Why Vacations are Not Really Vacations

I suppose you might be under the false impression that when people take time off work, load up the mini-van with a week's worth of clothes and drive for two days their destination might include some relaxation time....well maybe for some people but ours was a little hectic.

We loaded the van as soon as Hubby hit the door on Friday afternoon and started the long drive north. We drove till around midnight before stopping at a hotel for the night and crashing. The next morning we fed the kids and let them splash around in the frigid hotel pool, I did not take part as cold water and I do not mix well, however Hubby confirmed the lack of pool heat with a shiver or two despite his polar bear ancestry. We then climbed back in the van for the remainder of the drive. When we arrived at our destination a large chunk of the clan was waiting for us to eat dinner and visit which we of course did and the kids played with their cousins an activity Sonny Boy had been particularly looking forward to.

The next day was the big roller skating party for Grandma. It was fun and all the in-laws and out-laws attended with the exception of one cousin who had a medical crisis in her husband's family. Most everyone donned skates at one point or another, a few hard spills were taken, but no real injuries.

Grandma with her 90th Birthday cake, behind the counter like in yesteryear to pass out skates.

Grandma and my favorite med student blog follower watching the slide show of pics that was played. I think that house is where my MIL and her brother's grew up?

Sonny Boy and Igor skating away the afternoon, or at least Sonny Boy did, Igor quickly got frustrated and wanted the skates off.

Monday found us childless in the afternoon as the boys went to their cousin's house to play, so we visited with FIL some and shopped a little in town then went to SIL's house to eat dinner, visit and pick-up the kids for the night.

Tuesday the weather was rainy and SIL had a To Do list a mile long to prepare for a trip she was taking her three older children on, so Hubby and I took three nephews and our two kids to the bowling alley for a couple of hours. FIL came and bowled a a game as well. That night FIL took us and MIL (they are no longer married, it's an odd relationship) out to eat at a nice restaurant in town while great-grandma supervised the boys watching a movie, we came in, put the kids to bed and then left to visit a friend of Hubby's that was the best man in our wedding. We got in somewhere around 11:00

Wednesday proved better weather, not sunny, but at least not raining. I had wanted to go canoe a stretch of a nearby river (below) but looking at satellite pictures we decided against doing it in a borrowed canoe as some places were rather shallow and rocky. We did however take a little hike around the river and explore some with the boys.

The stream is pretty tame here, other spots were a bit rougher.

A few daises in bloom along the way.

We stepped out a section of the trail and this doe popped up out the grass where she had been napping. We were pretty close to her and she wasn't very concerned about us. Unfortunately my camera battery took this time to conk out and I only got this shot but it turned out cute with her tongue all stuck out.

Boys being boys

Not the best photography but a cute picture.

I have determined getting two kids to actually LOOK at the camera with a nice face is impossible.

We also squeezed in some fishing off of Grandma's dock and later in the day on a pontoon boat with FIL. The kids and I had good time catching some decent sized bluegills.

Wednesday evening ended with pizza at MIL's house and setting up her deer deterrent sprinkler. Quite fun watching the kids try to sneak up on it and then get sprayed. MIL reports she has gotten sprayed a few times now herself and had a flower uprooted as a critter headed for the hills when the thing set off. I'd love to see the deer the first time they get hit with that thing!

Thursday we said good bye to all and loaded up to head down to our house in WI - only about a 40 mile detour. We needed to tend to flower beds, and take the 90+ bags of leaves to the compost pile that have been sitting in the garage for a couple of months now. We arrived late Thursday night, blew up the air mattresses and went to bed. Friday Hubby dropped the kids and I off at McD's for breakfast and went to attend a business meeting a couple of towns over. The kids and I ate breakfast, walked homed with a stop at the local hardware store for some round-up and I went in to tackle my overgrown flower beds. A few hours of work later I started having a nasty allergic reaction to some plant (I think it was purple cone flower) and breaking out in hives so I got into the tub and scrubbed myself clean, however the itching was not settling at all. Of course I had no benedryl and no car so I dressed and practically ran dragging the kids down to the store 4 blocks away to buy some bendryl which I took while standing at the register. Thankfully the benedryl did the trick, unfortunately benedryl has that nasty effect of making you feel as you have been shot with a tranquilizer dart so I was quite useless for a while and the kids were left to their own whims for a bit.... not much trouble to get into when there is no furniture, dishes, TV or much else in the house. I found them rolling loose change across the living room floor! Hubby came home from his meeting with a borrowed pick-up truck to move the leaves we loaded it and he headed for the compost, 5 minutes later he was back with a loaded truck. Compost was closed on Fridays and wouldn't open again until 10:00 Sat and we had planned on driving back to Kornfield Friday night. Oh well, we really had to get the leaves out, we were there and nothing was pressing back in Kornfield so we stayed another night on the air mattresses and got up the next day and hauled 4 truckloads of leaves in. Thanks DS for the use of your truck, can't imagine trying that with the van! We then closed down the house, set off a bug bomb (spiders really like empty houses) and said goodbye to our neighbor who keeps his eye on the place for us and drove several hours home to a MISERABLY hot house that took a couple of hours of blasting air conditioner to get close to a semblance of comfort.

We also came home to an even wetter than typical basement, a yard so thick it needed a hay baler, a nest of juvenile robins that had been blown from a tree with two dead ones and happily two ripe tomatoes and a zucchini plant that has taken over my garden with two finger sized zucchini on it.

Today we simply went to the grocery and I tackled mowing the hayfield. Tomorrow I will conquer (or try) Mt. Laundry and getting the house straightened back up.

Now do you see whey vacation isn't vacation?