Thailand

Daddy recently returned from a fifteen day trip to Thailand. We are sooo happy to see him!! This is Daddy's third big trip to another country in less than a year. The boys and I made cards to put in his suitcase again, but I can't find the pictures I took of that this time. Oops. Last time it was very snowy and cold when he was gone. Lots of my family and friends skipped outta town for warm, sunny vacations. This time, the weather is much nicer and friends, family and neighbors are home. Being able to play outside and having family here to help made a huge difference! The boys enjoyed the nights Grammy stayed with us and the days that Grandpa mowed. Thanks for your help, Mom and Dad.

 Last time D was gone we had record snow fall. This time we had record rain fall and flooding that will go down in history. We were fortunate enough not to have flooding in our house, but lots of people did.

Park underwater. Can you see the tippy tops of the
red and yellow  playground equipment? And the roof of the
picnic shelter? 

This is one of our favorite burger places. You'd never guess their
back parking lot is under all that water.

Daddy was gone over two weekends. The first weekend he was gone the rains were falling and the flooding was approaching. I didn't realize the flooding was going to get as bad as it was. I didn't realized it until we went downtown to the museum and saw roads blocked off and people sand bagging. That's when it hit me. Wow! We looked at the sand levies before heading into the museum to play for the morning.

D tried his hardest to plan his trip around lots of holidays (both Thai and American) and events, but he just couldn't figure out a time to be gone without missing something. We did our best to send him pictures and video from various occasions, especially N's Spring school program. Grammy and Grandpa attended the program. I think N really appreciated seeing them in the crowd. :) The Spring play was titled "How Does Your Garden Grow." N and several other boys in his grade played the part of weeds and did a really cute rap. N really got into it.

Mom and the boys did a great job of making my Birthday special since D was gone and lots of people sent me cards and emails. Thanks everyone! I woke up to Birthrday decorations all over the house and homemade gifts from the boys. Grammy and the boys took me out for breakfast at a local family restaurant and we skyped with Aunt J. D planned ahead and sent me the most gorgeous bouquet of flowers. He ordered them the day before he left and included a hand written note with them. I cried when I saw his handwriting on the card because I knew he had to plan ahead to do that. Thanks, honey! Mom watched the boys one night so I could go out and use up a gift card for a massage! Aaaah. Mom and the boys made me gluten free,dairy free cupcakse that were amazing! Mmm.

Day ten and eleven are always the hardest for me for some reason. Maybe it's because the boys were up in the night every single night?  Maybe? Hmm. Possibly. Fortunately Mom was here and I got to recoop with a nap.

Daddy returned home late on a Friday night after the boys were asleep. I was so happy to see him. Giddy, really! He was able to stay awake until our usual bed time then crashed and burned. He popped right up at 4am the next morning and we were off and running to our home town tractor show. Nothing much slows D down. He did, however, fall asleep on the couch at 7pm the first three nights after he got home from his trip.
He was wide awake 5am the first few days after he got home and had intended on keeping that routine, but has fallen back into his routine by now.

A few days after D got home he and I headed up to the windy city for an overnight to celebrate my Bday (belated) and Mother's Day in one. We had a great time. That was the first time we'd been to Millenium Park. We happened to get a great deal on a room at the Palmer House and saw a taping of the Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me Show. So fun.

Now we're catching up on things that got a little behind while D was gone. Last weekend I watched the boys while D fixed a toilet, the washing machine, mowed and set up traps to catch a trail of ants in the garage. This weekend we're ripping out a portion of the ceiling and wall in the living room that has been damaged due to a leaky drain in a shower. Busy, busy.