A Little R&R

Katie testing out the wireless connection at the Condo.....she's in heaven!

Melissa taking a nap....she loves being at Virginia Beach. I guess the sound of the ocean makes her sleepy....wish I could take a nap!!!

Got my P.J.'s on, brunswick stew and grilled cheese for dinner! Let the vacation begin....thank you Mom Clements! I really, really needed this time away. Miss you Tabb and boys!

Melissa's home from the hospital!! She's tired, but doing well. Melissa came home in time to Track Out from school. For all of you not familiar with Raleigh's confusing year round school schedule - my children go to school for 9 weeks and "track out" for 3 weeks. It has worked well for them. At least we're all used to it by now.

I'm fortunate enough to have vacation this week; so my wonderful mother in-law is letting us stay at her condo in Virginia Beach. It's a beautiful time to be at the beach. The tourists are mostly gone and the weather will be in the 70's and 80's all week with sunny skies. We plan on walking alot, enjoying the beach, and maybe fitting in some bicycle riding and a trip to the Science museum. However...these grand plans may not work ..... it all depends on Melissa's energy level. Whatever we do, it will be wonderful to be together. I have a bus load of school work ahead of me this week. I need to write 4 literature reviews for my nursing research class and prepare for a math exam. On top of that, I need to keep the wheels moving in Raleigh on the NICU reunion coming up on October 2nd. There's never a moment to relax. I'll be honest....having things to do that keep my mind busy has helped tremendously this past year. Somehow I've managed to stay afloat, but not without a lot of prayer and support from family and friends. Have you ever noticed that you are far more efficient when you're busy? When I'm bored, I lack motivation. So...I guess that the Lord, in his infinite wisdom, knew I needed a full plate or I'd become a total slacker!

Interesting note: each time we come to Virginia Beach something not so good happens. Let's see: 1) Cory's appendix rupturing and having emergency surgery; 2) the battery on my car dying because the kids forgot to unplug the various computer game stuff from the car. 3) contracting a flu bug on day 2 of vacation. 4) Katie's little finger getting slammed in the frame of a door (blown shut by the wind). 5) And today's adventure....we arrived at the Condo and the office forgot to leave a key. So we drove around VA Beach waiting for the key to arrive. After getting the key, we made two trips up to the 9th floor to bring up our stuff. On the way back down I dropped the keys to the condo down the elevator shaft! How did I do something SO stupid....I was reaching across Melissa to help hold the elevator door open for her and (in slow motion) we both watched the keys tumble to the edge of the gap between the door and the shaft. I told her not to move and I gently reached down to pick up the keys....I'm not sure why, but the keys started to tumble down all 9 floors. Melissa started laughing and I quickly said: "Don't tell Dad." She made a bee line for the cell phone and called her Dad with lightening speed - the little traitor! So tomorrow morning I get to go to the front desk and apologize for being such a klutz! I hope this is the last "problem" of our trip, but if the past is any indicator.......

Enjoy the photos of our first night at the beach.