Vacation

I feel like all I ever say lately is, "Hi, sorry for my absence, we were doing {X}. I'm sure you understand."

So. Hi. Sorry for my absence, we were on a week-long vacation. And I didn't feel like spreading the word to all of the internet ahead of time. And I didn't get on the internet once while we were gone. I'm sure you understand.

For the past few years my mom, my kids, and I have all packed up and made the eight hour journey to Kansas City, our homebase, to visit for a week with our family. (Here is last year's recap.) We play hard, we nap hard, we swim hard, and we do lots and lots of fun Kansas City stuff. The Professor enjoys his week-long break at home, too, though he starts missing us all really badly by about the third day and also gets jealous of all the fun things we are doing and all the good food we are eating.

This year My Sister the Goddess and the Baby Goddess flew up from Dallas and joined us, and I am so glad they did, since that was the first I'd seen them since they moved to Texas in early March. If you'll remember, My Sister the Goddess is pregnant, too, and we had fun comparing bellies and feeling babies kick and trying to one-up one another with our stretch marks. Big fun. The Baby Goddess is divine and reallyreallyreally anxious to be walking soon. She has a head of dark curls. She blinks at you when she wants to say 'hello' or 'I love you' or 'Lovin' your shoes, girlfriend!' Very fabulous.

My kids did fabulously, too, and I remarked on more than one occasion that this was the first trip we've ever taken where they have instantaneously and oh-so-seamlessly fallen into their routine without any adjustment period. They slept normal naptimes and nighttimes, even in strange bedrooms and beds, and were generally pretty patient being lugged everywhere in town in ridiculously hot weather. It helps, of course, to have so many doting adults to care for one's every whim.

I left my camera in my room the entire time, not once thinking about pictures, which I realize is sort of unfortunate, but hey, I'm a big fat pregnant lady with three kids and it was HOT and we were on vacation. I'll just remember a general feeling of a contentment and restfulness instead of editing hundreds of digital pictures.

So now we're back, taking the day to regroup and rest. The summer is winding down. It's hothothot, I'm ignoring my flowerbeds and watching my growing pumpkins, and The Professor is getting extra work in by working security for the Bears football camp, as he's done for the past several summers. These are all signs of August around here. Meanwhile, we are so glad to have gotten the little vacation with family, as a sort of crown on such a nice, lazy summer.

Sorry for my absence, but we were enjoying life. I'm sure you understand.