Summer fun!

We had a wonderful mini-vacation! No episodes, no illnesses, no nothing...just had a nice relaxing weekend. Our best friends (my best friend from junior high married Josh's best friend from high school, making them the perfect couple for this kind of thing) shared a cabin with us, which always makes for a good time. We spent a good deal of time at the water park, but I also found time to read half a novel. We stayed up late, talking, playing Mexican Train (dominoes), and having drinks after the kids were tucked into bed. The kids were just happy to be somewhere new and the water slides were a bonus. The weather was miserably hot midday, but the mornings and evenings were perfect for sitting on the screened in porch to have breakfast and dinner. It was a great little trip all around.

As for normalcy, well, if you think your kid might be approaching normal, spending a weekend surrounded by neuro-typical kids at a water park might weaken those illusions just a tad. KayTar was consistently outpaced and outmaneuvered by kids up to three years her junior, little 18 month old toddlers jaunting around far quicker and steadier on their feet than she. On our (oh so sloooow) way up the stairs to the water slides we were elbowed and pushed and passed by 3.7 million children. Of course, she doesn't notice, so it wasn't a big deal. The park was also VERY noisy, which means KayTar couldn't hear us at all. With her one functioning ear, she can't filter out ambient noise and hone in on the important sounds, she also can't discern which direction sounds are coming from. We'd have to run over and touch her to get her attention and then speak directly into her ear if she went too far or if we had to tell her anything. There was also the little issue of light sensitivity. Even so, she's light years ahead of where we thought she would be by now and we manage within our constraints QUITE well. We are a well-oiled, if slightly off-kilter, machine. We all had an amazing time together!



The cabin had a cool little loft sleeping area. Josh and BubTar slept there and KayTar and I shared a bedroom.

The sun was too bright for KayTar, so we'll just photoshop her in later.

All ready to go!



This big picnic basket filled up with water and then dumped every 10 minutes or so.

BubTar LOVED it.

He's a big fan of being drenched in general.









KayTar loved the slides!

She did a pretty good job of keeping her shades on while we played.

There was a little petting zoo, which was more like a feeding zoo. The animals were behind a fence, so there wasn't much actual petting.

Someone was worn out by all of that fun!

It was great fun all around and we're already looking forward to our next vacation in a little less than a month. Until then it is back to grind, tonight my new math session starts, the next two Saturdays are filled with swim meets for BubTar, then we have family coming to stay with us. It has been a busy summer, but I think it is passing at just the right pace, plenty of time for both work and relaxation.