Life is good.

Vacations have to be one of the best things ever invented. I mean, seriously, vacations are a good thing. The Europeans are definitely on to something with their month long "Holidays".

Our house is great. It's really big (which is a must when traveling with 5 kids, a mother-in-law, a sitter and her sister). The kids love hanging out on the second floor, which, makes the third floor very quiet...which, again, is cool considering the number of kids in the house.

Mark and I rented kayaks for the week. We took them out for the first time yesterday. This being our first time kayaking and all...well, let's just say we had to learn a few things the hard way.

Lesson 1...It may sound like a good idea to push said kayaks out to the sandbar and then climb into them. In fact, it is not. It is actually very difficult for a 6foot 4inch, 200+ pound man to climb aboard a small floating water craft that is being rocked by waves. (It was, however, fairly easy for me... we chalked that up to the fact that I am half the size of the kayak as opposed to the same size as the kayak).

Lesson 2...The appearance of HUNDREDS of cantaloupe sized jelly fish surrounding you on the sandbar as you try to mount said kayaks will do one of two things:

1. Get your adrenaline pumping and cause you to board kayak in record time.

2. Get your adrenaline pumping and cause you to lose all sense of coordination

thus causing you to flip off of the kayak every time you try to board it.

I was up and onto that puppy in a shot. Such grace and skill...I tell you, I looked like an old pro.

My poor husband on the other hand...well, it took him 3 or 4 tries, tries that included flipping off the other side of the kayak, and breaking his middle toe. Yes, he broke his toe. He hit it on the side on one of his vaults over the kayak and back into the ocean. (He is healing now, and was only in severe pain for a few hours).

In his defense, the jelly fish were HUGE and they were EVERYWHERE. We both prayed that we wouldn't tip over amidst them. And, we didn't. Thank you Jesus.

So, today, we went back to the kayak place and registered for a guided tour in the "Blackwater". We should see various wildlife, and learn a few things about kayaking. Hopefully we won't get too close to the alligators.

While at the kayak place, we mentioned the mass amounts of jellyfish. The guy says that the jellyfish that we encountered were Cannonball Jellyfish... and not dangerous. Nope, NOT dangerous at all. He said we could have picked them up and thrown them at each other. Mark, poor guy, broke his toe trying to escape HARMLESS jellyfish.

Ahh, the joy of learning something new.

Oh, we took them out again tonight... we boarded on the beach and rowed out. See, we were paying attention.

In other news...

We celebrated Sophie's 7th birthday on Sunday night. We found a cake at the local IGA grocery store and asked the nice ladies in the bakery to write HAPPY BIRTHDAY SOPHIE on it. Let's just say that the friendly people at the IGA were not the sharpest crayons in the box. Mark handed them the cake back, picked up a blank one and bought icing so that we could personalize it ourselves...it was too funny.

We have been having a great time...watching the dolphins, playing on the beach, swimming in the pool, working puzzles, catching sandcrabs, staying up late watching Shark Week and then sleeping in late the next morning, and, the best part, watching our kids enjoy it all just as much as we are.

Life is good.

Beach Bound...

We leave tonight for St. George Island. We'll be staying here:

http://www.resortvacationproperties.com/vacationrentals/details.php?propcode=BRISADE&SRCH=tr

We've never been to St. George before, but it sounds like a quiet place to relax, and it looks beautiful.


Much packing left to do, and I have an appointment to get a spray tan... a first for me. That should be an adventure in itself, ha.

Whew...

Time flies. We have been so busy lately. Either going somewhere, preparing to go somewhere or recovering from being there. Good stuff.

First, we went here:

http://www.holidayworld.com/

And we rode this:

Then, after arriving home, I packed to go to CHA where I got to see the newest, coolest things to hit the scrapbooking world...things like spools and spools of yummy ribbon. Seriously, this was a wonderous sight to behold, I just wanted to touch them (and buy them) all.

Oh, and while there, we were almost shagged by this guy:

(Totally kidding about the shagging part, but it was funny to see him wandering around, heckling everyone).

And now, we are gearing up to go to St. George Island in Florida. Soon, we will head off into the sunrise in search of sun, sand, and lots of good books...well, I will be reading, and Forrest will be reading, everyone else will probably be in the pool or the ocean.

I plan on updating while on vacation. Look for lots of pictures, lol.

Lazy days of summer...not.

I cannot believe that it almost time for school to start again. While on one level, I must admit, it will be nice for things to go back to "normal", because let's face it, the hectic schedule of school is 10 months, and the floundering-where-did-the-day-go bustle of summer is only 2, school-hectic is actually "normal".

And, that means during "normal" months, I mostly know what to expect day in and day out. It is all recorded in my handy-dandy daytimer, and I can look back with satisfaction and know exactly "where September went" when it flew by.

Summer does not afford me the same sense of accomplishment. I look back at my calender, and find lots of empty boxes staring back at me. No day trips exploring backroads like last year (8 such excursions), nary a mention of the park or Bounce Factory.

Yet, we have been BUSY. This has been the busiest summer in the Suffridge family history. I guess this is what happens as the kids get older. I see lots of "prep work" recorded on the calender.

Things like camp (3 total, 2 for Forrest, and 1 for Hannah) and vacations (Mark and I on our NH trip, then the jaunt to Holiday World) require planning, paraphernalia and destination specific clothing, and all of that equals errands and those errands, equal time, lots and lots of precious time.

We have 24 days left until school starts back. I will be spending 4 of those at CHA in Chicago. We will be on our family vacation in Florida for 8 of those days. 2 days will be spent running errands pertaining to each of those trips, and 1 day will be spent shopping for school supplies.

9 days. 9 days to enjoy "lazy days" of summer. 9 days to spend quality time with the kids, to meander the day away with sidewalk chalk, bouncy balls, with Popsicles on the porch, running through the sprinkler and trying to teach them...and myself, how to slow down.

Now, I know family vacations count as quality time, (although the 9 hours in the car down and back do not count, because well, have you tried riding in a car with 5 kids for 9 hours), and I know that our trip to Holiday World definitely counts, but I am craving, long slow days of sunshine and wonderful nothingness that our kids will remember, days of just hanging out together and passing time.

Mark is making pancakes for lunch, the kids are helping, and there is nothing on the agenda for the day. Here's to slowing down...

I would like you to meet

my new BFF.

I am in LOVE. This baby makes a cup of hot java in less than 30 seconds. There are no filters, beans or grounds. You just fill up that little water reservoir on the left (one fill is enough water for 8 cups of coffee), pop a K-cup in and push brew. To make your next cup, remove the old K-cup and pop in a new one. Bliss.



And, there are over 100 different coffees, teas and cocoas to choose from. Did I say I am in love?

You can read more about her here:
http://www.keurig.com

I think it's time for another cup.