It was GREAT!

On the second to the last day of our vacation, Jason's parents took us to the ball game. :) I have become quite the Cardinals fan since my first Springfield Card's game two years ago. We had a good time, and that game was the first win after a 7 loss streak! I think we gave them luck, Linda made me a Cardinal's bracelet which I wore to the game, as well as the following day when we watched the game while enjoying a cook out at their house, and they won again. :) On 64 as we were headed to VA we saw signs for a Santa Claus, IN. I was teasing Jason that we were going to have to stop and have the vacation there. I was thrilled when he suggested that we really do stop there on our way back through to IL! It was fun for the novelty of it. We went to the Christmas store and stopped and took this photo. Then we went on to a flea market in the town on the other side of the exit! Our vacation was all about family and flea markets. Two of our favorite things! I am so glad we went. It was hard to come home. It was hard to drive away from my sister. But here we are back in the swing of things. I am doing my best to stay busy and accomplish good things while not "working". I will post more about that later, but I don't want to jump the gun. :)

Vacation, Oh, you are lovely!

I love these kids. I didn't take enough pictures of them. Not nearly enough. Certainly not enough to last me another year, which is how long it has been since I'd last seen them. If I were to make one complaint about my sister it would be that there are not enough pictures of her genius children. But now that I've spent a week with them and it's fresh in my mind I can appreciate the sheer lack of time for playing photographer! They are so full of life and so smart! And into just about everything. I love them so much. I wish I could see them everyday, or at least once a week. The more time I spend with them and the more I get to know them the more I want to know them, and the more time I want to spend with them.

Even though she doesn't always see it, my sister is doing a great job, I am bursting with pride for her!!! It was so hard to leave Monday morning. Jason had to drive because he could tell I was going to cry. He was right, I still tear up thinking about it. One year is just too too long to go without seeing them. I was glad that we were there for Doug's homecoming, it had been more than a year since I got to see him! The only person we were lacking was dad.

I was mistaken in my previous post about when dad is having tests done. It will be this Friday. I know he will be glad when mom is back home from Virginia and they can enjoy her retirement!

Today was our first full day in Illinois. We are staying with Jason's family for a few days before getting home. This whole trip has been so relaxing and a joy. Tomorrow we get to go to the botanical gardens!!! I can't wait!

Trip

I am having a great time in VA. It is so good to spend time with my sister!! I miss her so much and someday we will live closer, we will. I am so impressed by her homemakery and mothering, I know in a way I shouldn't be, we were raised well, but still, she has three super energy noise makers running around all the time and yet her house is clean and they are clean, and despite all the excess -- or so it seems to me -- energy very well behaved and just plan good kids. I know I'm biased, get over it.

Driving through West Virginia was incredible, I have decided that is where I want to live. Hands down the best place I have ever seen, including pictures and movies of places I haven't been....well, there is Ireland....

Anyway, driving with my mom and husband was fun. We listened to music and stopped at all the visitors centers for free maps, and generally had a great time.

I got two bits of disturbing news last night. Garrison, the older of the boys I babysat, fell off his bike and broke his femur. He is in surgery this morning. I know this sort of thing happens all the time, and that Meredith and John are very capable and they have plenty of friends and family there, but I wish I could be there none the less.

Then got an email from my dad that he's been having chest pain and is having tests done today for it. Gah!! It's been strange to be on a trip like this without dad, and I know he misses us. I wish I could be in two places at once. What am I writing, I wish I could be in three or four places at once.

All in all though, this has been a lovely trip and we are not done yet!

Yesterday

I spent yesterday thinking about Grammy. It had been a year since she died. I thought about that day one year ago and about all the days that followed... I thought about all the times with her as a child and as a teenager living with her... I thought about all the things she always encouraged me to be... I thought about blogging about her. Wrote another poem, edited ones I had already writ. Read poems by my favorite poet, and even played the piano. At the end of the day though, I talked to my husband. I hope I never loose sight of what a gift that is, what a gift he is.

Now, I am going to garden and watch the birds and spend the day getting ready for our two week trip east. In three short days I will be hugging my sister!!!