Stylin'

 

Kevin has been asking for "crocs" for awhile now. Today I told him we could do something special for him (he has the day off from school) if he was good while I shopped for clothes for the wedding reception I'm attending this weekend.

His pair is shaped like race cars. On the back, where the taillights are, they actually light up (feel free to roll your eyes - mine haven't stopped since I handed the cashier my credit card.)

 

This is a close-up of the pair that Kevin picked out for me. I said, "But they have skulls and crossbones on them." He answered, "Just ignore them."

Kindergartner

 

No tears from anyone when he got on the bus but I admit I'm nervous about some little things like him not knowing that he can ask to use the bathroom whenever he needs to and how to open all of his lunch items himself (although I used mostly all ziploc bags today because I didn't think to test him on our plastic containers.)

I don't have any worries in the grand scheme of things - he'll be a pro in a few days and I think he'll do well in school and enjoy it.

It's canning season

I canned strawberry jam early in the summer but now it's time for peaches and tomatoes. Applesauce is still to come.

 
Yummy, simmering peaches just before putting them into jars

 
Tomato leftovers - the skin and seeds left after mashing the rest of the tomatoes through the food mill to make tomato sauce

More vacation pictures

 

This is the man who designed and makes the Christmas Trees at Simon Pearce. It was amazing to watch him make them.

 

Our twilight canoe ride at Deep Creek Lake State Park

 

The living room of the cabin/house we stayed in

 
Dad and Andy enjoying our last few minutes of vacation

Vacation pictures

Surprisingly, I didn't carry my camera with me much on vacation and I don't have many pictures. I'm hoping to snag some of my dad's to supplement my inventory.

Here are a few I did take.

 

Dianne, Kevin, Andy in the freezing water at Tolliver Falls in Swallow Falls State Park

 

Kevin being silly

 

Dianne, Andy, Kevin, Dad, Mom on the trail to Muddy Creek Falls in Swallow Falls State Park

 

Kevin with Skunky, his new stuffed animal that he asked for 8 times a day after we first saw it at the Discovery Center in Deep Creek Lake State Park

We had the best vacation

Do you know how I know we had the best vacation? The day we left to come home, we wished we could've stayed another week. When we got home, we wished we weren't here. The next day, we still wished we were on our vacation, exactly as it was, and not here.

It's not just that we don't want to go back to work. It's not that we need a vacation from our vacation. It's that we want that vacation we just had to continue just as it was really happening.

Our honeymoon was like that to some extent, although on our way home, we had our new "normal," everyday married life to look forward to.

Not only did this vacation include our son, but we were with my parents. Staying in the same cabin. Participating in the same activities.

And it was awesome.

Just overheard from behind my chair

"You have a skunk on your face and you look like Santa Clause."

How not to respond to someone else's good news

Friend/Acquaintance: Yeah, I got married this weekend.
Me: On purpose?

I can only hope he thinks that I was testifying to the state of my marriage (which, of course, I would get myself into on purpose a million times over) and not to the state of my opinion of his husband-worthiness.