We're Back....

Well I went two weeks without the internet!!! The local library does have internet access but I promised S that I would take a vacation from my computer and I have to admit that it was nice. Yes I had 350 emails when I got back and I am not even close to catching up on reading all of my favorite blogs.....but for 2 weeks my computer sat under the bed and I spent my time doing other things :)

Last month after her vacation, A Buns Life split her vacation summary into two parts :) She started with a blog all about the good things that happened and then shared all of the "bad" things. I loved this approach and thought about doing something similar but then decided to get the bad over with in one sentence and then focus on all the GOOD that happened. I think this will work a lot better for me :)

Before I start with the bad, let me preface my one sentence with this......it RAINED for 10 out of 14 days!!!! So what happens when you put 9 adults and two small children in a small space in the rain? The BAD.....It was cold and rainy for much of the vacation, people went a little stir crazy, we had too many people in a small space, babies were crying, adults were crying, there were few places to relax in the rain, feelings were hurt and there were many arguments over stupid things.

Aahhhhh....I feel a little bit better after that ;) So now on to the good :)

Despite one of the worst summers, weather wise, that I can remember....we had a great vacation at the lake. The lake has always been a place to kick back and relax. We are a little more go go go now that we have Z but we still have a more laid back approach to life when we are there. Many friends have come to the lake and asked, "What do we do now?" and we answer with..."This". That is what we do...nothing! We swim, read, play games, eat, drink and occasionally go out and do something. It is very low key...the way we like it!

We spent a lot of time on the beach over the two weeks. We played in the sand, built castles and played with trucks. There were some good swimming days and we even swam when it wasn't so nice. We had lots of water fights, jumping competitions and just plain splashing around. S and I took many rides out on the Jet Ski (he loves to hear me scream in terror as he turns really quickly) and Z and I took a nice boat ride with my dad and some friends to get ice cream.

We are a very competitive family and so there were many games and competitions played throughout the vacation. Our mini-golf game was played in the rain (I won!!!), we played lot's of card and board games (this game is awesome and this adult game got ugly!), we watched lots of Olympic coverage and even organized our own family Olympics (I got the silver). Z loves the lake and did not let the rain stop him! He played basketball, t-ball and his first game of bocce and he really enjoyed being with the older kids (there are some older boys in our community who Z loves!). S and the guys got out to play golf 3 times and my two brother in-laws enjoyed some fishing. We even had one night of stars so we let Z stay up until after 9 to help us count them :)

My sister, mother and I felt the best thing to do in the rain was shop :) We went to the country store a few times and even hit the outlets twice :) The second time was without kids and I have to say that was one of my best days! I actually got to try on clothes :) It was fun being with my mom and my sister and I got some really good bargains for Z and myself!

And then there was the food and drink! We ate really well over the two weeks (so much ice cream). We shared the cooking responsibilities and even went out to eat 5 times (I got to have my favorite mac and cheese in the world). My sister, brother in-law and I went to a wine tasting and came home with lots of fun treats. We had a few margarita nights, rum punch, lots of beer and wine and bmy brother in-law enjoyed this. Thankfully I joined a gym and kept up my running to help combat all of this eating and drinking. I came away the same weight as I went in (not sure how that happened).

Over all it was a great vacation with the family. We had a lot of laughs, made some great memories with the kids and I actually completed a book! Z and I are off for one more week on Saturday (S will join us on the weekends):) This time there will be less people and we are hoping it will be a little more relaxing. We shall see.