Okay, I'm ready. Reeeeaaaalllly read to go on vacation. T-minus 7 days until we leave on our much-anticipated time off.
And if the vacation/time-off wasn't enough of a pull... the beach is calling my name!
We have traditionally taken late vacations - many times as late as September & October. When you're involved in student ministry this is almost a must because summer's are your busiest time. I remember one summer that I was gone for three full weeks (not including all the night & weekend happenings) on church-related trips like camps & mission trips. That kind of schedule takes toll on you quickly. Fall time away was always a good chance for us to take a break & recuperate from the busy summer.

We're basically repeating much of last year's vacation to Myrtle Beach, SC. The timing works out great, in that we will get to the beach & basically have to share it for Labor Day. The rest of the week the beaches are pretty empty as families go home to get back into their regular work/school routines. The one over-arching thing that came out of our time at Myrtle Beach last year is that we, in Andrea's words, "fell in love with the beach/ocean."

So, we're headed back. The kids are pumped. Andrea & I are pumped. And I am now officially in that strange stupor between the elation of being gone in a little over a week and the stress of the work that it is taking to prepare to be gone for a week. I have double the work to do to get ready to go, and will have double the work to do when I get back to try and catch up. But it will be worth it. It will soooooo be worth it.