Sweet Summer Escape

That's right folks. We're bustin' outta this joint. Southbound. Beach bound. 

Don't get me wrong... I do enjoy my job. But (pardon my french) DAMN, am I ready for a break! Pregnancy has been wonderful, but it takes its toll. Waking up and hauling my large, sleepy, pregnant butt out of bed every morning is a task in and of itself, much less packing a lunch, driving to work, making it through the work day, driving home, making dinner, keeping up with the household stuff... yes, these are all things that normal people do every day. But when you add "...all while growing another human being" to the end of that sentence, well, it's another thing entirely. Pregnancy just siphons your energy - energy that you'd normally have plenty of, to pour into all of these mundane daily tasks. Not to mention the fact that you expend more energy than normal just walking around, going up a flight of stairs, etc. because you're hauling around more weight. It's like attaching a horse trailer to the back of a truck, which will cause the truck to burn more gas on its own, and then poking a hole in the gas tank. You're burning the candle at both ends, so you run out more quickly!

Anyway, I don't need to tell any of you what it's like to "need a vacation". Regardless of your chosen vocation or life circumstances, we all need a break sometimes. This one just couldn't possibly come at a better time for me. I've felt my motivation slipping at work, the heat is overwhelming (104 degrees today!), we're stressed about the house situation (still hanging in the balance!), and I'm definitely feeling the transition into my 3rd trimester. Not to mention the fact that I'm entering my 3rd trimester and still have no house (and therefore NO baby nursery and NO baby preparations completed). And not to harp on the negative, but we've dealt with some scary, stressful times in this pregnancy as well. Bottom line: it's high time for a vacation.

This year's vacation is particularly special for many reasons. #1, we've rented a fantastic, enormous beach house with Ben's family, so we'll be sharing this glorious trip with Ben's mom, step-dad, sisters and brothers-in-law and their 5 kids. To some people, that might sound like a nightmare. To us, it sounds like the recipe for an amazing vacation full of hilarity and good memories :-) We all get along famously, and I know it's going to be one for the books. Hopefully it will become a tradition. #2, I've actually never been to the Outer Banks, and am super-excited to finally experience it for the first time. I've heard nothing but great things! #3, this will be our last vacation without the responsibility of a little one... our last truly "relaxing" vacation for years to come, I'd venture to say ;-) We're really looking forward to savoring it, though part of me also wishes that our little man was going to be out there ripping and tearing with his cousins! I have the feeling that this trip is just going to serve as one more reminder of how thrilled we are to be bringing Eli into a closely-knit family full of other small children to grow up with :-) Between the amazing set of grandparents he'll have on both sides of our family and the zillion cousins he'll have on Ben's side, this is one lucky kid!

I look forward to posting lots of fun photos upon our return, so stay tuned. I haven't been great about editing my photos lately (I still have so much to share even before this vacation adds to the pile!), but I hope to pick that up again soon. Hope you all have a lovely week :-) I'm gonna go find some sand to sink my toes into!