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Monday, August 11, 2008

Vay Kay Shun

Here you all are, waiting with bated breath, for my vacation recap. I do so sincerely apologize for the delay. Now that I’ve actually been able to wake up with no pain, I am much more coherent and can now safely trust that I am able to fully regale you with lots of good stories.

So, as you know, we went to Lake of the Ozarks - Osage Beach. What a lovely place that is! Wow! I was picturing a MUCH smaller lake. I’ve had some experience with Lake Michigan - which, while beautiful, is a bit too big for my taste. I like to be able to see the shore on both sides. Osage Beach. I heart you. You make me feel oh so happy, just thinking about you.

We arrived on Friday evening, a little beleaguered because the 20 month old in the backseat had been voicing her disapproval for the last 90 minutes. And by voicing, I do not mean whining, or yelling, or whimpering. More like full blown screaming - bringing back fond memories of days of colic. We had really sincerely hoped PetePete would take a nice (by which we mean LONG!) nap, but were flustered to find she took none. Not even five minutes, if you please. Poor kid. She wanted to - you could tell by the way she would lean her head against her seat and try to close her eyes. After a five hour stretch of being snuggly buckled in a carseat, she was stoked to be able to get out and RUN. The driving, by the way, went very very well aside from the cranky baby :)

Brian’s uncle and aunt were very gracious and hosted our entire family for the weekend in their condo. We had some deluxe accommodations! When we weren’t down at their boat dock, we could sit on the fully screened in deck. When we weren’t on the deck, we could relax in the living room. Each family got their own bedroom. It was really so nice to be able to stay somewhere like this, as opposed to a hotel where there are no toys, no kitchens, no comfy couches, etc.

So after unloading the car, we relaxed for a while and then went out for a wonderful meal. I had prime rib and I must tell you, prime rib is good stuff. We ate outdoors and had a nice view of the lake. The two little ones (Reagan and her cuz Andrew) wandered around the deck. Even though it was well past Reagan’s bedtime, especially considering the no-nap car ride, she managed to hold up pretty well.

Saturday morning we went down to the docks. It wasn’t long before the rest of Hubby’s family began to arrive. I took my first ride out on a jetski. And I now firmly believe there is no better way to have a good morning than to wake up and go out on a pleasant jetski ride. Such fun! By Saturday noon, almost all the other family had arrived. We had lunch down at the docks and then went for a long boat ride.

I was told Reagan would sleep on the boat, but I had my doubts. I mean, we just had a disastrous car ride the day before so all bets were off as far as when and where PetePete would sleep. My friends, boats are a parent’s best friend! We are buying one tomorrow. Okay, maybe not. But let me tell you, we did not even make it out of the dock before PetePete closed her eyes and drifted off. She and Andrew took a nice long, albeit HOT, nap down in the cabin below. The rest of us motored around and took in all the sites and some sun.

The rest of the day was spent just having fun, jetskiing, and swimming in the pool. Reagan had never been in a pool before so this was quite an experience for her. She was a little unnerved at first because evidently this was a bath that would never end. But eventually she got used to it and enjoyed splashing in the water. On occasion her mom or dad would accidentally dip her a little too far into the pool and she’d get water on her face. She’d cough and sputter and hack a little and then giggle. A good time - we know how to have it.

Saturday night was a deluxe meal of grilled steak and many yummy slides. And then we went out to go go-karting. I did not win the race, but still had fun. This is considered progress in my personal development. After all that competition, we headed out to get some Randy’s Frozen Custard. I had a “Reese’s Pieces Concrete”. Dairy Queen, you should take notes. Randy’s does not obliterate the candy into dust when they make their concretes. No. They dump many spoonfuls of WHOLE CANDY PIECES into their custard. This is genious! Because I don’t want Reese’s Pieces flavored custard. I want Reese’s Pieces and custard all mixed together. It was good. I enjoyed it immensely.

Sunday morning we lounged around for a while and then headed on down to the docks. This time, people were going to go tubing via jetskis. This sounded like a whole bunch of fun and was something I had never tried. So, silly me, I asked if I could tube. Of course, they were happy to oblige. It was a two-person tube so Reagan went with me. Ha! No no, I’m kidding. I went with Derek (12 year old brother-in-law). Can I just say I’m not sure I would rather go tubing with anyone else? As I boarded the tube (oh so gracefully), I asked Derek if he would give me some pointers. “Just try not to fall out!” he instructed. Rrrrrrrright. Um, how does one manage to not fall out, precisely? We went over a few basics, like when to lean and what would happen if I didn’t hold on tightly. Mark (another brother-in-law) climbed on to drive the jetski and off we went. Now, Mark fully knew and understood this was my first time tubing. Which either does or does not perfectly explain why he gave me the ride he did. I’m fairly sure we didn’t touch water for more than 5 seconds over the next 15 minutes. So as we go bumping, bounding, skittering and soaring along through the air behind the jetski, Derek intermittently manages to bark out helpful instructions like “LEAN TO THE LEFT!” or “LEAN TO THE RIGHT!” Me, all I manage to do is laugh hysterically and close my eyes. And laugh some more. I laughed all the way till I flew out of the tube and into the water. Derek, to his credit, did manage to help me back in, which is fortunate because I was pretty certain someone was going to have to just tow me back in. At any rate, it was hilarious. Also, painful. People, my butt hurt. I would say I don’t use those muscles often, but obviously, I do sit on my butt on a daily basis. So instead I will say that I normally do not abuse my hindquarters in such a manner. Ow. Also, bathing suit nearly had to be surgically removed. Need I say more? Sunday afternoon we went on a long boat ride, again. Once again, PetePete took a lovely rest. Sunday night we grilled burgers and then surprised Hubby with a belated birthday cake. Covered, enveloped, smothered in...candles ablaze. Putting out the flames took some, uh, water. But it was fun to surprise him with an impromptu celebration.

Monday morning, we went down to the dock. See a pattern here? We jetskied and I went tubing again - tho this time it was a MUCH calmer ride. We played in the pool. We lounged on the deck. That sister-in-law that makes the best junk food in the world, well, she pulled out all the stops for dessert on Monday. Reese’s Peanut Butter Cheesecake. Divine. I remember it fondly. Monday night we went out for dinner and then came home to relax with some good old fashioned cable tv. And perhaps more cheesecake.

Tuesday, we spent a short time at the dock and then Hubby and I began packing up what seemed to be our entire house. Poor Reagan was pretty exhausted, but we forced her to stay up anyway because we so wanted her to sleep on the way home. Which is precisely what she did. Praise the Lord! We had a nice car ride home and spent the rest of Tuesday night unpacking and doing laundry. Reagan was thrilled to unpack. I may have created a small monster, by the way.

The trip was great fun. And because I am paranoid, Reagan and I managed to not get sunburned whatsoever - due in no small part to large doses of sunscreen applied and re-applied with alarming frequency. It’s a small miracle because we were outside a majority of the time. While we were there, the weather was mostly at or above 100 degrees. Normally I do NOT like to be outside in hot weather. But we made the most of it and had fun despite sweating out all of our body’s water in 30 minutes flat. I will admit, that warm weather was perfect for all the boating and swimming we did.

So we are now fully recovered and laundered and non-sore. The fond memories of tubing, swimming, boating and laughing will certainly last a good long time. As will the pictures. Two of which, are of me in a bathing suit. You have been forewarned.









2 comments:

Laura K. said...

Sounds like a FABULOUS vacation! Lots of activity, and pampering! : ) I love your writing, as always, and also your t-shirt w/ the birds on it. Tres Cool, Jean. : )

Miz Jean said...

Aw, thanks Laura! It was great fun.