A little catching up...

As I begin to write this post, the clock reads 9:14 on Wednesday evening.  Any responsible American who is still awake at this hour should probably be watching the final Presidential debate, during which Donald Trump and Hillary Clinton will continue to attempt to convince all of us as voters that they are the right person to lead the United States for the next four years.  I can say without a hint of uncertainty that I have zero interest in watching such a circus act, and find it sickening that we are about to find ourselves living in a country that either one of them is the leader of.

Jason is away this week, which means it is just the kids and I flying solo.  So far, we're doing great.  We have been doing silly things like eating pancakes and bacon for supper last night and then going out into the hot tub for a bit before bed.  We have been snuggling on the couch and working together to put away laundry.  It's been oh so glamorous.  But so far so good.  My goal for these times that Jason is away is usually to get to bed early since I feel no pressure after the kids are in bed to be social, and have no guilt whatsoever about spending time inspecting the insides of my eyelids as opposed to having conversation with my husband.  Tonight, though, I thought I would share some pictures and do a little catching up from the past few weeks since I've slowed down with the blogging.  Again.  Lord, have mercy.

Two weekends ago, we were FINALLY able to get to our first PSU game of the season.  We opted to take the kids along with us, which proved once and for all that the girls aren't quite ready.  Mara was pretty scroochy (I have no earthly clue how to spell that) and Lauren was bored before halftime.  They were pleased, however, that Brooke and Aunt Libby were along with us for the game, and quite enjoyed taking silly pictures on my phone camera and just being together.  Lucky for all of us we stayed pretty dry and got to see a decisive victory over Maryland in front of a homecoming crowd in Beaver Stadium.  I already can't wait to get there this weekend for the big OSU matchup.

On Sunday the 9th, the kids and I walked in the CROP walk in Milton. I wasn't sure how far the kids would make it, but they all three finished the three mile course without so much as a single gripe or moan.  I was super proud of them!  Mara's little legs didn't go the fastest, but I didn't carry her at all and she did a great job.

This past Friday, the 14th, was exciting because I got to go with Joshua on his historical field trip with his class as well as the 3rd grade classes.  We had a nice day touring around historical sites in Union County.  I honestly never would have known the amount of history that has taken place right around where we live.  The kids got to see the Dale-Engle-Walker house, an historic church and cemetery and an old one room school house.  While the kids rode in the bus, the moms (and a few brave dads) were piled into cars and following along behind the bus.  I always love spending time with this particular group of mothers.

This past Saturday, the kids and I helped at the Kiwanis Club's Woolly Worm Festival in Lewisburg.  This is our silly take on Punxsutawney Phil and his weather forecast predictions for the upcoming winter.  The only issue this year was a surprising lack of woolly worms to use for the weather predictions and to let the kids race them for prices.  The kids loved walking around and even managed to convince me to let them get their faces painted.

And then, this is tonight.  Sacked out on the chair, Dora  blanket and little puppy all snuggled up together.  For as crazy as this child makes me, she melts me just as much.  Sweet dreams all!

Seven

Dear Lauren,

It was 7 years ago that you made me a Mommy of a little girl.  I was totally blindsided by how much I would love mothering a daughter, and how special the relationship would be between the two of us.  Before you were born, early in the morning on September 30, 2009 (sharing the birthday with Dr. Miller, I should add, who reminded me of this no less than a hundred times on the day you were born), I was comfortable with the mothering of a sweet little boy-- who loved to wrestle and throw football, pretended to be a superhero for the majority of every single day, and who loved his tool bench more than he loved me.  I shopped in the "blue" section of all the stores-- finding little sweater vests and things with fire trucks on them.  Everything Josh liked had to do with tractors and trucks and Spider-Man.  And then along came you.  Immediately I knew that I had no idea what I was doing.  From the moment we met, you were surprising me with all of the newness of you and all of the things we would learn together.  What an adventure it has been for us both.  Every day I'm pretty sure I fail you and do the best for you...both at the same time. 

