Okay, Maybe It Was A Pity Party.

Alright... Maybe I was being a touch negative when I listed everything gone awry in one 24 hour period, but you gotta admit that this trip has gotten off to a rough start.

We did not make it to Colonial Williamsburg because of the constipated tunnel, but we ended up spending the day at Virginia beach... And if a day on the ocean is our plan B, then can I really complain?? Now that I have some perspective, I can give the overview of the past couple days without spiraling into the deep-dark.

After Washington DC, and after the urgent care stop, we finally made it to Virginia beach, where we have been saying with Tom's Uncle Paul. We got in around 11:00ish at night and the kids were exhausted and starving.

Uncle Paul, being a more-than- gracious host, greeted us with homemade personal pizzas and a bucket of toys from the "sand bunny." (thanks a lot Uncle P, we had sooo much room in the van for more loose items.) :) We were also greeted with indoor plumbing, which we had been missing sorely.

After spending day 6 at the beach with Uncle Paul, we had an amazing dinner and spent the evening sharing ridiculous stories (and critiques of the various stages of Tom's facial hair growth) with Mr. Todd and Ms. Julie, Uncle Paul's neighbors.

I don't know if Uncle Paul knew what he was getting himself into when he allowed the six of us to visit, but I have a feeling it is a bit of a departure from his cool, bachelor living. I have a feeling that there have been more spills (and food eaten) in his house on our two night stay than there have been in the past year before we arrived.

In keeping with tradition, some things had to get a little crazy. I discovered that I had some sort of poison ivy, JUST under my wedding ring. So, for the first time in 9 years, I took the ring off for the day. And it got lost.

After a thorough search of every drain and surface, we finally found it in the dirty laundry pile. It was a little stressful, but all is well, expect for my finger is itchy.

We are heading now to Colonial Williamsburg, the tunnel appears to to be flushed free of all blockages and we traded the defective stroller in for one with ALL FOUR wheels! Things are looking up.

Because of all the craziness, we have had to rearrange the itinerary several times. This means that we are gonna cramp Uncle P's style for one more night... And then we head to North Carolina.

Well, that is the plan... But we've all seen how well our plan goes. So, I guess we'll see. We had a little conference with the kids, and we talked about how the trip has had a rough start and that it seems like maybe we should pack it in and go home... But after a family vote, we unanimously agreed to push our luck, and push through in the hope that the worst of it is over and that we can still have a great time.

I am a little skeptical about how the rest is going to go, but I will take skepticism over the desire to fake my own death. I consider this an improved state of mind, so on we go, like total fools ignoring major signs to go home.