Good morning, my lovelies! I’m back! Did you miss me? We had an absolutely wonderful vacation, and then we came home to me getting a nasty chest cold. Between recovering from being gone for a week, adjusting to being back at work, and the beginning of track season, I was fairly useless for the better part of a week and spent last weekend recovering as much as possible. I’m feeling better now, even if I did pass it on to the kids. I figure it is a little slice of payback after all those times they got me sick.
Yes, vacation was just what the doctor ordered. We spent time in Laguna Beach, Seal Beach, Sunland, Hollywood, Disneyland, and San Diego. The weather was gorgeous for all but our last day. That didn’t stop the kids (and Jim) from swimming in the Pacific. We explored the coast, walked miles and immersed ourselves in Disney, spent time in the beautiful San Diego Zoo and had some magical moments with the pandas and orangutans while there, ate some truly wonderful food, and reveled in the lack of computers. Like all vacations, it had to end, and I have to admit that as glorious as that warm weather felt, I was ready to come back home. I missed my house and my dogs and even my bed.
As I mentioned, the week we came back was the beginning of track season. This adds a wonderful new time-consuming stop in what is quickly becoming Michelle’s taxi. With Holly’s dance, Mondays and Tuesdays are particularly hairy; I calculated that I spend two hours in the car in the afternoons on both of those days picking up and dropping off at various locations. The season is short though, as there are only 40 more days of school left (yes, the kids are already counting down to summer vacation), so this should be a blip of the radar soon enough. Although it does make me nervous when we experience high school sports in August.
Speaking of track, two weeks into the season, and Connor seems to be injured. An x-ray at the urgent care did not reveal any fracture, but he can barely put on his shoe and definitely cannot walk without limping, let alone run on it. He has had some help with resting it thanks to the weather, but I suspect there will be another doctor’s visit in our future soon enough at an office that specializes in foot injuries.
Speaking of weather, I learned that I should definitely be careful, or at least more specific, when I wish for something. Before we left for California, all I wanted was to come back home and not see any more snow. I did get that wish, but I really should have wished for spring-like temperatures. It has rained for the better part of a week, causing flooding in low-lying areas and making ground that was already damp thanks to the melted snow become an absolute swamp. Adding to that miserableness is the utter lack of warm weather. Yesterday, we even saw snow flurries again. Ugh. I am SO over winter and would even take fifty degrees if only the sun would come out and dry everything.
Because I haven’t been around for the last few Sundays, here is what I reviewed since my last TSS:
- Amity and Sorrow by Peggy Riley
- And Then I Found You by Patti Callahan Henry
- The Cider House Rules by John Irving
- Cold Days by Jim Butcher
- The Deadly Sisterhood by Leonie Frieda
- How To Get Filthy Rich in Rising Asia by Mohsin Hamid
- The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa
- Life After Life by Kate Atkinson
- The Likeness by Tana French
- Oleander Girl by Chitra Banerjee Divakaruni
- The Shadow Wars by Rod Rees
- The Silence of Bonaventure Arrow by Rita Leganski
- Taken by Erin Bowman
- The Trophy Bride’s Tale by Cyrilla Barr
I’m going to let you all get back to your families now. For my own part, Jim is leaving again this afternoon to head back to California for work. I can’t complain because he has been home for the past two weeks. Just like vacations, all good things must come to an end. Sad really that I have to say that about my husband working from home rather than in another state.
Have a great Sunday, everyone!
Thanks, Jenny!
Yes, sickness is somewhat inevitable after traveling, isn't it?
It looks like Connor is going to be okay. He's able to run on it after all, although it certainly didn't look like that on Sunday. Hopefully, it stays that way.
I hope Spring hears your wish. I certainly could use some spring temps!
You guys had such a great time! That's awesome with so many places visited and excursions done. Sorry you got sick when you returned, that's usually the way unfortunately. I swear it's the airplanes, +too much fun=body not being able to fight it off.
Hope Connor is okay and whatever it is heals quickly. A bum foot, is one of the worst things.
And here's hoping our spring temps come your way. Get out Winter! Just go!
Have a great week 🙂
Thanks, Lisa! Connor is taking it one day at a time. I'm lining up an appointment with an sports medicine clinic just in case we need it.
Yes, we kept busy on vacation, but it was a great kind of busy – the memory-making kind. It makes everything that hit us on our return worth it.
If April is like March, then we won't get consistently nice weather until the end of May? Ugh.
Glad to hear you had such a great vacation – sounds like you stayed busy but still got in the relaxing you needed. Sorry it came at the price of having a nasty cold and crummy weather when you got back! Spring really is taking it's time getting here; April is more like March this year.
Hope everything turns out okay with Connor's foot!
LOL! We knew it was coming. Well, we knew track season was starting. The cold definitely wasn't planned.
Coming back from vacation is always a letdown but this seems like worse than usual. Glad you got those two weeks as a family!
Thanks, Carrie! Yes, the timing of the illness was definitely fortuitous. That would have sucked had I gotten sick before the flight back!
Sounds like an awesome vacation – so glad you got some time away with the family – and that your sickness waited until you got home. 🙂
Our vacation was so wonderful, although I'm definitely happy to be back home. I'm feeling better but we all seem to be struggling with a lingering cough/hoarseness.
Disney was absolutely a highlight of the entire trip. I forgot how wonderful that place is. I really want to take the kids to Walt Disney World as well. They had so much fun, and the looks on their faces made it all worth it.
I was wondering how your vacation went 😀 Sorry you were sick, blech. I hope you're feeling 100% now! We haven't been on a family vacation in FOREVER but we're talking about doing Disney next year. It could be the last chance we have before the kids don't want to be seen with us ever again 😉
You will be able to go someday. This was many years in the making, as we haven't had a family vacation in over five years. I hope you can get to go on one sooner rather than later!
Have a great week, Michelle!
Welcome back! I'm glad you had a great vacation. I so wish the boys and I could afford to go on one. Maybe someday. Hope your weather gets better soon.
Have a great week!
Thanks, Tif! It has been an interesting return. Hopefully, things will settle down. Either way, two more months of school. The end is in sight!
Ooo, Florida! I could have used a break there – warmer water and better beaches. Enjoy!
You like this weather? I may need to rethink our friendship. 😉
THE CIDER HOUSE RULES wasn't even a letdown as just a major head scratcher. I'm still confused as to how this became not only a movie with some very big stars but a popular book as well. It was just missing something, let alone that special something.
I heard about the blizzard. Yuck doesn't quite describe it. Yes, it could always be worse, but I am definitely ready for it to be better.
So glad to have you back!! I am glad to hear that you had a great vacation, but not so much to hear that you all have been battling illness and injury. Here's hoping it all gets better from here, including the weather!! 🙂
Welcome back! Sounds like a great trip to Calif. I'm on break in Fla. now and miss my dog too, ugh. But it's snowing there now so who wants to return. Enjoy your return. http://www.thecuecard.com/
I'm glad you, Jim and the kids were able to get away. I know you all needed it, especially with this winter and the jobs.
We're barely getting spring-like temperatures here in northern Pennsylvania, but I hope it will break soon…maybe in May or June. 🙂 I mean :(.
As for your reading, I read your review of The Cider House Rules with interest, because like you, I loved A Prayer for Owen Meany. However, The Cider House Rules always seemed such a letdown as does most of his other works.
Our lawn was snow-covered this morning. I swore I don't remember a spring this awful in years. I suppose it could be worse, they are predicting a blizzard today in North Dakota. Sorry to hear you had such a lousy week.