"Mommy, I think I brought some of the beach home in my butt."
- Amanda, finding sand in places nobody wants to know about.
Wednesday, July 24, 2013
7 A.M.
We got home last night after a whirlwind of a day. We left the Jersey Shore just after 8:45 a.m. to get to the airport for our 11:15 flight. Once there and checking in, the machine notified me that our flight was in an "oversale situation" and if we were willing to volunteer to give up our seats they would give us $200 in vouchers per seat. That's $200 less per person we would have to spend on Thanksgiving or Christmas tickets. Sign me up. Long story short they did end up needing our seats and gave us $500 vouchers. That's $2000 worth of plane tickets. Yipee!
The only problem was we traded in our non-stop flight for a connection through Houston, which meant we had to wait about 2.5 hours for our journey to begin, take a 4 hour flight to Houston, have a 2.5 hour layover and then another 2.5 hour flight to Denver. The kids did it, because they had no choice, but they were not happy about it. All three of them fell asleep in the car on the way home from the airport.
As tired as they were, they were all up by 7:00 a.m. this morning. I don't know what it is, but with all the trips we've been on this summer and all the switching time zones, they still wake up by 7:00 a.m. almost everyday. It doesn't matter if we've jumped two hours or gone back an hour, 7:00 a.m. I, on the other hand, am exhausted and just wish they would sleep a few hours more. I don't think that's going to happy for quite a few years.
How was Jersey? Wonderful, fantastic, amazing. I got to hang out with my two best friends from college, need I say more? The kids had a great time at the beach and are totally geared up for Destin next week, they got ice cream everyday, we got to go to a pinball museum and play old video games and my two friends and I were even able to sneak out one night sans kids for a beautiful evening thanks to Renee's husband, Mark. All seeing them does is make me want to see them more.
Saturday we leave for Destin and that is our final trip of the summer. I can't believe this time period that we have been looking forward to for so long is almost over, but it has been a fantastic summer, one to remember.
The only problem was we traded in our non-stop flight for a connection through Houston, which meant we had to wait about 2.5 hours for our journey to begin, take a 4 hour flight to Houston, have a 2.5 hour layover and then another 2.5 hour flight to Denver. The kids did it, because they had no choice, but they were not happy about it. All three of them fell asleep in the car on the way home from the airport.
As tired as they were, they were all up by 7:00 a.m. this morning. I don't know what it is, but with all the trips we've been on this summer and all the switching time zones, they still wake up by 7:00 a.m. almost everyday. It doesn't matter if we've jumped two hours or gone back an hour, 7:00 a.m. I, on the other hand, am exhausted and just wish they would sleep a few hours more. I don't think that's going to happy for quite a few years.
How was Jersey? Wonderful, fantastic, amazing. I got to hang out with my two best friends from college, need I say more? The kids had a great time at the beach and are totally geared up for Destin next week, they got ice cream everyday, we got to go to a pinball museum and play old video games and my two friends and I were even able to sneak out one night sans kids for a beautiful evening thanks to Renee's husband, Mark. All seeing them does is make me want to see them more.
Saturday we leave for Destin and that is our final trip of the summer. I can't believe this time period that we have been looking forward to for so long is almost over, but it has been a fantastic summer, one to remember.
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Kid Quote of the Day
As I'm setting Amanda onto the toilet knowing full well I will have to wipe her when she's done (not because she can't do it but because she doesn't like to get her hands wet [although it's fine for me to get my hands wet])...
Me: I love you so much!
Amanda: I don't love you so much, I only love you a little bit.
Me: I love you so much!
Amanda: I don't love you so much, I only love you a little bit.
A Vacation From Our Vacations
We're back in town briefly from two very long trips. First we went to Texas for 10 days. We got to see most of our friends (a few inconveniently were on vacation while we were there) and the kids had a blast at camp. I had a great time while they were at camp too, because the camp was from 9a-4p M-F so I got to go to the gym, hang out with friends and do a little shopping. Amanda was with me everyday much to her chagrin, but we made the best of it. Charlie flew in both weekends, the first one he was on the way home from a business trip and arranged a stop over in Dallas. The second one he came in for a three day weekend. Although we probably could have stayed longer, I went home very happy that I got to spend time with my friends. It was a great week.
We were home for about 36 hours. I did a little laundry (the rest I was able to do at my friends house for which I am eternally grateful), repacked our bags and off we went again for two weeks. This time we flew into Chicago, drove four hours to my parent's house, stayed a few days with them (I made a side trip to Indiana by myself to meet Renee and do some shopping which was lovely), stayed one night with my sister-in-law and her kids and then drove back to Chicago to hang out with my brother and sister's families.
My sister-in-law lives on a lake, well really on the canal of a lake, so we watched early (weekend before) Fourth of July fireworks, had a fun s'mores filled bonfire and then went tubing the next day. Even Amanda went. The kids had a blast.
