I've been home a little over three weeks. I immediately fell right back into my old, comfortable routine of hiding out at my house and doing little out in the great wide world. I've ventured out to see a few friends, but have made it a point to enjoy these last schedule free, careless days of summer. When this summer began I had images of myself being so frazzled and angry that I would ruin my relationship with those I care about the most, my husband and children. The exact opposite has occured. I'm not sure how I managed to make it through the entire summer with little to no help, no camps, and no real playdates whatsoever. I will say that the time spent in the South was liberating and peaceful. Life there is so different from here in the North. Parenting isn't really a verb they use. Parents are just people who stumbled into the job of raising kids by passion or marriage. They still maintain some sense of their own identity. Every decision they make isn't the crucial and monumental end or beginning of a new direction for their children. There's a great deal of thought put into being a parent here in the North. We sometimes over educate, over stimulate, over perpetuate our own world views, so much so that at 8 years old we have mini politicians, philosophers, and psychologists. I'm guilty of this myself. I have talked and intellectualized with my child so much that sometimes I see him as a peer. BIG MISTAKE, I know. But, to my credit, I have lived a very home based existence with my children, not over scheduling them with extracurricular activities to lessen the burden upon myself. So, yes, they retain a lot of their child like qualities too, more so than most kids I meet anyway. And, Honestly...I'm in no rush to watch them grow up. The South somehow enabled me to relax and yet to become more confident in what it is that I'm doing as a parent here.

This summer has me holding dearly to my son's last years of true childhood. The years where things unseen still exist and, an empty cup holds countless possibilities beyond a drinking vessel, are almost gone. His imagination still flows freely and keeps him creating. But soon he will be driven to live in the more practical and pragmatic world of the preteen. I'm holding on to this, to him, for as long as I can.

We have had a wonderful time as a family this year. My husband was only able to be with us one week of the almost two month travels, but it was a very precious time.  We spent our first week in Virginia. The kids cannot make a trip there without a visit to Kings Dominion. I spent my childhood at this amusment park, running around with my Dad and brother gleefully riding any and all roller coasters.

Here are the older two trying to convince Ayda that Dora is safe despite the discrepancy in size. Even after this visit and her fear, she still has a small obsession with the macrocephalic toon. It's more an obsession with her backpack though, I suppose. I mean who else besides Mary Poppins and Dora can find anything, including a beach umbrella, within their bags? 

Kelly was able to spend a lot of time with Ayda because the other two kiddos went on many rides and spent a lot of time bouncing and bobbing between Poppa and Grandma. Ayda hasn't quite figured out that her grandparents are complete suckers for their grandkids so will practically buy anything for them on a whim. She stayed quite cuddly with Daddy the entire trip.

Ayda rode the tiny cars 4 times in a row. It was funny to watch her scowl through every loop she did but refuse to be removed from the seat when the ride ended.

When Ayda finally gave in to her exhaustion Ember was able to monopolize Kelly's time with many rides of the carousel...

It was nice to see him enjoy all of the kids in different ways. He had a smile on his face the whole day and everyone was in good spirits.

The morning following this day trip we all loaded up and headed for Virginia Beach. I was scared that it would feel too crowded and touristy. All of my memories of Virginia Beach are of a thin strip of sand and LOTs of jellyfish. I was pleasantly suprised to see that they had imported thousands of tons of sand and the beach was gigantic. There was room to spread out, but most families crowded right where the tide comes in. The ocean was still a bit cold but the kids really enjoyed themselves. Ayda didn't like the water but found the sand to be all the entertainment she needed.

We walked the streets of the beach a few times and found that, yes, there were mostly touristy type gift shops, but there were an ecclectic mix of street performers. My kids enjoyed the juggling show and Ember was invited to participate. I've always known she'd be famous...

Here's a family photo, minus me, the photographer. 

The city I grew up in has changed a lot since my teens. The ride to take Kelly to the airport was confusing and admittedly, Kelly knew better where we were headed than I did.  He ended up missing his flight and having to wait for another. Still, it was wonderful trip! I'm not sure that my parents understand how much I appreciate that they help us to do these things that we, otherwise, wouldn't be able to do!

The kids, myself, and my parents drove from Virginia to Mississippi in two days time. We stopped over in Nashville to see my brother. I was pleasantly surprised to find that my mother and father had gone to extreme lengths to see that my children had nice accomodations at chez Butler...

To the right of this doorway was two hooks with beautiful dress up clothes and a wooden fairy house that the girls played with the ENTIRE trip. I never knew that my daughters possessed the high heel gene, but it seems, unlike me, they can tolerate them.

I believe one of my fondest memories of our trip is the day I took the kids to Mud Island. This small island in Memphis houses several museums about the Mississippi with a life size replica of a steamship. I was floored when even my smallest seemed completely captivated by all of the information and dioramas. They were so well behaved, listening to their headsets and following me around the museum. The icing on the cake was a hot day with a five block replica of the Mississippi River that you could walk and splash in! The kids loved this and I was awarded with a relaxing and quietly observant position in my kid's interactions.

My Mom and Dad worked the whole time I was there taking off one day to go to the Memphis zoo. It's a beautiful zoo if you ever get a chance to go. My mom and Ayda formed a bond that she has not, of yet, been able to have with my other two children. I believe that seeing the birth of this little one, coupled with the fact that Ayda is such an easy child had something to do with it. They spent many evenings playing and tumbling around the house.

The kids still talk about the tea party they had. Although not perfect (we served Chic-Fil-A instead of finger foods) they loved the petitfours and chocolate covered strawberries. Grandma Donna outfitted the girls with proper attire and Nova wore his prince's cape, but had to make due with a pink tiara. For those of you that know him, this was far from a dissappointment;) Their cousin Lilly was in attendance. They absolutely adored her, but didn't hesitate to treat her just like one of the siblings. Nova doted on her and was very sad to see her go.

Ayda was by far the most well mannered and proper tea guest there is. If you're ever having a tea party she should be included in the VIP list...

Arriving home held all of the mixed emotions you could imagine. I was elated to see Kelly and also dissappointed that things were still the same. It was nice to come home and clean my house, make meals in my kitchen, and just soak up the feeling that I get from something that belongs solely to me. There is still a huge to-do list that I mentally go over in my mind regarding my home and my life, but mostly the priority is to do what makes my family the happiest...Spending time together and learning to love what it is that makes this place, this family, this love...HOME.