July 2012, in summary

On this last day of July, I recognize that I've been pretty quiet on this blog as of late. Even with this post, I only completed five posts this month! But you all should have been expecting this. June 30th marked the end of our 6-month busy season (can six months really be called a "season"?), and we wasted no time in gettin' outta Dodge once July arrived. I'll provide details in due time, but here's a sprinkling of photos to give you an idea of where we've been recuperating:

Panama 

Cayman Airways started offering direct flights from Grand Cayman to Panama City, which was motivation enough for us to book a week's vacation in this Central American destination. We started in Panama City...

...and ended in Boquete.

It's like my soul healed during that week.

I will go back there someday.

Chicago

Speaking of direct flights (can you tell we hate connections?), we decided to take advantage of Cayman's one-time public holiday on July 18th (Referendum Day) to visit this mid-Western city for the first time.

Chicago lived up to all the hype. It's like the friendly New York.

I will go back there someday.

Pennsylvania

After Chicago, we flew to our hometown in Central PA for a few days with the fam, the newest member of which stole my heart:

And since home is where the heart is, I will go back there someday.

New Jersey

We lived in New Jersey for the first seven years of our marriage but haven't really been back since moving to Grand Cayman two years ago. Since our final flight back to Cayman left out of JFK, and since NJ lies between PA and NY, it only made sense to make a stop-off in our old stomping grounds. This gave us the chance to visit with friends whom we've known and loved for most of our lives.

Their first-born daughter could win awards for her looks or her smarts or her giggle. Or all three. And with #2 on his/her way, I can assure you, I will go back there someday.

More to come on our post-busy season recovery tour. In the meantime, you'll have to be entertained with a dodgeball tournament, a fun-filled photo shoot, and the final "goodbye" post. After I unpack.