Friday, after rushing around to pack, clean the van, and make sure I had everything I needed in the van, I drove down to Baltimore with another band mom (whose daughter is one of Audrey’s best friends here.) It wasn’t a bad drive, not too much traffic, and we made good time by ignoring the Mapquest directions. Thank goodness I’ve traveled down there often enough to know that you don’t need to get off 95, go around the beltway, and pick up 95 again after you circle Baltimore. Sheesh.

The kids arrived shortly after we did, and after everyone was settled in, we went down to a buffet dinner that was only slightly less horrible than every other buffet dinner in the country. We had some scheduling issues, in that the parents thought making the kids spend 8 hours at the stadium was less practical than bringing them back to the hotel, then finding that the hotel told us we could use the pool then decided to give the lifeguards the whole week off. . .I don’t think the kids could have cared less. They rehearsed, we packed up the equipment, and everyone socialized. Some more than others, if you know what I mean. Ah, to be young and outnumber the chaperones!

Lights out at 11 didn’t mean that everyone quieted down. It didn’t help, either, that the climate control in our room was broken and we had to open the windows to be able to breathe. So when the alarm went off at 5:45, I was only pretending to be ready to face the day. Sooooo tired! The kids were, too. You could tell because their performance on this sunny, pleasantly brisk day was not as good as the one the week before in the cold, driving rain! After everything was packed back up on the truck, the director decided that heading back to the hotel was a good idea after all. We said goodbye to the kids and hit the road for home.

My friend and I were much less garrulous on the way home. Thank goodness the traffic was good, again. The only delay was the lady in the Jeep who couldn’t decide where she wanted to be forcing us to get on the Turnpike instead of 295. From one lane to another, not signaling, keeping pace with the cars next to her while she made up her mind. Oh, well, we were back in New Jersey, that’s for sure. I slept for a couple of hours as soon as I got home.

Even though I needed that nap, it made it hard to fall asleep, and when the kittens began playing at 5:30, I couldn’t go back to sleep. I had promised the kids cookies when they got back, so I got up and started baking. I have never made so many cookies at once in my life. I should take a picture. Oh, look, I did!

That’s almost 500 cookies there. Holy cow.

I have no idea what went on down there after I left. I don’t know if Audrey is even on the bus heading home yet. I need to teach her about what her cell phone is for. All I can do now is wait – or call one of the chaperones and find out the ETA. Maybe I’ll have time for another nap. . .

Yeah. Three kittens snuggled together in the tube. This won’t last long, they’re getting bigger every day. All together now,

AWWWWWW!

Nigel, Schubert, and Nancy.