Home at Last

Our last days in Cancun were spent laying around. Bruce received enough UV exposure to put nails in his coffin, I hid in the shade and read furiously. Two and a half books in 6 days- not bad. The flight home was not terrible- we took a bump from Continental that resulted in a $400 credit and an arrival one hour earlier in SLC, so we were pulling in at home when the New Year arrived. I'm not sure what a $400 credit from Continental is actually worth...based on past experience, I think we could probably drive to the airport, sit on a plane for a few minutes, then turn around and go home.
Yesterday morning, we picked up Kiki from Grandma Ellie's house. We were headed to Logan where Bruce was going hiking and spending the night in a yurt. Bruce wanted to make an earlier start, which is what he always says before pulling out the frying pan and starting a batch of bacon. I dropped him in Jeff's capable hands, then Rose and I and our assorted children grabbed some lunch before Kiki and I braved the snow for Pocatello to get Kate. I was so happy to see her. It has felt like so long. We spent the night in Pocatello- the Banagrams got vicious, but we are all still speaking- then I retraced my footsteps back to Logan to get Bruce, and finally, HOME.
Our vacation was fun, but I must admit that I was terribly homesick the whole time. It was so hard to be away from the girls during the holidays. Usually when we leave they don't even miss us, but this time was hard on them too. So, a little note for the future: Holiday vacations should be family vacations. Don't get me wrong- I love to get away as a couple, but next time it will happen at a different time of the year.