A Vacation Recap.

This past week was spent in Florida vacationing on the beach.

Usually, we split the cost of renting a condo with Scott's parents. This year, we rented our own. Scott's younger brother, Brandon, stayed with us and Scott's parents, along with his Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave, rented the condo directly below us.

We arrived on Saturday afternoon. Aunt Carol and Uncle Dave landed from Chicago around the same exact time. Scott has another aunt, Faye, that lives in the area that we were staying, along with her children and their families.

Saturday night we all went to dinner at The Thirsty Marlin where the conch fritters were just about as good as Key West and the lobster quesadilla was too yummy! Scott's cousin, Tyler, ordered the all you can eat crab, and I think that Scott "helped" with the all you can eat part!

Sunday Scott's cousin. Trish, and her husband, Alex, had all of us over for a big BBQ and the food was delicious. Alex smoked chicken wings and a beef butt that melted in your mouth. Sunday night all of the boys fished off of the pier until late into the night.

Monday was finally spent on the beach! The sun was out and the water was warm!! We swam with two schools of stingrays. Each school had about eight stingrays and they swam all around us!!! All of us spent the entire day either by the pool or in the ocean. Monday night, Scott and I went out by ourselves to a little pub we like to go to when we are in town. We got home in enough time to watch the sun set and took a walk on the beach.

Tuesday, while eating breakfast on the balcony, we watched two dolphins swim pretty close to shore. We spent the entire day on the beach and decided that if we win the lottery, we are moving down on the beach. Tuesday night we went to dinner with Scott's grandpa whose wife just passed away. Also at the dinner was Grandma's two sisters and their families. It has been two years since I was able to visit with this side of the family, as I was not able to attend Grandma's memorial service. It amazes me how two years doesn't seem like a long time until you see how much people have aged during that time. I hope that another two years does not pass without visiting with these aunts and uncles again. Scott's grandpa came back to our condo for coffee and really seemed to enjoy himself.

Wednesday, Scott and I took two chairs and planted them in the surf. That is where our butts stayed for the entire day. It was VERY hot and being in the water with the ocean breeze made things so much better. That night we went to dinner with Scott's dad's cousin, Susan and her husband John. Afterwards, they came back to the condo to swim and Scott and Brandon took Grandpa fishing. I stayed behind and texted them the score of the Tampa Bay Rays game. While they didn't catch anything, they had a good time just being together.

Thursday, I woke up looking like Mush Mouth from the Fat Albert cartoon, as my lips were swollen and burned. I decided to take a break from the sun. Everyone came to our condo for lunch then we went to John's Pass to do some touristy shopping. We grabbed some ice cream as well. That night we all went to dinner to Grandpa's favorite restaurant, Leverocks. Grandpa had us back to his house for KEY LIME PIE!He makes the best pie, and even though I protested, I had to share it with everyone. We spent the evening looking through old family photos. There was a story that went along with each photo. A lot of laughter and a few tears were shed. Memories, while they are good to have, can be painful for a man who lost the only woman he ever kissed and spent the last 67 years married to. Hopefully, time will make it easier for him, but I just don't see how a heart as broken as his can ever be whole again. I try to force myself to remember that we will all be reunited with our loved one at Heaven's Gate...but that seems too far away.

Friday, we spent our last day on the beach. Brandon flew his kites. Courtney looked for sand dollars, but couldn't find any. That night for dinner we went to GiGi's Pizzeria. This is a place that Scott's parents started going to in 1969, and I am pretty sure the decor hasn't changed since then. The pizza was fabulous and it was a great way to spend our last night as a family!

Saturday we said our goodbyes and got on the road. We picked the dogs up from the kennel, and Oliver spent the entire ride home rotating between all of our laps.

As vacations go, this will go down as one of my favorites. The nightly stories of Scott growing up in Chicago has made us start making plans for our vacation next year. I think, after 18 years of marriage, it is time to go see where he grew up. It is time to be introduced to Chicago pizza, a cubs game and a hot dog from a street vendor. Time to see the Sears Tower, Navy Pier and the Brookfield Zoo.

It is time to revisit those memories and to start making new ones!

Parent Handbook, Page 3

When I was growing up, my parents did not MAKE Jeff and I get a job. As long as our grades were good, they really did give us the money we needed for everything...going out with friends...clothes...everything.

However, that did not mean that my dad would not give us a guilt trip every time we asked for money.

When we asked for a few bucks, he would tell us to bring him his wallet. He would give us cash, and as we were thanking him, he would say "I will just go out to where the money tree grows and get some more." Every time!

Last week in our weekly sales meeting, the sales people were talking to the president of the company about offering an incentive for customers to order from us. A CASH incentive. Paul, the president, just sat there listening to every one's ideas. When there was a lull in conversation, a sales person used that opportunity to ask Paul what he thought. He said...

"I will just go out to where the money tree grows and get this for all of you."

I was taking a drink of water at that point, and it was all I could do NOT to spit it across the table.

I told him he just channeled my dad. He informed me that ALL dads use that phrase. That it is in the Parent Handbook.

Kinda made me miss being young...

Really made me miss my dad!

