Sweet Sweet Summertime

Well, it looks like summer is coming to a close for us.  School starts back next week and with that there will be a few new additions to our already busy schedule.  Ryan is running cross country this year and has already been in training the past month or so.  Emma is moving up to level 3 in gymnastics which means an additional 3 hour practice each week and that she will be participating in meets.  Of course as luck would have it, Ryan's meets are on Saturdays which is the same day as Emma's second practice.  I joked on facebook the other night that we will be "meeting" ourselves coming and going. haha!

So, we'll be busy these next few days trying to get in as many of the 'sweet sweet summertime' fun things that we enjoy so. 

For the girls, that just so happens to be watermelon.

Happy Thursday!

A Laid Back Vacation

Vacations are important to our family, seems like whether it's a year of feast or famine we get in one kind of vacation or another. A few years ago Ryan had set a goal of visiting all 50 state capitols and so we started trying to schedule our vacations in different areas so we could fit in a few visits. Prior to that we had pretty much just always gone to the beach, but we had gotten a little tired of the same ol' thing so the state capitol tour was a good diversion. However, my family let me know this past year that they were tired of these 'on the go' vacations and went so far as to accuse me of 'force marching' them. Now that's what every mother wants to be known for - 'force marching'. Ryan lobbied very hard for the beach and so the beach it was.

So our vacation this year did not include a single trip to a state capitol - although I did try to get one in while heading down there, but it wasn't open on Saturdays. But our vacation did consist of:

• Sleeping in
• Swimming in the ocean
• Playing in the sand
• Staring at the colorful beach umbrellas
• Taking a nap or two out by the ocean
• Drinking coffee and watching the dolphins swim by
• Swimming in the pool
• Back to the beach
• Back to the pool
• A trip to Lambert's where they throw these huge rolls to you - lots of fun!
• Ryan spent quite a bit of time just swinging in a porch swing that overlooked the ocean - and making new friends.
• A requisite trip to drive go karts
• And last but not least, eating our fill of seafood

All in all ... it was pretty darn relaxing!  We just might have to do this again next year.

My Sweet Family

Banana Boat Time

This so far has been Emma & Ryan's favorite beach activity!

Greetings From Gulf Shores Alabama!

They may not always go along with my plan ... but I sho' love my kiddos!

Plan Vs Actual, Part II

I was in such a hurry the other day that I left out several points of interest.

• When I mentioned the sticky notes, what I left out is the fact that I had loaded up my iphone with some of Brian's favorite music and even drove so he could zone out, enjoy the trip & listen to some ol' tunes.  So he totally missed the brouhaha over the sticky notes. 
• I mentioned stopping not too far out of town, which really messed up my gas-fillup plan.  So by the time we do finally REALLY need to stop, Rebecca is snoozing away.  One thing we've learned from experience that a Rebecca that awakens on her own is a little angel from heaven.  A Rebecca that we've woken up is a little ... well, let's just say there's pouting, fussing and leg kicking.  It's not pretty.  Brian has a term for her in that mood "snarl-puss".  So about the time the red light is about to come on little sweet Rebecca wakes up - so it's time to get gas.  But my "plan" involves only stopping at certain kinds of places for gas and those certain kinds of places HAVE to be on the same side of the highway we're traveling down.  A little OCD, maybe.  But by this point we couldn't be choosy and we were left with two options.  One was a run down truck stop that was right beside the "Pine Wood Spa" which was a "spa" in a metal barn.  Can't say that I've ever seen a spa on the side of the hwy in a building like that!  No, we didn't stop.  Which left our only other choice as a tad bit less sleazy of a gas station.  I take the girls to the bathroom and it has vending machines ... Emma reads them and as she's reading "red hot love potion" and the like she asks "Mama, what's that?".  Better ask yo' papa.

Thankfully the beach is making up for that road trip!

Plan Vs Actual

When it comes to traveling, I have a precise way I like to do things.  From packing the suitcases to packing the van ... to what is w/in arms reach of the van - and what's not ... I've got my way.  And it's the best way.  Haha. 

But what's the saying, something about the best made plans?  The funny thing is - as much as I have a plan - I have 4 others who don't always go along with it.

Here's some examples. 

• The plan - the van is full when we leave so that we can get several hours down the road before we have to stop.  Actual - Just about an hour of town we have to stop because someone I know and love had several cups of coffee before we left.
• The plan - I pack a cute little carrier with healthy snacks.  The main reason is financial - so that we do not end up buying things at every stop.  Actual - First stop, Brian buys coffee and the kids declare it's not fair so we end up with beef jerky and chips.  Those chips go well with a just vaccummed van.
• The plan - a dollar store bag of goodies so that when the little ones get restless I can pull something out of my bag of tricks and that will buy another hour or so of peace.  Actual - silly me bought one package of sticky notes thinking of how much fun they would have with them.  Did I mention the one package was $1?  After them arguing over who got what for 10 minutes I was kicking myself for not buying another set.  Heck, as aggravated as I was I was wishing I had bought every pack of stickies they had. 

I think the picture is clear so I'll stop there :-)  So very thankful when I get the hotel in my sight!