I swiped this picture of Kalena’s visit off my sister’s blog. (You can read more about how much fun Kalena had over there.)

She and Patrick are such great friends, it makes me sad that we don’t live closer to each other. Fortunately we’re going back after Christmas!

Here’s the deal. Brian needs his tonsils out. And being a student means there are two times of the year that can happen: 1) over the summer or 2) over Christmas break. Those are the only two times where there’s enough time to recover. And since Brian will hopefully be working over the summer, we opted to have him do it over Christmas break. (Also, we’ve known about this for a few months now, so Christmas was sooner.)

Anyway, for those of you who don’t know, I had my tonsils out when I was 22. I am WELL AWARE of how much the recovery sucks. Spoiler: A LOT. (8 years later I can still VIVIDLY remember the horrible aftertaste everything had.) I spent two weeks taking percocet round the clock and sleeping pretty much constantly. I ate only enough to keep the percocet from upsetting my stomach, and I was basically only awake to eat. When we decided Brian would be getting his out over Christmas I thought, “He’s not going to want to do anything. How can I help him not have to do anything?” And my answer was– take the kids and leave! I’ve had a few people tell me I’m heartless for leaving him alone after surgery, but I really think it’s best. For one thing, he won’t be ALONE alone. My parents will be here, even if they’re at work during the day. For another thing, he won’t actually be doing anything he needs help with. Tonsillectomy recovery involves a lot of pain, but he’ll be fine to get himself something to eat (like a popsicle), and shower, and change the show on Netflix, which is pretty much all he’ll need to do. Not having the kids around to bother him will be MUCH more helpful than having me around.

So we’re going back to see my sisters and stopping for a couple nights in Denver to see my good friend Laura. (Whose parents are graciously letting me invade their house with my 3 children.) The kids are thrilled about going, especially Will since he didn’t get to go last time. (Also, especially Kalena since she already misses everyone. Really it’s just Daniel who’s indifferent.) And that’s my long and pointless post about why I’m taking the kids to Pueblo after Christmas.