I just love my family so much!

I don't think I have actually talked about my family much these days, but I'm sitting here in a hotel room surrounded by all five of my favorite people and I'm overtaken by my love for them. I love all their quirks and silliness and all their individual traits that make them each unique.

We are on our first FULL FAMILY vacation of the summer. Only two days, to Muskegon, so we can go to the amusement park tomorrow and maybe a park on Sunday. Today we went swimming in the indoor pool, after going to lunch and telling stories that made us all laugh so hard we were crying. I don't know what the other customers thought of all our hysterics, but it was priceless for me. Wesley, lately, gets so tickled by certain things that he nearly chokes himself laughing once he gets going. Andy gave everyone nicknames a couple of weeks ago at breakfast, and Wesley became Guardian of the Bacon (he's a little bit of a control freak when it comes to bacon), Audrey was "Little Miss Greedy Pants," Ashton was "Pooper Scooper", and Cole was "Booger." Wesley kept repeating everyone's names and in the third or so recitation, he was laughing so hard he was nearly purple. I love that he is getting to that age when he really enjoys moments and activities - he doesn't just participate in them. He is relishing life, and I am so blessed by his enthusiasm.

Audrey is such a free spirit, and a lover and a cuddler. She is suddenly into brushing her hair 30 times a day and wanting to wear nail polish and lip gloss. Ashton is hilarious. Everything is something to be discovered or a process to figure out. He is currently obsessed with the pole in my basement "where all the pee and poop goes". Today he was yelling to Dad through the filter in the pool. Cole is such a crazy mix of completely nuts and super-affectionate. One of the stories Andy told today was about an incident earlier this week, when, one by one, the three older kids came upstairs from the basement grasping some part of their bodies and crying. Then up comes Cole, sucking away on his pacifier, happily swinging away with a set of drumsticks. Amazing that my one-year-old can singlehandedly beat up all his siblings and still coming away looking cute and baby-like. He has been singing parts of a song we learned in VBS...funny, the only lines he knows are "We won't be quiet" and "No, No, No, No, No." It's like his theme song.

My wonderful husband and I had a long-awaited 10-year anniversary trip in Chicago, and it was reviving and glorious...as much as we missed the kids, it was nice be adults for a few days. I wasn't quite used to using the restroom without two or three kids standing over me, or getting out of a car without unstrapping carseats and hauling out strollers and screaming like a maniac for everyone to NOT MOVE or else they will surely get killed in the parking lot. It was also just nice to reconnect with my long-lost lover, to spend time with the guy I love and not just the father of my kids.

So, this weekend it is just us. And, while the hotel room looks like a major storm blew through and we've only been here four hours, I'm going to relish every moment and thank God for this wonderful crazy bunch of people.