More Than Four Sides

Category: Florida

  • Vacation – Launched!

    Our goal was to be on the road as soon after sunset as possible. We were on the road by 6:30, which we considered to be quite reasonable, given that we hadn’t started packing until about 4:00pm! Things we accomplished today before leaving: eating most of the perishables in the fridge closing and winterizing the…

  • Vacation Angst

    I’ve written here before how much taking a vacation gives me fits of anxiety. We didn’t take a proper vacation this past summer.  We did spend a lovely 4 days in Florida in June joining the celebration of our niece’s graduation from high school, and then we spent another weekend at a family camp in…

  • Ready for boarding!

    We’re at National Airport, remarkably an hour before our flight, and the boys are very excited about being here. They’re gazing out the window at the planes on the runway.

  • Learning How To Take a Vacation – Part 2

    After our 2-day drive south,we had arrived in Vero Beach, to stay with our brother and sister-in-law, and their two kids, aged 17 and 11. We had spent a week with them last December, in their home, and our boys had gotten along great with their cousins, so we were reasonably confident that they would…

  • Learning how to take a vacation

    It’s always been difficult – from not preparing adequately, developing unrealistic expectations, and then discovering that the person/people I’m traveling with has totally different goals/expectations from mine – the end result is usually tension, anxiety and disappointment. And, after years of such experiences with vacations, I was fully prepared for our road trip to Florida…

  • At the beach

    Last year, we vacationed for a week at Ocean City, MD. It was the first trip to the beach for our kids. S figured out the ocean quickly, as he figures out everything physical, negotiating the waves, and diving into the surf by the end of the first day. J, on the other hand, hated…

  • On the road

    We’re 45 minutes north of Savannah, GA, and both boys are asleep. We camped last night at Jones Lake State Park, in North Carolina. I failed to get the much-requested photo of camping-averse husband in our tent, so will have to be sure to get it on the way back. We got to the campsite…

  • Technology saves the morning!

    We’re on the road, and things were looking pretty grim, with S saying he was hungry already (at 10:45, after a big breakfast of waffles), and J unhappy with all our music choices, and clearly crabby. But, pop in a DVD (Finding Nemo), and all is peaceful…(for now, anyway)

  • Camping trip…preparations

    I’ve never been great at preparing for anything…I tend to leave things to the last possible minute, often finding it difficult to find inspiration for getting things done until the deadline is upon me!! But, knowing that I am responsible for the comfort and happiness of two boys and a husband (who hates to camp,…

  • Meeting new family…

    It’s been a month of connecting with family! And, so sweet! for thanksgiving, we travelled to my sister’s in Portland, OR – this was the first time the boys were on a plane since our epic journey from Addis Ababa…I was anxious about how they would do, but they were both champs, and loved the…