Day 11: The Best Night Ever.

Day eleven was J and the bigs last full day on vacation before taking the long road trip home and J really wanted to go explore Yorktown and Historic Williamsburg. Because it was something I knew he really wanted to do, we all went along with it, but let me tell you, it was the longest day ever.

Aunt Laurie, T and M at lunch in Yorktown.

We seemed to hit traffic at all the wrong times. The sky went from grey to drizzly to hot and sunny in moments. And it felt like we saw way too little and spent way too much time in the car.

My aunt had planned a nice dinner at home that night for us and we also wanted to get some nice family pictures on the beach and by the time we got home from the all day adventure, we were exhausted and rushing about.

We held it together even though there was tension we were all trying to fight through. I started worrying that even if we managed to make it through dinner and down to the beach before sunset that it'd be a mess, the kids were tired, we were tired, I was feeling sad about J and the bigs soon departure. Sometimes our minds get a head of us.

And then something happened, because it just ended up being the best night ever.

The best.

We went and did our pictures. Everyone cooperated.

Then we went rented a bicycle for six and biked up and down the boardwalk. We had been talking about doing it since the day we arrived and saw the funny looking bikes going down the way.

We were laughing. Oh were we laughing.

Singing. Smiling. Just having a grand old time. It didn't matter that it was late at night and past all of our bedtimes. We were having fun and enjoying that one last night together.

We were all happy. Completely in love and happy about life and each other and just relishing in the night.

And after we returned the bicycle and met up with my aunt who was waiting down the way, we saw some musicians singing and playing. And there were people dancing.

And even though we were exhausted and way past all of our bedtimes, and we were sweating, we just danced. And danced and danced and danced with fireworks going off over the ocean.

It was a fabulous end to a not so fabulous day.

And as we walked to our van to drive the five blocks home for our last night all together, H was crumbling at our feet. He was tired, and spent, and there were some very hard days for him on vacation and T, just scooped up his not so little four year old brother and carried him.

This family of ours, I wouldn't trade for anything simply because, of the nights like this.