VACATIONS

August was a month of vacations for us. At the beginning of the month, D and I split up. He traveled to the other side of the world; I drove four short hours to Pennsylvania.

D's family lives in Taiwan. Last year he traveled to Taiwan without me because I was seven and a half months pregnant and in no mood to sit on a plane for 14 hours straight. I was also fearful of going into labor while abroad and needing a translator to help me through labor. This year K and I stayed home for two simple reasons: 1) I don't believe her first trip on an airplane should be the 14 hour trip across the Pacific Ocean. We need to fly to Florida or even California first to see how she does at 30,000 feet before trekking across the globe. And 2) she hasn't had several important vaccinations yet, specifically her MMR. And measles are still endemic in parts of Southeast Asia. The slight possibility of her being exposed to measles abroad was enough to keep us both home.

So K and I went to Pennsylvania for a L-O-N-G weekend. We visited with United States Grandma and Grandpa while D visited with his mom, aka Taiwan Grandma. Our trip to PA was wonderful. Grandma and Grandpa had a lot of fun with the K. Much time was spent playing in Grandma's tupperware drawer. Grandpa borrowed a kiddy pool from a neighbor and K had several pool parties. She also played in the sprinkler for the first time. My father started a new "game" with K... when I'd carry her up the stairs he'd follow along behind me yelling, "I'm gonna' get you!" K thought it was SO FUNNY. She's squeal (as loudly as possible) and reach out to grab him. Upon returning home she's start to get excited as we walked up the steps only to realize no one was there chasing her. She'd get really disappointed.

On our way to PA, I ran into a friend from college at a rest stop on the PA Turnpike. We met up two days later and went over to visit Carla and Luci. We had a wonderful breakfast together - Car made some amazing apple cream cheese stuffed french toast! Also during our Pittsburgh visit, K and I attended Elizabeth's 9th birthday party - Disney World themed party. And on Sunday we had lunch with K's Great Grandma and Grandma Nancy, my grandmother's good friend.

All in all it was a delightful trip. Traveling four hours by car with an infant is a little rough. Prior to leaving DC I spent $14 on a mirror so I could see K throughout the carride. Best $14 spent in a LONG time. We've also learned that K's CD with songs about birdies always puts a smile on her face. Seriously the girl will be screaming in the back seat, we'll turn the bird CD on (song #4 is a favorite), and she'll smile and dance.

D returned from Taiwan two days after we got home. And the next day we turned around and drove to Bethany Beach for vacation with friends. It was such a fun week.

K loved the sand and loved the ocean. She loved buckets full of ocean water. And she loved eating seashells. D and I got a chance to do some relaxing. I actually read a book for fun (did a little school work as well). We went out for coffee in the mornings and ate lots of seafood. It was delightful.

We didn't do a lot of sleeping. K slept in a pack 'n play in our room and that didn't go over too well. She'd be sound asleep each night and the slightest noise (like opening the door or tip-toeing into bed) would wake her up. A few nights we were up for a couple of hours with her. And on nights when she didn't wake up, she'd be up for the day around 5am. Some mornings D would sleep in and I would take K out for a walk or a trip to the playground. Other mornings I'd sleep in. We both took naps in the afternoon.

It was a great family vacation. And I would go back to Bethany Beach in a heartbeat. The beach is beautiful, the people are nice, it is a quiet beach community, and there is good seafood and good coffee. We hope to go back next summer. And the summer after that and the summer after that and the summer after that...

Pictures of our trips will be coming soon. Our new camera card reader should arrive either today or tomorrow.