You have taught me not to set expectations, because sometimes what God has in store is way better than anything we can cook up in our own minds.  We have learned how to choose dresses and fix hair and play baby dolls and color and snuggle and navigate dance lessons.  I have learned about the softness of your emotions and the huge dreams God has planted in your heart.  I have witnessed you with the way you care for your sister and your brother, always seeking out ways to help them and show them love, even when they least deserve it.  You have shown me what patience and grace look like, and I know that I'm not the only one you inspire with that.  You have a mind that seeks to understand, and the persistence to keep digging on a subject until you learn enough to feel comfortable.  Out of all three of the children in our family, you are the one that I think is the most like me.  All emotion.  All raw, pure, unadulterated feelings that drive what you do and say and think.  But you got the best of your Daddy as well-- that perseverance that will allow you to reach any goal you set for yourself, and the drive to get there.

I dream a lot of big dreams for you, sweet girl.  I know that God has HUGE plans for your life, and I pray every day that you'll follow His lead in everything you do.  With a heart like yours, and smarts to match, there is just no limit to what you can do.  I cannot think of any greater honor than to get the blessing to be your Mom through it all.  You are a joy and a treasure, Lauren Elizabeth.  I could not possibly love you any more than I do.

And so, for your birthday, I pray the same prayer I pray for you every night at bedtime.  Lord God, please bless Lauren and keep her.  Please make Your face to shine upon her and be gracious to her.  And God, please look on her with Your favor, and grant her Your peace.

I'll love you forever,

Mommy

A mini road trip...

There are a few blogs that I read without fail when I get a notification that a new post has been made. My all time favorite is Melanie Shankle's Big Mama Blog. She is so funny!  This has also led to my enjoyment of her books and especially the podcast she records with another hysterical blogger named Sophie Hudson (boomama.net). They are both Southern ladies who love to let us all in on a little slice of their lives and allow us to eavesdrop on their phone conversation in the case of the podcast. I cannot recommend it highly enough. I generally laugh until I cry.  I have decided that I would love nothing more than to meet them and be friends in real life.  

Anyway...all this to say...Melanie has a dear friend named Gulley. They looooooove college football and cheer mightily for the Texas A&M Aggies. And everytime they get talking about football, it makes me think of Emily and I and how we both love PSU football. We have been taught to love it and fiercely root for the Nittany Lions ever since we were little and our Dads were pounding on the one wall that separated our two halves of our double house on Edgewood Place when something good would happen. So when Jason and I had an opportunity to attend this week's Quarterback Club luncheon at the stadium, I asked Emily to be my guest. 

During the lunch, you get to hear from two team members who are interviewed by Steve Jones and then also accept questions from the audience, and then James Franklin speaks and takes questions as well. It is always so interesting to get an inside look at what is happening and to hear the stories that are way too positive and inspiring for the media to pick them up. (Ahem.)

I don't know if I can pick a favorite thing from the day's events-- the cool luncheon experience or the nearly two hours of talk time we had to and from State College. But we both agreed that Melanie and Gulley would be tickled at our own college football mini road trip experience!  I can totally picture them doing the same thing with their team and then talking football all the way home. We didn't talk football all the way home, but we managed to fill the space and time without a single bit of effort.  There was, however, a whole lot of mutual encouragement and laughs. It is so good to be known, even better to be understood, and the best to be loved just as we are-- fully transparent, all our insecurities and anxieties safely laid out where we know they are safe.  I am blessed to have such a wonderful friend-- not only when we were three and our Dads pounded the house down with every Penn State touchdown, but even moreso now.  It really was a wonderful afternoon.  

Weekend at Home

This past weekend was our first weekend at home without any major event going on since about Memorial Day.  I can't even begin to tell you the relief I felt at not having a big thing to deal with or plan for or leave the house for or get dressed for.  The whole first three weeks of school have just about flat worn me out, and I needed this time at the house in a bad way.  My list of things that I wanted to accomplish was far longer than I actually managed to get through, but I at least managed to dig out from a whole week of laundry baskets that hadn't been put away (and in the case of some, hadn't been folded).  There were 7 baskets in case you wondered.  Seven.  Full ones.  I got a few clean up projects done around the house and also managed to make it look like autumn around here, which seemed to match the changing cooler air that we enjoyed all weekend long.  The stars were aligning for a fantastic weekend.

