Vacation, the unabridged version

Yikes!  I didn't mean to make it sound like I didn't have a fabulous vacation.  I had a WONDERFUL vacation.  It was perfect.  I loved Florida--it was so interesting to see a place with such different geography.  It's flat.  Really flat.  Except for the palm trees.  I searched every body of water (and there were plenty) for a gator, but never saw one.  It's hot.  Really hot.  In a very good "I could lay beside the pool all day long except for that skin cancer thing" kind of way.  Not that I got to lay by the pool all day long. But if  I could have, it was that kind of lovely heat.

And the water tasted like fireworks.  ???

But my kids had roller coaster mania.   So I was exhausted.  I haven't been able to sit down and write about it until now.

Here it goes.  One day at a time.

Blah

Is it post-vacation let-down, or just that it feels too overwhelming to tackle the week in writing?  I don't feel like writing about the vacation.

I will post this though.  The other day Amelia was helping me make dinner.  We put it in the oven to broil, and when I turned my back, she locked the oven.  FYI--when the oven is on broil, and you (or someone else) locks it?  It stays locked. 

A story

In the beginning, there were two little girls who had no idea what Disney World was, they had just heard enough about it to know that they were being deprived.

Their parents thought the two little girls might want to spend 3 days out of the seven days in Florida at the parks.  They thought they'd get tired.  They thought the girls might get sick or scared on the rides.  They thought the girls might prefer the swimming pool at the house to the chaos of the theme parks.

But they were wrong.  

The parents got sick and scared and tired.  But not the little girls.

The End.

Now counting down in hours

I am so ridiculously excited for our vacation.  

May is the only time of year when I do not like the rain.  May in Utah is beautiful.  My brain and body thinks May in the Northwest should be too.  Living in Utah, you are disgusted by the snow by April.  That's me with the rain in May in the Pacific Northwest.  And we always get a couple weeks of gorgeous warm weather that whets our appetite for the sun, and then it's gone for another six weeks, with nothing but gray and rain left behind.  May?  So over it.  June?  Not much better.  It's called Junuary around here.  

So I'm looking forward to this vacation.  Not necessarily the crowds and chaos.  In a perfect world, we'd be visiting this:

Destin, Florida  (someday...)

But this is good enough for now.  

Because it has this:

Which is so much better than this:

Slumber parties

It's always more fun to sleep when you have someone to cuddle with.

Keep in mind, the bottom picture is on top of Madeline's unnecessarily high loft bed.  She somehow conned Kolby into a slumber party up there one night.  He had to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night, which was no easy task to get off the bed in the dark without hitting his head or falling off the ladder.  Afterwards he climbed into our bed.  The next morning, Madeline was furious with him for bailing on her in the middle of the night and made him promise to sleep up on her bed again, this time for the whole night.  And so he did.  He's such a sucker. 

Fantasy vs. Actuality

I like to think that I'm a laid back, fun-loving, nary a worry in the world kind of person.  (I think that's the first time I've ever used the word "nary.")

I'm not sure why I think I'm that way, except that it's how I want to be.

In actuality, I worry about how hanta virus and swine flu could ruin my vacations.  I don't let my kids do things because of the risk of cervical spine injuries or falling off of high cliffs (even if there are no cliffs around).   And I spend a fair amount of my sleep worrying about what if I need to pee really bad but can't find a clean public bathroom.  Or a bathroom stall with doors.  

Edited to add a photo sent by my sister this morning.  This kid is totally getting swine flu.

Do NOT try this at home (except you really should.)

Bakerella Red Velvet Cake Balls  

One day last week I had Madeline alone at home with me for a few hours, so I decided we should have a cooking lesson.  I asked what she wanted to make and she said apple pie.  I was not about to start that undertaking on a Wednesday afternoon.  We eventually decided on Cake Balls, which I'd been hearing about from friends.

In short, DEEEEELICIOUS.  I can't keep my hands off them.  And the were lots of fun  because they are unusual and easy to make.   We made them with a homemade chocolate cake, cream cheese frosting, and melted milk chocolate chips.

Click here for the recipe.  But maybe you shouldn't.  I really can't stop eating them.