Back to real life

We went to Florida last week. We returned with wonderful memories, renewed energy, sand in our bags and seaweed in our hairbrushes. It has been years since we have spent a week with just our family. Usually, we are with other family and friends for vacations, but this year we needed some good bonding time with each other. Ellie traveled suprisingly well, except for the occasional shriek to let us know that she REALLY was ready to be out of her seat. Cassidy kept us entertained with her big four year old self, and Audrey and Will took turns keeping everyone fed and the movies playing for the trip.

We stayed at Top Sail State Park and loved it. We had a nice big cabin with room for all of us, a kitchen and a screen porch with rockers. We played at the beach, made new friends, traipsed around on rented bikes, made good use of the porch and played cards. And ate...

There is nothing like seeing swimsuit photos to spark renewed commitment to eating right and exercising. So this week it is back to real life with food that is green and actually has fiber in it. Until the next vacation...

Pine Gap #2

This weekend was interesting.

Weather called for 100% chance of rain, but I didn't tell Jessica. The drive in was fun. We had to get across the low water crossing at about one foot deep. I had to use 4WD Low to get up the hill. My back tires couldn't get traction due to the weight of the tractor behind me. All the dirt roads were wet with run-off.

My goal this weekend was to completely re-do the rainwater collection system. The old gutters were rotted out with rust, and the piping was dry-rotted. I was only partially successful.

I upgraded the trunk line to a 3”, and have 2” for all the down spouts. Crawling around under the house was pretty nasty. Luckily, I only found one tick, and he hadn’t latched hold of me yet. Other than the mud from the rain, Saturday was pretty successful.

We had s ‘mores and then put the kids to bed. We heard turkeys again…

Saturday night was a different story. Cassidy woke up at about 2 AM and revealed to us that she was the current victim of the stomach bug that has been plaguing our family. Needless to say, it is really miserable to clean up projectile vomit when you have no running water.

Sunday was mostly clean up. I abandoned the gutters for the next trip. We just loaded the remainder of the trash and headed for home. The good news out of all this is that both tanks are full, so we are set for flushing the toilets. I really appreciate tap water and showers when I go home.

The Way It Should Be

Yesterday, I set out a Nativity that a friend of mine had given me. I put it in the typical arrangement... baby Jesus front and center, Mary and Joseph on either side, angel behind and a multitude of onlookers and their animals flanking the family. This morning, Audrey told me that she rearranged them a little and wanted me to see it. She had arranged it as it should be. Christ Jesus right smack dab in the middle with everyone completely focused on Him. This is the way Christmas should be celebrated! It may become family tradition to always arrange the Nativity this way!

My Best Idea

My best idea this year? Surprising the kids with a trip to WDW! We told them on the morning we left. We had such a great time. The weather was great, there were hardly any lines and the kids stayed well. All of the grandparents were supposed to come, but both of my parents were sick and had to stay home. It just wasn't the same without them along. Jennifer and Lin were so wonderful to us. They put up with Disney overload and were always willing to push the stroller, carry the backpack or hold Cassidy. The extra 2 sets of hands made it possible for Charlie and I to really enjoy the trip. We made some wonderful memories. It sure is hard to come back to work and school, though!

Mustaches

I was just downloading photos off my camera and ran across this one. We had a package of fuzzy mustaches from a camp costume. Cassidy is upset in the picture because it tickled her nose and she scared herself when she looked in the mirror. There are a thousand of these moments in my week and so many times, I snap a picture (or just chuckle) and move on. But this time I just wanted to stop and appreciate my really fabulous family. We have so much fun together. I am so blessed.

Happy Camper

I was the brillant one who pushed the idea of Will going to camp for a week. What was I thinking? I have missed him like crazy. It was like living life without thumbs. Nothing felt right. I didn't really know what to do with myself except to wonder what he was up to. I didn't think it would be this way. Up until 2 days before camp, I was making lists of all of the things I could do/get done with just the two girls. Monday, I spent the day moping around the house and doubting the capabilities of a 20 year old to supervise my child for the week. Tuesday was a little easier and so on through the week...until today. I am back to moping. I am counting the hours until I have all my little birds back in the nest and I can rest at night. Being a mother is hard. I push my kids to become independent and fly and yet with each new step, I am saddened to see their childhood slipping into the past.

This photo was taken just before we left Will last Sunday. Tomorrow morning we will find out how things went for him this week. I hope I can send another picture just like this one.

Slip-n-slide

Could she be any cuter? I picked up a slip-n-slide at Target, brought it home and the kids were out there playing in a matter of minutes. Actually, they saw it on the counter, they went and changed themselves into swimsuits (including Cassidy) and were unfolding it before I knew what happened. Ben came over a bit later to join in the fun.

Cassidy would run to the very end and then plop down and look up at me like she had slid a LONG way. "Wow, baby! You are so big sliding those last 6 inches! Way to go!" Then she'd giggle and I'd laugh and she'd start over.

Cassidy is at such a cute stage. She is precocious and witty, she has an amazing vocabulary and has a lot of phrases borrowed from Will and Audrey. Tonight as we were putting the kids to bed, I heard her say to Charlie, "You are the best daddy in the whole world!" It made my heart melt.