Vacation

I could use one. But didn't you just get home from vacation, you ask? Why, yes, I did. That was a family vacation. And as anyone who's ever been on a vacation with 3 boys knows, you need a Mommy vacation when you get home. We prefer the kind of vacation where you drive to your destination, which, of course, involves a pool, no matter the weather. Once there, you don't leave until the week is up, and its time to pack and go home. We stay at places with full kitchens so there is no deciding where to eat, then coralling 3 boys at a table while they wait for their food, which, of course, they will eat in half the time it takes you to eat yours. We sleep in, go to the pool, watch a movie maybe, and repeat. We usually don't want to come home. This trip, however, was much different. Left Friday after school, and by Monday, I was reconsidering the remaining 4 days. I love my children dearly. There are times, however, when they drive me mad. There is one middle child, who shall remain nameless, that has days where he wakes up and spends the entire day coming up with ways to make everyone else miserable. I must say, as far as talents go, he's very accomplished at it. Monday was one of those days. Once it begins, there is no way to stop it--believe me, I've tried. And tried. Well, we survived that day, just like all the others before it, and Tuesday was the mirror opposite of Monday. Monday was rainy, Tuesday was beautiful. Monday everyone was cranky (as a domino effect of one cranky individual), Tuesday everyone was all smiles. Tuesday was one of those days that makes you glad you didn't do anything drastic on Monday.

You know you're vacationing with boys when one says "How about a smelliest fart contest?" and you're the only one who doesn't think it sounds like a good idea in the closed up minivan. We did manage to make the whole week without any vomit, so that's a first. If anyone cares to know, we survived all of the following:

Saturday
Geocaching
Trip to Oatmeal and Bertam
Picnic and playground
Ice cream

Sunday
Longhorn caverns in Burnet
Alamo Springs Cafe in Fredericksburg
(Yes, we drove an hour and a half out of the way just to eat hamburgers at one of the top 3 hamburger joints in the state. It was worth it)

Monday
Capitol
Dr. Seuss exhibit at the Art Museum
Texas Memorial Museum at UT

Tuesday
Breakfast at Rather Sweet Bakery in Fredericksburg
A visit to a magic shop, which they loved
Nimitz Museum
The HUGE George Bush Gallery of the Pacific War
Lunch at Rather Sweet
A little shopping
Ice cream
Enchanted Rock

Wednesday
Tennis (Coy wouldn't rest until we played)
Austin Children's Museum

Thursday
(My favorite, with Tuesday a close 2nd)
We spent the day at a near-by park on Lake Travis.
Just walked along the edge of the water, the boys collecting rocks, and played.
Ice cream

Friday
Packed up, left out early, headed to San Antonio
Visited the Alamo
Lunch on the Riverwalk at Casa Rio
Stopped at a dairy in Schulenburg
HOME SWEET HOME!

Anyone else exhausted yet? Of course, someone not accustomed to vacations with children may not be impressed that we lived to talk about this week, but those of you who've done it, you understand. I'll be perfectly content if I don't have to pay to park for another year, or find my way around another downtown district that I'm not familiar with. Yes, the Ice Creams were worth mentioning, because they were probably one of the boys' favorite parts. I think next time we'll find a pool, I'll buy every variety of ice cream on the market, and we'll call it a vacation. It'll probably be the best one we ever take. Sarah