Friday after school, I finally fulfilled a promise to Josh and let him invite his friend, Levi, to come home with us after school to play.  The boys had a blast with Nerf guns, basketball, a video game or two, a spaghetti dinner and some cartoon drawing.  Levi was a joy to have around and Josh seemed to really have fun.  Admittedly, I need to do more of this for him.  But frankly, finding a time that even WE are all home is a trick, let alone adding in another body to the mix.  But on this particular Friday, it worked.  Levi's parents came to pick him up around 8 pm, and that was perfect because I was about to fall into bed out of the sheer exhaustion of the week.  Fridays aren't my best nights...as it seems Monday through Friday all seem to come to a screeching halt when the sun goes down on Friday evenings.

Saturday morning, I slept in a bit until 6:30 and then enjoyed a cup of coffee ALONE.  I tried so hard not to make a peep and wake the children.  It wasn't long until Josh smelled the coffee and was downstairs to join me.  But the little bit of time that I had was a treat.  We all got to work on our chore lists for the morning.  It was very reminiscent of Saturdays that I can remember when I was little when we all had a job to do.  For me, it was a bucket of Murphy's Oil Soap and water to wash the hardwood floors.  For us at our house, it was the sweeper, some dusting and a good scrub of the kitchen counters with the washing machine whirring away in the background (as if I needed MORE laundry to put away, but it seriously never stops multiplying!).  Mara helped with the Swiffer.  I found it humorous that she was dressed in all of her winter clothes to do it.  Yes, the windows were open with the nice cool, fall air coming in, but it wasn't THAT cold. 

Post chores, we made a run to a little Amish market close by to get some fall mums.  I had been terribly neglectful of the beautiful flower box I just HAD to have when we did our deck project.  So I thought it might be nice to enjoy some mums planted out there for the fall.  The girls picked our plants, as well as a few little pumpkins and we were on our way back home to plant them.  I won't mention that at this same time, Jason and Josh were working on their list of chores and were scrubbing the deck and draining/refilling the hot tub...right next to the flower box.  There may or may not have been a little situation where a gust of wind blew some dirt into the hot tub that, to this point, evades us on removing it.  That might not have happened though.  Except that it did.  And my husband, who loves me dearly, thought about drowning me in it.  He didn't actually say that, but I just knew it was an option he was considering.

Sunday was church day and then I was thrilled at the chance to go to the Barn Owl Art Studio for an afternoon of crafting with Judy and Sheri.  Judy's birthday is coming up in a few weeks, and we just knew that this scarecrow/snowman pallet decoration was right up her alley.  I learned a few things about myself through this experience.  1.  I love to use a power sander to distress things.  2.  Messy, non-precise art is my kind of art.  Slap some paint on these messy old boards and see if you can make something cool out of it.  3.  I quite enjoyed the staining process we used to make it look old.  I could totally get into making things like this if I had the equipment to do it.  Since I don't, I'll just go on occasion when Annie has a cool project idea to do and get my craftiness fix that way.  In the end, we made these super cute little guys that we will get to enjoy for half of the year--- either fall or winter.  The opposite sides of this are snowmen!

While we were painting, Jason and the kids were at home enjoying being outside for the afternoon.  I got a text message from Lauren that said (and I quote), "Mommy!!!!  I am riding my bike with no chraining wheels!"  (The spelling cracked me up.  It's totally my favorite part of how she is learning to spell.)  Evidently she got it in her head that she wanted to learn how to ride her bike, and she put her mind to it and did it.  Jason said he had never seen anyone so determined to do anything.  She is still working at getting stronger and less wobbly, but when we got home I watched her ride all the way around our cul de sac on her big girl bike all by herself.  I won't go into how NOT ok I am with just how big and independent she is getting these days, but I'll save that for some sappy post on Friday when she turns (gulp) 7.  I can't even begin to believe it.

And so, that was our weekend at home.  Notice I left out the whooping our Nittany Lions took at the hands of Michigan.  It was just as painful to watch as I had feared...maybe more so.  We had all expected to lose-- they are the #4 team in the country after all-- but it was even worse than I feared.  And they showed no mercy, which is typical.  But it may be a tough, tough season for PSU.  We're going to keep on cheering nonetheless and hope for some terrible upset that really screws things up for another Big Ten team that makes the mistake of looking past us or just happens to have an off day.  Our PSU spirit isn't of the fair weather variety, but it certainly is more fun when they're winning.

