It's been awhile since we've had a 'Sharps & Flats' epidsode here on the blog, so when I was trying to think of a way to concisely describe our vacation week, this format seemed to fit the bill.

There was one week this summer where Gerard & I could travel because of lack of obligation or we could move things around to make it so. That week fell in the last week of June and into the first part of July. Because we only had one week and not two, we decided to Divide & Conquer. Gerard traveled with his mom to visit his sister and her family (Mimi, Adam & Caden) in New Mexico and I traveled to see my family, conveniently all under one roof (Mom, Dad, Grandma, Katie & her daughter Camden).

Did you notice that our niece is CaMden and our nephew is CaDen? They are 5 months and 1-letter apart. Mimi & Katie definitely didn't plan it that way. It just makes for fun tongue-twisters...

So, I'll start with Flats since there were waaaay more Sharps and I want to end on a positive

note

. (Pun intended...) ;)

SHARPS

+obviously, spending time with family we only get to see

maybe

twice a year. I found myself referring to this trip home as a "Bonus Trip", because we usually get to Cali only once a year.

+Camden & Caden-they were learning new things everyday and their vocabularies are going to be off the charts! I now answer to "Terry" and have taught Camden the opposite of her favorite word "yes". (Beware the Terrible Two's!)

+watching Camden grow biceps that even I'm jealous of! I got to go The Little Gym with her for tumbling and she's incredibly strong and can do more pullups than many adults I know-including myself!

+seeing family I haven't seen in 5 years-Congratulations, Regan, on a beautiful wedding; and welcome to the family, Brian!!!

+serving our families. While I was looking after Camden, Gerard was looking after Caden or cleaning out Mimi and Adam's cars, including a wash and wax job. I cleaned out the refridgerators with my Aunt Laurie. :) Gerard sure looks like he's hard at work here though, doesn't he? :) I'm sure the following photo was just the start of Caden's day with Uncle G:

FLATS

-traveling separately and spending 9 days apart. Those days passed much easier because they were spent with family, but we missed each other nonetheless.

-the heat-we were both in desert zones and experienced obsene heat, but at least it was DRY and not humid.

-I am continually thankful that I grew up with parents in the airline industry because on the past two trips home, I've had to either run a mile or two through the airport to make a connection or fly standby on an oversold flight and arrive in a different destination than my original paid ticket was for due to airline error. It really pays off to speak their lingo and be your own (sometimes, politely pushy) advocate. I'm really hopeful this doesn't begin a trend in the Carrie's-Travels-Story-Book!