Sunshine, Here I come...in 5 days

This coming Sunday I will be flying down to Camarillo, California to help Barrett's grandparents begin packing/sorting through their things for their upcoming move to Oregon. I will be there 5 nights, and it will be the longest I have been away from Barrett since before we were even married! Since we met, actually, and it makes me sad, but needs to be done all at the same time. Barrett cannot go, as he is saving all his vacation for when we go on our tropical trip (something I may have convinced him to do yearly-since he enjoyed our trip to Maui last year so much!), and I am certainly okay with that! On that note, after much research, we ended up picking Cozumel, Mexico after finding a top-notch resort running a 50% off sale, and reading about the snorkeling there, and the fact that it has little night-life (something we introverts both want). Anyhow, I do have to say that I am getting kind of excited despite the fact that I will miss Barrett like crazy. I get to pack sundresses, flip-flops and t-shirts to go, as it has been in the mid to upper 70's there-though with my luck it'll cool down a bit.

I was going to go alone, the point is me helping after-all, but after much consideration we decided that I am taking Matthew with me. Matt has loved the fact that I am home more, and helping with a few things here and there for his class, but he is so jealous of the fact that Isaiah is home with me almost everyday while he is at school, even to the point that he has asked on more than one occasion that I just home school him. It makes me sad. Matthew excls in school, makes friends readily, and I think he needs to be there, but I understand and secretly also love the fact that he would rather be with me. As a teacher, I always wondered about those parents that pulled kids out of school for a trip, and thought it was kind of ridiculous that they couldn't do it during the summer...BUT, after talking to Matt's teacher ahead of time, and him about getting to go, I think he can handle it, and it will do him good. He is of an age where he can also be helpful, and will thrive with the special attention from both grandparents and mom. He is thrilled to fly for the first time, and to go to Santa Barbara and see a beach with palm trees on it! Furthermore, Barrett's grandparents are just tickled to get some time with Matt. The tough thing (there is always a tough thing when parenting, isn't there?) is that Isaiah is not going. While he is excited to spend some special time with both his dad and then his Pop, I had to explain to Isaiah that for this type of trip I felt he would have more fun staying here. I think he understood, but he did ask me, "Mommy, do I get to fly with you sometime?" To which of course I answered, "absolutely, when you are a bit older and we are going on a true vacation-you bet!" The fact is that Isaiah will not be entertained with boxing up books, sorting through dishes and furniture, and actually helping to pack. Matt will (as long as we throw in some fun stuff here and there, which we fully intend to!).

I also made the decision that my trusty old laptop is staying at home. The poor thing is on its last legs, and the thought that it may perish soon may really panic me if it weren't for the fact that my awesome tech savvy husband has been backing up all my pictures and documents and has an extra laptop that will likely become mine...but still, mine is pretty. Anyhow, I am leaving all laptops at home. I do not want the trip to be detracted from by needing to watch a movie on the plane, check FaceBook or Pinterest, or be otherwise engaged with the virtual world. It is not like we don't use computers, Netflix and video games on a daily basis in our home...but we do limit the kids' time with them, and I want to be fully engaged with my son and he with me and the world around him than "plugging him in" (though I will have my phone!).