whoa - i didn't realize i'd been gone so long

Where do I start? I tried dyeing yarn a second time. It turned out better but still not what I visualized. I tried a third time & got lovely results. I need to keep working on it though.

We went to Florida for a long weekend. I never know how visits with MIL will be but it was good. It seems they've been pretty good lately, which makes me wonder when the next blow up will be. Florida has some railroad beds that have been converted to running/biking/horseback riding trails. David & I went for a run on one and it was really nice. I didn't have my hydration pack so I tried just carrying a bottle in my hand. That sucked - I dropped it several times. It also wasn't as much water as I'm used to having on a long run, but David did a shorter out & back, then drove to a convenience store for Gatorade & extra water, then picked me up at about the 11 mile point of the trail. It was a great run but running in the 80* weather in FL made me appreciate our Michigan weather! I'd much rather run in 50* (and even 30!) than 80.

My favorite thing about our Florida visit was going to see the space shuttle launch. I was a little wishy washy about it, thinking *I* would love to see it, knowing David would love to, but NOT wanting to drive to the east coast with the kiddos, then to Tampa to the airport, and flying home, all in the same day. That's a lot of carseat time for them. I even mentioned to David leaving them with his mom & just the 2 of us going, but he thought they would like it too. He'd done some research & knew some supposedly good places to watch. Driving along we passed a park with a nice looking playground so we parked near it & had a picnic lunch, then went to let the kids run & play. About 10 minutes before the scheduled launch we headed to the docks and found a spot. It was crowded but not overly so, and everyone was really nice. We listened on the radio as they counted down, then we could see smoke as it fired up, and suddenly we could see the shuttle with the flame & smoke...it was AMAZING. Matthew & Scarlett were in awe too, so I was glad we took them. I got all emotional about it - I decided *everyone* should see it live. There's nothing like it. I say that as someone who could see it when I lived in south GA, as long as the weather was clear, and David could see it from his yard in FL, but neither of us had been that close before, and it was a much different experience. Amazing. That's all I can say.

Kiddos were good on the flights, there & back we flew past bedtime. They were nice & quiet, and finally went to sleep both ways. David sat on the side with them & I sat across the aisle & knitted. What a great husband I have!