well . . .

I seem to be struggling with some writer's/blogger's block with these trip posts. Everytime I think about doing it, I just feel . . . stuck. Lots of pictures, from multiple devices, and I can't seem to think of how to organize them all to present in blog posts. I don't know what my deal is. I think I will tackle it eventually. Just please be patient. :)

One thing I can answer is how my pain was during the trip. Hm. Zac drove the entire way, thankfully. So I could sleep and take my drugs as needed. The ends of the day were the hardest for me. Pain levels the highest, kids getting cranky, Zac getting drowsy. Good times all around I guess. We drove about 12 hrs each day (3 days there, 3 days back) so it was just long. At the beach, as expected, the sun and heat exacerbated my pain. I had to lay down each afternoon to nap, which put a damper on how much we could do (Zac couldn't manage the kids by himself with too many crazy things. Neither could I, for that matter.) So, sometimes I felt bad about that (putting a damper on things). I think the kids were content to sit around the condo and watch the Disney channel (something we don't have at home), but of course I felt guilty because we did not drive all the way across the country to sit and watch more TV. Ugh. Oh well. We did the best we could. And we had a lot of fun, all things considered, I think.

I am grateful that my medication was helping somewhat, and reducing my pain to manageable levels for a lot of the time. Without that, I don't know how I would have survived.

And it was so great to be with all Zac's siblings and parents and nieces and nephews (excluding his brother in Alaska and his family, unfortunately). I think everyone was remarkably patient and considerate of each other and it made everything wonderful to be there as a group.:)

So! If anyone has anything to help motivate me to blog more about the trip, send it my way!! I want to do it.
I do.

let's start at the very beginning

This recent trip reminded me of my first visit to Ocean City, NJ in May 1994 with Zac. Ohh, this guy. What would I do without him.
Here he is this time:

And here we were then:I visited him there, his hometown where he lived from the time he was 11, before he left for his 2 yr missionary service. So this visit I felt a lot of nostalgia, mixed in with remembering having to say goodbye to him. Boy oh boy! Emotions!

And then in 1997, after I had returned from my mission, we again went to the boardwalk when I came up to see him. The very first night I saw him again (after 3 yrs of only writing letters), we rode on the big ferris wheel. I think he held my hand.

So Ocean City holds a lot of significance for me. It was his hometown. But it was the place I said goodbye to him, not knowing what the future held for us. And then hello again, and figuring out what our future was going to be. Crazy stuff!!

We hadn't been back there since his parents moved to Indiana in 2001 (?) and we moved back to Utah. It's been a long time! And we hadn't seen his sister and her family either who still live in NJ, so it was a trip long overdue.

His family had decided to arrange a sort of family reunion there with his parents and all his siblings gathering there. It took over a year in planning, reserving the condos, making the required payments in advance etc, so it was kind of a big deal. One brother and his family moved to Alaska mid-planning and decided they couldn't make it. But his other 2 brothers, their families, us, his parents and his sister and family ended up sharing the 2 condos. It was quite the adventure!

Beginning, of course, with our road trip. Are you ready for this?!? haha . . . here it comes! :)

oh hello again

This is where we've been. :) We went on what the kids referred to as "the vacation of our lives." Meeting up with most of Zac's family in his hometown of Ocean City, NJ. We shared 2 next-door neighbor beach condos. I have a lot of posts to come! Oh boy.

Zac didn't want me to post anything about us leaving (either here or Fb, etc) so that I wouldn't "announce to the whole world" that our house would be vacant and available to rob or plunder. I'm not sure that we really have anything of interest to any potential thieves, but I guess I see his point so I tried really hard to comply (it was so hard!!!). But anyway - we are home now after 2 crazy weeks (3 days driving there, a week there, and 3 days driving home). The good thing about driving is that there isn't much vacation blues afterward - after 3 days in the car, you are just so glad to be home again!! Our own beds! Our own toilets! No more crying and whining and fighting from the backseats. Ahhh it's good to be home! :)

I've done 7 loads of laundry so far. I stepped on the scale this morning and my jaw literally dropped. But I exercised yesterday and today and didn't have *severe* pain, just moderate (haha), so that's good I suppose. And I just wanted to check in and say hello.

By the way, if you aren't already you should follow me on Twitter and Instagram!! That's where al the good stuff is (most of it copied over to FB to my personal friends and family, of course). But on Twitter and Instagram, I am Kristenj_C and I would love more followers. Come find me! :)