KC, Mo

We decided back in April that we would make a trip to visit our friend, Julie, in KC, Mo who lost her husband four years ago.  We've seen her several times since then, but it was her coming here, not us going there.  At dinner with our good friends one evening we were discussing the trip, and we decided to be there on the 4th just like we were when they first moved fifteen years ago.  By the time dinner was over, we had confirmed with Julie and made our hotel reservations.  I was just as excited about this trip as I was about our family vacation last month.

Our friend is a control freak and won't ever let anyone else drive.  So that was decided early on.  We left Thursday (7/3) morning, and the trip took FOREVER.  Part of it was our need to stop due to constantly hydrating, but part of it was the traffic was really heavy as well.  By the time we arrived, we had dinner with our friend and then tumbled into bed.

The next day, July 4th, was my favorite part of the entire trip.  We had breakfast at the hotel, then Julie came to pick us up for our day out.  First, we had to watch Nathan's hotdog eating contest because the guys are ridiculously obsessed.  Our first stop was to a distillery that we had visited together seven years ago.  We had the BEST strawberry cream concoction, and they even had the Reds game on for a bit while we were sitting there.  The next stop was into town where we had a lunch, visited a shop or two, and then found a little wine store where we could have a glass.  There was an 80's/90's trivia game, and our table took full advantage.  When we got back to the hotel, we just decided to order some appetizers for dinner and hang out in the bar, then we ventured to our room and watched fireworks on TV.  It was such a fun day.

Saturday took us to Julie's house where we spent the entire day.  She had moved since her husband passed away, so it was a new location.  We made a trip to the grocery to pick up supplies for an awesome dinner made by the guys, and again played lots of games and had some wine.  It really felt like old times hanging out.  We returned to the hotel and Julie joined us, where we stayed up well into the night playing card games.

Sunday was our last day of fun.  I had talked us all in to making sure we had three full days of fun and not returning home until Monday.  This was the day we went downtown to see some sights, and we also had an incredible meal.  Oh my goodness, I'm already looking forward to doing that again next year!  We drove around and saw some other sites before returning to the hotel and turning in for the night.  We met Julie for breakfast on Monday morning, then we were off on our way home.  I'm so grateful for the memories we made and for the friends with whom we made them!  We've already decided we are doing it again next year!

It was the best vacation ever

There is no doubt in my mind...this is the best vacation I've ever taken.  While I hope that I have many fabulous vacations as I continue to grow older, this one might not be topped.  Having Thomas and Catherine and their "others" join us was such a gift, and of course my mother-in-law was with us as well.  The house had amazing views of the sound, and there was a view from literally every window.  Our bedroom had a private covered deck, which of course had a view!  I sat there Saturday afternoon, our last day there, and there was a nice breeze, the sun was out, there was some activity in the cul-de-sac, and I just soaked it all in.  I was so grateful for the week we'd just had and for the afternoon we were having.

We had some really good meals, especially the Friday evening meal.  We ate at this huge restaurant that had water views from just about every table.  We had drinks, meals, and even desserts.  Our afternoons were generally spent at the house just hanging out, and I even got to read TWO books!  Because we eat early, our evenings were spent at the house hanging out some more.  Early in the week, especially, we would all sit out on the back deck and enjoy the water.  The full moon was absolutely gorgeous as it lit up the sound.  I loved the fact that the kids wanted to be out there with us.  We laughed so much on this trip.  Thursday night was designed game night, and we laughed even more.  Friday we finally got to show Andrew's mom the movie The Princess Bride.  She had never seen it before, and we laughed some more.  I was so, so grateful for how much time the kids wanted to spend with us.  I loved how the kids not only humored me with family picture after picture, but they wanted to make sure we all shared them so everyone had access.  It wasn't all perfect of course, as there were seven people with seven personalities, but honestly, it doesn't get much better.  I truly don't have the words for how wonderful it was and how grateful I am!

