The Perfect Day

Monday was my definition of the perfect summer day. Evan and I spent the morning at the rec center. He had a blast at playworld, while I tortured my glutes and abs in toning class. Afterward, as a reward to both of us, we got changed and went out to Splash Island. Yeah, the rec center has a water park and it's included in your membership - pretty awesome. We hung out there for an hour or so before coming home for lunch and nap.

Then came the best part. Monday was a gorgeous day. Perfectly warm and perfectly sunny, with no humidity, and since I'd already exercised, I had Evan's entire nap to myself. So, I took a blanket, pillow, and book, and went outside. I laid in the sun for 2 hours doing nothing but relaxing. It was awesome! I've been wanting to do that all summer, but the heat has been so miserable, it wasn't even an option.

At some point during my lounging, I took stock of how sacred a moment like that really is. For a mom, especially one that's planning on having a second child some time in the future, afternoons to lay blissfully in the sun with no interruptions don't come around that often. My mission - to have as many of those as humanly possible this summer - not a bad goal to have!

It's true what they say about rabbits

Our yard has become the breeding ground for all the neighborhood rabbits. At the beginning of the summer we found two nests, and now we have two more families residing in our backyard. At first I didn't understand what was so appealing about our real estate, but then I realized, we're the only nearby yard without a dog.

Besides the unsightly holes, and the constant danger of mutilating baby bunnies with our mower, it's actually kind of cool. Evan loves watching the rabbits and once in a while, one will even let him chase it.

Our yard has come a LONG way since last year. This is what it looked like when we started:



And now it looks like this:



The grass grew in nicely in the back, I was worried it would be too shady. There will always be more work to do, and we won't even talk about what's behind the fence, because it's an absolute jungle!

Our Photo Book

I've spent all week working on our vacation photo book. I finished it today and in trying to find a way to send it to Jeff before hitting "buy," I accidently exported it as a movie. So, to not waste the effort, I'm posting it on the blog...

How much can I fit into one post?

First off, Happy Belated Father's Day to Jeff. Of course we had a great day celebrating yesterday, but I couldn't not acknowledge it on the blog!

I just finished going through all of our vacation photos and cleaning them up. However, somehow a setting got changed on my camera so all of the pics are really small. I'm super irritated, because that limits what we can do with the shots. I'm blaming this mishap on Evan, because I'm sure it wasn't my fault! :-)


I was going to do a lot of posting last week about all the fun we had on our vacation, but I obviously got sidetracked, so now I'm doing a very quick run down. It was only entirely rainy one day, and the rest of the week we were able to be outside exploring the area. We spent most of the afternoons on the beach (even when it was chilly,) and spent the mornings doing all the fun stuff we could find. We went to a nearby completely hands-on children's museum that Evan loved. We took a land/water boat tour of Saugatuk, and we went for a dune ride that was as fun as it was beautiful because he drove really fast down the hills. Evan loved both of these because he got to sit in a regular seat - he felt very grown-up! And of course, we went out for ice cream - a lot.


We did a lot of walking/hiking around our cottage, because the community not only had awesome beaches, but sand dunes and forest trails as well. Since we were still in off-peak season, we had practically everything to ourselves. But, by going so early in the summer, we missed out on most of the park activities. There was a cool little soda bar by the beach, but it kept only limited hours while we were there. The park also has a clubhouse for kids with structured activities and lessons - all included as a resident, but it didn't open for another week. The cottage owners plan special dinners and gatherings during the summer too. I was serious about it being straight out of Dirty Dancing! We're really looking forward to going back!

Since being home, Evan and I have started living our summer life. Evan's going to tumbling class, which is great - he gets to jump around, while hopefully learning to follow directions. We joined our local rec center and that's been great for both of us. I go to toning/aerobics classes while he plays in their big play room, and today we went to the pool afterwards with our friends and it is soo nice. The indoor pool is HUGE and has a large area for kids his age to play. He wasn't sure about the water at first, but then he started having a blast. It's a lot of fun being a rec center Mom!

The downside to summer: ants and outside responsibilities. Jeff is currently locked in a vicious battle with the little black ants that seem to think they're our roommates. It happens every year, but this year they're being especially stubborn. And then there's the endless care taking for our yard. This year starts phase 2. We need to put in a little more work on our front landscaping and then start gradually expanding it around the house. Not to mention the never-ending mowing, that Jeff does.

I can't believe that three of my summer weeks are already behind us - this is going to be a very fast summer!

Seriously?

Vacation is officially over. It's only 8:30 and we've already had a potty training mishap. Actually, we've had two. First, while Evan was trying to sneak a jelly bean, he dumped the whole bag into the wet sink. Then, only 5 minutes after sitting on the potty and claiming he didn't have to pee, he peed in his underwear. I just don't get it!

I was feeling really optimistic this time around. We found this book at the library about potty training that Evan loves. All vacation it was the only book he wanted to read and he practically had it memorized. I was like, "yes, he's ready, this is going to be a piece of cake!" Wrong! This morning when it was time to put on his underwear, he threw a fit. Since then he's been more agreeable, but it hasn't been the magical "Aha" moment that I was hoping for.

Speaking of, that stupid timer is about to go off. I feel like Bill Murray in that movie, Groundhog Day.

Edited to add: Evan is just now waking up from a 3 1/2 hour nap. I think that's the longest ever. Hmm, I think he might be avoiding potty training!

Home!

We've officially voted this our best vacation ever! We got home this afternoon after spending a beautiful last day at the beach. Friday was our going away present. It was by far the best day of the week - full sun, really warm, and just breezy instead of windy. I even got to lay out and get a little sunburn color.

The absolute best part of this vacation is that it was all only a three hour drive away. We were able to come home without feeling like we needed another vacation just to recuperate from the travel.

I have a ton of pictures, none of which I've proofed, so I know what I'll be doing all week. But in the meantime, it's back to life as usual. We have a yard to mow, a budget in dire need of attention, a house that needs cleaning, and a toddler that needs potty training. Evan also needs some serious detoxing. We tried to stick to routine as much as possible on vacation, but his naps were measly, and he never wanted to fall asleep at night either. Sleep deprivation and toddlers are a wicked mix! Worst part though for sure - Jeff has to return to work on Monday.

There are a few very nice things about being back. We've missed our tv and I've definitely missed convenient internet access. There was a soda bar by the beach that had wifi, but I wasn't always up to going to all the trouble.

I hear the laundry calling, so...