The Dog Days of Summer

I don’t know about you, but I can’t wait to post something that starts with, “My it is so chilly today I needed a light jacket.” Yep, it’s still hot. When I left work the other day the reading in my car was 109. Yikes!!

A few weeks ago we had a fun-filled, somewhat relaxing, almost week of vacation. We set off on our journey on a Thursday evening to meet up with my sister and her family for our annual weekend getaway. We met at a friend’s lake house outside of Huntsville. This year our getaway involved a bunch of nothing. We sat around and enjoyed the cool breezes off the water, we ate, we played pool, we ate, we played Wii, oh did I mention we ate??? We could have fed an army. The menu consisted of hand-cut ribeyes, bbq ribs, hobo dinners, tailpipes, baked beans, potato salad and yummy breakfast foods. I have to brag on myself for just a moment. My nephew Robert, who is pretty low key, not much excites him and rarely expresses wow moments, told me that my chocolate chip pancakes were probably they best pancakes he ever had. Now of course he might have just been trying to be nice, but I think it was sincere. WOW!!!! The highlight of this leg of our journey for Lindsey was the neighbors dog Belle. If she could have hidden her in her suitcase I know she would have!

On Sunday we packed up and headed to The Villages at Flint to meet MiMi and Ray-Ray. Our schedule included more nothing, tossed with mini-golf, lots of swimming and a waterpark visit, reading and my new favorite game shuffleboard. Have you played this, the one on the ground with long poles and pucks? (not sure of the terminology) It was a blast and I can’t wait to play again. I think I liked it so much because it is one of the few games that John didn’t immediately pick up and beat me instantly. The trip to the waterpark was fun, but definitely still a lot of work with a three year old. Lindsey and I both are not fans of the big bucket that fills up and dumps out on you every five minutes. Maybe I should have just known this was going to happen, but my Mommy radar must have been malfunctioning and I was barely able to grab Lindsey’s arm before she was almost completely knocked down by the force of the water. One of the highlights of my trip was actually being able to read for more than two minutes at a time without falling asleep. I started Tim Russert’s Big Russ and Me. This book is amazing and in my opinion a must read. It is a book of how life used to be, a book of family values, basically of book of common sense. Thanks to my Mimi for sending this my direction.

We ended our trek with a quick trip to Nacogdoches for lunch with Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Bo-Bo. We had a great visit and marked the second highlight of Lindsey’s trip, Aunt MaryAnn and Uncle Bo-Bo’s rat terrier Little Bitty. Lindsey fell in love the moment she saw her with a delighted squeal and a “She looks like Sissy!” I am certain Bitty was ready for us to leave when we did as she is not used to that much activity! Then back to reality and a big load of laundry!

It was so nice to be off for a few days and just relax. No real plans, just play it by ear. That is usually pretty hard for me, so all in all I would say I did okay. I love the fact that we were able to drive through some beautiful Texas backroads and enjoy the scenery. My dream is to drive to Yellowstone or the Redwoods. Maybe it is because we never went many places growing up that this sounds so appealing. I was blessed with a job that allowed me to see a lot of places, but it was always fly in fly out for the most part. The load up the car, stop at the rest stop for a sandwich and drive until you just can’t go any longer is what I want. I know, I know most of you think I am crazy. When this actually happens I will make sure to report back!

Have a great week!