Oh, the places we'll go

You may be expecting a Vegas post, but my head is still spinning too much to put a coherent piece together yet. I will say this-I am no longer operating my Fun Account in the red. It has been fully restored and might even be overflowing.

Instead of writing about being away, I thought I'd write about what went on here while I was gone. (It was a lot.) I was scrolling through my old camera that I left for my in-laws to take Halloween pics when I happened upon some doozies (how do you spell that word?!) from when we moved. Oh, how far we've come in just a few months. Feels like a lifetime.

Yep, that's all three kids loaded in the car with stuff to move. I drove ALONE from Silver Spring to Red Bank after picking everyone up from their last day of school. It was mostly uneventful except the phone call informing me my laptop was stolen and returned to my old neighbor. I had no idea. Can you say distracted much? Thank you to the lovely man at the park who rescued my bag and then Mary and Mary Ann and the MC Police officer who all made sure I got my laptop back. Curse you dumb criminal for cracking it while tearing it from my car, rendering it useless forcing me to make Best Buy the first place I learned to drive in Jersey.

That's our first bath in our new claw-footed tub. We quickly found out there is no heat in that bathroom and cast iron is VERY cold. Now it's a show-tub. It sure is pretty to look at as you shiver on the toilet.

We made it through Easter and a summer at the shore that brought in an endless string of very welcome visitors. We have struggled with money as we adjust to commutes and income shifts and Catholic school. We have gotten lost-a lot. We have been homesick. We have (all of us) shed a few tears. We have stretched and grown.

We have also laughed-a lot. We have celebrated here. We have hosted a gathering or two. We have made new friends. Now, we have schools and routines and as of today we have trick or treated and marched in more Halloween parades then we ever thought possible. The holiday season is made for nesting and connecting. If we're not careful, we may just have to call this place home. And we are all (Mom, Dad, Darth, Jasmine and Spidey) OK with that.