As of today, we are on vacation. This is only the second attempt we’ve ever made at taking a vacation — since our honeymoon, that is. The first was not a success. We’re hoping this one goes a lot better.
Nicole claimed to have been packed 3 days ago, but a surprising amount of “last minute” packing occured yesterday, and is on the list yet for today. Half of it, I’m sure we won’t need, and you should see how full our SUV is. Still, I suppose its better to be over-prepared than under. And she does have to pack for the two kids. I have a pair of jeans, and a sweater for evenings around the fire, and a bathing suit — and three books. I might have packed a few extra things in my tiny bag, but I doubt I’ll use them.
We anticipate having tethered Internet while away, but we don’t anticipate using it much. We’ll post lots of pictures when we get back, though!
PS: Happy Birthday to my brother Dave, while we’re away! Maybe this is the year you’ll meet a nice girl and change your mind about the benefits of settling down 😉

There’s too much going on not too blog, but too much of it is unbloggable. Here’s some little crumbs, just for the sake of having something recorded…
– I re-found a half dozen or more people from the high school I went to in Germany on Facebook. This has led to a few good conversations, some joy and not a small amount of consternation.
– This weekend we’re heading up to cottage country. We’re bringing the kids, and we’re bringing the kids’ babysitter and her sister. This is because we want a vacation ourselves. Our two guests are part of a wonderful family who have become very dear friends.
– We got to Skype with Elisabeth in Jamaica, and briefly see the team in the background. Technology has changed a lot since the last Jamaica team we sent out!
– Windows 7 is really, really good… I wonder what the weather is like in Washington.