9. Watching the kids deepen their relationships with their grandparents over the week. It was so neat to see them run, arms wide open, to get hugs, or pull a grandparent over to see a rock or take a walk.
8. Spending an entire week with my parents. We really enjoyed their company and getting to share the kids' enjoyment of the vacation with them. Their help was tremendous too -- I think I actually ate a real breakfast every day last week!
7. Spending an entire week with Scott. Neither of us brought anything from work (even though we did check voicemail from home to keep up-to-date on the house situation) so we spent all our time playing and working together. What a treat.
6. Visiting the local craft store with my mom. We found a cute tiny shop in Northport that had supplies for scrapbooks, quilts, knitting, and doll-making. Mom and I had a great time poking around and chatting with the owner. I bought the kids super-easy kites to decorate and fly, and found a gift for a friend. (Hey Brooke-- got any free time to come over?) Mom found a book on making a quilt in a day, which looks really cool. (I hope I can borrow it some time!)
5. Playing in the park in the rain. Elli loved being rained on, and Sam and Anna took full advantage of the enormous puddles we found.
4.
Watching my parents play basketball with the kids. I've never seen them do this before, and both of them made baskets! Here's photographic proof for those doubters out there!3.
Riding a boat around the Northport Bay. The people who rent out the house we stayed in were there the weekend we arrived. They were lovely people and offered to take all of us out on the lake, kids included. They took the kids through the marina to look at all the boats, then kept on going, giving us an hour-long tour! 2. Going for a sunset walk along the beach with Scott. My parents offered to put the kids to bed for us so we could get out for a couple hours. We got to watch a storm blow in across the lake and bask in the quiet together.
1. Going out on a real date with Scott. My parents took a whole evening with the kids so we could go out to dinner! We had seafood (is it still called seafood if it's from a freshwater lake?), shared a chocolate cheesecake dessert, took a walk through historic Fishtown (Leland), poked around some cute little shops, and enjoyed a beautiful sunset. You just can't beat two evenings together in one week!
