Our Vacation, Part One

'Tis the morning after our vacation, and all is quiet in the house. The only sound I hear is the sound of giant trucks doing some sort of construction (shouldn't there be a rule that they can't do this before 8am???).

The nicest thing is that I feel. . .relaxed. This is an odd feeling for me, especially after vacation since I usually come back exhausted and a bit frazzled. What is my secret?

1. We drove, and didn't try to fly anywhere.

2. We stayed in a condo, which meant I could cook dinner, make coffee whenever I wanted it and do laundry a couple of times during the week (I realize this doesn't sound relaxing, per se, but going out to dinner with three kids under the age of 6 is NOT FUN; plus the laundry thing makes it easier now that we are home).

3. We stayed in Vermont---land of beautiful mountains, friendly people, clean air and great local beer. Here is where we stayed, specifically.

4. The girls could participate in 'camp' any day they chose. I realize this isn't for everyone, but it was wonderful for us, especially Belly who would've ditched us to join camp for the rest of the summer, had we let her.

If there was a downside, it was that we spent a lot of money, probably as much as our honeymoon, although we now had three kids and my mom with us. There were ways we could've done it for less, but I didn't figure this out until we were there. So, I learned that I should explore options besides those presented in the shiny color brochure.

I also learned a bunch of other things about my family---but, more on that later. Right now, I want to go outside and listen to the birds (still audible beneath the din of the trucks) and pretend that I'm looking out at huge green mountains.