Things did get better

While my previous post described most of the drama from our last trip to Maryland, the last couple of days we spent with Bryan's family were actually pretty fun.  (You know, once we got past the requisite car problems, camping catastrophes, and projectile illnesses... :)

As evidence that storms really do pass, here are some pictures from the end of our trip:

Eating homemade ice cream at Grandma's house.

Mmm!  Peach and blackberry!

Picking berries in Grandpa's garden.

We even got to play in the new pool Bryan's folks have put in.  And, while it was certainly a minor drama compared to the rest of our weekend, I did have a little bit of swimsuit sadness this trip.

Here's the swim suit (bought at end of year sale last season) and cover-up (made specifically in anticipation of our big beach trip) I had planned on enjoying on the trip:

Not a great picture--I took it after sewing the cover-up to make sure everything was hanging right--but I really like it turned out!

And here I am playing in the pool.  Yep.  I forgot to pack my swimsuit.  Going to the beach for the first time in years and I forgot my suit.  Aaaaaand, to top it off, when we went into town to Walmart they had just finished clearing out their suits for the year, so I got to rock a tank-top-with-built-in-bra on top of awesome hot-pink sport-shorts.  Oh well! :)

Check out Robyn's super swimming skills: she and Amber learned so much at swim lessons this summer!

We also took advantage of Grandma's Jacuzzi tub afterwards.

Rub a dub dub: how many kids will fit in a tub?

Making a goatee look good.

Meow! :)

Cute matching skirts made by Bryan's mom for church on Sunday:

And, last, but not least, an amazing "crab boil" eaten on the balcony with Bryan's family the evening of our anniversary.

Bryan and Kelly dump the boil out onto the paper.  No knives and forks for this meal!

Oooooh: Maryland crab, root beer, and the best husband in the world.  Life is good.

For all our misadventure, I can't get over how blessed we were through everything that happened on our trip.  It wasn't exactly how we planned, but we felt fortunate to have been kept safe, both on the road and during our camping.  We also encountered some of the nicest people you could hope to find, especially on the side of a road in Pennsylvania.  We had a great time with Bryan's family (more so AFTER the camping was over, but you know, it's all good) and even managed to find a replacement van while we were down there.  That seems especially crazy considering we spent *months* shopping for our Sienna and then somehow managed to find a used Odyssey that matched all of our criteria, that we were able to pay cash for, that was successfully vetted by a mechanic, that came with a one-year nationwide guarantee, and that was located just a couple miles away from where we were staying, all in a couple of hours over the weekend.  It was even the same forest-green color of our old van, which made my green-loving husband happy.  

So that's how we wrapped up the first eight years of marriage.  Here's to an eternity of adventures yet to come!!  

P.S.  Here are some pics of the new Odyssey.   (Mom read the post and wondered where shots of the new van were, so here they are, just for her. :)

Still green.  It's like they knew Bryan was coming...

It's more than a decade old, but it has low miles and there are some things I really love about the new van.  Like the deep cargo space in the back!

Expect to see this as the setting for future traumatic vacations.