Vacation

Craig mentioned a few months ago that there was a conference he could attend in Virginia Beach in December.  He thought it sounded like a pain and was hesitant to bother going, but I thought it sounded like the perfect break-- for me!  So I convinced him to go and let me tag along.

Things fell into place perfectly when we realized my sister Tracy would be available to babysit, so as soon as the school board approved it all, we frantically made plans for Tracy to come down from New York and began packing our bags.

It was a short vacation-- we left Sunday evening and were back Tuesday afternoon-- but it was exactly what I needed.  (I think Craig was able to enjoy himself, too, but this is my blog, so you're just going to hear about my goings on, I'm afraid!)  You have to keep in mind, Craig and I manage to travel quite a bit with the kids, but we hardly do anything without them except the occasional date night.  The last time we had a night away from the kids was when I was pregnant with Ryder and we sent Bentley and Kendra to Culpeper to spend the night with Grandma and Grandpa for our anniversary.  And that was over four years ago.  Craig and I had been planning on going to Hawaii this January for a slightly early 10-year-anniversary celebration, but this little baby girl I'm gestating quickly put the kibosh on that idea.

So it was nice that we could at least snag this little trip for ourselves.

Craig was so funny-- he was worried that I wouldn't have anything to do while he attended his conference and that I would get bored.  Not even close!  Just doing whatever I wanted for a couple days without little people clinging to me and interrupting my every thought was such a relief!  I went out for breakfast and watched the ocean while I sipped hot chocolate.  I lounged around in our hotel room reading my books, napping, and then reading some more.  Craig and I even swam in the hotel pool and marveled at how nice it was to not constantly be checking to make sure no one was drowning!

Christmas lights on the boardwalk

It was lovely.  I missed the kids like crazy and was excited to return home to them.  But it was nice to get a little break and remember who I am without my kids and without a house to keep clean.  Take all that away and you find someone who can walk out of her hotel without packing a diaper bag.  Someone who can find a dang good Mexican restaurant AND a contemporary art museum in a completely unknown town.  Someone who can stand on the beach watching the waves break until her face goes numb from the cold.  Someone who can spend 7 hours in a car with her husband, and still not run out of things to talk about.

Someone like me.