Hey, hey!

Well, we are back from vacation, and I’m a little (ok, a lot) sad about it. It flew by so quickly and I feel like, even by scheduling Monday’s and Wednesday’s posts in advance and limiting my time on social media/my phone, I just didn’t soak it all in enough.

When we were first sitting out on the beach on Sunday afternoon, I turned to Mark and said, “I feel like I should be doing something. I think I’ve forgotten how to relax.”

Truth be told, we still had an amazing time. It was a wonderful few days with my parents and my in-laws, and I wish I’d requested the entire week off (even though last night and today are rainy and gross) so we could keep my parents company a bit longer.

But, all good things must come to an end, which means we’ll have to enjoy being back to our routine and come up with something else to look forward to.

Since I didn’t schedule a post for today, I think it’s a perfect time for a traditional, vacation-themed thinking out loud.

1. I am incredibly sunburned. Yes, I am college educated and fairly intelligent, and no, I didn’t realize that spray sunscreen should be RUBBED IN. Actually, I asked Mark, “do we need to rub this in?” and he replied (though he denies the exchange) that “no, it didn’t say so.” YES IT DID. It was the second instruction after “shake well.” Luckily my lobster-toned skin (with the oddest “tan” lines ever thanks to my crocheted bathing suit top) is fading and healing, but it meant I spent most of our beach time under the canopy instead of directly in the sun and in the water. One day I’ll learn…

2. Bazooka is still not the biggest fan of the beach. Perhaps it was his runny nose and the fact that he wasn’t feeling his best, but apart from the first day, he didn’t really play in the sand much. The water was too cold to put him in, so he spent much of the time in (one of) our laps. I think he enjoyed all the sights and sounds, though.

Cutest beach baby ever? I think so.

3. The dogs—all 4 of them—did surprisingly well. Iggy still hates the sand, but Gracie and Leo (my in-laws’ dogs) loved it. Sandy (my parents’ dog) was mostly indifferent—which is silly, given his name (#cheeseball). Iggy’s barking got out of control a bit, but I’m actually really happy with how they “behaved.”

4. We had a few different visits from a heron—can you believe how close I was able to get to him? Between him and the groups of pelicans gliding above us, I was in “actually an 80-year-old” bird watching heaven!

Hello, there “birdie” (Bazooka’s favorite new word)

5. It’s a good thing we cleaned out our closets the other day because we both bought way too much stuff at the outlets. I desperately needed new work pants, though, and I bought a couple of dresses that fit like a glove.

6. On Tuesday night we went out to dinner to celebrate our 8^th anniversary! While we enjoyed getting away and spending time together, our dinner was disappointing. At the last minute we decided to try Villagio Grille  (the menu sounded better), and while it wasn’t bad, it wasn’t worth the money we spent. Maybe we were dumb expecting top-notch service and food from a touristy location? Our waiter seemed extremely frazzled (even though they weren’t that busy) and kept forgetting our order, and Mark’s dish was just really bland. We ordered a bottle of wine, expecting a leisurely dinner, and we were rushed when our entrees came out 0.3 seconds later—before we got our appetizer, which was a mess (and luckily, was free of charge since they messed up). We’d planned to take our leftover wine (yes, they gave us a to-go brown bag since it was a twist-top!) and drink it on the beach, but we unfortunately came back to a wide-awake and over-tired baby who was resisting sleep. So…we all went to bed instead.

Flavorful honey truffle shrimp with haricots verts and risotto

Tasteless (but perfectly cooked) diver scallops with not-at-their-peak Chilton Co. peach risotto

7. In other news, if you follow me on Instagram, you know I’ve still got skillz. 😉 Sure, I fell immediately after this photo was snapped, and it’s hard to believe that just 3 years ago I was taking an adult gymnastics class and flipping all over the place. Now I’m so weak—pregnancy and childbirth will do that to you—that I can’t imagine doing a back-handspring or back-tuck!

This was before the sunburn…

8. And I really didn’t miss blogging all that much. I have some comments to catch up on, but as much as I enjoy keeping up with you guys, I’m probably just going to “mark all as read” in my blog-reader (follow me on Bloglovin’) and catch up with you all in real time (minus a few that I’ve already read). Sometimes you just need to unplug—I’m sure you agree.

9. Something completely unrelated to our vacation but awesome nonetheless: my husband finally got his LPC license! Basically this opens the door for private practice (should he ever pursue that) and opportunities for growth in his current employment. I’m so proud of my bear!

10. On that note, I’m running out of steam—probably because I’m exhausted and need a vacation from my vacation! I had all these fantasies of the ultimate relaxation—sipping wine while watching the sunset, breakfasts on the screened-in porch, and relaxing walks on the beach—and while we had a little bit of that, I guess I forgot that rambunctious toddlers and slightly neurotic dachshunds don’t allow for much quiet and relaxation! Bazooka slept the entire drive home and slept like a rock in his crib last night, and I’m hoping he does the same tonight.

Have a great Thursday—I’ll be back next week. 🙂