Abbreviated Florida Staycation

Monday and Tuesday, I took my first days of vacation that I've taken since I got this job.  My sister and nephew were down for a vacation before he starts school after Labor Day.  We were the first stop on their tour:  they'll continue on to Kings Dominion, a theme park in Virginia, and then on to my mom and dad's.

They were supposed to come on Friday night, but their flight was canceled because of weather.  Finally, on Saturday evening, they arrived.  We had time in the pool before we went to bed.  My spouse was bummed because it's his first week of classes, so he didn't have as much time with them as he would have if the original plans had stayed in place.  But we made the best of the time we had.

What I will remember long after the rest slips away:  the eclipse, of course.  We were lucky to have relatively clear skies.    It was a thrill.

The rest of the time together was spent how it often is these days when we get together:  we spent lots of time in the pool, time in food prep and eating, time to read, time for our electronics (mostly my nephew, who teaches himself all number of things--from mastering Minecraft to soccer strategies to how to win at the various constructions that came from the Rubiks cube--by watching videos).  Last night we broke out the art supplies and experimented:

We don't any of us have a chance to do that like we once did, so that was a treat.

I am sad to see them go, but I also know that we will see them at Thanksgiving--and given the rate at which the year is flying by, Thanksgiving will be here before we know it!