I'm Baaaaack....

Yes, I am alive!  I am finally returning to normal life after 2 wonderful weeks at the beach.  It was the perfect end-of-summer vacation and I learned a few things while I was away:

1. 2 week minimum.  A beach trip should be no less than 2 weeks long.  It takes at least a week to unpack for an entire family (or just to recover from packing an entire family) and to just settle in.  Plus when you stay for two weeks it isn't nearly as hard to leave.  Sure, I was a little depressed driving across the bridge but after 14 days of sun and relaxation I couldn't really complain.
2. Don't set your standards too high.  Before I left I broke my neck to upload all of my pictures (2,051 of them!) to Shutterfly so I could organize them on my laptop while I was away.  I didn't even open the laptop once and you know what it felt good!  I loved not having my phone by my side 24 hours-a-day and to not have a computer at my disposal.  I completely checked out it it was glorious!
3. Motherhood never quits.  We waited the entire summer to go to the beach.  My kids were in great health all summer.  Day 1 of this vacation my son developed a fever that we would later discover was due to hand, foot, and mouth.  Moms DO NOT get vacation time.  Luckily I came prepared with Tylenol, Motrin, Benedryl, and a thermometer!
4. All beach rentals should come with a lazy river within walking distance.  There was nothing better than floating around that figure-eight with no destination.  
5. Vacation is only as good as the people your with.  There is nothing better than eating, laughing, and just doing nothing with the people you love.  

This summer was really great around here...we instated a weeknight "happy hour" that involved fruity cocktails and the grill, we spent a lot of time at the pool watching my oldest learn to swim alone, we did a whole lot of nothing and threw our schedule to the wind, and I got to celebrate another birthday which was a week worth of feeling loved!  On top of that I also crossed something big off my Bucket List: running (ok run/walking) a 5K!  This 2 week vacation was the perfect way to cap off a great summer!  Now I can say I am fully ready for a new season, colder weather, soup for dinner, and some free time thanks to preschool!