We made it home last night, and we were all definitely glad to be back. After four days of being in the car for at least two hours, it was nice to plant ourselves down and not move. Overall, though, the weekend was really, really good.

We left for Cory's parents' house in Lake Wilson, MN, after Cory got home from work on Thursday. We left Friday morning to continue our travels, so that stop was basically a chance to break up our trip, drop off Lucy so they could keep her for a couple days and let Accalia and Cole have some serious grandparent-grandchild bonding time. That night Cole started walking around in a sort of crouch, which was very entertaining for all.

On Friday, we drove to St. Paul where our hotel was located. Cory and I both agreed that we hate driving in traffic. Yes, we may miss out on a lot of cutural and entertainment opportunities living in South Dakota, but thankfully it doesn't take us an hour to drive 30 miles. It's also good to know that there are bad drivers everywhere.

Anyway, once we made it to the hotel, we had to jump in the pool right away, of course. I was a very bad mommy and had forgotten to pack any pool toys. Accalia had a blast even without those, but we really wish we had noticed the vending machine that sold water toys before checkout. Ah well. The plan for supper was to eat at a nearby Bridgeman's. I was so excited to discover that thanks to Mapquest because I didn't think there were any Bridgeman's up and running anymore. Well, it turned out to be as it is everywhere: an Embers serving Bridgeman's ice cream. Sigh. Accalia was happy since she was able to gobble up the pancakes she had been craving. For those of you wondering why my obsession with Bridgeman's, it's because I worked at one throughout part of high school and college and was really, really looking forward to eating some specialty hashbrowns. Yummy!

So after that (and discovering that Mapquest can indeed give wrong directions) we headed back to the hotel. Not the most pleasant experience ever. The thermostat was apparently broken in our room, so it remained a stuffy 80 degrees the entire time. The front desk offered us a fan, which we readily agreed to, but wasn't able to deliver to us until well after 10 p.m.

We survived, though, and the next morning Cory and Accalia dropped Cole and I off at North Heights Lutheran Church in Arden Hills for Leader Day. Needless to say, it's hard to concentrate on speakers when you're also trying to entertain a 14 month old. Since it was a LLL function, there were plenty of other children there, too, so it was to be expected. This was my first time attending any LLL gathering other than a monthly Series meeting, so I was really looking forward to it. It was wonderful walking into a room filled with mothers carrying their babies in slings, sitting and nursing, or just interacting with their children and each other in gentle, respectful ways.

Cole fell asleep toward the end of the morning presentation by Barbara Wilson-Clay, so I was able to sit and concentrate on her presentation and slide show for a few minutes. Throughout the morning and the rest of the day, I was constantly meeting people I'd only corresponded with via email. It was kind of strange having to go around looking at each other's name tags, but I was so happy to meet these people. I also met a number of Leaders and Applicants that I'm corresponding with, which was very special for me. One Applicant even came up and gave me a hug :)

After lunch, I conducted a Leader recognition ceremony. Immediately after that was the session I presented on helping Applicants feel less overwhelmed. It was a small group - about 10 - but it went really, really well. I wasn't even able to get through my entire presentation because there were so many questions and discussions. Most of the attendees even stayed after to chat with me for a bit. The rest of the afternoon consisted of one more session and some final business/announcements.

Accalia and Cory were waiting for me out in the hall. I was so happy to see Accalia. That was the longest we'd ever been separated, so we had lots of hugs and kisses to give each other. She had a great time with Cory, of course, and even took a two hour nap, but I think she was a bit emotional from being reunited since she just started crying after we'd been back together for a few minutes. Happy tears, of course :)

We took off right away (through horrendous traffic, I might add) to my parents in Mankato. We stayed that night, and Accalia woke up at some point and started vomiting. Again and again and again. When morning came she certainly wasn't better but had stopped vomiting. I really wasn't looking forward to yesterday even if both kids had been healthy since we had even more driving, but it turned out okay since Accalia slept most of the way. We drove 2 1/2 hours to Lake Wilson to pick up Lucy and then drove another 2 1/2 hours back home.

The kids and I slept in until nearly 8 a.m. I don't even remember when that last happened, but apparently we all really needed it. Unfortunately I think Cole and I may be experiencing what Accalia had. No vomiting - yet - but I've been feeling quesy since last night. Cole just went down for a nap after only being awake about two hours. We'll see, I guess! Whoops! Now it appears that Cole is away once again.