PICTURES FROM OUR RECENT TRIP TO LAKE BARKLEY, KENTUCKY

The "Buckaroo" Gang

Chris - hanging on while Gretchen (successfully) works to dump him in the lake
Greg - skiing
Gretchen - skiing
Greg & Gretchen
Mike, AKA Gilligan
Barbie - lovin' the glasses

Becky, waiting to ski
Becky, skiing (FINALLY!)
Chris - skiing

VACATION!

We are on vacation on Lake Barkley in Kentucky right now. We are on our first "adults only" vacation that we have been on since Maggie was born. (A BIG THANKS to both of our parents for making that possible.) We went with two other couples who are friends of ours - we have a lake front cabin with beautiful views of the lake. One of the couples brought their boat, and I already got my shoulders a little red from the lake yesterday. Stronger sunscreen is definitely in order today.

Forgive my lack of updates for the week!

HOME AGAIN, HOME AGAIN, JIGGITY JIG

We decided to drive straight through instead of stopping yesterday. We got home from Charleston about 12:30AM. Going on vacation is wonderful, but there is very little that compares to the feeling of sleeping in your own bed after several nights away.

JUST (ANOTHER) DAY AT THE BEACH

I know I am not going to be ready to come home on Friday. There are balcony doors off the living room and our bedroom - - we have been sleeping with the door open at night because it has been so temperate and because it is so peaceful and soothing to hear the waves as we fall asleep - - from the deck, you could literally throw a rock and land it in the ocean.

Today was absolutely wonderful. The kids slept until about 8:30AM, then after breakfast, we headed down to the beach. We walked up and down the beach, combing for shells, then Chris and I sat in our beach chairs and read while the kids played in the sand and splashed in the water. We had lunch sitting on our deck that overlooks the ocean, then spent the afternoon on the beach in the same manner we had spent the morning. Chris and I were much more dilligent in our sunscreen application today - we are still pink from Monday, but added no new toasting to our bodies.

We got cleaned up about 5PM, then headed to a place called "Off the Hook" for dinner. They had a Wednesday night special of all-you-can-eat crablegs (Chris and I pigged out a little bit!) Our kids are very good eaters and always open to trying new things. Maggie has had crablegs before and loves them, so she was very excited to be sharing them with us. Before they arrived, Aleita told us she wanted some too. Once the waitress set the plate in front of me, Aleita took one look at them and said, "no thank you!" But, as she watched Chris, Maggie, and I devour them, she was too intrigued to pass them up. Soon, all four of us were eating crablegs as fast as Chris and I could crack them open. We filled up two good sized buckets with discarded crab shells before we threw in the proverbial towel.

I just got done a little bit ago reading Aleita her bedtime story and putting her to bed. She asked me to lay with her for a little bit -- I laid down with her, and in less than two minutes, she let out a deep sigh and went right to sleep. Tomorrow, the weather is supposed to be sunny and warm, so I am looking forward to spending our last full day at the beach again. I am so glad we decided to get away - - this trip has been wonderful.

HEY YA'LL!!

Greetings from the land of grits, cornbread and sweet tea. I didn't think I would be blogging again until May, but I brought my laptop along for the kids to watch movies in the car, and it turns out, we have wireless connection in our condo. So, lucky you . . . um, I mean, ya'll, won't have to wait until then. (for those of you who do not know, we are vacationing this week in Charleston, SC. We are actuallly staying on at a beachfront condo on the Isle of Palms - - today it was 75 degrees, sunny and slightly breezy - - and every day this week is supposed to be more of the same.)

We had a funny today at lunch that I thought I would share. We were eating at a wonderful little beachside bar/restaurant called the Banana Cabana, and our waitress was talking with the kids a bit. Aleita and Maggie were telling her their names and bending her ear a bit, when Maggie said, "there is me, then Aleita, but we left the baby in the car. Mommy wouldn't let us bring Maribel with us." She was speaking of her DOLL baby, but the waitress gave her a wide-eyed look, then glanced at us as if to plead, "she is just kidding, right?" I quicklly corrected with, "her DOLL baby is in the car." The waitress slightly exhaled and gave a nervous laugh, obviously relieved that she wasn't going to need to dash inside and make a quick call to DCFS.

