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A Great Vacation

Usually when Russell takes time off we travel somewhere to run ourselves ragged having as much fun as possible at the "Happiest Place on Earth" or we sit and spit seeds and cheer our boy on as he plays game after game after game.  This break has been a little different.

It started on Christmas Eve and and I am sad to have it come to an end.  We took a vacation at home this year and I have to say it was one of our best vacations ever!  We packed it with just enough fun and just enough great food (okay, way too much great food:)) and just enough rest and relaxation.  All for just the right price.  Here's a recap:

*Johnny Carinos for dinner.  My kids were mortified when after I had been told they were out of limes I found the guy at the table next to me with a lime in his beer.  I politely told my waiter that if the guy next to me had limes, they probably had one for me too.  Way to go Tyler, I knew you could find one for me!

*Bowling on Christmas Eve.  Way to keep your cool Stockton!  Bowling is still a frustrating game for me.

*Mario Kart and Wii Fit.  Stockton thinks it is hilarious that Russell and my Wii characters are a little pudgy.  Not for long!

*A real movie with popcorn and a giant drink.  We haven't been since before Mason was born. He was great, Bedtime Stories was cute and the popcorn was delicious.  Thank goodness we found the binky that Mason catapulted 2 rows up in the middle of the movie.  Oops.

*After-Christmas shopping with Douglas.  He is a great shopping companion.  I had a ton of fun and he was a great sport.

*Football, football and more football.  I have been very patient about all of the blinds being closed in my family room so there is not a glare on the TV.  How about that Utes game?  Way fun.

*5 Guys Burgers and Fries.  The fries are amazing and the burgers aren't so bad either.

*My siblings all over for New Year's Eve.  Settlers of Catan, Dominoes, food, Guitar Hero, noise and mess.  It really was a lot of fun.

*Sleeping in.  Russell and I alternated getting up with Mason in the morning.  It was so wonderful to look forward to laying around as long as I wanted.  That hasn't happened for about 7 months.

*Classic Skating.  There is a great Deal or No Deal game there that lets you win tickets instead of money.  Douglas impressed me when he went to the internet and found us coupons for free tokens before we left.  That's my boy!

*Dominoes.  We tried to figure it out on our own and the instructions were very confusing! Thanks to some great friends who took us to dinner and then showed us how to play.  Now we have taught our kids and I think we are hooked.  It's nice to have a game the whole family can understand and enjoy.

*Car shopping :-(.  I wish we didn't have to do this but the lease is up.  Do we go bigger, cheaper, newer, older?  Too many questions, too many models, too many choices.  Yuck.  There is really nothing fun about car shopping.

It has been great to be carefree and schedule-less but all good things must come to an end. Come Monday we will get up early, open the blinds and head back into the real world of work, homework, practices, lessons and all the stuff that crowds our lives.  I am so glad we have had this time to be together!  

Comments

brees said…
That sounds like the best vacation ever, how fun for you. You know that the boys will remember that forever. Wasn't Bedtime Stories great? We loved it!

Now about Disney, my budget isn't missing it but we are, it has almost been a year. You should tell us next time your ready to go, it's been a couple of times since we ran into you there!!! That was fun!
Aimee said…
We saw Bedtime Stories, too. It was a cute show.

I'm glad you got to sleep in. That is the hardest thing to adjust to when having a baby -- lack of sleep.
wylie said…
Christmas vacation has been great and long and relaxing I agree--too bad it has to end. Thanks again for including my tree in your after Christmas shopping. A $249 tree for $66 is a great deal!
Amy said…
Sounds wonderful. There is always something about home.. and it is by far easier than packing up and living out of bags and fast food for a week.
Kimberly said…
What a great time!

It's time to do dinner again, we miss you guys.
M.E. said…
One of my all time favorite family vacations as a child was our vacation at home. It was fun to do the things that ouer normal schedule could never fit in.

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