Vegas with Mike and Ike. Actually, Just Mike.

I got to go to Vegas with Mike for the weekend. His niece Sara (along with her younger sister Anna) agreed to come watch our kids for the nearly four full days. I was completely calm and relaxed about leaving my kids -- as evidenced by this wall. I just thought I ought to make sure that Sara knew what to do in case . . . you know . . . like someone was hungry . . . or thirsty . . . or tired. (To my credit, I resisted the urge to call and tell her which pair of shoes fit Jesse best and which sippy cups went with which lids -- things I'd forgotten to write on the notes).

Turns out, she is a genius though. She knew all those things already, and she knew a whole lot more like that she ought wake Jesse up a little early from an extra long nap so he'd go to bed fine going to bed at night, and that Goldie was maybe a little emotional because I wasn't there, and how to take five kids to church, and make them spaghetti, and how to drive them in our giant van to swimming lessons and piano lessons. WHAT? I know. Every time I talked to her I was so calmly and happily reassured that my kids were in great hands that I almost decided they didn't need me to come back after all. Really, it was such a blessing having her there so calmly in charge and Anna there entertaining and crafting away with my kids. When Abe was a toddler and Daisy was a baby, the first two times I dared leave them both with a babysitter, we came back to not only a screaming baby, but a weeping babysitter. Two times. With two different babysitters. I think after that I have always felt a little like asking someone to babysit is akin to asking them to spend an evening in complete and utter despair, so Mike and I don't leave very often, and this was nice. Very nice.

I don't know that Mike and I did anything spectacular. When we first got to the hotel, I started saying how I could picture exactly what our kids would be saying if they were there -- as they ran around checking things out. "Daisy! Look there are two ways to get through to the bathroom!" "Oh! Look! We can see the pool right from our window! OH! And there's a deck! How do we open the door to the deck, Mom!?" "Hey! You guys! You're not going to believe this! There are TWO TV's!" and so forth. After describing our hotel to Mike through our kids' eyes, I told him he should stop talking about our kids so much. Then I told him how I was so proud of Jesse when he ambled into the kitchen and asked me for a chip the other day.

After that, we were able to have nothing but full and total grown up conversation. Like about whatever happened to Mike Tyson, and what frozen yogurt flavors we would choose instead of the ones we did choose.I meant to document the whole trip in photos, instead, it never occurred to me once to get out the camera anywhere on the strip, only to once or twice take a photo of us while we held the camera ourselves in our hotel. Then I snapped a shot of him shopping for shoes and he took a picture of my reflection in a mirror as I waited for my Caesar Pita at Chili's. That was about it as far as pictures went.But, I do love being with my Mike. I see him so few hours of most days, that it is nice to see that even when I get to spend all hours of several days with him I still want . . . well . . . to just keep being with him. We drove home and I read to him. We used to read a lot together before we had kids and when they were littler, but have gotten out of the habit, so that was enjoyable for me. I had to drop him off at the airport to pick up his work car that had been left in long term parking from a business trip earlier in the week, and found myself liking that even for the last hour of the drive we chatted a bit on our cell phones and didn't seem to want to hang up.

I know there are times and seasons for things, and mostly, between lacking vacation hours, availability of reliable tending, cost of everything, etc. this is not the time and season for Mike and I to have lots of vacations all alone together, but I sure wish it was! I would love leaving with just the two of us a little more frequently!