"I've Had Lots of Adventures I Need to Write About..."

Those are Ryley's words -- not mine. :-) She said it so randomly as we climbed into the car to begin our journey home from Oklahoma. Vacations, no matter how short, are so tremendously good for the soul. And the good thing about visiting my family is that we always manage to fill our days to the brim with so many activities and memories that, at the end of each day, we think back and say, "Wow....Was that really THIS morning that we did that? It seems like days ago."

Because of scheduling issues at his job, Ryan had to work until 10 p.m. Thursday evening. And because things have been so crazy for me, too, I brought Ryley back to my office and worked until 8:30 p.m. Six hours later, around 2:45 a.m. on Friday, we packed a sleepy Ryley into the Hyundai and pulled out of town. We even managed to set off our car alarm (which we didn't even know we had) and wake up the entire neighborhood in the process.

We witnessed the most beautiful sunrise in Colby, Kansas.



We made it to Tulsa in 11 hours, spent 30 minutes at my parents' house (where they practiced whistling on the deck),



then rode with them another three and a half hours down to my brother and sister-in-law's house in Dallas by dinnertime. Thank goodness Ryley is such a GREAT traveler.









It was a long day, but at last, Ryley and dear Betsy are reunited! I think Ryley prefers Betsy (just a tad) over her own puppy Juliet. Betsy is cuddlier and calmer than her wee canine cousin!!!





On Friday it had been one year exactly since Justin and Alyson's baby boy Jonathan was stillborn. So on Saturday morning, we headed to the cemetery where Jonathan is buried. We sang, prayed, and released balloons in my sweet nephew's memory. It has been a rough year. But God restores and redeems and makes good out of what the devil intended for evil. And we praise Him for that. We sang "His Mercies Are New Every Morning." It was a really special time together as a family.









After the cemetery, Justin treated us to our first experience at Ikea, which we likened to Disney World. We also spent way too much money on super cool gadgets and decor.

That evening, we had a wonderful dinner over at the home of my family's long-time friends, the Bordens. It was wonderful to see everyone, and many people were meeting Ryley for the first time. All through the weekend, Ryley was on her best behavior when it counted most. We were so proud of her!!! She only had melt-downs around my parents and us. :-)



On Sunday, Alyson and her mom were so sweet to throw a little belated birthday party for Ryley. It was so cute!!! My parents gave Ryley her first Bible, so that was super special. We had BBQ and swam.










Then, because we are hardly ever all together, we went to Target and bought matching outfits for a super fun photo session. Can you tell how hot and sweaty we are?? :-)









Much too soon, it was time to pack up, say goodbye, and head back to T-Town.





The next morning, at my parents' house, we fished in the pond in their backyard.







In the afternoon, we took Ryley to a water play area along the Arkansas River. She played with her friends Reilly and Decklan (she thinks it's hilarious to play with "Reilly"!).





In the evening, we fished again, and this time the Magic Barbie Fishing Pole came through for her!!



Then, after Ryley was in bed, a few of us decided to drop by the Creek Nation Casino, which is absolutely huge. I got in trouble with the security guard for taking this photo. :-) It was a very interesting experience, though!!



Okay, so now that I realize how insanely huge this post is and how unlikely it is that anybody will actually read it, we can play a little game called "Count How Many Times Ryley Changed Clothes in Five Days." Ah, life with a six-year-old girl. :-)

We returned safely home on Tuesday evening, and our return to work on Wednesday was a little bit of a shock to the system for both of us. It's nice to be needed, but sometimes it's not nice to be needed, you know? I like being indispensible for the pride I feel in my abilities. But it would be nice to just have the option of walking away for a few days and not feeling guilty or like they're going to fall apart when I'm gone.

And, get this: Our lovely puppy Juliet, who was supposed to be spayed while we were gone? She suddenly went into "heat" for the first time, and the spaying had to be canceled. And I had to go out and buy her these:



And I also had to figure out how to get them on her. Who knew that such a thing existed? I, who fought tooth and nail against getting a dog in the first place, certainly had no clue. Where were these when we were potty-training her? They could have been helpful. And of course, Ryley runs around the backyard yelling, "Mommy, Juliet needs her diaper changed! She just peed in it!"

Oh, joy. Only one more day until the weekend. :-)