The Trip of a Lifetime . . .

One year ago today I was on a plane with my sweetie, flying over the Atlantic Ocean for an indescribable 11 day vacation in Europe. I just reread the journal I kept during that trip and found myself sighing, giggling and outright laughing at the very fond memories we created on that journey with my brother Matt and his wife Mindy.

Since I wasn't blogging at the time, I felt it would be appropriate to pay a little homage to our European Adventure on the blog today - Our Official One Year Tripiversary. (Don't be expecting anything deep and meaningful here . . .) I won't be going into great detail - I did that in the journal - but here are a few little nuggets of truth I learned on our trip:

1. Traveling with another couple is a total bonus - as long as it's the right couple! Matt and Mindy were such troopers and highly entertaining too! We laughed almost as much as we walked and climbed stairs. I really didn't think I would enjoy spending eleven straight days with my brother (I knew Mindy would be a ball), but it was really so fun to be with him.

2. Can spouses survive an eleven day vacation and being together 24/7 ? Would we still like eachother at the end? Would we fight? Would I need a vacation from him after the vacation? This trip with the Hubby turned out to be complete bliss! It was like a second honeymoon - where we actually got to go out and see sights! After the eleven days I was truly sad to part with The Hubby as he went back to work and I went back to full-time mothering. We started planning our next trip together immediately.

3. It's hugely important to leave your kids with the right people -- and those people are their grandparents. We flew Travis' parents out to watch the clan for ELEVEN DAYS. That is an insanely long time in the grandparenting world and I will be forever grateful that they said yes. Our kids had only been in school for a week, so the grandparents were instrumental in helping to cement the whole new schedule thing into place. Not only did we come home to three totally happy kids, we also found projects had been completed in our house - seriously, my kind of vacation.

4. It doesn't matter how healthy you are in your real life (if you know me, you know I fall on the side of healthy eater who loves good junk food) - on a European Vacation you should EAT and EAT GOOD! Crepes, schnitzels, pastas, pastries, ice cream, sodas, quiches, pommes frites, gyros - you name it, we ate it! And I don't regret one single bite.

5. European Fashion is so great. Each stroll down a street or ride on a Metro in Paris was like a mini fashion show. The women were so put together and lovely. The styles were many and varied, but always looked good on the wearer. It was exciting to see, but also made me feel very frumpy - especially since I had dog hair due to a broken blow dryer and flat iron.

That's all I really have time for today. I can end this blog by noting that I can't wait for our next big trip. This trip last year was one of the most enjoyable things I've ever done. One year later I'm still basking in its rosy glow with a smile on my face!