The Olson Odyssey: Uncle Chris and Aunt Karrin

Elijah had some special visitors at the end of August! I started to type that we had special visitors, but my sister and her husband would be the first to admit, they were here to see Elijah! Elijah adores them and they clearly had mutual feelings for him. They came for a week and it was such a fun time for all of us. I am ashamed to say, Karrin and I lost spades a few painful times, but some day, revenge will be had! We laughed a LOT playing games and really enjoyed our time with them.

Chris and Karrin spent the first couple nights seeing what Elijah's routines were like and then they did some sight seeing for a couple days. They returned and Aaron and I spent three glorious days and 2 nights by ourselves at a friend's cabin in the mountains. It was our first weekend away from Elijah since he was born. I spent a couple days before we left for the cabin feeling a bit sad and anxious to leave Elijah. I really tried to embrace all of those emotions and work through them beforehand so I could really enjoy our time away. I had heard from friends that they didn't enjoy their trips away because they missed their kids so much and by the time they got over it, it was time to come home. By the time we were ready to leave to go to the cabin, I really was ready.

Aaron and I had such a nice time connecting. We slept passed 10:00am each morning and took naps! We read books for pleasure! We didn't cook anything of any nutritional value! We played games. We went through a long process of family goal setting. We prayed. We read the beginning of a great marriage book by John Gottman And Baby Makes Three: A Six Step Plan for Preserving Intimacy and Rekindling Romance After Baby Arrives. We talked. We fought. We enjoyed each other. I was really thankful for the time away with Aaron.

We didn't have phone coverage so we had to drive back to the highway to call and check on Elijah. Now, I was ready to be away, but I had no idea how Elijah would do so I was eager to find out about his first night away from us. I was half way thinking that I shouldn't call. What if he is doing fine and then he loses it when he gets off the phone with us. Yeah, well, that's not quite how it happened. The kid was at the zoo, said, "Hi Mommy!" and eagerly pushed the phone away because some exciting animal was in view! It was such a relief! He learned his Uncle Chris is a push over and he can get just about any kind of sugary treat he wants from him. And, he really bonded with his Aunt Karrin. He love, love, loves them. To be honest, it wasn't easy recovering from their departure. Chris and Karrin, come back soon. We all miss you! Here are some glimpses of your time here!