Our vacation has begun

Our amazing vacation has started.  Honestly, this may be the one where I leave the house less than any other vacation ever.  Well, at least the property.  The house is located at the tip of an island peninsula, with water views at every angle.  The living space on the top level has a completely unobstructed view of the sound, and it is absolutely gorgeous.  This is also the nicest house we've ever been in when it comes to cleanliness and maintenance.  We could not be more thrilled.  It is truly the perfect house for our family for this week.

We brought in pizza last night for dinner and tonight is the first night we are actually going out...the best part of our vacations!  We just found out today that the place we eat on every trip is no longer in business.  It had been around since the 1940's and was the very first meal Andrew and I ever had on the Outer Banks.  We've eaten at this restaurant on all previous seven trips, the only restaurant we can say that about.  Our kids even had great memories, even if they weren't all food related, and we were sad to hear that it was sold 18 mos ago and then suddenly closed earlier this year. 

So nice to know this trip is just getting started!

Ready for vacay

In about 17 hours (hopefully), we will be out the door for vacation.  It's a 13ish hour drive to our place at the Outer Banks, and I'm so excited.  My MIL is here, and the kids are all coming with us as well.  I'm calling this the last "big vacay".  I truly hope that we get to take other vacations as time goes along, but this is the last one I'm paying for almost everything.  I'm so, so grateful for this opportunity and the memories we are going to make!

French Lick Resort

Earlier in the year, Andrew and I had decided we weren't going to take a family vacation.  We had to purchase new windows due to a homeowner's insurance inspection, and then we agreed to help Thomas by paying for his new engine that he needed this spring.  Either expenditure would've been more than we would spend on a vacation, let along both of them occurring in the same year.  On top of that, Andrew was taking his 50th birthday trip with his high school friends to Montana.  I had decided we would just take a bunch of overnight trips and enjoy a day here and there.  However, as the summer began, I realized I was really sad that I wasn't taking a trip.  I had always wanted to visit this resort in Indiana.  I love vacations where we can park when we arrive and not have to leave again.  The best part (as far as I was concerned)?  It was less than a four hour drive.  Andrew would tell you the best part was that we could bring Abby.  I had planned to stay two nights, but Andrew convinced me we should stay a third night...and I'm so, so glad we did!

When we arrived we literally parked the car and didn't see it again until Wednesday.  The place was enormous, and absolutely gorgeous.  Dinner our first night was at this amazing steak restaurant right down the hall from our room.  The waitress chuckled when we ordered chocolate martinis as our dessert, but that was exactly what we wanted.  We spent the evening walking around locating things throughout the hotel and walked to the casino.  We were fish out of water there!

Monday morning we got up and had the buffet that was really good.  We then decided to go back to the room and take a nap, because that is what vacation is about!  After a couple of hours we headed to the adult pool and the poolside bar where we spent another couple of hours until it was time to catch the shuttle to dinner at a golf course.  To be honest, it wasn't the greatest meal.  We decided to spend the evening at the Casino, where we laughed a lot because we didn't have a clue what we were doing!  We ended up spending about $12 there, but then we realized the Reds were on the giant screen and decided to have a drink and watch some of the game, then we headed back to the room and ordered a bottle of wine from room service.

Tuesday morning we started with coffee, then we took the shuttle over to the other hotel named the West Badin.  It was just as amazing as the French Lick hotel but very different architecture.  We had a lovely lunch in the atrium and walked the grounds.  The gardens at West Badin were really beautiful.  We took the shuttle back to our hotel, and decided it was nap time again!  We didn't have specific dinner plans, but we decided we'd grab something small, then head to the casino.  We really didn't plan to gamble, but our plan was to have some drinks and watch the Reds game again.  Unfortunately, it ended up being postponed, so we went back to the room and ordered another bottle of wine from room service.

It was a perfect little trip with just the right amount of time.  I felt relaxed, and I appreciated that the kids were at home to handle the cats.  While we splurged on meals and desserts and drinks, I was grateful that we didn't spend a lot on gas, and since we were able to go Sunday-Wednesday, the lodging wasn't overly expensive.  I'm so, so grateful that we took a few days to get away, just the two of us (and Abby too)!  And I'm also very grateful that we already made reservations for an ocean vacation next year!

