Excited

I'm enjoying some rare quiet time. Sophie is sleeping in bed with Roy and I should probably wake him up for work but I know he's tired and, frankly, I'm going to have a very busy day. I'm enjoying a rare moment, sitting at the computer in my bathrobe, wet hair in a towel, drinking my coffee without little fingers grabbing for it.

Sophie was sick yesterday - fever, throwing up - and then we discovered a top tooth peeking out. The gum looks wrecked and I'm going to have the doctor look at it this afternoon when I take her in for a follow up, but I expect that was the culprit of a lot of her ills. However, I can't take her to daycare the day after she's so bad off, so my week long vacation (due to start at 5:00 today) actually starts now!

I was chatting with my dear friend Anne about how much we love to be excited about things. Being excited might be the best feeling in the world. Today I will pack and clean the house and run to Wild Oats for snacks on the plane and pick up coffee for mom at Natasha's and probably do yet ANOTHER load of laundry in preparation for our trip to South Dakota. We'll leave around 6 to pick up Riley on our way to Louisville for an overnight stay. Our plane leaves at 6am tomorrow morning. We'll get to Sioux Falls around 10, rent a car, and drive to Freeman. I'll spend little time with the folks before heading to my much anticipated class reunion. Then it's 3 days in Freeman before hitting the road with the kids and heading to the Black Hills for a newspaper convention. I'm excited for so many reasons.

1. I get to see my family and they get to see Sophie and Riley. My brother and sister in law have never met my step-son (who is an absolute TRIP) and mom and dad have only seen Sophie 2 or 3 times since she was born. She's now so big, with 3 teeth and nearly crawling.

2. I can't remember the last time I've had a real vacation. This is such a bonus because not only do I get to see my family but I get to explore a part of the country I haven't been to in 10 years.

3. This feels like my first family vacation. We'll be traveling with a 9 month and 9 year old. Stops to pee and stretch our legs, "are we there yet" from the back seat, drool on the seats, and being annoying in the front seat while Riley turns up his Green Day filled ipod.

Ah, what energy fills the air today!