Since I've Been Away...

If you haven't noticed, I've been gone a few days...and for good reason. We took the kiddos on a family vacation before school starts back. We took them to an amusement park, to a Bible play, to a museum about the Titanic...

When we pulled into the parking lot, my daughter piped up, Cool! They made it (the Titanic) into a building! It took a bit of explaining that No, the Titanic is still at the bottom of the ocean.

Since this year we did things a little differently than we normally do on our time away, I learned something new about the time spent traveling with my family. Well, I should say somethingS, because there's really never a dull moment in our family, especially crammed into a van for hours at a time.

Here's my list:

1) It's always interesting going from a 2000 sq. foot house to a 245 sq. foot hotel room with one teen-tiny bathroom for five people. When you needed to take a shower, everyone needed to use the bathroom. Then there's all the luggage! You could barely move without tripping over something not hotel related.

2)  After sleeping on a king size bed for the last eight months, going back to a queen feels like sleeping on a full. Seriously, there is NOT enough room.

3)  The amount of laundry you have to do when you get home just reinforces the reason why it's good to do a load a day. Thank the Lord for a working washing machine! It's been put to good use since we got home.

4)  There's never a coffee shop around when you desperately need coffee...like, every morning!

5)  Since motion sickness has derailed me from riding the big kid rides at the amusement park, I've been demoted to the little kiddie rides with my four year old...

I rode The Leaping Frogs, The Ladybugs, The Garden Worm, The Chasing Ships (regretted that one-it went way too fast in a circular motion! What was I thinking?)...my knees felt like an accordian being bent and folded into the tiny seats.

My hubby even took some time from the roller coasters to ride with him on the Flying Elephants...

6) Both my son's feet stink when they are in tennis shoes all day long, and those stinky socks were the first to go in the washing machine when we got home! 

7)  I love popping in ear buds and listening to music while in the car. I couldn't hear anyone call my name...and it was pretty wonderful!

8)  Gummy Worms have now become my favorite candy. I couldn't stop eating them, and I'm going to pay in work outs for all the gooey goodness I indulged in this last week.

9)  Google Maps can take you on some interesting "scenic" drives. We went through towns in Missouri and Arkansas that had populations of less than 500 people...not your normal interstate/highway driving. For an hour we were without cell service, and I was getting a little nervous about how we'd get a hold of anyone if we broke down.

But more importantly, here's what I loved about our family vacation...

10) Listening to my children talk about all the different things they got to do. Their faces light up and I just know the memories we made will last a lifetime.

Best. Vacation. Ever! But I'm sure glad to be home.

Simply Catching Up,