vacation

Just wrapped up Brian's 5-day summer break. While one of his classmates headed to Hawaii, another escaped to the cooler climate of Albuquerque and the rest scattered to other hot spots across the country. Where, you wonder, did we choose to spend our treasured time off?

We hit the road and drove 11 hours through the night to the heartland. That's right, we vacationed last week in good old Wichita, Kansas, where temperatures soared to well over 100 degrees and the humidity was so thick you could hardly breathe.

And there was no place we'd have rather been. :)

Our vacation didn't include mountains, beaches or honestly, even much relaxation. Brian worked four days at his dad's office. And though that may not sound like much of a break, it was precious, because it was time spent with his dad.

Sometimes time spent with family is the most fulfilling vacation you could ask for! Our days were loaded with loved ones - we got to see grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. Even Austin and Lesley drove in to spend time with us.

Some highlights of our week:

- taking my little cousins, Carson and Carlie, out for a couple of hours in Dad's Jeep, sans roof and doors. Carson, whose birthday was the next day, shouting into the wind: "This is the BEST BIRTHDAY EVE EVER!" It's the little things sometimes.

- introducing Austin and Lesley to P90X. They braved the Kenpo (aka TaeBo or kickboxing) workout with us and suffered from soreness for days afterward!

- getting to spend time at my beloved Watermark Books with my dear friend and her little guy who just will not quit growing while I am away. Being called "Auntie Em" by this adorable little person melts my heart every time.

- Staying up until 5 a.m. talking with my brother. Ever since we were young, we've always had our best talks well past midnight. And this time was no exception. What a blessing to have a brother who sharpens me. By the time I see him next, he'll have moved to Ethiopia!

- attending a summer picnic with some of Brian's family who we don't get to see very often. Eating the best gourmet hot dogs ever.

- getting to have lunch with an old friend who is now a missionary for Campus Crusade. Hearing all that the Lord is doing in him and through him. At lunch, running into our high school headmaster who, because he is moving away, we will probably never see again this side of Heaven.

- noshing on these AMAZING cupcakes (Val, have you been to this place?) that my sister brought back for us. Seriously delicious and almost too beautiful too eat. Almost. (As you can see, two of the cupcakes in this pictures have already been, er, sampled!)

- watching Annabelle and her brother, Brinkley, play! (Can you tell who's who?)

- spending the afternoon at the new YMCA waterpark in Andover. This place is now the closest thing to the old FantaSea that Wichita has to offer. It has two slides and a lazy river - pretty fun on a hot summer day!

Lord willing, in 12 months the day will come when we won't vacation to Wichita anymore. Instead we'll call it home. But for now, a getaway to Kansas was just what we needed!