Vacation

Do you remember how slowly time went by when you were young? Especially when looking forward to some exciting occasion? Christmas was the slowest to arrive yet seemed to last for more than 24 hours. Each moment seemed to stretch into a small eternity. No more.



I don't like to vacation early in the summer. I like to have something gorgeous to look forward to during the hot and hazy days. The years we've gone away in June happened WAY too quickly. At least by saving the vacation until August it seems to slow time down ever such a little bit.


Of course, I'm sitting here typing on the Monday morning AFTER our vacation. We vacation simply for many reasons. The first reason is financial but really, it is the way we prefer. So, we spent a wonderful day at Hershey Park. The weather was beautiful, not too hot, not too cold. The kids had a glorious time. I can remember thinking my mom was such a doofus because she got sick on rides. Guess what??? I'm a doofus. The older I get, the more nauseous I become on rides. I blame the kids. When I was young I could (and did) ride anything. After child birth it started with the spinning rides. Yep, felt like morning sickness all over again. This year I discovered that I get nauseous on roller coasters too. I rode a couple anyway....that's just the kind of gal I am. My favorite ride???? The bumper cars. Ok, I loved Zoo America, too.

The ocean in the morning

Mike commented that when he was a kid there was NO WAY he would go to Zoo America. We feel fortunate that our kiddos enjoy both things....the thrill of the ride and the contemplation of the animal.

Burying his brother in the sand.

The end of the week we spent camping at Cape Henlopen State Park in Delaware. We love it there. I woke every morning to the most amazing bird song. It was joy in the dawn. It was odd to see so many trees and no squirrels, though. We did see a few dolphins when we walked to the beach one morning.

My sand angel

My favorite moment? Watching the boys run into the ocean with joyous rapture on their faces. My boys love the water. It was especially wonderful to see Nathan happy. He's a teenager and often sullen. I think it is some combination of teenager and autism that makes him often reclusive and his face a mask of indifference. My mother's heart breaks so often at the apparent lack of joy in his life. I hope and pray it is just a phase. So my heart was full for a few days to see my young man show outward signs of happiness. We must get to the beach more often.

Boogie board mania.

It rained the night we were intending to head out to the boardwalk. The boys were disappointed but we assured them we would spend our last afternoon there. It was hot, to be sure. We walked, we wandered into shops and then began searching for a lunch spot. Nathan disdained every little restaurant at which we browsed. Why can't a teen ager just let his wishes be known ahead of time? Pizza? Sure. Oh....pizza on the boardwalk, not in town? Sure. Thanks for telling us. So, pizza at Grotto's (yum) in a sit down booth (thank you Lord), three times in a row on the crazy spinning ride (kids only....how can they spin that fast after eating all that pizza and not throw up???). Ice cream on the way to the car. Nathan told us he was so happy we decided to go to the boardwalk last because he likes to save the best for last. Bliss.

Diary of a Wimpy Kid Do It Yourself Book (hey....they're writing and I didn't ever ask them too!)

Now we're back to the old grind. Nolan is at camp this week and I must eradicate bamboo. Don't ask. It's horrible. Cooking camp is off but I did offer Nathan 5 days of school credit if he started in on some of his work. His choice. He thought about it for quite a while and then said ok. I told him I'd give him the mornings to himself (while I struggle with the bamboo) and then we'd start in on school after lunch. I really love having some wiggle room to take days off during the school year.