Family Vacation May 15, 2017

Well, i could just post a few upbeat sentences about what a fun-filled, magical Dominican vacation our family just returned from but i feel the need to keep it real. It was fun, and magical, and had pockets of about 15 minutes of relaxation where my husband and i could hold hands and reflect on our special little snowflakes and how fearless they were being at the waterpark pool. Those fleeting moments were mixed in between the many rounds of sunscreen reapply whining protests, repeated complaints about the beach having too much sand and the patience testing three times a day struggle called mealtime in a foreign country. Then Ruby got sick. Really sick. So my new vacation highlight as a mom is that I’ve now held my 5 year old while she bravely watches Dr Martha put in an IV for dehydration, and helped her get through a VERY uncomfortable flight home. Air sickness bags raining down from the sky when your child starts dry heaving is not the celebratory note you want your trip to wrap up on. But in the days since we’ve been home and on the mend I have been trying to create reflections of gratitude. This trip showed me a strong, smart, calm Ruby, and a caring brother Nate who wanted to buy his sister a new stuffy for the hospital, Not to mention a husband who managed to clean a throwed up on bathroom with only a bar of hotel soap, brushed off what Spanish he knew and his relied on endlessly patient nature (i often find infuriating) to communicate with the medical staff. If vacations are meant to build memories and bring families closer together, mission accomplished! So here are some shots of the earlier fun days before things went south, pardon the pun!