Girls Road Trip Edition

I did something I’ve never done before – gone away overnight with only my girls. I borrowed an electronic audiobook from the library for this trip and was able to listen to most of it on the way to our destination and back, either with the girls or while they watched a movie. I seldom listen to audiobooks because never-ending interruptions require constant, clumsy backing up and repeating on my iPod Nano. I’m still not sure whether audiobooks enhance or diminish my enjoyment of novels (I tend to prefer to listen to nonfiction books).

This particular story was narrated by a woman, but only one of the main characters was female – a Southerner. Nearly all the other characters were male, a few Southern, but most from a fictional European island in the North Sea. For those, she adopted a quasi-British, snooty-sounding accent. While the quality of the writing and the narration were both very good, I was underwhelmed by the story and never connected with any of the characters, most of whom bordered on unlikable. Was it the book? The narration? Both? What do you think of audiobook adaptions of fiction?

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The occasion for our trip was my niece’s bridal shower. Her bridesmaids made it a lovely afternoon, and my girls were enthralled with the whole affair (except that the three-year-old chose that day to get serious about potty training, requiring multiple visits to the restaurant ladies’ room.) I’m already wondering how to forestall all the tears at the upcoming wedding and afraid that if I blink, these two will be celebrating their own weddings.

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Our short trip also allowed for a visit with my mother. With only half the family visiting, we were better able to spend some quiet time at her home. Bonus: my seven-year-old got to ride Grandma’s stair climber, always a thrill!

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I treated the girls and my mom to Sunday breakfast at Eat’n Park (and brought some Pirate Smiley cookies home for the boys). My oldest daughter’s reaction to learning that her daddy used to work at that Eat’n Park: shock and awe. Sadly, there are no longer any Eat’n Park restaurants in our neck of the woods. Our kids would choose them over a five-star restaurant in a snap. It’s the place for smiles.

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The girls also had the opportunity to visit the local duck pond and feed the waterfowl. This may not sound like a big deal (I’ve probably done it a hundred times), but feeding the ducks is not permissible at our nearby duck pond. It disrupts their migration patterns or something. Whatever. My girls have been deprived of this simple pleasure, so they were overjoyed to throw pellets at the ducks.

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Meanwhile, on the home front, my two-year-old, who had never spent a night apart from me, did marvelously well. He apparently sleeps longer and better WITHOUT me around. Or perhaps it was the comfort of his big sister’s bed.

–7–

When we arrived home Sunday, my husband had prepared pulled pork on the smoker for us. They’d sampled some late the night before then enjoyed pulled-pork burritos for breakfast. It was delicious, and I didn’t have to cook!

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