I have a sister

Yeah, we've been home for almost two weeks and I still haven't done a vacation recap.  I also didn't unpack and do vacation laundry for a week and a half after we got home, so this is about right.  But it's important recap because important things happened while we were on vacation, like I almost died.  But that'll be the next post because otherwise, this one will get crazy long.

But the other stuff first.  Namely, my kid is pretty much almost sorta kinda able to swim and let me tell you, the difference is night and day.  Before, she was so wary of the water that I'd have to hold her nearly the whole time we would be in the pool and that got so old so fast.  Now, we can be in the pool alongside each other and it's so much more enjoyable.  To you, there may not be much to see in these videos, but to see Sofia jumping in the pool by herself and dog-paddling her way around the pool makes me so ridiculously proud of her that I pretty much have to show you.

So here's my kid, sorta kinda almost swimming and it's the cutest thing in the world.  And if I knew anything about making movies on my laptop there would only be one movie instead of two; my apologies.

We were gone for two weeks and we spent the first week in Charlotte with Nate and Julie.  You remember them, right?  Drew's brother and his wife? They're Sofia's godparents too?  We went to their swankalicious wedding?  Well, we got to hang out with them and they turned us on the to The Discovery Place and we spent an awesome afternoon there and Nate and Julie solidified their spots as Coolest Auntie and Uncle Ever.

They played at the giant water table.

They shopped at the grocery store.

We even talked about how pastured eggs are always better and more humane

than eggs that come from sad mistreated chickens.

We even had time for a quick stop at the bank.

But soon enough, it was time to pack up the car with all of our ten thousand things and head on down to the beach.

No seriously, we brought everything.

Our villa in Hilton Head was amazing.  It was actually bigger than our house, which was a major treat.  Drew and I could be in the bathroom together!  At the same time!  And not risk an elbow to the eye!

Such nice digs!

I was wary of the full size kitchen and the full-size washer and dryer that was in the villa

because cooking and doing laundry was NOT my idea of vacation.

Thankfully, Drew did all of the laundry and most of the cooking so it felt like

I wasn't actually on duty.

Why am I always pregnant when we have a jacuzzi tub?

One of these days I'm going to get to use one of those things.

We made short work of unpacking and high-tailed it down to the pool, where we spent most of our time because Sofia wanted nothing to do with the beach and she was too young for all of the activities at the resort.

This was the first day, within a few hours of our arrival.  Shortly after this shot,

Sofia looked at us and said "Okay, let's go to the pool now."

Also, going to the pool requires a minimum of three bags.

It was a really great vacation; Drew didn't have to do any work whatsoever.  I think he answered an email or two but he didn't have to take any work calls once we got there and let me tell you, that's as rare as a unicorn sighting so I was super grateful.

I also met my sister.

We met with her and her husband for dinner one night and I don't think I've ever been more nervous.  I wanted to vomit and cancel and run and hide, but I made it through.  We arrived at the restaurant before they did and so we saw them walking up.  I immediately knew it was her; she has my dad's nose.  So do I.  *We* have *our* dad's nose.  I only had a quick second to pray that I wouldn't say anything stupid before they got to the table and that was it, no turning back now.

They sat down and thank God for Drew because he's good at this sort of thing and just jumped right in, doing what he does and breaking the ice.  I felt more comfortable and found myself loosening up.  Also, thank God for Sofia because it's super easy to talk about my kid and she started asking me all about her and that served to put me even more at ease.  Before I knew it, we were chatting like we were good friends.

She and her husband are really good people, you can just feel it.  They've been married for 25 years, they enjoy each other and they seem happy with life.  We did talk about our dad, but not as much as you'd think; this wasn't about him and how much he sucks (even though he does.)  This was about us getting to know each other.  It was about us finding our way in a new relationship and I'm so pleased to say that by the end of dinner I didn't even want to vomit anymore!  Wanna know something super crazy?  We have some of the same mannerisms!  How weird is that?!  I said something and gestured somehow Kenny (her husband) did a for-real double take and was like "Lord if that isn't Donna just now!"  She laughed and was like "I know!  I do the same thing!"  Is something like that even possible?

We finished dinner with the promise that we'd get together one more time before they left and we gave them a ride to their car.

 And now, for the perfectly awful picture courtesy of the valet.

I mean, I know it was nighttime and the flash makes everything ugly, but still.

The next night, they came to our hotel to hang out with us and we FaceTimed with

her kids.  I mean, my niece and nephew.  They were super polite and friendly and 

they were so sweet with Sofia, which made them a-ok in my book.

I wasn't sure how process the knowledge that I had a sister and that she's known about me for years and years and I've only known about her for just a couple of months.  However, she is so nice and her husband is just one of those guys you want to have a beer with, that you really can't help but feel at ease with them.  They were both so easy to talk to and I found myself relaxing more and more around them.  

We've already spoken a couple of times over the phone and she has even offered to come up and help when the new baby gets here.  My mouth fell open on that one, but she was serious and who knows, I may take her up on it.

I don't know how our relationship will develop over time, but I do know that I'm glad that I didn't cancel dinner, and I'm really glad we finally met.  She is an amazingly sweet person with a really good heart and I could use more people like that in my life.

I'm thinking it's a pretty cool bonus that she's also my sister.  Huh.  Who'da thunk it?  Me, with a sister.

How 'bout that.....