Waning Days of Vacation

It's been a good trip - really - the only thing that would make it better is another three days.

Spent the morning at the beach - check out the amazing sand sculpture the girls made! Kathryn got the idea from Family Fun - they've already planned to make a seahorse on our return trip in August.

I enjoyed a few minutes of peace just sitting on the beach chair, all 5 kids old enough to be (more or less) on their own, and relished the time reflecting on the joys of a family who enjoys working together, playing together, and just being on vacation together. As Kathryn gets older and older, and her life and all of our lives get more complicated, I'm often tempted to wax nostalgic and wonder how many more of these vacations we'll have together. Live in the moment, Heather, live in the moment.

After about 27 false starts, Amy FINALLY decided to get brave and swim like a little fish! I think she doesn't have the memories of swimming in our pool back in Connecticut, so she's definitely a little more water-shy than all the others. With a lot of coaching, and encouragement from Daddy, she finally splashed around a bit. She still won't go in the lake on her own - she just sits atop the raft - but perhaps that will change when we come back in August.

So now, we're headed back. The kids have had "make your own trail mix" to pack for tomorrow, we're watching Night at the Museum, and later we'll make sandwiches for the road. Tomorrow we'll go and visit Grandma Dorothy for about an hour, and then continue on our trek south. Yurii and I are, frankly, struggling with the reality to which we are returning. But as he prayed so eloquently the other night at dinner. . . . .

Lord, let us walk by faith.

But now, we enjoy these last few hours of vacation.