And so, another work and school week is underway.  I am so pleased that today I got done with the worst chore of the week--- my semi-annual dental appointment.  I dread nothing in this life more-- not paying taxes, not the OB/GYN appointment, not folding laundry or scrubbing toilets.  Nothing makes me more anxious or makes me want to run away and join the witness protection program like dreading the dentist.  And so tonight I rejoice in the fact that I am as far away as I possibly can be from my next cleaning.  Sadly, that's the best news I have for today.

Gettysburg- Take Two

Just a few weeks ago, we were in Gettysburg to camp for the Labor Day weekend.  And this past weekend we got to make a return trip for a very special reason--- to celebrate Freda's birthday!  And not just ANY birthday-- but her 80th!  Her daughters have been working for months to plan a wonderful surprise party for her, and we were grateful to be invited to go.  Freda is such a special part of our family, and has been since the very first time we got to meet her.  She loved our Pap, and he adored her.  And over the years, she has become way more than a step-Grandmother to us and our kids.  She's a grandmother to us all...and we all admire and respect her so much.

We took off early on Saturday morning to make the 2 1/2 hour trip to Gettysburg.  We wanted to make sure we were in place in time for the 12:00 surprise entrance.  I had to chuckle because, in true Richard family style, Uncle Butch and my Dad were giving the room full of guests (of whom we knew maybe 3 before this day) the starting pitch to break into "Happy Birthday" when Freda appeared.  It just reminded me so much of Pap. 

Freda's reaction was priceless, and worth every minute we spent in the car to be there.  She appeared genuinely surprised and touched at the number of people who filled the room on her behalf.  If she had any inkling that this was going on, she certainly didn't show it.  We had all been a bit concerned because the week prior, she had walked through Libby and Zig's kitchen, directly past the invitation to the party that hung squarely in the center of their refrigerator door.  When we told Freda we had been concerned about that, she said that she thought she would make a terrible eye witness to a crime because she hadn't observed a thing--- even though the invitation had her picture right on it. 

This marked the second weekend in a row that Jason and Zig watched the PSU football game via iPhone.  This was the second of three home games in a row that we are going to miss this season, but this was by far the best excuse for missing it.  The guys were scolded a few times for watching the game in the midst of the party, but we realized it was OK when Freda herself kept coming over to check the score.  I got a good giggle out of the fact that they were sharing one pair of headphones between them.  We were very grateful for a PSU victory, and a better showing than it had been the week before.  Now, we can only hope for continued improvement and maybe also a miracle in order to beat Michigan this coming weekend.  (I will have wine and maybe some whiskey at the ready this coming Saturday to just endure what is likely to be a slaughtering.)

After we had partied for a few hours, we decided to head to the Visitors Center to take the kids to the Cyclorama there.  We hadn't had an opportunity to do this while we had been in Gettysburg a few weeks ago, and we thought it would be worthwhile to go and do it while we were in town.  I was very surprised about the things the kids remembered from our battlefield tour and the fact that they really seemed to like the Cyclorama.  All of them for different reasons, of course.  Joshua liked the history of it all, and learning about the battle.  He absolutely loved the Abraham Lincoln connections.  Lauren loved the artistic factor of the cyclorama painting.  She marveled about how someone could really paint something like that.  And Mara just seemed tickled to be out the car and able to walk around a bit. 

Around 4:00 we were ready to head home.  And it was a quiet trip from everyone.  The kids were watching a movie and having a few snacks.  Jason and I were enjoying the time for conversation.  There were really no issues until we returned home and found that Toby was not in agreement that it had been a good idea for us to be away for the day.  We knew that was his opinion because he ate our living room rug.  Ate it.  The carpet scraps and fibers were everywhere.  I believe he completely ate the binding from the rug, which made him awfully sick that evening.  As if the carpet weren't completely ruined already, he managed to throw up right in the middle of it and then was very miserable looking/acting as we cleaned it up.  I was sure I was going to end up in the Emergency Vet that night due to his stomach being tied in knots by carpet binding.  Gratefully for all of us, this issue was resolved without that vet trip and with only a new piece of carpeting as a necessary remedy.  I'm not sure what got into him--- he has been alone like that before, and we had someone come to the house to let him out while we were away--- but it is his first real instance of destructive behavior in the house.  Sure he eats underwear and socks, but we've never had him actually destroy something of consequence.