Off work for the next ten days

As I told Andrew earlier today, this is the best part of every break...the very beginning.  I'm sure everyone agrees with that.  I love my job, but I can't lie that having ten nights to go to bed and not have to be up early the next morning is always delightful.  I'm not entirely sure what the next ten days are going to bring, but I know there won't be any alarm for most of them!

Back to work tomorrow

My little mini 'staycation' is coming to an end and I'm back to work tomorrow.  The nice thing is that it will already be Thursday, and I'm not sure if there is any need for me to work Friday.  Even if I do...it's a two-day week!  And next week I'll only work four days before before the office closes for the July 4th week.  This is what I love about my job in the summer!!

The last six days have been wonderfully special, starting almost right after I got off Thursday.  We had won tickets to the Dayton Dragons in a silent auction and we took our dear friends with us.  There have been some issues I won't get into, but the love and compassion that they have shown us during a really rough time is indescribable.  We watched about half the game, then walked across the street for a beer.  Then we spent Friday evening at their house hanging out as well.  It was a great start to the time off!

Saturday I didn't leave my house at all.  I did some cleaning, and just really enjoyed a bit of down time.  Sunday we had planned on church, but I woke up not feeling well.  Sadly, three days later, I'm still not feeling great.  The kids were all here Sunday evening for dinner, and we are enjoying the beginning of that tradition.

Monday, Andrew and I decided to head north and make a quick visit to the Air Force Museum, then we drove even further north to meet up with my mom and several of my high school friends.  A very dear friend had flown in from California, and it was so incredibly great to spend the evening together.  It had been nine years since he'd been here, and that is entirely too long!

Yesterday was our one evening "away", but it's a bit comical.  Andrew and I won a night at an airbnb property in a different silent auction, but I'm not sure it was even two miles away from our home.  It was so needed though.  We drove out to the state park for dinner, then drove back to the place and watched the Reds game before I turned in fairly early.  It was a really great evening to just have to ourselves.

Today, my California friend drove to our town and we spent the afternoon just the two of us.  I was kind of ready to be just "done" with people, but I'm so glad that we took this afternoon together.  It was so very special.

During all of this week, we've been under a heat advisory and/or warning.  It's been in the 90's all week with indices over 100.  This is NOT my kind of weather, and I suspect that is why I haven't been feeling great.  Sadly, there is no break until Sunday when it will "only" be in the upper 80's, then next week we are back to all 90's again.  Not at all enjoyable.

I'm ready to get to back to work...and then enjoy another weekend!

Spring break 2024

Spring break has been over for two weeks, but I wanted to make sure to record some memories before I completely forget them!  This is the last year that Andrew and I are going to have the same spring break for awhile.  At one point I had thought it would be a good time to make a less expensive trip to the ocean, but there is too much going on in life for that to be an option.

The break began with one of my favorite weekends of the year...the men's NCAA basketball tournament.  There were some decent upsets in the first round, but as is generally the case, they didn't make it out of the first weekend.  Monday-Wednesday of the week brought household work and some work at school just to keep things going (and to earn a bit of a paycheck...I don't get PTO!), but there was lots of time for relaxing as well!

The best part of break was the day we headed to Columbus.  We were able to get a great rate at a motel, and stayed at Easton, where everything is walkable.  We had dinner at the Cheesecake Factory, went to a movie, had some drinks at a pub, and took advantage of having HBO Max to watch the Friends Reunion episode from a couple of years ago that we had never seen.  With Matthew Perry having passed away, it added to my emotions as I watched it.  I've watched that show and laughed with friends, with my husband, and even with my children and mother-in-law during our Thanksgiving tradition.  That show has brought some laughs during some really rough times.

Friday morning we got up and drove over to get my mother-in-law and bring her back for Easter and an extended visit.  We had a lot of fun while she was here.

As with every break, it flew by too quickly.  But the good news is that I really like my job!

