Earned vacation

Last week after Mark finished the bar [I have more to say about that in a future entry], we treated ourselves to a little vacation in southern Utah. The Woodburys generously allowed us to stay in the adorable little house they own there [they live in Las Vegas], and it made the perfect getaway. We packed up a bunch of games, clothes and food and headed down to a little peaceful isolation in the tiny town of 470 people (474 when we got there).

It’s been joked that “a vacation frequently means that the family goes away for a rest, accompanied by a mother who sees that the others get it.” Luckily this did not hold true for our trip! Our goal was to spend time together, and give the girls some extra attention. This translated into 2 very happy girls, and 2 parents who were very sick of playing “Guesstures” and Dora Candyland by the end of the week. But it was worth it! We missed having the internet for about 5 seconds, and then we began to enjoy having so few distractions from the good stuff: spending time together.

We did puzzles (including a killer hard 3-D Monsters Inc. puzzle) and played games, we laughed at how much the girls liked to “perform” by standing on the ledge of the fireplace and sing and jabber away.

We also went to Bryce Canyon, which Mark had never seen, and I had never seen adorned with snow. When it was time to leave, Sage cried because she loved “following the paths.” Eliza just wanted to talk to Uncle Bryce on the phone. Southern Utah is an amazing and beautiful place. My family spent a lot of vacations in the various National Parks and wonders, and it was fun to be the parent this time, and share those wonders with my family.

The car travel gave Mark and me some good conversation time (2 1/2 hours with boring scenery and sleeping kids!...notice Eliza's attempt to get out of her carseat straps below). Why is it so hard to make time to talk in normal life? I blame it on the internet, with which I have a love-hate relationship.

Now we’re back home, and trying to figure out how to maximize the next 3 days—Mark’s last before he enters “the real world” of working next week! He’s been a student for over 19 (almost consecutive) years; it’s hard to imagine what it will be like to not have the flexibility and fluctuating demands of studenthood. We’re definitely starting a new phase of life, and it’s exciting and scary at the same time. The scary part includes the packet of loan repayment slips that came in the mail. The exciting part includes living off real money and not student loans!

May we have many happy vacations like this one in our future, wherever it takes us.