More New York Pictures

Taylor "Bear" Goetz- 3 1/2 -yrs-old

Samantha & me at the Adirondack Balloon Festival (too windy for the balloons)

   My Grandmother Collin

Upstate New York

Joseph, Sam, Mr. Octopus, and I just returned home from a trip to Upstate NY.  We stayed with Samantha's Aunt Mary and Uncle "Greggie" and devoted 100% of our time to visiting family.  

My Aunt Joan with Samantha

Aunt Mary, Uncle "Greggie", and Samantha

                                          Samantha & Mr. Octopus (her favorite)

Samantha met a few of her 2nd Aunts and Uncles on both sides of the family and also met her great grandmother.  I personally enjoyed spending time with my Aunts and Uncles.  Joseph and I got to see Debbie & Chip (aunt and uncle)'s new toy: a camper.  It's awesome.  It sits on top of a truck bed (it's not a 5th wheel) and holds 4.  It's a hard top and is perfect for their needs.  We are very jealous and hope one day we can be as cool as them.  I was particularly blown away to learn that my Uncle Jim picked up his clarinet, after not playing for 50 YEARS, and is now in 4 bands, including a Polka Band.  My aunt Joan plays bridge 4 days a week and has definitely kept her mind sharp throughout her retirement :)  I've never played bridge and probably shouldn't because I would become way too obsessed with winning.  

 Perhaps, what was most impressive was my 87-yr-old grandmother's mind.  She continues to amaze me by her attention to details and her knowledge and awareness of current events.   

Samantha got to meet her other aunt and uncle, Chris and Matt, along with her cousins, Ryan, Alexa, and Taylor.  There was quite a competition between Alexa and Taylor as to who was going to sit closer to, touch, talk to, and hold "the baby".  It was so great to see all of them.

Taylor and I enjoyed a trip to the Crandall Park playground.  I was slightly disappointed by how small the playground was.  Funny how things look so much bigger when you are so small.... hadn't been there in YEARS.  

Samantha traveled very well.  She didn't make a peep on the planes and adjusted to all the new environments easily.  She was such a trooper.  The only challenging moment was realizing I had no more clean outfits to put her in after she had had her 2nd "blow out" (a poopy) in the Washington-Reagan airport!!  All the family seemed to like her and said how good she was.  She is perfect!!!!:)   

It was REALLY SPECIAL sharing Samantha will all of my family.  If only we could all get together more often...

Nothing too exciting

Due to my lack of recent posts y'all may realize that life in the McGowin household is pretty uneventful.  We've been doing well.  Samantha is growing quickly and makes new sounds daily.  

My friend, Leslie, from Chapel Hill, came to Greenville for a few days to help me around the house.  I made her bake her famous Cream Cheese Coffee Cake (it's the best in the world) and got her to cook dinner two nights in a row!!! She is a great cook so this was quite a treat.  Leslie cleaned out our refrigerator, which was filled with moldy foods and condiments and washed all the shelves.  I don't think her sense of smell is anything like mine.... she managed to clean the entire frig without barfing!!  

We are heading to NY for a Goetz family get together (minus my father).  My father decided to go up to NY a week and half before we were to be there...   Joseph and I will also be visiting my mom's brother, Chip, and Aunt Debbie.  Can't wait to see them.  Joseph has the next two weeks off from work.  He'll be in NY with me and will be helping out with Baby McGowin.  Surely, he will take a few days to head to the mountains during his time off.  

2009 US Open

Spent the day watching the US Open. Go Melanie Oudin, the up and coming 17-yr-old from Marietta, GA.

www.usopen.org

Labor Day Weekend

Camping trip #2:

Joseph and I headed to the mountains this weekend to camp. We left the house around noon on Friday and arrived in the mountains at 1:30 PM. We searched and searched for a designated campsite on one of the many fire roads that go thru Pisgah National Forest. What we found was quite discouraging. It appeared that almost all of the sites had been taken by people who went into the park one or two days prior, threw down a tent or a chair, and claimed the spot. Not sure how this could be policed, but I think it's unfair that people do that. Once established at our campsite we met a couple who drove up from Charleston, SC to camp. They ran into the same problem we did and drove 5 HOURS thru the park looking for a site. If people want to camp in designated "camping" areas, open to the public, they should only set up camp if they plan on staying there THAT NIGHT.

On a positive note, we got to explore an area of the park we had never camped in and we met some super cool people (and their dogs).

GETTING BACK MY FITNESS:

I ran 3.5 miles today, for the first time in 2 1/2 months. I'm exhausted, but am glad for the exercise. Still am a long way away from any half or full marathon.

SAMANTHA UPDATE: Samantha is now 7-weeks old and survived her 2nd camping trip. She is doing great.