Due to some work craziness, timing issues and other unforunate circumstances, Mel and the girls are at the beach for a few days while I'm home with the dog. I'll admit to a little pang of jealousy last night when I saw what I'm missing:
My beautiful girls, happy, smiling, sundressed and sandaled, the sea breeze in their hair...sigh.
As it turns out, though, I'm also missing this:
You know what? I think I'll be fine for a couple more days.
We took Maggie on her first camping trip this weekend. Above is about 30 seconds into the world's shortest fishing trip. When she realized that fishing involved standing still for long periods of time, she wanted no part of it.
S'mores were a bigger hit, though after a few bites, Maggie decided she'd rather try one without marshmallows.
Maggie loved walking in the woods, sleeping in the tent, and going "stick hunting" for firewood. She kept telling us, "I'm so excited," and "I'm havin' a good time out here." And miraculously, not once did we hear the words, "I wanna watch a cartooooooooooon." That was the biggest success of all, in my estimation!
While we were out roughing it, Lily enjoyed her stay at the Grammapapa Spa and Resort, with its world-famous kitchen sink baths, fluffy linens, and gourmet puree menu. Maggie was sad to leave her behind: "But, but, but...I want Lily to watch us camp!"
We took our first family road trip as a foursome over the weekend. We went to Georgia to visit Grandma Sally:
It was our first trip with our new family truckster (I refuse to call it a v - a - n), and we crammed it full of supplies. About an hour into the drive, as I was mentally congratulating myself for successfully packing for two children with vastly different needs, I realized I had left my own bag of clothes half packed on the bed at home. Awesome.
Aside from that hiccup, everything went smoothly. Mel spent quality time with the menfolk fixing his dad's Model A, and I got lots of crafting in while Lily got to know everyone.
We felt like true parents when Maggie asked us within the first 20 minutes, "Are we there yet?" Once we finally did arrive, Maggie spent most of the weekend as her Aunt Liz's very bossy shadow. It was so sweet; it reminded me of how my sister and I always idolized our aunts.
Betty Smith: Tree Grows in Brooklyn
This one is popular on "Books that Shaped Me"/"Favorite Books of all Time" lists. I'm reading it for a second time, and it's still not on either of those lists for me!
