Wednesday, August 12, 2009

Home Again, Home Again, Jiggity, Jig, Jig

It's naptime right now.

Brennan is playing Legos quietly behind the couch (must keep Legos and Ethan far apart), Jack and Ethan are napping, the laundry is washing, the floors are swept.

Calm is reigning...it's nice to be "home".

While away we had a lot of fun.

Brennan flew to Louisiana alone on July 11.
Jackson, Ethan and I flew to Tampa, FL on July 16 to visit one of my best friends ever, Jamie. Go here to read about our adventures in Tampa. It was great to get to spend time with Jamie and her family. It's hard to be so far away and busy with life. Jamie has started an event planning business and is so consumed with that and her family that sometimes it is hard to chat on the phone for a few minutes. Our stay-va-cation was perfect, if not a day or two short.
Then we flew to New Orleans for our trip "home"...Vidalia was our head quarters until July 31 when Bart joined us (he had to drive the l...o...n...g drive alone, but he did fine, except in Kansas City). This first stay in Vidalia had me going to a 3 day scrapbooking convention with another best friend, Melissa, her mom, and my sister. I've already blogged all about that, though, so I will not go into details.
Once Bart arrived, we drove to Pensacola, FL to spend two nights at the beach.
Baton Rouge/Denham Springs called to us after that, bringing lots of family, fun, and food. We saw Bart's old co-worker Alex, who we ate dinner with at Sammy's (one of our favorite spots in Baton Rouge) We saw all four of Bart's aunts, and a few cousins as well. We spent time with my sister, Jeni, and her family. Jeni, thanks for being our "hotel"...I am looking for my bill in the mail :) I like to stay at Jeni's because it gives us time to relax and just hang out. I don't like to be cramped into one room, but I am grateful we are able to stay with her and not have the expense of a hotel room. I am also grateful Brooklyn, though only two, has a full sized bed for us to sleep on :) While in Baton Rouge I also got to hang out with a few of my favorite friends, Stacy, Cathi, and Nicole. No Burgundy :(
Basically, we had a great time.
Then, we drove the two hours back to Vidalia to spend a few more days with Grandma Cupcake and Papa Jeff. My brother, Jason, had also flown in for a few days, so it was really great to get to spend a lot of time with him. He's been gone basically since high school, coming home for a few days here and there. He was able to stay in Vidalia for about two weeks, and it was great. He lives outside of DC and is really doing great.
Finally the day came to go home.
The car trip to Omaha was not nearly as painful as the drives to and from Pensacola...Ethan cried. A lot. I guess he didn't want to leave Papa Jeff's house and all of Grandma's cupcakes and hang out in the sand (which he loves, btw). I was very nervous about the 15 hour + car trip home to Omaha, but we set out with money for a hotel set aside, just in case things got too bad.
But, a miracle occured. Though Ethan did not sleep much (one or two short naps), he did not cry. He did get a bit car sick, but after that settled down to watch a movie with the boys and then fell asleep until we got almost all the way home.

Now we are home, unpacking (well, piling stuff around to be put up tonight), readjusting, grocery shopping, catching up on all that was put on pause so we could go and visit some of those who mean the most to us.

But for now, I am uploading the 2018 pictures that I took on vacation...not counting the 14 on my small camera and the 20 on my DSLR that need to be added to the mix.

I am not sure how I will share any pictures, or if I will at all. Right now I am thinking of making a slideshow so you can see it all if you want, but if you don't, no big deal. It would just take a little space in one post and be the end of it, you know?

Memories are all I have left of this summer's fun...memories I will cherish each and every day.

So, get ready, folks...my regular blogging regime is back! I've got giveaways and reviews coming up, too...more cloth diaper adventures, and Brennan starts first grade on Monday! Life is about to get really busy and I can't wait.


4 Words to brighten my day:

Rebecca1217 said...

Yeah I've missed you so glad you are back!

Lauren said...

Glad you're back!

And not to bug you as soon as you are home, but I was just wondering when I should expect the Babylegs. I'm still anxiously checking the mail!

Megan R. said...

I am SOOOOOO glad you are home!

Holly said...

That is amazing that Ethan did so well on the way home. I'm so sad that we missed you guys this time around. We were out of town some of the time, and we missed the play date at Stacy's because Jamie was having some dental work done :( and I was babysitting for her. Hopefully we'll catch y'all next time.