Insert whatever vacation-ending cliché you desire (party is over, back to reality, etc.) because we returned home to Myrtle Beach late last night. A week in the Florida Keys was just what the doctor ordered to re-charge my batteries. More importantly, the southern voyage allowed me to watch my sister-in-law and new brother-in-law tie the knot.

When I have more time to sit down and write it, I plan to publish a vacation summary post early next week. But until then, I just wanted to check in and confirm that things went well and, despite almost missing yesterday’s flight, we are back on South Carolina soil.

But I guess I also wanted to do one other thing besides just “check in.” While I am saving the details of the trip for later, I can share the second-best part (first being the wedding) about our time in the Florida Keys. Although the resort was beautiful, the water blue, the food delicious, and the weather perfect, it all pales in comparison to the opportunity I had to spend eight straight days with my wife and daughter.

Spending time with my two girls for eight days straight was incredible.

With our jobs, daycare, and other demands, we don’t spend as much uninterrupted family time together as we would like. With what it takes to run a household, it is pure reality. But to be able to escape to a tropical paradise for a week sure helps to dull it.

The three of us ate together, played together, swam together, and went on a road trip together. But the best part was probably just being together. You see, we shared a villa with my in-laws and the three of us stayed in our own little room. To go to sleep at the same time and wake up at the same time each day was a special blessing. Each day at around 7 a.m. the sun would shoot through our window, slowly waking us up. To have Sloan beckon us with her outstretched arms from her pack ‘n play, located just inches from our bed, was sweet. I think I will always remember those mornings.

But that’s it for now. I am still transitioning back to real life and need a cuddle session with my two favorite girls on the couch…after being at work today, my Sid and Sloan withdrawals are very real! Don’t Blink.