Catching Up

So, I feel that I need to record the craziness that has characterized our family life since mid-August. I'm sure that it is normal for some families, but it certainly was not normal for us. It went something like this:

Matt commutes to Dallas M-F for three weeks. A week later, we drop the kids off at Nana and Grandpa's house so that Matt and I can fly to Virginia for a Duke friend's wedding. Three days after that, I fly to Boston for work. I finish the project two days later. The following day, Matt leaves for Argentina for three weeks and my mom arrives to help with the kids. Five days later, Matt's family (minus Matt) and I drive to PA for a family wedding. Three days later we are back in Chicago. Mom and I, along with the munchkins have a blast together for another week. Mom leaves. I have a melt down. Two days later, I pile the kids in the van and drive to Chattanooga (Noah throws up after 45 minutes in the car and I contemplate turning around. We press on, smelly car and all.) Two days later, Matt flies into Chattanooga and we meet him at the airport. Hooray! We are all together in Chattanooga. A few days later we drive to Nashville. A few days later, we head home. Nine days pass and then it is time for Matt to head south again for another three weeks away from home. Four days later my mom flies back to Chicago so that I can go to Chile and visit Matt. I'm with Matt for 5 amazing days and then fly home. Four days later, Mom flies back home. It is me and the kids again. Six days later, I drop the kids at Nana's house and head to Wisconsin for a retreat. The following day, the kids and Matt's parents pick him up at the airport. And finally, later that day, I come home. That was a week ago.

Honestly, I don't think that we've ever had such a nutty schedule. I'm hoping that we don't have the opportunity repeat it...but much of that is out of my hands. We've learned a lot about being a family that is not always in the same place. It has been a challenging season, but also one that has been pierced with moments of sweetness that could not have happened without the chaos.

Okay, I know that you probably just want to see pictures, so here goes...hold on to your socks. This is going to be long.

Chattanooga was a blast as usual. This is E in the Bluff View Sculpture Garden.

And on the walking bridge. Ella was being crazy and Noah's face was so telling...

There was a band playing on the bridge for one of our visits. Ella covered her ears the entire time and Noah danced. Any time they stopped he demanded 'let's do it again!'.

Per our tradition while in college, Monique and I took the kids to Rembrant's for lunch. Little Caris, her daughter is a complete sweetheart --there is something entirely wonderful about spending time with the kids of the people that that you've spent hours with.

Coolidge Park --the perfect picnic spot. This is me, Sam and Ginny.

Ginny with Evan on the bridge.

This one just cracks me up. It looks like Professor Ella is explaining things to her dutiful student.

I believe that this is the one where they informed me that 'we're pooping, momma'.

Rather than staying in town, we opted for the mountain and rented a cabin on Lookout. There was a lot of this....

...and this, which is dancing to 'America the Beautiful'...

...and this.

Once the kids were in bed, we had ample time together.

And finally, we dragged the kids to the night soccer game. I miss this view.

The kids thought that being on the field was uber cool.

And moving on...

One of the benefits of Matt's frequent travel is that every once in a while, I get to accompany him. While I could have chosen NJ or Texas, Chile seemed like the best choice. It was amazing for a few reasons. 1) we have not been away just the two of us in a long while and 2) the benefit of having someone else pay for your trip makes it that much more fun.

We stayed in a gorgeous hotel.

And, no lie, this was the view from our bedroom window - the Andes mountains.

Part of what made the trip especially remarkable is that I did whatever I wanted. One day I putzed around Santiago for hours. Another day, I spent days by the pool (which by the way, had no less than 4 attendants standing around to spread out towels for pool-goers). I lounged and read and lounged some more. We ate long and delectable meals and forced ourselves to sleep in (okay, that was more me than Matt as he had to get up and work).

Over the weekend Matt and I walked all over Santiago visiting everything from the gritty market on the other side of the river to historic sites. One of our favorites was Cerro St Lucia, a steep hill in the middle of Santiago with amazing views. I think that the shot below was in Plaza de Armas.

If you are still reading, you should get a prize. There is much more that could be said, but I'm going to stop for now. Hopefully, I'll get some more photos up soon.