Vacation!

No matter what happens, travel gives you a story to tell.
-- Jewish Proverb 

We left for our annual mountain vacation on Saturday afternoon. Filled with anticipation, excitement and curiosity.  We wondered how Miranda would do this year. Last year, although she had a blast, she resisted the pack n' play and none of us got much sleep. Still, the pros outweighed the cons and we decided to try it again.

We are in the same community as last year, but a different rental home. It's the perfect place for us - there is a lake and a pool and a kiddie pool. There are deer and bears and not that many mosquitoes! It's quaint and quiet and really peaceful.

Gary and I are very much "rule followers". Miranda has a schedule that we like to adhere to daily. It works for her and it works for us.

Except on vacation!

Miranda is so much in sensory overload that she is refusing to sleep. She crawls right out of her big girl bed and walks down the hall to our room to announce that she is up. She has stayed up HOURS past her bedtime at night, reading us stories and entertaining us. We are in a ranch house, so it's perfectly safe. That's the upside. The downside is that all three of us are exhausted.

We are doing our best to roll with it. Instead of a nap yesterday, we went out for ice cream. Instead of one today, we are going to the pool. I guess she can sleep when we get home...

Seeing the world through her eyes is such a joy for us both. In spite of our exhaustion, we are having the best time. Miranda squeals with delight when she hears an owl hoot or sees a colorful bird fly by and we can't help but smile with her.  

There are so many things we want to do with our daughter. So many adventures to have. I do not want to rush time as I so enjoy living in the moment with her, but I anxiously await the time that we can do even more. One day, she might not want to snuggle with us or hold our hands or give us kisses for no reason. So we want to enjoy these days as much as we can.

We are here for a few more days. My mom is on her way up now to spend a few days with us. I warned her to get her sleep before she came! Like us, there is nowhere else she would rather be right now.

Here's the to memories, the stories...and maybe, if we are lucky, the sleep...