buh-cation

we've probably heard that word a couple hundred times over the last week! neither of our speaking daughters can seem to annunciate the V in VACATION, but it does bring a smile to my face to hear them say it! my generous in laws gave us a week of their timeshare and we put in for a little condo in the lake conroe area...short drive + lots to do + the fact i needed to be in houston anyway for my college roommates baby shower = buh-cation! the place was perfect for us! it was nestled on the golf course (casey forgot his clubs). we spent most of our time at the condo's pool, which was perfectly situated just below our balcony. we ate. a lot. we watched movies. we played outside (the heat wasn't too bad with all the shade from the beautiful trees). visited a small church in montgomery. went to the baby shower in houston. played at an aquatic park. went bowling. went to a petting zoo-type-place. shopped (this was the highlight of casey's week). ate dinner with friends. had friends over to the condo. played at a lot of different parks. visited a children's museum. ate lunch with friends. played at a lot of parks. hung out at the yacht club....

it was so sad to see them get upset about leaving! it was so nice to be able to give them both of our undivided attention all week...i guess they picked up on it, too. as we were leaving, they cried and cried. as she was crying and buckling up to leave, baylor said, "when i'm 20, can i move here to our condo?" casey and i know we'll look back on this (which is exactly why i'm blogging about it now) and miss the girls at this age. as much work as it is to pack up your kids' things to get away for a few nights, even if it is just 4 hours from your house, it is so worth it. true family time with true family memories. on the way home, casey joked about how easy it is to make them happy- a short getaway to a small condo, eating ice cream on the balcony, making beaded bracelets in the condo's dining room- all these things made them smile and laugh and have such a good time. he said the key is to keep it that way. so how do we do it? how do we keep simple family time the thing that makes our kids the happiest?