After all of the running around on Saturday, Sunday was a quiet at home afternoon once we got home from church (after 1:00...for the love).  But it was much needed, and greatly cherished.  The weeks are flying fast, without much breathing room once they get going, so we'll take all the respite we can get when we have a chance. 

More soon!

Speechless.

Mornings around our house are...how can I say this...hectic. Frantic maybe. Like we are trying to squeeze in 437 activities into a 45 minute span of time. This is not generally the time we reserve for deep conversation. Frankly, the goal is just to get everyone out the door before 7:35 with full-ish bellies and clothes that mostly match. (I say mostly because we seem to be going through some sort of phase where Josh is wanting to wear some hideously bright colored socks that go with his outfit about 2% of the time.  All the while Mara is having the worst time finding a pair of shoes that aren't "weird" or "itchy" or "too pretty".)

Joshua opened our discussion with an announcement about Christmas lists.  Apparently the kids were talking about them at school yesterday and ours are not the only ones who have begun to make their lists. One child announced to Josh that he is only allowed to put a certain number of things on his list because Santa only spends so much money on each child. Josh said he thought that wasn't true because Santa and his elves make the toys, they don't buy them.  This particular child comes from a family of 5, so I totally get why such a rule would apply. To Josh, however, this was just one little splinter in an apparently splinter filled belief. 

And this is where things got a bit dicey. Remember I hadn't yet had my coffee. And also was a bit preoccupied with the list of things I was doing. We had approximately 10 minutes for all of us to be packed and loaded for school. And that's when he hit me with it. 

"I don't even think Santa is real.  I mean, I have thought this for years, but I just haven't been able to figure out how you and Daddy do it."

If I looked stunned, it wasn't an act. I mean, I have known our days are numbered, but I wasn't in a position to address this whole thing while the girls were sitting right there.  Also, I feel like you should be able to call a time out on these doozy conversations so you can be sure to do it right. 

My strategy was simple in this case--- denial. And denial with conviction. Which was followed by the guilt of not telling him the whole truth.  Josh's mind works in absolutes. The world to him is all black and white. There is no gray.  He works in facts, and had all sorts of strong rationale for his doubts. What broke my heart wasn't necessarily the loss of his innocence about one of the magical parts of Christmas, but the fact that I feared him taking down the whole ship at once with his black and white absolute thinking.   Make no mistake that all of our children know the real reason for Christmas.  But we see nothing wrong with Santa either and have had a lot pf fun with the magic and wonder that only children can enjoy at the holidays. 

Since this conversation, nothing has been said again.  I am still not entirely sure how to address this with him, or even whether I should.  But the fact remains that he is a doubter at this point, and that alone is sad enough. 

A very special 8 year old.

I will always remember where I was when I got the call that I had been promoted to Aunt Meggie status.  I was driving between Maitland and Lewistown when my mom called me to tell me that Brooke Mackenzie Wray had been born.  It seemed I couldn't get there fast enough to suit my anxious, excited heart. At the time, Josh was about to turn 2, and I was just about to burst at the thought of the love and excitement my sister and brother in law were about to experience. 

Turns out, Brooke has been every bit the source of joy and love we expected she would be. This past Saturday, we all got to spend the day together celebrating her at her party. You could tell that our kids had a blast based on the fact that they were all in tears when it was time to head home. Josh was even trying to work a bargain with Libby to stay there for the night, but she wasn't in agreement. 

As if there weren't enough excitement, we were also enjoying (though I use the term loosely due to the angst caused by the pitiful tackling and defense of our beloved Nittany Lions) the PSU game.  We were all on the edge of our seats...and also perhaps on the verge of needing a Xanax...when a storm blew through and took with it both the 1000% humidity and also our satellite feed to see the game. My husband was a man on the verge of a mental break. He hit his knees in prayer and took Josh with him for backup. 

When this proved ineffective (because God clearly knew it was in our best interest not to witness the calamity which was the ending of the game on a large screen) we resorted to gathering around an ipad and screaming at it as though that would help. It did not. And PSU fell to Pitt by two points. I also now have a fear in my heart that this could be a long season, folks. With all manner of dips and whiskey slush to dull the pain. 

