it's so hard to say goodbye

so our lovely vacation has come to an end and it was a great time. my dad, his wife brenda & her two sons matt (14) and david (11) came to visit. we went with them to the city of new bern, nc to stay at a condo & enjoy some R&R. here are some highlights....



-caleb's collection of small bouncy balls & his love affair with a yellow golf ball. he insisted on sleeping with it & carrying it around everywhere we went. if we didn't have it with us during any portion of the trip there was an immediate sweep through the car, backpack, condo, aquarium, rec center or restaurant until it was found. otherwise all chaos would ensue.
-sad as it is to admit (since i lived in utah & had the chance to go before but never did), got my first taste of the cracker barrel. yummy.
-morning walk with brenda around the lovely pond right outside of our condo.
-mini-golf with the group, getting to put caleb on a time-out in front of all of the other mini-golfers.
-the awesome aquarium with the 350 lb. shark. i swear it was giving me the stink eye. if it hadn't been for that thick glass between us i would have been toast.
-caleb getting his new sea horse, introducing it to his BFF, bear, and letting me know that they are now all best friends.
-introducing the utahns to hush puppies
-'flounders' the restaurant
-getting lost almost everywhere but finding our way eventually
-going to the beach with the best weather. flying kites, making sand castles & enjoying the sunshine. ben bought caleb a thomas the train kite for $1 & he thought he was the coolest thing being able to pull his little kite along with him & have it fly.
-touring the grounds of the palace where the british royalties lived.
-playing ping pong, arcades, going swimming & playing tennis. along with the guys' 2am x-box 360 fest playing fusion frenzy.
-hanging out with cousin chad & family for a great meal, some laughs & fantastic company.
-attacking matt with the camera.
-david playing "monster" with caleb for hours, thanks again guys for being so good to caleb!
-getting to share a room with caleb...some may look at this as a pain. but on the contrary. i got to go to sleep every night listening to his sweet little voice telling me stories & asking, "momma, can we talk about something?" "yes, what would you like to talk about?" "ummmmmm, how about....backyardigans." "okay, what about backyardigans?" "ummmmmm, i like them a lot." many conversations like this but it was so cute because i could tell he just wanted me to stay awake & talk to him.
-waking up to caleb standing up in his pack & play & saying to me, "momma, wake up! it's a beautiful day!"
-actually taking care of myself instead of staying up too late & sleeping in. i felt rested the whole time. there just may be something to this early to bed, early to rise stuff.

thanks so much for the fantastic time!