upcountry vacation

I have some of my best childhood memories from our family vacations, and in many ways we have recreated that dynamic with our kids. Gary is very generous when it comes to travel and getting away. He loves to take trips, whereas I am more of a homebody. But it is always good to get away, even for a brief time as we found out recently.

There was a fall school vacation so we decided to take the kids on a weekend getaway to another part of our island. Annabel needed a break from college applications. We all took a breather.

We found a cottage for rent on Airbnb and it ended up being great. It was such a sweet time. It was quiet and peaceful out on the country on this huge property where everything grows to gargantuan sizes. We had lots of soft rain and fresh air, fruit trees to pick from, bunnies to visit with, and some nice laughs. One night we watched The Pursuit of Happyness with the kids for the second time. It was a great film. And the next night we watched School of Rock. I love our kids, in all of their feistiness and teen bigness and noisiness and yes, a tad bit of drama.  They are ours and we are grateful to have them around.