westward, ho

Emma is coming home tonight after being gone over a week.  Yes, you heard that correct.  I did allow my college bound daughter to take a 9 day vacation in the midst of her senior year.  It wasn't my idea but I went along with it.

This was her father's idea.  He tends to live in the moment and not focus so much on responsibilities and consequences.  Once upon a time, a (much) younger and (arguably) stupider me actually found that attractive.  The mature me would have said no immediately but the mature me also seeks input from my older, wiser husband who thought, if it was up to him, he would probably say "yes".

Her dad doesn't get to spend much time with her.  It started once she got a social life but now that she is working she rarely goes to his house.  With her leaving for college next fall, this is possibly the last good opportunity for them to spend some quality father-daughter time together.

Her adventure started the night before they left when she dropped her phone in the toilet.  Now I didn't have to worry that she would eat up all our minutes talking to her boyfriend of the moment.  The next morning they flew into Phoenix.

She called to tell me how big the cacti were.

She sent this when they reached Utah. 

And after long hours of this interesting scenery, stuffed in the cab of a U-Haul with her dad, his friend, and his son

they BOTH got out in Idaho.

Ah, the cooling pines of Oregon.

And now THIS is where she wants to go to school. 

It was a great experience and it's not something we would be able to do for her.  I'm thankful she got to go.  Now she had BETTER catch up on all her schoolwork.

Today's words of wisdom...

1. An entire box of prunes eaten in one day is really just too much of a good thing. Trust me. ;)

2. When you leave for vacation and hide your external hard drive from potential thieves, write down where you put it. It's really no fun to come back from vacation and have to tear the house apart looking for it.

3. Participate in your local public library's summer reading program for a chance to win big prizes. Like the overnight trip for 6 to Kalahari Resorts that I just won!

Leaving George

I am in a huge quandary.

Every August, Kevin has a conference in Atlantic City. For the past 3 years, I have tagged along. It's a lot of fun and VERY nice to have some time away.

This year I am very reluctant to leave our 2 year old home. He came along when he was newborn. And then last year, my oldest came along with him to "babysit". He was only 17 months at that time. This year he is much more active and mobile. He will be very unhappy with a 10 hour car ride back and forth, not to mention being cooped up in the hotel all week. Atlantic City is not designed for kids.

Is he going to be scarred by 5 days away from home with relatives and no mom or dad in sight? Is it better for me to stay home and let Kevin go alone? I'm just not sure what's best for George.