Home Again, Home Again...Lickety Split

Well, not quite "Lickety Split"...but after 3,245 hours on the road, we are finally home. We had a great time and really, the kids were great in the car - but its nice to be home.

Here are some highlights:

• Christmas Eve service at my brother's church (well, its God's church, but he's the pastor) with our nephews as Wise Men and Shepherds, niece as an angel and a "real" baby Jesus - the best part was when Uncle Scott said something about there being a baby Jesus and Lora, who's been on my lap the whole time perks up and says "There's a baby up there?"
• Chili and presents at Scott and Debbie's house on Christmas Eve- not as crazy as it was the last time we were all together at Christmas - I'm happy the kids are getting older.
• Will's face when he saw the box of 64 Pokeman we got him on Ebay - I'm guessing they're direct from China and full of lead - but he'll have fun before the brain damage sets in.
• Christmas Day eating outside next to Scott and Debbie's pool, praying that neither of my kids would fall in and drown since they can't swim.
• Disneyland with the kids for the first time...we went during the absolutely busiest week of the year - but, who knew that if you have a blind child you get a little pass that gets you to the front of every line...we considered renting Lora out to other families.
• Seeing Kyra Sedgewick at "The Grove" shopping center in Los Angeles....at least according to me it was Kyra Sedgewick and no one else can prove otherwise.
• Eating brunch with the whole family at a great resturant in Laguna Beach, right on the water and then playin in the tide pools after...don't tell anyone that I brought a shell home with me - I'm sure there's an APB out for me.
• The people who's house we were staying in coming home one day earlier than we were expecting...walking in on Mark laying in their bed watching a movie with the kids and me sitting on their toilet reading a book...us awkwardly slinking off to our own rooms, them trying to sleep in sheets we hadn't washed yet.
• Mark and I then sneaking out of their house at 5AM, packing the car as quietly as possible, dressing the kids and leaving all without waking them up...then meeting my parents for one last breakfast before hitting the road.
• Driving around San Francisco with the kids showing Will all the places we used to go, stopping briefly in a souvenier shop, buying sweatshirts and play cable cars (the best part was Lora picking up a toy and saying to me, "Mom, are these novelty toys?") and then eating at our favorite Mexican resturant in San Rafael, Panchitos - the first place Will ever had refried beans (at about 8 months) which are still his favorite thing.
• Spending New Year's Eve with Mark and the kids in the Travelodge in Novato - watching Dick Clark's New Year's Rockin Eve and all of us snoring by 11:30.
• Arriving home to a mess of shredded paper and pee-pee pads on our dark green area rug...just Zoe's way of expressing her frustration with us being gone for 10 days....we did have someone taking care of her, but I think she missed us.

We had a wonderful time - it couldn't have been better but I'm happy to be back in my own little house, on my own little corner of the world...vacation is fun, but home is better.