And We're Off...

...like a herd of turtles, as my immortal (to me) piano teacher, Mrs. Byler, would say!

After so many days and weeks of anticipation and counting-down, we've finally arrived at the night before vacation! Josiah has been faithfully taking one link off his chain every day, and in the picture below he's holding the final link. He's also proudly displaying a craft he made this afternoon--it's a little fishy, if you ask me! :)

The minivan is mostly packed already, and there are just a few last-minute things to do. All in all, this has been a relatively stress-free packing experience for me. I got out the suitcase early in this week and have been putting things in it as I go along, and that has taken a lot of pressure out of the final day.

I've been reminded again of the division of labor that we have in our family when it comes to preparing for trips: I pack the suitcases, and Jeff packs the minivan. I love this way of doing things! I'm so grateful for the fact that he has the job of figuring out how to fit everything into our vehicle!!!

Changing the subject a bit, the boys and I are getting over our colds; and last night was a MUCH BETTER night of sleep for everyone--hallelujah! :) The new item of concern is that Josiah has developed a rash which showed up for the first time last night, basically was gone by morning, but now this evening has popped up again. We're not really sure what it is; but since we're traveling with a doctor, we feel pretty confident in going ahead and making the trip. :)

Our plan is to leave here at 6:00 am tomorrow. Anybody want to guess how many minutes AFTER that we actually depart??? :)