It really is nice to be home. It's always like that, right? As amazing and relaxing as vacation is, it's always good to come back to home base where you can lay on the carpet without thinking about what else is laying on the carpet, where you can take a really hot shower, where you can STOP eating everything you see every 5 minutes and not feel like the Goodyear blimp, where you can check out your tan lines, and pore over the pictures from an amazing week playing in the water, feeding ducks, petting frogs, eating peaches, getting ice-cream, going fishing, shopping, and laughing.
We went up to Lake Ann, Michigan for the fourth year in a row....Georgia's third....my parents rent a cottage there for all of us each year and I think it's safe to say it's officially a tradition. There are so many things I could tell you about our week up north and so many pictures {of Georgia} I could show you but I think what I'll do instead for right now is give you my top fifteen highlights of the week as caught on my phone............here goes....
First.....a full week with Chris and Georgia. No work, no meetings, no evening appointments, no schedule, no where we have to be, no stupid little fights about tone of voice (wait....what...we don't have those)......just a glorious week spent together in the sunshine and water.
Second....early morning boat rides and fishing trips into little bays littered around Lake Ann. We'd throw on some jeans and sweatshirts or just stay in our pajamas and motor around the lake with Georgia (who we'd bribe into taking her medicine with the promise of a boat ride--oh yeah...she came down with a wicked bladder infection two days before we left).
Third....Georgia loving her daddy. I think it is crucial for Georgia to be able to spend a full, uninterrupted week with Chris where she can see him all day long, swim with him, eat lunch with him, have him get her up from her naps, and fall in love with him more than she already is.
Fourth.....high expectations. My dad and I love puzzles. I promised him I'd bring one that we could work on throughout the week. I purchased the world's most ridiculous puzzle that I think only Rainman would be able to complete. A bazillion piece puzzle of cupcakes....every other one with the same sprinkles as the one to the right of it, all with the same colored frosting, and just plain insane. This is the puzzle on Friday afternoon before we left.......today......Saturday. Yep....high expectations are great......delusion is not. Thankfully, the high expectations for the week as a whole were spot on--the puzzle...not so much.
Fifth.....discovery. Georgia was so excited every time she found one of these little shells. We spent a lot of time combing the shore for these little guys and had a pretty good collection at the end of the week. And every time she found one it was the first time all over again. I wish I could bottle up that two year old excitement and wonder and take a big swig of it when I'm living in my cynical, cranky, adult world.
Sixth.....swimmers itch. Hmmmmmm....makes a good story right. Apparently, when freshwater lakes, a really hot summer, and a lot of ducks meet, their love child is swimmers itch. Chris got a pretty good case on his legs....I'll spare you the picture and we got a good laugh out of it. Word to the wise....if you know this is a possibility in the water you're swimming in.....shower right after you get out.
Seventh.....curly suckers. Oh....what a mess this was. But, Georgia loved it and of course Gaga was just eating up every moment of her having this....all over her face, her sweater, in her hair, on my arms.....it was great....it really was; it's what vacations are for.
Eighth....catching her first fish with daddy. I'm sending this picture to Field and Stream.....my avid fisherman husband holding his Cinderella fishing pole. There has to be a spot on the pages of their magazine for something as cute as this.
Ninth....Leland. This is a must-see on your tour of great towns in up north Michigan. This old fishing village is home to tempting little shops, delicious smoked salmon, good people watching, and a great cloudy day activity.
Tenth....being a tomboy. What I love about Georgia is that she loves putting on make-up with me in the morning while I'm getting ready and then she loves catching ants while we take a walk. I'm going to work my darndest to help her keep loving bugs and frogs and dirt......just as long as she shares that love with a mascara wand too.
Eleventh....perfect picnics of smoked salmon, french bread, sharp cheese, tomatoes, and grapes.
Twelfth.....brandy peach pie. It's really like putting a piece of heaven in your mouth. In fact, I'm pretty sure we'll eat this in heaven. I'll post this recipe on Mom Colored Glasses in about a week....stay tuned.
Thirteenth....serenity. I'm not a nature girl....I'm really not. But, when I'm here it's hard not to appreciate the calm, the quiet, the peace, the nature....oh, those Pure Michigan ads...they're getting to me.
Fourteenth.....beach projects. My mom.....who can think of a craft for every occasion, season, purpose, outfit, and party has made sand-casts a tradition on every vacation we go on where sand is involved. We commemorate something great about that vacation in these plaster casts and have them forever. Again....I'll post a tutorial on Mom Colored Glasses next week.
Finally....satisfaction. Satisfaction that we've lived life for a week that is full of memories and laughing and learning and getting better at new things (and old things).......that we've appreciated each other more, that we've practiced being calm and still in a world that is crazy and hectic (one that we'll return to shortly) and that we've woven one more very strong thread into the fabric that makes up who we are.
See you next summer Lake Ann.
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