Happy One Year!

This past weekend was one year! We decided to celebrate and take a trip out of the country. Errands and work delayed us on Friday so we decided to opt for a quiet evening and a leisure departure on Saturday. A little more work and packing before we headed out the door by noon on Saturday. As we started to walk out, we realized we didn't have the form as proof of car insurance. After digging through files and turning rooms inside out, we called the insurance office for a copy. Finally, by 2:30, we were on the road. I drove the first leg and by early evening we were close to the border. C turns to me and asks, "You have your passport, right?". I froze. "No, I completely forgot I needed it." Fortunately, C turned us around and had us home by 8:45, after a celebratory trip to Baskin-Robbins. Ice cream makes every situation better.

We went to bed and set our alarms for 4am. Well, thanks to our dogs and neighbors, we didn't need alarms. The dogs kept barking and I sleep much in between the yelping and the neighbors' karaoke party until 5am. With an little sleep and coffee, we began our early start. Again, thanks to C, we made it to the hotel's Sunday brunch by 10:30am (even after stopping to view an active volcano and hurdling road kill). Of course, it was the hotel we had reservations for the night before but we enjoyed breakfast at least. By noon, we headed to our hotel. We arrived to find there was no reservation. We decided to skip the town and resume our hotel search at the beach. Stopping at a familiar restaurant/hotel from a previous trip, we made our way through the swarm of a pool party, distracted hotel staff and managed to squeeze into one remaining free table in the middle of sweat and smoke. Again, no vacancy. C then called a hotel down the road that only had "one bungalow" remaining. What was the big event this weekend anyways? When the front desk answered, they said, "Do you know what the requirements are?" "No, what?" "Well, we need your name and credit card number." "Oh, is that all? Sure. I'll be there in 30 minutes." We arrived at the front desk in 40 minutes to hear, "Oh, there's nothing left. We gave that away to another guest who just arrived." Really??
Finally, we headed back to the town and found a vacancy. I guess now it's "fifth time is the charm". Dinner was excellent though--lobster pasta and chocolate cake can fix it!

What My Dogs Have Taught Me to Expect in Parenting

1) No two kids are the same--some are independent, some are, well, needy.
2) No, they don't always get along.
3) Yes, apparently there is competition for my attention.
4) The youngest girl IS Daddy's favorite.
5) One is usually more vocal than the other.
6) Some have "special" gifts.
7) I need to appreciate their differences.
8) I will lose sleep.
9) They will cause me pain.
10) My life is better and I will always love them.