This has been an amazing week

This week off has been absolutely amazing.  It feels like it has been a long stretch of absolute nothingness.  As I had suspected, in many ways I enjoyed this even more than our week of vacation, although I am incredibly grateful for that week as well!  It's especially nice that the office is closed so there is absolutely no obligation to go in or be doing anything.  I had almost nothing at all scheduled, and while I could have been more productive, the way I spent this week was exactly what I needed.  I feel so recharged and I'm so very grateful.  I'm even looking forward to heading to the office on Monday!

2023 Vacation, part 2

Wednesday morning I awoke with a migraine and went back to bed after medicating.  Andrew and Thomas went back to the mainland and played some frisbee golf.  I love that they bond in that way.  I walked over to the nearby shops, but didn't even find any I wanted to go into.  We had visited the favorite bookstore Tuesday morning, and that was here I had decided to spend a bit of money.  That evening we decided to try a new restaurant on the sound front, and yet again, really good food!  We walked out to the sound but the wind was overwhelming.  When we returned to our rental, we convinced the kids to walk with us (and of course the sweet pup!) over to the ocean.  I took so many fabulous pictures.  Of course our TV watching continued that evening.

Thursday was the day I was most looking forward to.  We had decided to do our shopping in Duck.  I know the kids were a little disappointed that we didn't get to walk along the boardwalk as much as we would have liked, but with Andrew's mom joining us, it just wasn't an option.  We did get to a little bit though, and again, I took lots of fun pictures.  We also ate lunch out that day instead of dinner, and we visited a place from the TV show Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.  It was 100% worth the stop!  That evening, Andrew and I walked to park across from where we were staying and walked along the sound.  It was gorgeous.

Friday Andrew took a bike ride (he had rented a bike down there) and I took the kids and did a bit of shopping.  We started our laundry process and got things organized.  Dinner was a fun place near-by.  Afterwards we took Andrew's mom over to the park on the sound and she was able to enjoy the views.  We got home just before a major storm came in.  Even dark clouds are prettier at the ocean though!

We were out the door by 6:30 the next morning, and home 14 hours later.  It was so nice to be able to have Andrew's mom and both kids with us.  It was also different though.  The kids are used to having their own space, and after dinner we didn't see them much.  They retreated to their rooms and hung out there the rest of the evening.  I understand, but I wished they had joined us a bit more.  It didn't really feel like we did as much this trip, and in many ways, we didn't.  We just sat and relaxed, and for that I am grateful!

Vacation 2023

Although we've been home for two weeks, I'm finally writing about this year's vacation.  It was really, really wonderful.  My mother-in-law joined us again this year, and our sweet pup, Abby, was able to join us again this year.  We rented a minivan again for the trip, and we were on the road around 5AM on the 10th of June.  It took us 14 hours, and a great deal of that was spent just getting through the island traffic.  I slept through a significant portion of the trip, and I remember thinking that it was one of the few times we'd been on a specific portion of Virginia interstate without rain or some major accident!  When we got to the place we were staying, it was nearly 8:00 and we ordered some pizzas for dinner.  It was about a three minute walk to these little shops that included the pizza place.  It was fabulous.

On Sunday, we walked over to the ocean front pool.  The kids were at the arcade, but Andrew and I ordered some drinks and enjoyed the view.  The best part is that it was only about a six-minute walk to the pool, and then another minute down to the ocean.  In that regard, the location was absolutely wonderful.  We ended up eating at the restaurant at the pool that evening.  It wasn't the best food we had that week, but it was definitely the best view!  It also gave my mother-in-law an opportunity to see the ocean again.

Monday we did a bit of shopping and had some ice cream, but there was some afternoon rain.  Our dinner was at a restaurant that had changed since we'd been there last, but still had amazing food.  A bit of shopping after dinner, and our third evening of some walking, sitting outside, and then watching our favorite show with Andrew's mom.

Tuesday was more of the same.  We had beautiful weather the entire week.  That evening, we drove an hour to eat at our favorite restaurant.  It never disappoints.  My Filet Oscar was spectacular.  It's always an amazing dinner, and it's generally the one evening where we splurge for desserts.

