Back from the cruise

Is Clayton sticking his tongue out in this picture?  I can't tell, but it almost looks like he is. Wow, look at this rowdy bunch.  Oh, it was fun to be out and about in the Caribbean with my brothers and sister and parents!

I am still recovering from my vacation.  Not because I did too much and wore myself out.  {I didn't.  Just took it easy most of the time}  Not because the home situation was rough and required some putting back together.  {Everything was well in hand here.  The kids are fine.  My home is in better shape than it was when we left.  And Megan Macdonald, our 16 year-old babysitter, still seems to like us.  You know how sometimes your kids seem to make you pay for leaving them?  That is not happening here.  Not yet anyway.}

When I got off the cruise ship, I had the beginning of a major headache.  I tried to head it off with some Excedrin, but it didn't seem to work.  The next day, when we got on the plane, I felt absolutely lousy.  It was a LOOONG day.  I know I wasn't very good company for my family.  The drive home went pretty fast, thanks to Britt (he is pretty good at ignoring speed limits).  But I just wanted to get home and get in bed.

I have to tell you, from almost the first day, I was missing my kids.  It was so nice to spend time with family, some we see a lot around town here, and some we are lucky to see once a year.  So nice.  No obligations.  Very little drama (you know, we have got to have some drama to keep life interesting).  And very good company.  But I missed my own little family.  It is funny how when you are here, you feel like you just want to get away.  Then, when you actually do, you realize you miss the very things you thought you wanted to get away from.

Britt is already thinking that the next time we cruise, we have got to bring the kids.  The next time could be a while from now.  That's okay.  We had a good time.  I am so glad Drew and Eryka invited us.

It was good getting to spend some down time with family.  Some of us seem to always be working, and that obviously is not an option there on the cruise ship.  It was fun to watch Drew, Kd and Nancy doing Karoake.  It was great to watch Kd enjoy the zip line and drive the tender boat, on a couple of our shore excursions.  She is really fun, and tends to draw people to her because of that.  I know, towards the end of the trip, she wasn't feeling well emotionally, but I am glad she had a good time anyway.

It was great to spend some time just with Tim and Nancy and Drew and Eryka.  I love my little brothers and their adorable wives.  They always seemed eager to do something fun in the evening.  Normally, I would have loved to join them, but all that extra oxygen just made me want to sleep.  Like, all the time.

And it was so nice to see Mom and Dad just relaxed.  Just enjoying themselves.  No worries.  We all would love for them to be able to experience that peace more often.  So glad Mom's health was good.  I was worried about her before we left.

Back to real life.  And other than the wind, it is good to be home.  And just so you know, the sunburn is healing fine.