Deliver The Letter The Sooner The Better

When I was young, my mother enrolled my brother and I in some music class called Yamaha. The teacher was named Miss Barbara, I think. It was at her house and she lived in Orange. Later, when we were older, Jeff took guitar lessons from her. Her window in the room where she gave the lessons was the type that you couldn't see out of it, but you could see in it, so when we were waiting outside for Jeff to finish his lesson, we could see them and what they were doing. I thought that was a pretty cool window.

One night after our lessons, we stopped for dinner at a Mexican restaurant. On the radio was the song...that I don't know what the exact title is, but it goes...Stop! Wait a minute, Mr Postman. Apprently, I was singing along and was being too loud because my mom had to tell me to be quiet.

Whenever I hear that song, I go right back to that restaurant.

Whenever I am in town and we drive by where that restaurant was, I go right back to that day, singing the song, and mom hushing me.

And both of those things make me smile!

Eat Fresh

Dear Family That Was Ahead of Me at Subway Last Night:

I know you have been here before, because all of you knew what kind of sandwich you wanted. You knew what kind of bread you wanted and if you wanted it toasted or not.

However, you did leave me a little baffled over a couple of things:

1. Chips. The chips are placed at the beginning of the line that you got into to place your order. They are also placed all along the glass where you are having your sandwich built. They are there for you to grab. So WHY didn't you grab them when you were in line? WHY did you have to walk back over my feet to get your chips?

2. Condiments and Fixins. You know they are going to ask you what you want on your sandwich. So WHY did you act surprised when they did? And then you, all three of you, stood there and stared at the fixins like you have never seen lettuce and tomato before. REALLY? You should know how you like your sandwich and should be able to tell the employee what you want on it. You also should be able to do this quickly. It is a fast food restaurant. Hurry up!

3. Paying. If you are going to go into any establishment, whether it be a restaurant or any other retail chain that takes credit cards, you should always know just how much you have on your pre-paid credit card. There is no excuse for you to get to the end of the line and hand her your card, tell her you don't know how much is on there and then, when it is declined, act shocked. Also, if you don't know how much is on the card, have a back up plan. But to just walk away from three sandwiches that took 30 minutes to make absolutely baffles me. did you know that the establishment had to THROW YOUR FOOD AWAY? What a waste!

On a side note, you should tell your daughter that super short shorts and a tiny tank top makes her look trampy, not sexy. Just sayin...

Good God, I hope that was your daughter.....*shudders*

Stuck A Feather In His Hat And Called It Macaroni

I swear on all that is holy, we are the only family that budgets for the 4th of July holiday.

Scott, and his two brothers, Rick and Brandon, are all pyro-maniacs. All. Three. Of. Them.

So, while Brandon was visiting last week, Scott and him made a trip to South Carolina to buy fireworks. Not just any fireworks, fireworks that are loud and colorful and expensive. But while they were shopping, they were told there was going to be a sale in a couple of days, so they put everything back. Scott and Courtney made the same trip this past Thursday and bought the supplies.

I don't know how much money was spent, nor do I want to. This is Scott's thing. I knew it when I married him. It's not going to change. So I just go with it.

Saturday morning we got up and made the 4 hour journey to his parents house. Scott's Grandpa made the 4 hour journey from Florida. Scott's brother, Rick made the 2 hour journey from Jacksonville.

I can count on one hand how many times, in the 18 years I have been married to Scott, I have been around Rick and his family.

Rick is the eldest of all the boys. He was in the Navy like his grandfathers before him. He is the quietest of all the boys, but don't count him out of the mischief that the other two seem to find. He is right there with them!

His eldest son, Philip, is 19 and has the most gentle soul. Super nice. He is also my God Son! His dad and uncles introduced him to the whole firework thing this weekend and they now consider him a true man.

His middle child is 7 months younger than Courtney. Her name is Christina. Both of the girls are named after their dad's sister who died shortly after birth. Christina is half Filipino half American. At 14, she is strikingly pretty and tall. But she is just as smart as she is pretty!

His youngest child is Michelle. This one is 6 years old and commands attention when she walks into a room. She has a passion for Oreos and Vera Bradley purses. She has super curly hair and doesn't like to be hot, which is hard not to be in July in Georgia.

Saturday night was spent talking and getting acquainted with everyone. This is the first time that Ray and Judy had all of their sons and their families together in something like 6 years. There were a total of 6 dogs - A blood hound, husky, lab, dachshund, dachshund/beagle mix and a chihuahua mix. There was a lot of arguments between the 6 of them as to who was the leader. Surprisingly, the chihuauha won most of the battles!

Sunday was spent waiting for the sun to go down so the guys could do their "show". Mid afternoon I took the two older girls to the movies to kill some time. Judy made a ton of food and homemade chocolate pie. FINALLY the sun set and the show started. Luckily, we did not have to take anyone to the hospital and everyone left with 10 fingers and 10 toes.

Monday morning, Judy made a big breakfast and sent all of us home. I am sure the house seemed empty and quiet after we all left. and I know for a fact that plans are being made to meet up and do it again.

Family - it doesn't matter how long it has been since you have seen each other - it matters what you do when you do see each other.

For this family, it is blowing things up, setting things on fire, eating too much, talking too loud and over each other and laughing very hard!!

And then making plans to do it again!