I made it over 700 miles on my bike last month! Then, I took Benjamin to Maryland to visit his grandparents and I did nothing for 7 days except visit people and eat -- it was a great 7 days. I didn't tell Benjamin that he was going on the trip. I just picked him up from school early and when he finally asked what was going on, I told him that we were going to Maryland. He was VERY excited. Benjamin was unable to sit still on the airplane. We were delayed 2 hours in Dallas, and finally arrived in DC at 2am. Alec picked us up, and we got to Ma's house at 3am... and did Benjamin sleep? Nope. He flipped around and tossed and turned and kept me up until after 4am. Booger.

Friday we went out to lunch with friends - Benjamin has decided that Thai food is pretty good. Of course, Benjamin is my stand up guy. He will try anything and usually likes everything that I put in front of him. We went home and napped a little bit, and then met up with my old mom's group for dinner. We had a FANTASTIC time and Benjamin got to hang out with his friends from Maryland... once he was re-introduced, it went very well. He doesn't remember much about Maryland.

Saturday morning, we went shopping with my mother to get a present for James's birthday -- Benjamin was instrumental in that. Then, thanks to Karen, we had tickets to see Peter Pan at the Eisenhower Theatre at the Kennedy Center. I borrowed Ma's car and got to use the GPS to get to the Kennedy Center. It was flawless and we got there in about 30 minutes. Benjamin LOVED the ballet and was especially thrilled that a cannonball came across the stage and swept a Lost Boy away. After the show, Karen took us on a tour of the backstage area and we got to see how all the flying was done, and the stage was set up. It was very cool. After that, I got to use the GPS to get from the Kennedy Center to Benjamin's other grandparents' house in Laurel. I was very happy with the GPS -- it was fantastic. I dropped Benjamin off and then got to go out to dinner for a good friend's 40th birthday party.

Sunday, I picked up Benjamin and we just hung around talking to his grandparents and catching up on the news, and then we went back to my parents' house and tried to take a nap. I napped. Benjamin did not. He spent some time examining stuff in Grandfather's study, with Grandfather. Sunday night, we had a family dinner. Wow, things are very different from when I was living in Maryland! It was wonderful to see everyone and to meet Nick's fiance, Jen, and Alec's girlfriend, Beth, too.

Monday, I packed and then we went out to lunch with Karen and her mom. Then to the metro and to the airport. By the time we pulled into the driveway, Benjamin was totally out of it. He hadn't slept very much on the trip, and he really missed the other guys (he told me so a couple of times too). He usually shares a bed with Elias and James, and when we were in Maryland, he had his very own bed (and he sure wasn't sharing mine!), and I think he was a little unsettled by this and didn't sleep very well. He was happy to be back in Tucson. I was too. I have come to the decision that I don't miss Silver Spring the Place, but I miss the people. I like Tucson (the Place) much better than Maryland. The people here are good too, but I still miss my people in Maryland.

Benjamin turned 9 and had his physical. He was declared to be perfectly healthy and at the 95%ile for both height and weight. Benjamin is 56.5 inches tall, and weighs about 105 pounds. James had his physical too, and he was also declared perfectly healthy, weighing in at 50 pounds, and 47 inches tall. That is the 90%ile for height and between the 90-95%ile for weight. This is a surprise to me since he just seems small and skinny to me when I look at him. As long as he is healthy...

I am having some difficulty getting back into the swing of things since the trip. I have gone out on my bike twice this week, but to be fair, it was spring break and the guys were home. On Wednesday, I drove everyone up to Phoenix (Brigid too, since she was on a furlough day), and we went to the science museum. This was a huge hit and I think everyone had a great time. Friday, I had a babysitter come so I could go out on a ride, but this also qualifies as a great thing for the guys, since they can play games and stuff like that with this babysitter.

We went to the Easter Vigil last night -- our first major holiday in the new church. The church was completed about a month ago, so some things are still being worked out -- like how everyone should go to communion. Things are starting to settle down a little bit, and I think we should have all the issues worked out in the next month or so. Andy was supposed to be serving Mass on 30 May, but it turns out that that is the day the Archbishop is coming to dedicate the church, and he brings his own servers. I am so grateful. The tension level would have been very high for me. Here are some pictures of the new church: