Actually




Actually, for all of the talk of our "vacation" and given the setting, you would think we returned relaxed and rejuvenated, but not so much. Because you see, the term "vacation" should be used loosely. In fact, this is old news--I lamented the loss of old school vacations way back in 2007.

And this time, we had two kiddos! We have new admiration for our parents after this lesson in endurance. So, we moved households over to HHI for two weeks. We had visits from the Heidels for a few days and the Habel-Bachelder crew (3rd annual) for just about a week. These had to be the best houseguests ever in terms of good sense, good humor, and lots of pitching in. The last post included Heidel pics and here are the Habel Bachelder pics sent to us. As these pictures indicate, lots of popsicles/ice cream pacified the little ones, and porch cocktails mollified the young at heart. And all of the smiles and laughter kept us sane and wishing our time would never end--especially the time post-8pm when certain small fry were sleeping.

We spent a lot of time calculating how next year would be easier: Alice will be almost 5, Elsie almost 4, Claire almost 3, and Kit 18 months. Surely, they will be able to transport themselves to the beach, Salty Dog, petting zoo, and Harbor Town then. And they will all be potty trained and play solo for hours on end and take long leisurely naps and sleep in and will eat without argument.... Anyway... And then we spent a lot of time remembering what got us to this moment--all while enjoying our "vacation" in paradise.

And speaking of remembering, nine years ago today is still ranking as one of my favorite days and we are already planning to celebrate our tenth anniversary next year on a vacation without quote marks.