Vacation

We just got back from the first vacation we have had as a family. We went with my husband Peter's family. There were 11 of us that drove up from Texas, plus a couple of days where Peter's brother and his wife joined us for one big crowd.

The traveling there went better then I expected. However, no one expected that it would be my 2 year old son Marcus who would get car sick. About two hours into the second day he let loose and a wave of groans came from the back on forward. No one seemed too upset when we stopped at a candy store to get Marcus and his car seat cleaned up. The sad thing was that we came prepared with bowls, but they only work if you let others around you know that you need one!

The rest of the travel trip was mostly uneventful with crackers, dried fruit, and cheese for lunch and eating at fast food restaurants for dinner. There were a few moody times, but that was pretty much to be expected with 11 people in a van for 12-14 hours a day. Add some younger ones and you have an interesting trip.

Finally we arrived in Indiana, where Peter's brother, Sam, and his wife, Naomi, live. We spent the night there. Most of the family went for a morning walk with Naomi and the dogs. Peter and I took a nap and then grabbed some coffee in the lobby. It was great. Then it was off to a picnic at the lake with Naomi's family, or a few of Naomi's family. It was beautiful, relaxing, and fun.

Peter and I rode the rest of the three and a half hours up to Michigan with Sam and Naomi. It was a lot of fun and we talked the whole way. It was the first time that I had met Naomi and the first time in the three and a half years that I have known the family that I saw Sam truly happy.

A walk along the beach front in the dark was the end of Monday. Tuesday dawned in bright. The great thing was that we got Marcus dressed and sent him out to play with Aunts and Uncles while we slept in. (Who really wants to get up at seven in the morning? Other then Marcus and Caleb, Marcus' 11 year old Uncle). Relaxing, reading, bathing in the sun, enjoying the beach, and even more so the trees. It was great. A dip in the lake proved that the two summers in Texas had made me wimpy, but it was none-the-less fun.

Wednesday brought a bit of frustration and it seemed to take up way too much time. We were supposed to pick up a rental van so that Peter could get all of his Grandpa's tools to start his own shop (Grandpa, sadly, can't use them any more). Peter's mom had worked hard to make the arrangements and made sure that Budget would allow them to rent the van (our credit card isn't big enough) and then have Peter (who is under 25) drive it. This didn't work out. At the counter they said it was impossible to do that and there was nothing that they would do about it. All in all, it was rather frustrating.

Thursday brought a huge turn of events. Originally we were going to rent the van, travel across Lake Michigan with the rest of the family, visit extended family in Wisconsin, go to a wedding, and then drive home caravan style. Instead, we were going to rent a U Haul truck and drive down by ourselves, early.

We felt a tad bit bad about driving down while the rest of the family went across the Lake. At least till we heard the story of everyone getting sea sick (well minus Marcus, Levi, Isaac, and Dad). That pretty much made it all okay! Anyway, we relaxed while taking our time down to Texas. Peter's family had our two year old and it was odd being without him.

We stopped for the night in Rolla, MO with a coupon for an inexpensive hotel. As we got to the counter she let us know that she had just rented out their last room. That left us looking for another hotel. We ended up at one that cost a lot more then the first, but we were tired and in a hurry to relax. We ended up with a huge bed that was sooooo comfortable. Breakfast was good and we got to sleep in (our schedule!). We got home late (about 1:30am) Saturday night with two whole days worth of vacation.

It didn't turn out to be that great and we worked hard to get everything done. We had to unload the truck, fix our car (we came home to a flat tire), and get the truck back. We also needed food in a bad way. We did get some relaxing time once all the business was done and we had a good two days.

The only thing sad about vacation was that we had to go back to reality come Tuesday. This week hasn't been all that long (after all we had Monday off), but it seems to be a really long week!