I'll come back tomorrow and finish recapping our trip.  I'm so grateful we got to make these memories!

Tomorrow means back to reality

Tomorrow means back to work for Andrew and I, although neither of us have students.  I'll be honest, this was probably my least favorite two-week break ever.  The drama from Robert a couple of days before Christmas was only part of it.  Working so much at church before Christmas was only part of it.  The church project has been absolutely ridiculous, and I've not been pleased about it.

On Tuesday we found out Catherine's apartment was completely flooded.  Remember when I mentioned last week's weather?  Well the third floor turned off the heat, and when the pipe burst the water could only go down...until it hit the first floor and had nowhere else to go.  It's going to take a month or so to really get the apartment livable again.  She is close enough that she can stay here and commute or they will put her into temporary housing, so she'll figure that out.  We also attended a surprise party that evening for our good friend, but one of the other friends passed out and we had to call an ambulance.  He appears to be fine, but it was scary.  Catherine had a shredded flat tire on her way Friday to picking up her college roommate before New Year's Eve.  Fortunately a good samaritan came along and helped her out.  Thomas has had drama with his girlfriend, although that seems to be resolving.  We've had four cats here, my mom's furnace stopped working, and I feel like I could go on, and on.  Part of me is looking forward to going back to work and getting back into a routine, and part of me wants to cry because I feel exhausted and not at all ready to resume craziness again.

Today I spent the day catching up on budgeting items and laundry, and watching college football, and now the much anticipated Bengals/Bills game.  It makes it not feel like a Monday, and I'm grateful that it will be a short week in that accord.  Still looking forward to making 2023 a great year.

Vacation plans made

I received an email from a company we had used to rent a house on the Outer Banks.  Ironically, it was the 2020 vacation that never happened.  Anyway, they had released their 2023 rates, and I decided to check them out.  I wanted to stay in the resort that we love, go the same week as this year, have a Saturday check-in, and take our sweet pup.  That search returned exactly ONE option.  And we took it.  Technically, we only have a "right of first refusal" booked, but I showed the pictures to the kids, and they were excited, and it will be ours for the week as long as nothing changes our minds before December.  I don't know if the kids will be able to join us, but I've given them about as much notice as I can to make it happen!

Last part of 2022 vacation

On Thursday, we awoke to the most beautiful weather.  Knowing that Friday, our last day there, was supposed to be hot and humid, I decided Thursday would be beach day for me.  Andrew and I had taken a beach umbrella, but we also bought another one as well as two beach chairs.  I ended up staying at the beach much longer than I had originally intended.  Although I took things to read, honestly I mostly just say and watched my kids and enjoyed the view of the ocean.  It was truly an amazing afternoon, and one I know I'll always remember.  

That evening we ventured further inland for a dinner.  It wasn't anything fancy, but it had the best menu we'd seen all week.  By that time, even I was getting a little tired of seafood.  It had a teriyaki chicken that was awesome, and it was next to a used bookstore.  We enjoyed a bit of browsing before heading back to the house.  Unfortunately, about 10:00 that evening we had quite a storm go through.  We were all inside by then though, enjoying our TV episodes.

Friday, I decided the sinus problems I was having were just too much.  I felt pretty lousy.  We walked over to some near-by shops and did some shopping.  Andrew and Thomas spent the afternoon at the pool, and we had an early dinner at a near-by restaurant that is always a "must" on a trip to Garden City.  We took my mother-in-law to do some shopping after dinner, and then finished the evening with some ice-cream.  It was really a lovely ending to our week together.  We packed as much as we could that evening, and of course finished with some TV episodes, before the rain poured down again overnight.

Saturday we had gorgeous weather for the drive home, although we had a significant amount of standing water around the house before we left.  Traffic was pretty heavy on many parts of the drive home, but it still only took us 15 minutes longer than the drive down.  We ordered pizzas for dinner, and I was never so grateful to be sleeping in my own bed as I was that night.

