We arrived back home Saturday evening after a full week on the Outer Banks. Our time away was restful and rejuvenating. The rental house was mere feet from the beach. The views were breathtaking. We slept late, played in the waves, swam in the sand, collected seashells, kayaked, climbed all 247 steps of the tallest lighthouse in America (which my calves felt for days). The kids particularly loved the Jacuzzi of all things.
We loved our time away, but we loved coming home even more. By Wednesday, day 4 at the beach, Lincoln was wishing for a piano. By Thursday, Sidney expressed homesickness. Within minutes of arriving home and unloading the truck, first Prairie and then Lincoln was at the piano. Sidney did pull-ups, exclaiming “Oh, I missed our pull-up bar!” And all the kids groaned in pleasure after their first gulps of North Carolina well water. The beach water was bad enough that we relied on bottled water.
We came home to grass that needed mowing, animals that needed care, unfinished work left on our desks, schoolwork to be caught up on and normal routines to dive back into and we were oh so grateful to be back to it all —- HOME.
Prairie Sings 
Such beautiful writing.
you are a tad biased sister
We love walking into our house after a few days away and breathing in the smell of home. Nothing like it.