun! I dressed up in overalls for the occasion. We went to a tailgate with Mel's family, and then we went over to the Bolles tailgate. The actual show started at 7 so we went inside to watch. The trucks were huge and loud, and the stadium was packed! ... with rednecks of course. At half time there was even a mullet contest. After we left, the crew headed to Famous Amos for a late night breakfast. It's a Hoffman family tradition. By the time we got home I was exhausted and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow. I had such a great birthday weekend! Below are pictures from Monster Jam. (Mel Sarah and I, Brent and I, Blue Thunder, Benny and I)