Summer in the City

So, we've been back from our trips for almost a month now. What have we been doing since then? Trying to stay cool is the name of the game...

Vacation Bible School. Exactly 14 hours after Chris and I placed our feet back on American soil, Sam and I walked into church to participate in VBS 2011. It was pure "Pandamania!" We spent the whole week learning about how "God is Wild about You!" Sam was in the youngest class of the preschool program. I'd love to tell you how much he loved every minute of it, but that would be a lie. It was a bit overwhelming for the toddlers, especially the one who'd been all over the country for the past three weeks. He was happiest in his little classroom - never made it through the story/worship time once. One day I asked him if he liked storytime today and he said, "I cry. illiam cry too." Poor guy. BUT all was not lost. If you asked him about the panda stamps on his hand he'd yell "Thank You God!" and by the end of the week, he could do the motions too. That made a mama's heart happy :-)

I was in charge of the Friday Night Dinner this year. Not gonna lie, it was a good bit of work. And if you asked me at about 5:35 on Friday night, I'd have told you it was a disaster. The food showed up at 5:20, I had 250 people coming at 5:30 - YIKES. But at the end of the night we fed 270 people in an hour in a building we weren't sure could hold that many for a meal. And then we played games, bounced in multiple bounce houses, sang songs, etc. Everyone else told me it was a hit, so I'm choosing to believe them!


Swim Lessons. The very next week Sam and I started a 2 week swim class. We went everyday (Mon-Thur) for a half hour. It was a Mommy-And-Me class for 6-36 month olds, so the class was a bit varied. We sang songs, played with kickboards, and bubble belts. Sam's favorite was the "Piser Song" (Itsy Bitsy Spider). He also loved the balls that he could throw and "swim" to. He is now quite accomplished at kicking and paddling when you hold him in the swimming position, and can blow some mean bubbles, but not all at the same time. If you get him to the wall he can climb out. He's awesome at jumping off the edge.

But going under must still be on his terms. I lost a little bit of his trust by forcing the issue - he won't let go of me in the pool anymore! But the last day he would let go of the wall and "swim" to me (i.e. go under water and move his arms and legs until I grabbed him). I was a little bummed he wouldn't try the water slide, but they made the toddlers wear life jackets to do it and he really doesn't like tunnel slides. All in all, we both had fun.

Summer Reading. So this was our first week without any planned activities since mid-May. That was surprisingly daunting for me! We did schedule a playdate, but we also decided to check some summer reading programs off our list. We made piles of books we've read over the last few weeks, made our lists, and went to various locations around town giving away free books for those who read 10+ over the summer. Yeah for free books! We've earned 3 so far.

There is still a great deal of hot, sticky, nasty summer weather ahead of us. Its looking like the baby pool will get much use, and the library will get many visits. As will the mall playgrounds. I'm thankful that our church plans weekly playdates over the summer, too! And believe it or not, we aren't done traveling yet! So stay tuned as our adventures continue...

Chris And Lindsay's European Adventure - Final Thoughts

So far I haven't mentioned too much about the climate for our trip. Except for the first day and a half in London, it was basically 50 and rainy the whole trip. Everyone kept apologizing to us for the weather, but we were coming from 95 and humid so we honestly didn't mind. Don't get me wrong, we were glad we brought sweaters and raincoats, but we didn't mind the cold. What was a bit harder to get used to was the daylight! It really didn't get dark until almost 11pm, and was light just a few hours later. All of our hotels had blackout curtains! There were a few days we were thrown off on our schedules because of the light. We talked to Tim and Sophie about it and they said it still affects them too - negatively in the winter and positively in the summer. If you aren't careful, you might never sleep in June!

I forgot to include Chris's collection of work-related pictures. Do you think we collected enough of them that we might be able to write-off a portion of the trip? First up: The Garderobe, aka a toilet in the Tower of London. There were channels built into the wall so the waste went directly outside. Second: The Society of Civil Engineers in London. We just spotted this as we were walking down the street one day. Third: Some ancient Roman plumbing in the British Museum. Fourth: And old well at the castle in Oban.

So it was a long trip, and a long time to be away from our boy. I missed him terribly - I really did. By the end of the trip I was ready to come home just because I wanted to see him. I do love technology, though. Thanks to my iPod and our hotel internet, we were able to video chat with Sam several times during our trip. It was so wonderful to see him having a fun time where he was, and reassuring that he didn't flip out when he saw us on Grammy's iPad. He's not great on the phone, but he was happy to run around the house and show us what he'd been playing with since last we'd spoken.

I put a lot of time and energy into planning this trip. I wanted to go, and I knew that it would be good for Chris and I to get away and to get a break. I thought it would be good for us as a couple. What I didn't realize was how good it was going to be for us as a family. Yes, Chris and I enjoyed lots of couple time together. But we also enjoyed 10 days without toddler demands, without work, without laundry, without all the demands of our life, but also without the routine of our everyday life. We both returned revived and ready to attack life head on.

Here was the real surprise - so did Sam! He was at a real low point behavior-wise before our trip. Tantrums and defiance all around. He couldn't entertain himself, barely touched his toys, etc. He's still 2, but he seemed different when we got back, too. Chris and I both noticed right away, and decided that he needed a change in routine and scenery just as much as we did. Maybe he missed us? He definitely missed his house. We've all been getting along so well since we got home!

Or maybe his change in demenor is just a reflection of all the fun he had without us...check it out!So there you go - our trip to Europe in far more detail than you ever cared to read. I hope you enjoyed our trip as much as we did!