1st time away from the whole family

I had to spend my first night away from the whole family yesterday in order to attend a conference. It was not the most thrilling conference and involved me participating in a team in which extra work is expected. :( There was snow, sleet, and rain on the drive to the destination and I had a hotel roommate. To make the situation more stressful, Wink was called for jury duty and we had to scramble to find someone to watch both kids all day. It was the first time we've needed an all day babysitter. Fortunetly, my friend said she was available to watch the kids. They did great (both took 3 hour naps!) and played well with her kids. Wink was not called to serve so I didn't need to rush home so that we didn't need to find a babysitter for today...although that would have been a good excuse to leave the conference early!