Making the Best of Alone Time

 This last week was both difficult and fun. It was lonely yet full of company. The hubby was out of town this week on business. I absolutely hate it when he's gone. With him away I can't sleep at night so that leaves me sleep deprived, which in turn makes me grouchy, which then makes the whole gang suffer. But we did what we could to make the most of it.

We spent a lot of time with friends and went on lots of outings to make the days go by quickly. We had a campout in the backyard one night. And my best friend Marie came over with her kids. We had tacos, did s'mores around the fire, and played on the swings. It was a wild night but the kids loved it. I took a mixture of shots. Some ended up being taken with my camera phone so that is why some are not as clear as the others. I love these two photos of Miss Emma enjoying her s'mores.

 

 

Here we are getting all set up to camp and the kids testing out the tents.

And here's the girl who helped me make it through the week! I am such a wimp with Dan being gone for just 1 week. She's had to be without her second half for a month and just found out she won't be seeing him for another 2 weeks! I love you Marie. You are truly the bestest friend any girl could have.

Getting to sleep was a bit tricky. The kids were too excited to sleep. We had our prayer, song, sharing what our favorite part of the day was, and then it was sleep time. YEAH RIGHT! The kids and I giggled and wrestled awhile and had fun taking silly pictures on my phone. The troops weren't asleep until long after 10:00. WHEW!

There's something about sleeping in a tent that makes the kids think that 6:30 instead of their normal 8:00-8:30 is the time to wake up. (insert tired moan...) That made for a challenge the next day but we still went for it!

We took the kids and their bikes to play at the park and had a picnic lunch of mac n' cheese, applesauce, and Ritz crackers. It was nice to sit and chat in the shade and watch the kids run around.

I love the Twinner vans in the background too!  That was not planned but goes to show you another reason Marie is my girl! We've got practially the same ride. Except mine is a Toyota and her's is a Honda.

We parted ways for the afternoon so we could get some laundry and housework done. I cleaned while the kids played outside with the neighbors. It was pretty hot out there so I turned on the sprinklers and let 'em at it. I love our neighborhood!

That night Marie and I got together again and we went to the YMCA for some zumba! All the kids got to go play in the toy room while Marie and I danced away our stress. It was a great ending to the day.

I am happy to report that Dan made it home this morning around 2:00 a.m.! I had just dozed off an hour before that. So glad to have my sweetheart back. He still had to go into work this afternoon to get things to a point where it's ok to leave for a week again. But this time we get to leave together. We're headed to the beach! It's our annual  Glenn family reunion. We're going to be camping for a week. Glad I did a test run so I could make some adjustments to our sleeping arrangements.But tonight I think I will enjoy a FULL nights sleep!