Vacation!!!

I can hardly believe I haven't posted to my blog in over a month! Gosh, it's been so busy. We just got back from our vacation in the Shenandoah Valley. We stay in Front Royal every year at the same cabin. We've done it the last 3 years in a row. It's so familiar that it feels like a second home when we go there now. We always look forward to it. I have uploaded my photos of the trip yet, but I will post some pictures when I do. We actually took a trip on the Skyline Drive this time, and we got some great shots of the mountain views from there. We got up to like 3,500 ft. on some of the lookout points. It was amazing! I have to admit I felt a little scared every time I pulled off at a lookout point. I felt like I was gonna drive right off the mountain! I got more comfortable with it the longer we were up there, though.

We ended up coming home a day early, as usual. I get so antsy when we're traveling. That feeling of an impending long drive makes me feel so anxious to get it over with that I always end up just packing up and coming home! lol. My dad was always the same way. I've never liked having things looming over my head. I like to hurry up and get things over with. Anyway, it worked out well to come home a day early. Then we weren't rushed, and we had a chance to get unpacked and back into the home routine before returning to schooling and work. We also had a lot of visitors at our church that first day back, so we were glad to be here for that.

Getting the kids back into schoolwork was a challenge this week. I had given them 2 weeks to get a week's worth done before our trip. Then they had a week off during vacation. So getting back to a full schedule was a little rough for them, but they managed to do it. We wrapped up week 12 this week, so we are officially 1/3 of the way through our school year already! That feels like a great accomplishment.

We were hoping to make it to Busch Gardens today, but the weather has been just awful. Our soccer games are even canceled for tomorrow because of this ongoing rain. And it's cold! Our field trip to the corn maze was also rescheduled to next week because of the rain. It's just as well, though...we were pretty busy this week as it was. I took the whole day yesterday and spent it getting Haylee's new bedroom furniture. I sold the crib and dresser, so I finally had room to move the other dresser into the boys' room, which left Haylee needing bedroom furniture of her own. I went and got her a cherry sleigh bed, dresser with mirror, and nightstand. In the pouring rain, Hayden and I managed to get it all in one trip, bring it in, unwrap everything, carry it all upstairs, and assemble it in her room. Then we went and got the matress and boxspring and brought those in, too. Then we went and bought her some brand new Disney Princess bedding and put the finishing touches on her room. Then I cleaned up all the mess from all the boxes and packing materials just before Steve came in. Shew! Man, did I hurt! Every part of my body ached last night. I had a hot bath, but it didn't help much. I ended up taking a couple of Tylenol to go to bed. That helped a lot.

It was all worth it, though. Haylee was beside herself with glee at her new room and her pretty pink bedding. When her dad came in, she went on and on, and he was just giggling at how excited she was. Hayden was a huge help to me throughout the day and even emptied the dishwasher for me so I could do the dishes again. I couldn't get over how helpful he was all day long. There's hope for him yet! lol. :) I made sure to tell him repeatedly how much I appreciated his pitching in when I needed it. I couldn't have gotten all that stuff up the stairs without his help, for sure.

I will definitely post pics of her bedroom when I get a chance. It looks really nice, and it makes her look so tiny in that great big bed! She slept late this morning. I think she really enjoyed her new big-girl bed.

-Kelly