That's 2 posts in three days. Let's not call this a comeback but I am feeling cautiously optimistic about posting frequency as I get an even better handle on my schedule this school year.

Two Ballerinas

Hello!  My name is Megan and I used to blog on a regular basis. You may have forgotten me, but just when it looked like all hope is lost, here I am. 

Goodness have I missed this.  Somehow my good intentions got misplaced in the midst of the summer and all of its family time and activity. It is a shame, because there was great blog material to be had in the middle of all of it.  So don't be surprised if there are some "summer reflections" to be found here when our fall life is dull and repetitive. 

So far, the new school year is starting to take shape. We are finding a new routine, yet another new normal, and a new pace of movement to things. I am liking it a lot so far. One of the new things we have worked in is a dance class for Mara. Bless her sweet heart, after three years of sitting in the doorway watching her big sister dance, last night she finally got her turn. This whole thing may not have happened if there weren't two classes that suited the girls' age ranges that were back to back on the same night.  So Mara dressed in her adorable little pink leotard and danced her heart out. 

I snapped these two pictures and love them-- the first of Mara watching Lauren's ballet/jazz class for 7-10 year olds and then Lauren returning the favor and watching Mara. Never in my wildest dreams did I envision myself shuttling little girls to dance class, but I absolutely love watching them learn something new and find their own strengths.

So this will be our Thursday routine-- dance classes before a late supper and then a quick turnaround to bed time. I am already praying for the stamina to keep a positive attitude during the long days and the deafening sound of fifteen 4-5 year olds learning to tap for the first time.  

Just us.

The past few years, our Outer Banks trips have been shared with family.  And what a joy it has been to enjoy such a beautiful place with all of the people that we love.  This year, for a whole host of reasons, it ended up that we would be spending the majority of our week in Corolla without anyone else with us.  As it turns out, we were all a little uncertain about how that would work out, and whether or not we could all entertain each other for that period of time while still keeping the "beach pace" that we have come to enjoy over the past few years.  Well, I'll cut to the chase and just share here now that we absolutely did just fine as a five-some!

For us, the pace of our vacation week at the Outer Banks is such a departure from the norm for us.  We aren't up super early (sadly, 6:30 am is sleeping in for this crew), but our 6-7 am wakeups were certainly a far cry from the 4-5 am ones that have come to be normal at home.  We usually enjoy a leisurely breakfast and I savor a cup of coffee while listening to the waves crashing from the deck.  We try to have something hot and cooked, like muffins or pancakes or baked oatmeal or eggs or something I don't normally have time for in the mornings before the school/work rush.  And then it is straight into bathing suits so that we can hit the pool or beach before mid morning.  Lunch is usually around the pool.  We swim or play at the beach until someone has had enough and then head back to the house to clean up.  And then we figure out about supper-- are we cooking in or going out. At home,  I typically operate off of a meal plan that is spelled out a week in advance.  There are few places and times that I "wing it" in terms of suppers, but our Outer Banks week is certainly one of them.  We have found some safe places that we feel comfortable with down there in terms of their handling of Josh's allergy needs, and so we enjoy eating out a few times while we're there.  It's a pretty rare thing for our crew, so just going to a restaurant is a treat for them. 

During this trip, we explored a few new areas with a little ride through parts of the Outer Banks that are south of where we stay.  We didn't see much down there that we liked better than our own little community, so we didn't stay long.  We also walked around the cute little town of Duck and enjoyed a beautiful sunset along their soundside boardwalk.  (I'll have to share those photos from my iPhone pictures in another post.)  We climbed to the top of the lighthouse in Corolla (15 flights of stairs on my Fitbit thankyouverymuch) and enjoyed that.  Well, most of us did. That is one of those activities that Daddy participates in that he would prefer not to do.  He doesn't love heights, and heights + the kids = torture for him.  We did a small amount of shopping where I managed to buy exactly nothing for me.  We got the kids a few tshirts and a few trinkets that they were going to die if they didn't get (insert sarcastic tone as you see fit).  I just enjoyed walking around and seeing what all was there.

