Vacations...

When you walk into urgent care on vacation and they ask if you've been in before, you should never be able to say yes. You should not be in the computer system anywhere but your home town, unless of course you're one of my kids. Actually, make that just Elaina. The last time we vacationed in Portland we ended up getting 3 stitches for running into a wall. This time she's on antibiotics for a week for presumably hugging the neighborhood cat Bubba and getting bit on the nose. A couple days of relaxation turned upside down. She's of course no worse for wear and should make out with nary a scar as a reminder. The memories that will hold tight will be the ones filled with screeches of glee from her cousins and candy overload from her grandparents. The purpose of moving 1500 miles last year was to be closer to family. Seeing their cousins once a year was not adequate. Talking on the phone to grandparents no longer placated the cries. I know the kids love Eric and I. But they LOOOOOOOOVE their extended family. Grandfathers are idolized to rock star status, grandmothers know all the best songs and cousins are the sisters they've longed for. Summer is the time to travel, school is just around the corner and getting away will soon be more complicated. Throwing stuff in a bag and hitting the road is still a feasible option, destination reached in less then 4 hours. Summer presses on and so do we. Gardens need pruning, laundry needs hanging and eggs are still to be collected. But for a few days every couple months what needs the most tending are the imaginations, hearts and souls of three little pixies.