Apologies!

Yes, I have been a very bad blogger! 


I'm sorry!


I have barely posted the last several days.


It is not my fault! The Husband took time off from work and we enjoyed a very long weekend of rest, relaxation and fun. 


Frankly, he was a distraction!

A very good distraction, but a distraction none the less!


This long weekend off was one of several we have scheduled for the summer because we will not be taking a "real" vacation. "Real" as in we aren't going to take a trip somewhere new and exciting, like Italy. Wouldn't a trip to Italy be wonderful...or Ireland or Scotland or...well, I could list off dozens of places we would like to go for vacation. However, we will not be going to any of those places this year. You see, our Miss Sofi Bug needs braces on her teeth.

The orthodontist says she's lucky, she doesn't need any major corrections, but she has some significant gaps between some of her teeth and a tooth that came in wonky and her bite is off. Yeah, that's kind of a long list of corrections for someone who doesn't need any major corrections. Hmmm.


Anyway, she needs braces. The rub (the Husband will love that I used this term...he uses it often...it bugs me...but it fits!) is that her friends are nearly done with their braces. They all got them a year ago when our dentist still thought Miss Sofi Bug would not need them. She does. Her friends will be done and she will still have them. Yep, life goes this way sometimes. 


Hence, we are not taking a "real" vacation this summer. Instead we will be paying for braces. Braces are EXPENSIVE!! I will definitely get my money's worth in photos of her new and improved smile though. I find it hard to believe it could get any more beautiful, but that is what we've been told by the orthodontist.


So long weekend "staycations" is what we will be enjoying this summer.


I have to say that I am liking the "staycation." (that's a vacation you take while staying at home...for anyone who doesn't know.)


We get to sleep in our own beds! Love it!


There is NO packing! Love it more!!


There is no trying to be quiet, in a dark hotel room that the four of us are sharing so the girls can fall asleep earlier than the Husband and I would want to go to sleep, while trying to read a book by the scant rays of a book light! Love it most!!!


Lazy days in my parents pool, playing with the biggest beach ball I've ever seen...

and taking photos of the animals...

and flowers at the zoo...

and watching our Praying Mantises grow...

and spending time with friends and family make for a great way to spend time off!


We still want to go to fun and interesting places, but I have found that I really like a "staycation!"


The Husband even came up with a craft for all of us to do together. Excellent! 


I will share it with you sometime here on the blog, now that he is back to work and no longer a distraction from blogging!


But "staycations" do not cure the problem of...vacation is done and there is a truck load of laundry to catch up on! A solution to that problem I would love the mostest!!!


Christine