It was really a lovely, lovely vacation.  Realistically, it was my mother-in-law's last major trip.  As it was, she only left the house for dinners and near-by shopping.  I also know, there are absolutely no guarantees that my kids can join us each year.  I filled my heart with as many memories as I possibly could.  The trip was truly a blessing.

Vacation recap 2022 part 2

The first 24 hours of the trip was really the craziest.  Life settled down after those rains on Sunday.  Monday was spent doing a bit of shopping.  We ate dinner at another restaurant where we eat every year, and after dinner we strolled along the ocean, except for Thomas who had a blast with some other teens at the pool.  This was also the evening we realized our location was NOT ideal, as we were just a block from the pier and next to public parking.  Some really loud young people made a lot of noise that evening!  And of course, the evening finished with episodes of our favorite TV show.

Tuesday we really just hung around the house.  I even took a nap, and Thomas spent more time at the pool.  We decided to try a new restaurant that evening, and we all really liked it.  To me, it was the best family atmosphere of the week, and they had amazing hush puppies as an appetizer.  We will be happy to add it to our list of places next time!

Wednesday we wanted to take the kids shopping about 40 minutes away, and then hit Hard Rock Cafe on the way back to the house.  The shopping was fine, although with the heat our family wilted quickly.  The lunch plan wasn't workable either.  They had changed the location of Hard Rock, and we weren't interested in navigation another shopping area.  Instead, we found a Fuddrucker's, and we were thrilled.  The best burgers ever, and we miss having one around here.  It was really the only time Thomas had a true "meal" at a restaurant.  It was a late lunch, and for dinner we just grabbed a hot dog for my mother-in-law.  She rarely left the house with us except for dinner, so she hadn't eaten lunch with us.  That afternoon, Catherine and Thomas took their new boards to the pool, and we loved listening to them laugh and have so much fun.  The way the pool was situated, it was in plenty of shade except for just a couple of hours in the middle of the day, so we could all sit there and read and watch the kids have fun.  We walked over to the ocean in the evening, and enjoyed the view from our porch before calling it a night with our TV episodes.

I'll easily be able to wrap up the last few days in a final post!

Vacation 2022 recap

Last week was truly a very, very lovely week.  I'm so grateful we were able to make the trip, and Andrew's mom repeatedly mentioned how grateful she was that we had taken her.  In many regards, it was the calmest vacation I think I've ever taken.  Little to no drama, but a lot of fun!

We picked up the rental van Friday afternoon.  It was an awesome vehicle!  It had just over 2k miles on it, so it was basically a brand new vehicle.  It was so needed, and truly a great ride.  We were all packed Friday evening and were able to mostly pack the van.  We watched some Big Bang Theory, but we were all in bed early as the alarms were set for 3:30AM!

No one seems to mind those early wake-ups when it involves a drive to the ocean.  We were ready to leave by 5, but it took us a bit to figure out how to use all the gadgets in the rental!  None of us slept much on the way down.  Traffic wasn't bad, and overall it was a pleasant trip.  We made it to our rental house about 6:15 that evening.  The house itself was really just the right size for us.  We had pizza for dinner and made a quick trip to the grocery.  Because we were literally across the street from the ocean, we could sit on the porch and see the waves, which was really all my mother-in-law wanted to do all week.  Her mobility is a struggle, but she enjoyed the view!

Sunday we slept in, and then Andrew and I made another trip to the grocery.  Given the high gas prices, Andrew and I were especially thrilled that nearest grocery was a Kroger, just like we have here!  We were able to earn fuel points and help keep the costs down.  Andrew really wanted to visit the flea market that he's often gone to.  The four of us went, and it was clearly a mistake for me.  It was stifling hot with unbelievable humidity, and it was just too much.  I was happy to hang out in the car, and the rain began to fall.  When everyone else was done shopping, we picked up my mother-in-law to go grab some ice cream.  While we were eating, the skies REALLY opened up. so we decided to visit the attached beach store.  Of course, we all found things we thought we needed while we were waiting for the rain to subside.  We had a lull in the rain and made a run for the vehicle.  We then sat in the car, waiting and waiting for the rain to stop.  Finally, we decided that since our sweet pup was in the house waiting for us, we just needed to make another run.  While sitting in the van we had been watching the road flood, and there were definitely places it wasn't safe to cross!

