A breath of fresh air...

I know it's been a while (once again). I'm not going to go on and on about how I have no time as that would just be obnoxious! Right?!?!? I absolutely can't believe it's almost been a month since my last post. I actually miss writing more than you know but it's just one of those things that I'm having to put on hold right now so I can focus on what's most important...family. During this period of time where there is a lack of writing, I'm really hoping I haven't lost any of my fellow blog readers. I will be returning to work soon (2 weeks to be exact) and ironically should manage to find more time to blog.

Lets move on to what's been happening in the Odom world. Oh, the crazy Odom world! I must say there is never lack of entertainment in this house. I guess it keeps life interesting! Last week we were able to get away for a family vacation. Boy, how we needed this! We all loaded up in the Passat (not quite sure how we all still fit in this coche) to head down to South Padre Island. It was great to catch a breath of fresh air in more than one way. The obvious way was just to get away, be with family and be out in the openness of the beach and ocean. It was beautiful (even if it was South Padre) and very relaxing. After much distress heading up to this trip, it was nice to get out there and try to free my mind (not always easy I must say). It was also nice just to get out of this stuffy house. Doing the same thing every day becomes a bit daunting to me. Unfortunately, once I go back to work, this will get even worse as I'll be back to the same monotonous work routine. I spent some time trying to figure out how can I make it all more interesting and not so monotonous. Also, how will I fit it all in...work, family time, exercise, friends, me time, etc. Plus, I don't want to just fit it in but I want to fit it in and do it all well. Is this possible?!?!?!? While in SPI, I think Clay was doing the same thing....trying to figure out exactly what he wants to do with his career and what he wants out of life. I guess these are questions we all battle as adults. As Clay and I contemplated life, Lola, on the other hand, was just in hog heaven! That child love, love, loves the beach, ocean, swimming...all of it! It was so great to see so much joy in her eyes every morning when she woke up. Gaines...well... he didn't really have much of an opinion. We just put him in long sleeves and pants and tried to keep him out of the sun. He definitely caught up on sleep which leads me to believe he'll be back to no sleep this week but we'll see. So far so good as he is sleeping now allowing me to type this blog. Thanks Gainesy! Of course, as I sit here I fear every little rustle over there in the cradle. When I hear this smallest peep I tense up and think "OH NO...my blog time is over".

To make the trip even better, it just so happened that some of our long time best friends were there at the same time. This made the trip just that much better. It seems I had hit a point where I really needed to be surrounded by friends who know me well and truly care about not only me but us as a family. It was great to be able to tell all without judgement, get advice and just have a good ol' time. Below are some of the moments we were able to catch on camera.

This fabulous site was our home away from home for a week!

This was the jist of it for Gainsey! At least he got some R&R.

Lola, Isabel & Caroline. She talks about these girls pretty much non-stop. It's real cute seeing her follow them around.

Isabel, Caroline and Gaines.

There was lots of digging and making of sand castles.

Lo has become quite the little swimmer. She has no fear in the water! These are her new shades. She feels very confident in them.

Lola has been asking to go kite flying for months now. Glad she was finally able to fly one on her own.

We went back to the Sea Turtle Conservatory. Very inspiring I have to say! Definitely makes me feel like I should be doing something more meaningful work wise.

I forgot to mention there was a shark siting. Actually two sharks. Not even kidding...our friend Mark saw them with his own eyes. YIKES!!! This kept me in the shallowest of shallow waters. I'm not a big fan of sharks.

BTW... I didn't make it through writing this blog without Gaines waking. At one point I found myself trying to upload pictures while feeding Gaines. Somehow I accomplished this task. I was able to free one hand by using my chin to hold the bottle in Gaines' mouth. Oh yea. This is what I have to do to get a blog posted. I also had to forgo exercise and a shower for today but I'm happy that I'm actually about to push "Publish Post" for the first time in a while. Not an easy task! Now I have to unpack, wash clothes, get the house put back together and scrub this place clean to get ready for my parents coming in town this weekend. Yes, all of this will take the full week. Also, it's time to reorganize the closets and get the fall clothes out...YEA!