Some Vacation Highlights

Some highlights from the vacation -             

We all fit into the minivan quite comfortably.  Two car seats in the 3rd row, MIL and SD in the middle 2 captains chairs, me and hubby up front.  One dog (Big Brown) in the aisle in back; Jack Russell Terror at my feet.  Thank goodness we had the foresight and good sense to get the cargo box for the top though.  It made all the difference in the world.

My MIL being on the trip also made all the difference in the world.  What a terrific help she was looking after the baby while I went to the beach, folding our laundry,  and walking the dogs for starters.  We ate out some, ate in some, she compliments my cooking, she looks forward to happy hour as much as I do, and she just loved being with her grandchildren.  It was so very obvious just watching her with them.

Jackson was afraid of the water - both the pool and the ocean - but we got him jumping into Daddy's arms into the pool by mid-week and jumping waves by the last day.  The last day was picture perfect and made for a really nice take-home memory of our vacation. 

Let's see for some of the funnier moments Jackson learned how to boss Alex around the way she tries to boss him around.  She told him to be quiet because Kate was sleeping and a short time later she was being loud in the car and HE told HER to be quiet because Kate was sleeping.  Before he discovered the ocean would not swallow him alive he had Jeff and Alex running to fill buckets of water for him to play in the sand.  At one point I heard him say "more ocean" as he handed the bucket to Jeff.  Very cute.  Not so cute was that he dumped out the dogs' water bowl every chance he got whether it was inside or out....I read two books - Silent Partner by Stephen Frey and Perfect Match by Jodi Picoult - drank quite a bit of wine and several margaritas, ate seafood every day but one, overcame my aversion to seeing myself in a bathing suit, caught snippets of my soap operas a few times, and bought us all a Corolla sweatshirt.  (ok, I'm pathetic, I watch soaps - why do you think I'm so hell bent on working from home?)  Pictures to follow.