We're baaaaaack....

...And sort of kind of adjusted to Eastern Time... mostly....

We returned from our Big Family Vacation yesterday, which included a 3-day car trip to Chicago, with stops in historic Steubenville, OH and scenic South Bend, IN; a wedding; a plane trip to sunny southern California; another wedding; another plane trip; and another 3-day car trip! We're not as tired as I thought we would be by now -- it helps that we had a great time with family and tried to keep the pace from getting TOO frenetic. We managed to find enough relaxing moments to keep our sanity. I also just want to take this opportunity to say that our children are angels. They handled all the traveling and the rapidly changing accommodations like old pros. That certainly helped. There were moments when they were so tired it hurt, and consequently started falling apart at the seams, but that was to be expected. Even Joseph handled all the change well. When you're on a 2-hour wake/sleep cycle, what difference does a time change make?? :)

Well, now we're back, and I'm happy to say that even though I feel like I spent most of the day just trying to wake up, the laundry managed to get done, and the kitchen and living room no longer look as though a tornado recently swept through them. :) It's good to be home again. Now I get to spend the next couple months organizing playdates and researching curricula!

We have lots of great pictures from the trip -- coming soon! Until then you can see the awesome professional shots from the first wedding, my brother Dave's, here.