Home sweet home.

I was exhausted - EXHAUSTED - last night when we got home from vacation. Do you know that kind of exhaustion when you are awake but not really conscious and you try to hold a conversation with someone but you stumble all over your words? That kind of exhausted.

We had a wonderful time.

The weather was beautiful.

Sam and Rachel spent as much time as I would allow in the hotel pool. They both had new swim masks and snorkels and it didn't take long for them to master the business of snorkeling. I watched a lot of this:

Which is much quieter than their usual pool play and took some getting used to.

We got to eat lunch with Steve a couple of days, and one of those days he drove us up the bumpy, muddy coal-mining road they use to access the job they're on. Holy hills, Batman! The pictures I took on my cell phone just don't do them justice. But man, is it beautiful out there. Even with the trees still bare and very few spots of green peeking out here and there, those hills, the humongous chunks of shale jutting out of them, and the little creeks trickling down through them are absolutely awe-inspiring.

The kids and I enjoyed walking around downtown Indiana, PA, and doing some window shopping. More than once we stood on the sidewalks and stared up at the big old buildings, soaking in the city's history. We also visited The Jimmy Stewart Museum.

I bet you didn't know film star Jimmy Stewart was born and raised in Indiana, PA, did you? Neither did we.

It was neat to find this out, though, because Sam happens to be a big fan of the movie "It's a Wonderful Life" and therefore was quite interested in checking out the museum. Once we got there I, being thoroughly distracted with paying the gentleman at the box office and not completely dumping the contents of my purse, totally missed the sign alerting us of the ban on camera and video usage. So I took one photo before Mr. Box Office kindly pointed out the "issue with copyrights" and asked me not to take any more. I obliged.

The one photo I got is so sweet I had to post it, though.

My apologies to the Stewart family. I'm not trying to make money off Jimmy's image; my kid just really likes this movie. And after visiting the museum, now we have a list of other Jimmy Stewart films we want to check out.

More than anything else, I think this trip did wonders for me and Steve. It just feels good to wake up next to each other in the mornings (like "normal" married people!), to have some backup in the parenting department, to eat dinners together, to be able to look forward to seeing each other at the end of the day and being a part of each other's routine. Who would have thought jockeying for space or who gets to use the bathroom sink first would ever feel like a privilege? We sure do appreciate any time we can spend together these days. 

Steve has the weekend off, too, so we all traveled home together yesterday. Poor guy. Traveling with the kids takes a bit longer than traveling alone. Need I say more?

Tomorrow is Easter. Time to celebrate and spend some quality time with family and friends.

Enjoy the rest of your weekend!