Trip Recap (or Why I Waffle About Moving Back to NY)

I am way too lazy and unmotivated to write a full post about my vacation, so I'm resorting to a bullet point recap. And I forgot my camera so I have no pictures to break up the bullets. Sorry!

• Our first full day back we spent the afternoon following my dad while he played golf in the pro-am of the Dick's Open. It was nice to get outside and enjoy the sun, but walking four miles in flip flops really tired me out. I know my dad was happy we were able to watch him play, and I get to spend time with my mom and my grandparents, so it was a good way to start our vacation. Also of note, this was the first time AJ and I were out in the community of my hometown since being married, and a real small part of me missed the small town camaraderie and "who knows who" jabber that takes place between strangers. I also really enjoyed how cheap things were. This started my "we should move back to NY" thinking that took place most of the week.
  
• On Thursday I played golf at the town country club with AJ, my brother, and my grandfather. It was hot as hell out, but we had a nice time and this again made me miss spending time with my family. After golf we had lunch in the club house and I spent most of the time looking out at the pool at all the moms with their kiddies. I think you know where this is going....
  
• Later that night we had a barbecue at my aunt's house, and this kicked off the family reunion festivities. Not many people were in town yet, so it was mostly our immediate family and some of the sisters*. It was kind of lame, but I think that is mostly because my cousins invited all their friends from high school to come to the party too (why? I have no idea), and I felt 100 years old and like a chaperon. This made me not want to move back home....I don't get along with many people from high school.
• Late Thursday night my BFF from high school (who also doubles as my college roommate and now my {younger} brother's hook up) met up with us and we had a couple drinks at a local bar. I love hanging out with my BFF, but it is kind of strange seeing her and my brother touching, holding hands, etc. This apparently first began at our wedding and has been on and off ever since. We shall see how his develops.
  
• Friday morning my mom and I went to the spa while the boys golfed. It was nice to spend time with my mom and I love getting pampered, so this was definitely a highlight of our vacation. I got a traditional massage and an anti-wrinkle facial that included a chemical peel, and since a few of you showed interest when I mentioned the facial on twitter, I figured I would talk about it more in depth tomorrow. Stay tuned.
  
• Friday night my parents had a clam bake at their house. AJ and I manned the cooker for the clams, which initially was not a great success. We put wayyy too many clams into the pot and had a hard time steaming them and fishing them out once they were done. Once we got it figured out though, we were clam cooking machines. We were cheating too and ate a few from each batch. Yum.
  
• Saturday was the actual reunion, which was at a church hall in the middle of the afternoon. My dad hails from a ginormous Italian family. My grandmother has 7 sisters and the sisters have 857 kids resulting in 3290 grand kids. And now some grand kids are having kids, but I think there are only like 10 great grand kids. Okay, maybe some of those numbers are inflated, but there really are 7 sisters and there are so many cousins and second cousins that I have no idea how many there actually are. AJ and I have not been able to attend a reunion since being together as we used to live in NC and last summer we were getting married. We had some of the family at our wedding, but it was nice to see the people who didn't attend the wedding. AJ, my brother, mom, and cousins played Apples to Apples for like 3 hours. I am now obsessed with this game. I am heading to Target ASAP to buy this so we have it for all the parties we will have at our new house. And yes, our parties will involve board games, because we're old like that.
• Saturday night we went to dinner with my parents and brother to one of my favorite Italian restaurants. Seriously, I cannot get enough Italian food when I am home. If there is one thing I hate about DC it is that there are very few authentic Italian restaurants.
  
• Sunday we headed up to Ithaca to visit AJ's parents. AJ golfed with his dad while I hung out with his mom. If you follow me on Twitter, you know that I was super uncomfortable the entire time. I hate to be the bitchy DIL, but we are just so different and we have nothing to talk about. I am also still desperate for approval, so I get nervous about being around her and that she is going to oust me from the family. AJ reassures me that it is just her personality and that she actually loves me, but when she constantly criticizes and makes me feel like a spoiled brat, I can't help but wonder. I was so glad when the guys were done golfing, and the rest of the night wasn't nearly as bad. AJ does a good job of appeasing any tension and is better equipped to deal with his parents. Not that they are crazy or anything ;)
  

So overall we had a great time in NY, but we were definitely busy. Throughout the vacation I waffled back and forth about whether I want to move back there, but I think in the end I like where we are in our lives now, and don't plan to move right after law school. After a few more years in DC we will have to reassess again and see where things will take us...

*The "sisters" refers to my grandmother and her 7 sisters. I feel like this makes them sound notorious, which now that I think about it, suits them.