Our Lake Vacation

We got back from our lake vacation on Saturday. It was a wonderful 5-day break from the daily grind! What I want/need out of a vacation has really changed since becoming a mom. While I still appreciate new experiences and adventures, it's really nice to go somewhere and just relax - well, as much as you can relax with a toddler! It was a quiet week as it was just our little family plus my mom at the lake until Friday afternoon when my sister and her family came.  It was fun to see my sister, BIL and their kids for a bit!

Here are some of the highlights of our time at my parents lake home.

- Sunrises - I saw several beautiful sunrises thanks to Paul's early wake-up time!

- Enjoyable meals out - Paul is still at a good age for eating out. He loves people watching and charming the waitresses! We ate out twice on this vacation - one time it was just us 3, the other time my mom joined us. We didn't fit a date night in while we were at the lake but eating out with Paul is so enjoyable that we didn't feel like we needed a night away.

- Couple time on the water - I don't have pictures of this, but Phil swam across the lake one afternoon and I kayaked along side of him. He got in the kayak for the way back. It's about 1.5 miles across the lake so it was a long swim! My mom watched Paul during this time, but he ended up napping for 3 hours (that never happens at home!) so he was just waking up when we got back. We also went out for another kayak ride during his nap another day since my mom was around. I would consider this time on the lake sort of a 'date' as we got away and enjoyed time together + the outdoors.

- Sharing crackers with the fish - we spent a lot of time at the end of the dock sharing crackers with the fish. They would swim to the top and fight over the cracker crumbs. Paul was very entertained by this!

- Quality time with Nana - my mom was able to sneak away from work for most of our trip so Paul got lots of quality time with her. They spent a lot of time reading books!

 - Swimming! We only took Paul swimming once but he enjoyed the water. Because he's so susceptible to ear infection, we had to keep his ears dry. I used moldable ear plugs to plug his ears and put a neoprene headband over his ears so he wouldn't pull the plugs out. It was quite the ordeal to put all of that on, hence the reason we only swam once!

- New toys! My mom and I took him to a big toy store about 30 minutes from their lake home. He loved played with the train table at the store so I might try to get one second-hand for Christmas or his birthday. My mom treated him to a new toy - he picked out a little farm set . The brand is "Green Toys" and I was very impressed with it! It's made out of recycled plastic and had minimal packaging. The clerked who checked us out said it's virtually indestructible. The farm set came with some animals, a little hog barn, some fence sections, and a little pick-up truck. Everything can be stored in the barn which I love. I'll definitely be checking out this brand for future gifts! We waited until we were home to play with it and boy did he love it! He loves loading up the bed of the pick-up truck with as much stuff as he can pile in.

All in all it was a wonderful trip and something I hope we can do annually!