Home Alone

Back in June, in anticipation of our new arrival, my in-laws did the unthinkable: took all three of our kids to visit them for a full week! I know my kids are pretty good kids, but even good kids can be exhausting. Thankfully their grandparents are saints, they have an amazing uncle who still lives at home, and they had an auntie, uncle, and cousin visiting at the same time. They were kept busy doing all of the fun things Rapid City has to offer while I stayed home and organized, cleaned, cooked freezer meals, read books, and spent time with my husband alone. We went out to restaurants! We went for walks! We sat at the dinner table and talked to each other!  Aside from my enormous baby belly, I felt like a newlywed again.

Maureen and Monica, wonderful women that they are, made sure to document the trip for me and gave each kid their own photo album from the trip. In the front cover was a day-by-day account of everything they did so I could get a better picture of how they spent their time and so I could ask the right questions. A (very) small part of me wished I could have been there to experience all the fun, but the pictures were more than sufficient.

Months later, we have welcomed a new baby sister and things are beginning to get back to normal. I have cooked my way through all of the freezer meals, the house is turned upside down again, and my life is loud and crazy. But the time of preparation and relaxation while the kids were away was unforgettable. More importantly, my kids got some quality time with their "Grandma and Grandpa Far", as they've nicknamed them. Having grandparents 600 miles away is a bummer, but they all made some amazing memories while I wasn't there to interfere. Thank you, Maureen and Paul! Thank you, Monica and Glenn! Thank you, Liam! You're all amazing.