Well, I was back in town by the 4th...
...but I didn't make it back online when I meant to! We took a long trip to visit all the relatives, some of whom we haven't seen in over two years, and so Mike could go to his 20 year high school reunion.

From west Texas, we drove to Arkansas to visit my folks, then to Georgia, to visit Mike's 94 year old grandmother who still lives at home and does all her own house- and yardwork (I want to be like Nanny Jewell when I grow up!), and on to Florida to spend a few days with Mike's family. Then we made the whole trip in reverse, leaving our two oldest at my mom's house in Arkansas.

In all, we covered about 3300 miles in fifteen days! Our kids are good travelers, but I don't think I'll ever make that long a trip with a nursing baby again. Having to stop every two and a half hours or so to nurse the baby sure made it take longer than it would have otherwise.

The two oldest are back home now, and since we took a break beginning in May, today was our first day of the new school year. More on that later.