Monday, July 20, 2015

Summer Vacation

“Can we do this every year?” Alyssa asked as she and I fast walked through the crowds at Cedar Point last Wednesday.

I laughed at her and said, “Well, since this is our fourth year in a row coming here, I guess you could say we DO do this every year.”

We had a great time even though it was VERY chilly on the Ferris Wheel as we looked out over a very choppy Lake Erie.



Rest assured, though, that about fifteen minutes after that very Ferris Wheel ride, Olivia informed me that she was ready to change into shorts and just a couple of hours later, Olivia and Jaxon were frolicking in the new kiddie pool at the Hotel Breakers, the hotel right on the beach by Cedar Point, where we stayed a couple of nights to enjoy the park, the beach and yes, the pools.

When we left Sandusky on Thursday instead of driving west toward home, we headed east, toward Vermillion, which is where my mom spent several years of her childhood. She hadn’t been back in many years and wanted to show us the neighborhood where she and her eight (living at home at the time) sibilngs spent so many years of their lives.

The lake is so beautiful from the Vermillion shore. The neighborhood was older, the houses were on the small side. I’m trying to imagine fitting a family of eleven in one of those houses and it seems like it would be a tight squeeze.



It was so nice to listen to my mom reminisce about her days there on the beach, the time she spend with her sisters and caring for her brothers. They had some tough times but my mom has never been bitter or hardened by those times.

The kids were pretty great on the drive to Sandusky and from Vermillion. It only got rough about a half hour from home when they started getting loud and crazy.

Of course, like many vacations, this one had to end in tears. Not mine, or the girls. Poor little Jax wasn’t ready for the fun to end.

Even with the warning from his Gram just twenty minutes before, “Jaxon, I’m telling you right now that you are not going to spend the night at Tommie’s house with the girls tonight. Everyone is too tired for company.”

He quickly surveyed us, “Tommie are you really too tired for company?”

“Yup,” I muttered, already trying to plan the evening of unpacking and laundry and dinner, ugh, yes we got home just in time for me to have to make dinner, yuck!

“Lyssie, are you too tired for company?”

“Ahh, yeah!” she quickly told him. She'd been his go-to person for the last few days, she was way too tired for the company of a seven year old boy.

“Livie, are you too tired for company?”

Olivia just grinned at him and squealed, but then she doesn’t actually have to do any work when we have company, so her vote didn’t count.

As we unpacked our crap from my mom’s car, Jaxon wandered around the driveway, making his way toward Tom on several occasions, to mutter, “I wish I could spend the night.”

Tom ignored him like a champ and my mom ordered J into the car.

The tears flowed. That boy can cry at the drop of a hat. He got that ability from my brother. It’s impressive how quickly and easily the tears flow.

Sadly for this poor kid, we’re all hard-hearted enough not to be affected by a few crocodile tears or the wails of an exhausted seven-year-old as he drives away with his gram.

And that is what we did on our summer vacation.

1 comment:

Julie said...

It sounds like you had a great vacation!! One of these years, we will join you. :)