THINGS I AM LOVIN' RIGHT NOW. . . . . (PART TWO)

6. Post’s Live Active Cereal – I have reached that age where if I am going to buy a new breakfast cereal, the first thing I look at is the fiber content (goodbye youth and Peanut Butter Cap’n Crunch.) One of my new favorites is Post’s Live Active Nut Harvest Crunch. It does have 6 g of fat per serving, but it does have 8 g of fiber per serving. They also make one called Post Live Active Mixed Berry Crunch which is good as well, but the Nut Harvest is my favorite.

7. Mad Men – This is an AMC original series. It is set in 1960 New York, and is about the lives of the competitive advertisers of Madison Avenue. It is so unbelievable at times – almost like looking at a snapshot in time from fifty years ago when white men had sole power, and for most women, their biggest ambition was to marry well and raise a passel of kids. For the women who did work, most became secretaries, elementary teachers, or nurses. Sexual harassment was rampant, and everyone smoked like fiends, anytime and everywhere. It is almost enough to give you lung cancer just watching it. Very interesting and enlightening series with good plotlines and believable characters.

8. warmer weather is coming – This winter has seemed to be a very long, cold one. We have had a few glimpses of spring in the past week. On Good Friday, it was warm enough that Maggie and I worked in the yard all day in just sweatshirts and jeans with no coats on. That night, Chris made chicken on the grill – our first grilling for 2008. I am ready for t-shirt and jeans weather.

9. vacation is less than a month away – We are taking the kids and heading to Charleson, SC in April for a week of vacation. They have been to the Gulf of Mexico many times, but never the Atlantic. They are going to be in for a surprise when they find out that it is quite a bit colder. They will love the fact that there are so many seashells to find though. The ones at the Gulf are tiny and not really worth the trouble of collecting. I am excited because we are staying in a condo that is directly ocean-front (actually on the Isle of Palms, near Charleston.) Momma is ready for some R and R.

10. Five Gum – Gum that came out about six months ago. It is made by the Wrigley Company. It comes in three flavors, Rain (spearmint), Flare (cinnamon), and Cobalt (peppermint.) I like them all – they are long-lasting, intense flavor and are sugar free.

Rustic, Schmustic

I am so sick of the snow. I am definitely ready for warmer weather. We got another five inches of snow yesterday, and it is going to be in the 30s all week long, with the possibility of more snow this Friday. Enough already!

Of late, I have been living vicariously through my vacation planning. We are going to go to Charleston, SC next month, and I am more than ready for some sun and warm weather. The condo that we are staying in is right on the beach, ocean front. The kids have been to the gulf several times, but this will be their first trip to the Atlantic. They are going to be in for a bit of a surprise when they realize that they are not in store for the white sugar sand beaches and warm peaceful waters of southern Alabama. I am excited for them to actually have the opportunity to be able to collect seashells. The only ones you can find where we vacation in Alabama are teeny tiny ones, if at all.

My husband’s family are all taking a group family vacation this year. They did ask us to come along, but two things prevented it. The first is that the week they chose in April, Maggie is in school all week, and I don’t want her to miss an entire week of school. (During the week we are going to be gone to Charleston, she is out of school for teacher meetings three days, and we are taking her out the other two.) The other reason is their choice of vacation venue.

The rest of the Hale family will be spending a week camping in Kentucky. Go with God, ya’ll. Becky don’t camp. I was assured that the campgrounds they are staying at are very modern, and they even have "rustic" cabins that we could stay in if we didn't want to tent camp. ("Rustic" read: no indoor plumbing.) The following week, I will fondly think of their week cooking over the open fire and peeing outdoors while I sit and sip my beer from the deck of my condo overlooking the ocean.