Oct 18
Then the MAIN ATTRACTION: Seeing Jason after 6.5 weeks apart
We did so many wonderful and fun things on our October break adventure, including seeing my brother and his new home, meeting David's step-sister for the first time, visiting with Emily's school friend who had moved away back to NYC this summer, getting a little fall clothes shopping done, getting Emily's hair cut, introducing Emily to NYC for the first time (and seeing where David works when he travels to NYC), and admiring New England fall foliage, but hands-down the very best part was the main goal of the trip - being reunited with our son after his first 45 days away at college! Phew, I made it (through those many weeks and that run-on sentence).
We really enjoyed:
- meeting a bunch of Jason's new friends
- joining in with the ballroom dance club to learn some salsa and foxtrot (Jason is jumping into competitive dancing and loving it)
- having some good Mexican and Indian food together
- being shown around some of Jason's frequent haunts
- witnessing new befuddling card tricks Jason has learned
- church together Sunday morning (a challenge to have soft hearts, which both encourage and result from obedience)
- early birthday shopping for Jason
- a trip to Ben & Jerry's (see below)
The view from Jason's dorm room window.
So this is a Vermonster BEFORE:
Ingredients:
- 20 scoops of ice cream (you get to choose 5 flavors)
- 4 bananas
- 4 ladles of hot fudge sauce
- 3 chocolate chip cookies
- 1 chocolate fudge brownie
- 10 scoops of walnuts
- 2 scoops each of your 4 favorite toppings (we chose Reese's Pieces, oreos, marshmallows and chocolate chips)
- topped with lots of freshly made whipped cream
"It contains 14,000 calories, and 500 grams of fat." Bring it on! Yum. I thought the scoop shop guy was just kidding when he threw out the 14K number. But no, I find it here on wikipedia, too.
So we skipped dinner and did our best...
But by the time four hungry ice-cream-lovers are getting really full, it's starting not to look so appetizing anyway...
But it was very tasty and fun. Must be done with several close friends who are healthy and very comfortable with each other. Must skip a meal to be tackled. Must focus on the healthy bananas and walnuts and other fruit (cocoa and coconut being fruits) and beans (vanilla being a bean).
Did you know that "Ben & Jerry's was the first brand-name ice cream to be taken into space aboard the Space Shuttle"?
We will remember the Vermonster together, but the best part was the hugs from Jason all weekend, the face-to-face update, now knowing more ways to pray for him, and being able to picture him about his business in his new environment. Thanks for showing us your new life, Jason.
