We just returned home from a fantastic family vacation. On this vacation we did not spend a lot of time at theme parks, or even visiting with friends, we mostly just hung out at the pool with the kids, and spent time playing games, and making meals, and being with family. It was an incredible vacation, and extremely enjoyable.
The highlights:
Dillan really got the hang of swimming. He has always been a water baby, but on this trip, with so much time spent at the pools, he overcame a lot of fears, and really applied himself to swimming. He can now swim as far as he wants, and turn around and come back. It was fun to watch him test his limits.
Alexis not knowing a stranger. She made friends with every person she came across at the resort. She would introduce herself, ask where they were from, if they liked to swim, if they knew how to swim as well as she does, and on and on. Within 5 minutes just about everyone she came across fell in love with her. On one evening we went to a street fair in Palm Springs, and a random woman came up to me and asked if I have ever considered modeling her. She said she was so beautiful and had such a great personality that I should really try to cash in on it some how. Haha!
Derrick learning new words, and trying them out constantly. He learned to say all the names of his cousins and aunts, and while he has been able to express his desire to eat for some time now, he honed it to an art. He was very vocal about wanting "breakfasss" and would say "Want eat breakfass" over and over until the pancakes were served. He would also let us know when he was hot, tired, wanted a treat, a "poppopsis" (Popsicle) and the like. Another great moment was when Derrick absolutely fell in love with a little brindle pit bull puppy. He kissed it, hugged it, and decided he wanted to keep it as his own. Fortunately, despite the momentary mutuality of that desire, I came to my senses and remembered how much work a puppy is. Needless to say, we did not come home with a dog.
On the drive home there were probably 15 rainbows, many of them double. I got some great pictures, and will upload them later. It was fun to point them out to the kids, and listen to them exclaim happily over them.
Every day we were there was close to or over 110 degrees. So, the pool became a regular respite from the heat. We went after breakfast, after lunch, and often just before bed. Needless to say the kids slept well. We also saw a few movies. It was fun to take them to Despicable Me. Alexis was very involved in the movie, and came close to crying during a few parts, and laughed during a few. It was fun to see her enjoying the movie more than the treats. Derrick on the other hand just wanted to roam the halls and look at the candy dispensing machines in the lobby.
This will be our only vacation for several months since Dillan starts kindergarten in a few weeks, making it more difficult to just pick up and go, and Brett has to save his vacation time for our big trip next year. But it was well worth the time off and the long, sometimes not so pleasant, drives.
Back to reality though!
