Our First Ever Family Vacation did actually happen after a flurry of last minute planning. Before we could leave, Sasha had to meet a new vet, who was more than happy to examine her and allow her to stay for the week for a very tidy sum that I will not mention because it grieves me STILL. She survived the week without me, which surprised all of us.
We drove ELEVEN hours, in a single day, to Sandestin, Florida. We have a beach about an hour away, so you might (as we certainly did) be wondering if it was worth it. I'll let the view from our condo inform you.
We were not at all sure how the kids would do, considering that their longest car trip hence had been the 4 1/2 hours it takes to visit friends and family in Dallas. They did fantastically well. They actually seemed to enjoy looking out the window, and celebrating each state we passed through (Louisiana! Mississippi! Alabama!) I had new sticker books for Hudson (Ninjago) and Helena (fairies), and Harper had a stack of books and her sketch pad. We left at 4 A.M. which everyone except me seemed to think was terribly exciting and wonderful. We had breakfast at Cracker Barrel (a first for the kids. They enjoyed the gift shop very much). When we got to the beach ELEVEN hours later, they did this:
We spent the week swimming and digging and boogie boarding and looking for sand dollars (many, many broken pieces, and on the last evening, FINALLY, one almost intact!) The weather was perfection--cool with low humidity (an elderly local I met on the beach told me it was the nicest May weather she could remember in the 40 years she'd been there!)
We ate doughnuts at Krispy Kreme (that spelling really irritates me. What is wrong with the
letter c, I ask you??) (another first for the kids--it may
actually have been their first doughnuts ever, now that I think about
it). 
It really was a great week. I think waiting this long to finally take a real vacation had its benefits. The kids are much easier and independent now. They were really excited with the novelty of every new thing (except maybe eating calamari and shrimp. They didn't "care for it."), which perhaps they would not have been if we'd been doing this yearly since they were babies. Everyone slept well (except for when Helena fell out of bed onto the tile floor on the first day and got a huge bump right in the middle of her forehead.) and the husband and I were both able to relax. I didn't get much reading done (I brought 5 books and ended up only reading about 100 pages in one) but I did take lots of walks up and down the beach, which was better than reading. Especially now that I need 1.75 magnification.
Something else happened during my blog sabbatical: a certain girl turned EIGHT. Hopefully, I will get her interview posted tomorrow or soon thereafter. Here is a teaser: home-made roseate spoonbill cupcakes!!
