I am typing this post while sitting in a rocking chair on the deck of a beautiful house in the mountains.  We are on a family vacation with my parents, my brother and his wife.  Four years ago my definition of a vacation would have been going to someplace sunny and warm, sleeping in late and spending the day relaxing on the beach reading a good book.  Boy, how that has changed!

We arrived in the mountains last night around 10:00 which is 2 hours past Little E’s bedtime.  All the way here, he was so excited.  When he started to see the mountains in the distance he kept repeating, “Look Mom, we’ll be there in no time!”  or “I’m going to roast marshmallows on a fire stick!”  As you can imagine, when we finally pulled in the driveway, he was in no mood to sleep.  So we talked with everyone for a while and let him stay up another hour.  Well, he didn’t fall asleep until 1:00 am.  Five hours past his bedtime!  He really was trying to be obedient and go to sleep – well mostly.  He was laying in his inflatable Thomas the Train Engine bed and kept saying, “Dad, it’s not working, I can’t sleep.”  or “My tummy hurts, I need medicine.”  So, eventually he fell asleep at 1 am and of course woke up at his usual 7 am.  Luckily, Baby M slept pretty well, considering.  So our day begin with a sleepy start.

We spent the next few hours playing with a new pirate ship toy, exploring the mountain house and enjoying Papa’s special blueberry pancakes.  We then went to the local General Store and a little deli for lunch.  After driving around for a few minutes, Little E fell asleep and has now been napping for 2 hours.  So, my husband and I are sitting on the porch with Baby M in between us in her bouncy seat.  We’re enjoying looking at the beautiful view and relaxing together.

So, this wasn’t exactly a sleeping in, lay on the beach, read a good book day.  But, it is a spend time with my favorite people in the world, watch my son’s excitement and enjoy seeing Baby M laugh with her family day.  Whew, that was a mouthful!  Tonight we are going to have ribs and watermelon for dinner, roast marshmallows and light fireworks.  And the best part is, I wouldn’t trade this time for any pina colada, sunny beach or good book!