And Maddie too

The romantic getaway to the farm Airbnb was Jason’s birthday gift from me; my birthday gift from him was a luxury cabin close enough to home that we could still go to church, but far enough away that it felt like a working/schooling vacation.

School at the dining room table

School in the sunny patch on the floor

And it was over Jed’s fall break so he could be there.

School and snacks in the kitchen

And Maddie came too.

We had ping-pong and pool and foosball and a hot tub, plus plenty of space to stretch out and cozy up.

School in front of the fire

School in the loft

Deer outside the back door

Flower dissection for biology

 

Romantic getaway in which we (mostly) stay in our socks

 

Ada, looking super pretty, just graduated from the orthodontist, with her newly pierced ears

As soon as volleyball and the girls’ birthdays were done, Jason and I headed for the hills.

 

We stayed in the Airbnb I booked back in the spring for his birthday present.

It was on a farm and had walking trails into the forest.

Heroically going first and protecting us from spider webs across the path with his spider-web-whacking stick

This friendly little guy followed me with his tail wagging when I ventured to explore on my own one afternoon, which I was glad for since I didn’t really know where I was going. He did keep trying to steal my spider-web-whacking stick though.

But mostly, we lounged, played board games, drank wine, read Sherlock Holmes, fixed ourselves nice little meals, and had a Die Hard marathon.

When Jeddy came to visit on Sunday, Caleb hurried to show him all his latest plans.

Those happened to be on single pages. Sometimes the plans look more like this:

Anyway, it’s good to be back home.