A couple of hours later we decided to head up the road to the place that is almost always our first restaurant we visit each time we are at Myrtle Beach.  I even have a picture of our family eating there when the kids were so very little.  This year, we decided to eat outdoors since it is an ocean front restaurant.  Our table was on the edge of the deck, but covered and so therefore shaded.  However, we began to notice that it didn't matter it was shaded because it was awfully cloudy.  We checked the weather  and there didn't seem to be any chance of rain, but apparently Mother Nature didn't get that memo.  We tried to just wait it out, but it started raining sideways.  We found two tables on the other side of the deck to push together.  The manager didn't love that, but we pointed out we needed to eat, and we weren't going to sit at the bar.  While we were eating, two of Andrew's co-workers came over to say hello!  What are the chances??!!  It really ended up to be a lovely evening after the rain.  We took a walk on the ocean, checked out the community pool, and watched several episodes of our favorite show before heading off to bed.

This post is so long that our recap will have to be told in parts...

There's no place like home

We got home about 7:00 last evening.  It was something of a rough trip home, and I was so grateful to finally make it home.  We walked through the house and did some unpacking, and my heart was full of so much gratitude not only for our amazing vacation, but for the house where we spend the majority of our time.  I felt like I was seeing home through new eyes, and I couldn't have been (and continue to be) more grateful for the home in which we live.

I'll write later this week about the vacation itself.  Today, I'm getting ready to face reality again with back to work tomorrow, and I'm enjoying celebrating my husband on this Father's Day!

Beach day!

I'll write a more complete synopsis of our trip after we return next week, but I did want to take a moment and note that today was beach day!  Where we are staying the beach is easily accessible (we can see the ocean from our porch) and it's not overly crowded.  Today was warm, but not oppressively hot.  We have two beach umbrellas, I use AT LEAST 50SPF sunscreen, and I wear a wide brimmed hat.  It was truly a lovely time.  I LOVED watching the kids try to catch waves on their body boards (Thomas was much more successful than Catherine), and I just soaked it all up.  I can tell they are tired, and that's okay too.  In about 36 hours, we will be getting up to head home, but this week has been everything we all hoped it would be!

We made it to the beach

Vacation 2022 is in full swing.  I was extraordinarily concerned about driving 700 miles with our two kids, the dog, and my mother-in-law, but I needn't have worried.  It was a fine trip down, and although I had mentally prepared myself for 15 hours, we arrived just 13 hours after departing.  We were ready to go at 5AM as we had hoped, although we actually left 15 minutes later because we have a rented mini-van, and we needed to acclimate ourself with how things worked.  I didn't sleep nearly as much on the trip as I normally do, and no one else slept much either...although that is normal for all of them.

I can't tell you how wonderful this trip has been in just the 48 hours we've been gone.  There has been so much laughter and so many smiles.  My mother-in-law has found herself emotional at times, because there are so many memories from my husband's childhood here.  Last evening we ate at the same restaurant we always eat at on either the first or second night we are here.  This was the first time we ate outside though, and it's ocean-front so that was lovely.

I am feeling so grateful and beyond blessed.

Does my heart good

Catherine has been around quite a bit the last week, and it's truly been lovely.  Although it's been a challenging few months, she and Thomas have gotten along a little better since school has been out.  And today has been beyond lovely.  We are leaving for our vacation tomorrow, and with Catherine and Thomas, it has been just like old times.  They have been making all these awesome plans of things they want to do together.  This vacation is proving to be far, far more expensive than I had originally planned it to be when we first decided to do an ocean trip this year, and current gas prices are only part of it.  There has been a part of me that wondered if we'd made a mistake, but the last 24 hours has shown me that it's not.  We aren't going broke by any means, and this trip is going to a memory-maker.  I'm so very grateful.