I managed to read an entire book on this trip, and honestly, I think it is deserving of a separate post because I have a whole page full of notes about things that came to my mind when I was reading it.  For anyone who loves to laugh, loves Jesus and wants to serve Him right where you are in your life, I cannot recommend Sophie Hudson's new book, "Giddy Up, Eunice" enough.  I am fully planning on re-reading it very soon.  The premise of the book is how women need each other, apart from their ages or stages of life, and how much blessing and encouragement we can offer to others if we just keep our eyes open and share our hearts.  It was wonderful...seriously, a whole page of notes and that barely scratches the surface.

We took a lot of walks, played a lot of games of "Eye Found It" (like Eye Spy, but with Disney pictures), colored a lot, giggled and told stories, made ice cream sundaes, snuggled and danced a whole lot.  The ocean was our nearest neighbor, and I think she understood that dance parties were just a part of the deal.  I'm certain we weren't the first, nor will we be the last to enjoy an impromptu dance in the living room.  This was a trip that filled my heart right back up-- when I was feeling more than a little run down by sickness and circumstances and just too much of all the wrong things in my world.  The end of the school year, it seems, has a way of doing that to me.  Maybe you too.  Somehow, this week seemed to reset the priorities and shine the light on exactly where our focus needs to be right now.  And if that isn't a successful week away, I wouldn't know what would be.

The advanced reservation is in for our same week next year.  I am already looking forward to it. 

Corolla-- We're battered and bruised. But we made it!

If I could say it plainly, the past two weeks have kicked.my.tail.  We had a blast on our camping trip over Memorial Day weekend, but it has started a whirlwind of sickness in our family that we can't seem to shake.  Add to that the fact that we had less than a week to turn this crew around from a camping family to a beach-ready crew of 5, and I was certainly overwhelmed.  Jason had come down with some sort of stomach virus while we were camping that rendered him bed-ridden for 4 days, and the kids and I weren't feeling the best either.  I figured it was the same virus and was playing the waiting and praying game, hoping that things would turn around in time for us to make the 9+ hour drive to the Outer Banks this weekend.  Friday morning, I had prayed that God would give me a clear answer to whether or not we were well enough to travel.  Within an hour, I had a text while at Kiwanis that Lauren was way worse than she had been.  That afternoon, we had a confirmed strep throat test as well as four prescriptions for antibiotics.  Mara, Lauren and I began medication and I held on to Josh's because he wasn't really feeling sick at all.  But, as all things go, we were blessed by the doctor who was kind enough to prescribe something for us to bring along with us in case he took a turn into the club with the rest of us.

By some miracle, between Friday afternoon and Saturday at noon, I managed to pack and prepare this crew for a week in the Outer Banks.  Impressively, we have yet to find anything REALLY important that I left without.  That, my friends, is a miracle.  I joked before we left that we were testing the theory that the only thing you really need at the beach is a bathing suit.

Our travel was broken into two parts, and that turned out to be a blessing as well.  Lauren's stomach was still very upset, and we made more stops than either Jason or I care to count between Turbotville and Richmond where we stayed the night.  Sunday morning we got up to make the last 4 hours of the trip, and had a few situations where she was sick at our stops.  We were all very relieved to arrive in Corolla at our beach house around 2:00 on Sunday afternoon.

It didn't take the kids long to get into the pool!  The house we are staying at has a private pool and sits right on the ocean, so it's possible to sit at your pool (without any sand!) and listen to the waves.  I call this perfection!  We do love spending some time at the beach, so we usually go back and forth a few times during the day.

We were blessed on this trip to get to spend a few days with one of Jason's friends from college.  Evan was one of the groomsmen in our wedding, a fraternity brother of Jason's, and we really had a great time with them.  They have a sweet 1 year old named Jackson, and the girls were especially smitten with him.  They were here with us from Sunday until last evening when they had to return home to Durham.

The only strike of bad luck has been that Joshua has gotten sick in the past 24 hours, so I've started his medication that came along with us in the hopes that we can kick it and get him back to feeling better and enjoying the trip as soon as possible.  It's no fun being sick, but certainly no fun to be sick while on vacation!  This family has HAD IT with illness in the past few weeks--- so we're hoping this is the end of the line for us.  All we want in the next few days is fun, and sun, and some beach time.  I'm dreaming of a few hours alone on the beach with my Kindle and Sophie Hudson's new book.  We'll see if we can manage that in the next 4 days of beach/pool time.

I'll leave you with a few more pictures.  More of those to come, I am sure!