Post-Vacation Busy

It's Tuesday after vacation. Actually, it's still vacation... Braden is still home from school, we're not working...well, actually, we are working...on the house. Thursday we go back to work, so between now & then, we're trying to finish up the work that we began last week in the basement. Holland and Aidan went to school today to take advantage of the quiet time preschool offers us.

Our vacation had a few hitches, like sick kids (H & A for the first day; B for the last 2 days) & a sick dad (allergies?), but other than that, it was grrreat. And God provided for us in an unexpected way! We had 3 nights planned at Treasure Island hotel & waterpark. Pay for 2, get the 3rd night free. Well, they offered us 2 more nights if we'd listen to a timeshare thing. I'd sworn off those, but they had a fun licensed childcare room for the kids, so we went with it. We didn't buy, but we did get 2 more nights at Treasure Island. They gave us "special" permission to use the nights to extend our stay over Saturday & Sunday...but only if we agreed to move to a different room right away on Friday. "Sure." Oh, and by the way, we need all the 2-queens-1-sofabed rooms, so we're upgrading you to a Captain's Quarters. "OK, fine."

We walked into our new room...and...would you believe, it had 2 bedrooms, a living room with a fireplace, balcony, kitchenette, bathroom with shower--and a whirlpool tub in our bedroom! And we stayed in it for 3 nights absolutely free! God provides...and in a BIG way!

Our hotel had a deal with Denny's, where kids eat free...so we ate there thrice. And their food was surprisingly great! We made some of our meals in the hotel. On Friday morning, we were given free tickets to the Kalahari waterpark, which is the largest one in the country (supposedly), so Eric took B & H there while Aidan & I took a trip to Wal Mart for some underwear (can you guess who didn't pack enough pairs?), food, and a few little toys.

We spent lots of time just lying around, reading & watching lame TV (they didn't have many channels to choose from). But it was perfect for us. We are well-rested. The waterpark was just as fun as last year, and Holland & Aidan are getting braver on the waterslides & in the wave pool. On Friday afternoon, we went to Wizard Quest, a scavenger-hunt-style fantasy game. Sounds a little funky, but it was fabulous family fun...and for the most part, we were the only people in the place! Our team name was the Believers. (They had a list to choose from, & we thought it went well with our profession. More appropriate than the Druids. Haha...) We all loved it...well, Aidan was a little freaked out a couple of times, but he had fun too. Lots of mazes, mirrors, slides, etc. We freed 3 of the 4 wizards & found most of the things we were looking for. We recommend it to everyone!

We came home yesterday (Monday) after a final stop at Denny's. Now Eric's working on the basement & I really should get down there to help him.

Hope you are all well.

Blessings!