Vacation Day

No we didn't hit Disney World or the beach on our vacation day, but that's OK!  A vacation day here at our house means that we can RELAX and not rush around like maniacs in the morning for school or church.  We had no school yesterday (Friday) so we all enjoyed the morning here at home by watching a little t.v., playing some Boggle, coloring and painting some neat pictures, going outside between the rain showers, and generally doing not much.  The boys enjoyed it so much and so did I.  Andy had to work, but he came home early and that was nice.  He took the two little boys to see Monsters vs. Aliens at the movie theater and that gave me about 3 QUIET hours at home with just Micah!!  (What a treat!!!) So I did what any mom would do (ok, maybe not any mom) I read a few chapters of my book, thought about doing some laundry, took a nice warm bath while listening to my iPod, thought about mopping the kitchen floor, ate a popsicle while I watched Paula "the Dean".  It was awesome (did I already say that?!).  When the boys came home they flopped into bed and so did I.  What a great day!  Did I forget to mention that my dad came over to watch the boys earlier in the day so that I could go shopping with my mom?  FUN!!!

Sometimes it's nice to be still at home....not have anywhere to go, have no pressing issues to deal with.  I'm realizing now that I'm working part time that sometimes your body really needs days like that and it's OK to just take a day or two to really enjoy your home and your kids without the pressures or worries of "getting stuff done", which is what moms do like 99% of the time. 

Today we've got some things on our agenda: do some laundry, color Easter eggs, prepare food and table for Easter dinner tomorrow, cut the boys hair (Andy's job), but it will all be done at a snail's pace, I promise!  :)

We Ditched our Kids....

Yes!!  We did!!  For the first time in 4 years we left them in the care of my parents and Andy and I went out of town and spent two (count them...1, 2!!!) nights away and we LOVED it.  I really shouldn't go on and on or some of you faithful readers would think I don't care for my children, but that would be FALSE.  In fact, being away from them made me realize that I'm crazy about them, but it also made me realize that I'm a fairly (notice my choice of the former word) sane person when I'm away from them for prolonged periods of time. All that to say we had such a nice time away. Thank you mom and dad!!!  :)  

We stayed in a wonderful B&B in Charles Town, WV (where my dad was born) and we did some sight seeing in the area.  It's a lovely, quaint little town with lots of history. The town was begun by George Washington's brother, Charles and he lived there until he died and is now buried there on his estate.  It's also the town where John Brown was tried and executed for treason right before the civil war. Harpers Ferry, WV is right down the road and we absolutely loved the Harpers Ferry National Historical Park....if you ever get a chance to check it out you should.  It was very informative and includes lots of little shops and eateries in the mix, too!

Not really a great place for kids in strollers as there are lots of stairs and hills.  :)  It was a fun day of learning more of our country's history and I hope to go back sometime soon.  

Just to explain the pics....the top one was taken atop the hill in Harper's Ferry (the location of the armory that John Brown and his cohorts were invading in hopes of an uprising of blacks); the second picture is of the marker that stands outside of the home where J.B. was hung (did you know it took more than 30 minutes before they found no pulse....ugh!); the third picture is of the courthouse where he was tried for treason (did you know that the verdict came back in under 30 minutes and was unanimous); the fourth picture was taken part way up the hill in Harper's Ferry....amazing view of the Shenandoah River (the Catholic church you see to the right flew a Union Jack flag during the Civil War as a sign of neutrality.....and as a result it was one of the few churches that was not harmed during the war).  

Have a great week!