Well, tonight sucked for sure.

We had Anna and Dave and kids over for dinner to help our house not feel so empty and quiet and to try and take our minds off things. And it helped for sure.

But when it was bedtime, and the activity of the day calmed down and their minds were free to wander, all the emotions came screaming back to the surface.

Poor Katie was sobbing and wanted to sleep with us. I felt a little cold (and guilty) saying no, but honestly I desperately needed my own sleep and wouldn’t have been able to at all with her in the bed. So we let her cuddle for a bit and then sleep on the floor next to us which she was happy with.

I did take Tylenol PM so I’d hopefully get a decent night’s sleep…and I know it will get easier…but for now it seems impossible she’s really gone.

Heading home…

Our first (of hopefully many!) vacations together really couldn’t have gone much better! Lots of laughs, relaxation, drinks, excellent food, shopping, outdoor stuff, and tons of memories…with only a few kid squabbles. It was over way too soon for sure. Thanks to my dad and stepmom for hosting our motley crew! Can’t wait to do it again!

I LOVE having a handy hubby!

From little things like hanging light fixtures and fixing cabinet drawers to big things like building pantry shelves or building a table, he can do it all.

This was his most recent project — now that we’re in our forever home and Owen has been upgraded to a Queen bed, I wanted him to have a cool headboard. I found about what we wanted…and Tom built it!

Owen loves it!

https://youtube.com/shorts/YSviGf2hDSM

And here’s some pics before the lights went on!

Allure: Debarkation

We were up reaaaaally early in order to self debark.

Someone didn’t really want to get up!

So express debark really means it—we didn’t even have to do customs! We basically walked straight from our cabin to the shuttle (the pic of us walking through the promenade was at 6:33 and the last pic looking back at the ship was 6:46!)…so we made it to the airport EXTRA SUPER EARLY. So early, in fact, that they couldn’t print our luggage tags because they can only print them four hours ahead. So we had to sit like squatters for 45 minutes in the check-in area. Oh well…always better than being late. Now it’s home to the land of cold and snow. 🥶

She’s how we all feel after going to bed at midnight and getting up at 5 and sitting at the airport for four hours.

And this is why I hate buying sandwiches at the airport. 😒 (But it ended up okay. I sent an email to the address on the package and they apologized and sent me a check!)