My Childless Day!

I love being a mother, and if I was separated from my children for very long I would be highly distraught. But for 36 hours? It was wonderful! My husband and in-laws gave me a great gift these last two days and watched my kids so I could run up north. Although Bet and Justin bought a house a couple of weeks ago, I hadn't yet been up to see it. This little trip up there was just long enough to see my family, explore Owen and Ashley's house (very cool old house they're renting!), help Pregnant-Belly Bethaney scrub her tub, and kidnap Olivia for a week at my house. I enjoyed myself immensely!

Orianna and Lily were so excited to see me, I felt famous. They loved showing me all the cool parts of their new house. (Why is it that Ashley and Bet both have ginormous amounts of cabinet space in their kitchens? I'm the one who's been collecting kitchen stuff the longest!)

They played so great together all day, while I helped Bet unpack a little more. Their Polly Pocket dolls see a lot of action.

Thankfully, I was able to go up Sunday evening, so I didn't feel compelled to be useful the whole time. There was lots of time for Wordthief.

I got to see Mom's official diploma! Yay for Mom!


I don't know which is cuter, the front or back of Lily.

We had to have a picture of all our cool Crocs. (The other sisters missed out, but there was Crocs in abundance.)

This morning, I watched the Amish bring their milk to Dad's bulk tank. The milk truck will only pick up milk from a bulk tank with refrigeration, so the Amish milk the cows and put it in big milk pails, then transport it over to Dad's milk tank until the milk truck comes to pick it up every other day.

And one of the best parts of this trip? The actual drive up and back. No one dropped their pacifier. No one argued over who got more fries. No one asked, "How much longer?". Instead, I bought a soda with caffeine and just drove! On the way home, Olivia was with me, and that was even better. Since this is the closest I'll get to a road trip for several years, we maximized the road trip moments.

Self-portrait taken of the road trippers. Check. (Additional note-- this is MUCH trickier with an SLR than a point-and-shoot!)


Pictures with signs. Check. Soda. Check. Singing along at the top of our lungs. Check. Nutritionally suspect foods. Check. What a trip.

Mother Nature cooperated nicely with lovely weather. I hate to tie myself to one favorite month, but June in the North Country has got to be the most beautiful time of year. I'm so glad I was able to go enjoy it for a bit-- and now I'm glad to be home with my squidlets!