When we got to Chicago we hung out for a few days and then the entire family came for the July 4th festivities. We watched a little home town parade where the kids had candy throw at them and then went to my brother's country club for swimming, dinner and fireworks. It was so wonderful to see everyone but I think by the end of three days we were kind of sick of each other. My family is pretty outspoken and kind of hard to take sometimes. We love each other dearly, but don't always express it in the right ways. I'm not sure how my brother-in-law, Charlie and my two sister-in-laws put up with us sometimes, but I hope they all know how much we love them and are so glad they are part of our family.
After everybody left we still had a couple of days at my brother's house so we took the kids to the Science Museum which I absolutely loved as a kid. We saw a crazy show called "Poop Happens" that was kind of embarrassing for the older kids but funny for the rest of us. The best line in the whole show was when they said, "Where else can you yell the word 'rectum' at the top of your lungs in a room full of strangers?" The kids also got to make their own toys (little spinning tops) which was pretty cool and learned about vortexes. There was so much we didn't get to see, I wish we had gotten there earlier. Next year for sure.
The last two days we pretty much did nothing. Luckily everyone was pretty happy doing that. The day we left one of my good friends from Dallas who now lives a few towns over from my brother came over to visit with her four kids. It was so nice to see her and catch up. Just like old times. I really miss her.
Overall, a great summer so far. We've been home two days now and I'm remembering why I scheduled all these trips. The kids love to travel. They love to visit people. It's hard to be away from home, but we get to do lots of fun stuff and see people we love. At home they fight and get bored and pick on each other for entertainment and spend way too much time playing video games and watching tv. When we are gone they stay up way too late and get cranky but they have a blast. Plus, I know they will look back on these trips fondly and remember all the great things they did with their cousins and friends. That's what is most important, we are building memories.
Although I am enjoying a few days at home and getting back to the gym a little bit, I can't wait for our next two trips. Next Thursday we go to New Jersey to see April and Renee, and then a few days after we get back it's our annual trip to Destin. Even better, when we get home from there our good friend from Texas are coming to visit.
Still so much fun left to be had.
We were home for about 36 hours. I did a little laundry (the rest I was able to do at my friends house for which I am eternally grateful), repacked our bags and off we went again for two weeks. This time we flew into Chicago, drove four hours to my parent's house, stayed a few days with them (I made a side trip to Indiana by myself to meet Renee and do some shopping which was lovely), stayed one night with my sister-in-law and her kids and then drove back to Chicago to hang out with my brother and sister's families.
My sister-in-law lives on a lake, well really on the canal of a lake, so we watched early (weekend before) Fourth of July fireworks, had a fun s'mores filled bonfire and then went tubing the next day. Even Amanda went. The kids had a blast.
When we got to Chicago we hung out for a few days and then the entire family came for the July 4th festivities. We watched a little home town parade where the kids had candy throw at them and then went to my brother's country club for swimming, dinner and fireworks. It was so wonderful to see everyone but I think by the end of three days we were kind of sick of each other. My family is pretty outspoken and kind of hard to take sometimes. We love each other dearly, but don't always express it in the right ways. I'm not sure how my brother-in-law, Charlie and my two sister-in-laws put up with us sometimes, but I hope they all know how much we love them and are so glad they are part of our family.
After everybody left we still had a couple of days at my brother's house so we took the kids to the Science Museum which I absolutely loved as a kid. We saw a crazy show called "Poop Happens" that was kind of embarrassing for the older kids but funny for the rest of us. The best line in the whole show was when they said, "Where else can you yell the word 'rectum' at the top of your lungs in a room full of strangers?" The kids also got to make their own toys (little spinning tops) which was pretty cool and learned about vortexes. There was so much we didn't get to see, I wish we had gotten there earlier. Next year for sure.
The last two days we pretty much did nothing. Luckily everyone was pretty happy doing that. The day we left one of my good friends from Dallas who now lives a few towns over from my brother came over to visit with her four kids. It was so nice to see her and catch up. Just like old times. I really miss her.
Overall, a great summer so far. We've been home two days now and I'm remembering why I scheduled all these trips. The kids love to travel. They love to visit people. It's hard to be away from home, but we get to do lots of fun stuff and see people we love. At home they fight and get bored and pick on each other for entertainment and spend way too much time playing video games and watching tv. When we are gone they stay up way too late and get cranky but they have a blast. Plus, I know they will look back on these trips fondly and remember all the great things they did with their cousins and friends. That's what is most important, we are building memories.
Although I am enjoying a few days at home and getting back to the gym a little bit, I can't wait for our next two trips. Next Thursday we go to New Jersey to see April and Renee, and then a few days after we get back it's our annual trip to Destin. Even better, when we get home from there our good friend from Texas are coming to visit.
Still so much fun left to be had.
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