Our Family Vacation

After Bobby and I went on our vacation, the kids expressed how upset they were. As soon as we got in the car, Bryce said, "Next time you go on vacation, you better sneak me with you." The next morning at breakfast Leah wouldn't eat and she crossed her arms. I asked what was wrong and she said, "I don't want you to go on vacation." Part of me felt extremely guilty but part of me was filled with happiness that they missed us. We promised them that they would be going on our next vacation. That seemed to make them happy.

Our next vacation was a family trip to Lake Mead. We were meeting up with my parents and my brothers, Emmir and Dane and my sister-in-law, Ashlie. It had been a while since we made it to the lake and it had been a while since we visited my brothers, so we were excited to get a move on. The whole drive the kids would ask, "When are we getting to our vacation?"

We spent the first night at my brother's house and then camped the second night on the boat. The last two nights of our stay we got a hotel so we could get comfortable after boating all day.

Emmir and Ashlie have a beautiful puppy, Jo-Jo, that Bryce took to. He really turned into the dog whisperer and thought he was training her. Once when Ashlie was trying to get Jo-Jo to do something Bryce asked her, "Ashlie, do you need me to come there and do it?" I think Jo-Jo took a liking to him also. She would wait at the bottom of the stairs, patiently waiting for Bryce to come play with her.

My dad has a boat that is really gorgeous and has all the bells and whistles. It is his first brand spankin' new boat and we all are lucky enough to use it. The first day we get there and we are setting everything up. We are sweating to death getting everything on board. My dad fires up the air conditioner in the cabin and we all go in there to cool off. We had the cabin at 68 degrees and were loving every minute of it!! I asked my dad, "How did you guys used to boat and camp with four kids, in the heat?" He looked at me and said, "We are just so spoiled now!" It's true. Of course as a kid, the heat never effects you, but my parents must have had to sacrifice their own comfort to give us thess amazing types of experiences.

I was thinking about my kids and how they are growing up in this different kind of luxury and I wonder if they will ever come to appreciate how "spoiled" we really are. I almost think Bobby and I will have to go and take them camping, roughin' it style, just so they know and understand. There is something about the water that is relaxing. The smell of the lake, boat engines, sunblock, even the dock bathrooms take me back to happy times in my childhood. I hope that Bryce and Leah are soaking it all in. These really are special times we get to spend together.