July 4th in West Virginia

We are quickly adjusting to our new home away from home. We are currently sharing a four-bedroom college apartment with our friends from Wichita here in Morgantown, West Virginia. We will be here for the next few weeks while Marc takes a tropical medicine class through the medical school here at West Virginia University. I am currently on "leave" from work until we return to Wichita and enjoying staying home with both kids while Marc is in class all day. I have felt so much less stress since being here. I am now realizing the many roles I was trying to gracefully juggle while still working full-time. I have always been a fairly efficient person which helps me get done what needs to be done while still working full-time, but it is amazing now how much easier it has been for me to tend to my home duties like cooking, laundry, and running errands now that I am home with the kids. It has been a much needed break and I think the kids are enjoying more time with their mama. :) I am blessed to have some great nappers so when I plan Hailey's afternoon nap with Eli's I usually get a 2 1/2-3 hour break which is when I cook dinner and catch up on some email or read a book!

We had a great weekend finding some new treasure spots in Morgantown and relaxing with some new found friends. We decided to abandon our original plans of going to DC for the 4th since Marc had to be back for class by this morning and DC is about 3 1/2 hours away. I think the kids probably appreciated us not putting them back in the car for 7 hrs. after they spent 20 straight hours in the car a week ago. So instead, we met up with another couple (and their two boys ages, 4 and 9) who are here for the class and went to the river to watch the fireworks. This was the latest we have kept either one of our kids up (we got home around 11pm) but we had a great time.... and Eli LOVED the fireworks. Marc put some earplugs in his ears when it all started and he sat still in Marc's lap through the whole show. Hailey tried to doze off to sleep on my lap, but I could never get enough of the noise muffled out for her with the jacket I had over her ears. She was a trooper!

Eli loved chasing these balloons all over the place before the fireworks started.

The fireworks show was great!

I will try to be better better about putting posts up during our stay here, but while I have found more time to do certain things during the day, computer time has not been one of them. :) I hope you all had a Happy 4th!