Best vacation photo 2008

'Nuff said.

Top ten best beach experiences 2008

In no particular order:

1. Playing "doodle guess" (like Pictionary but simpler and rowdier) with all 4 kids and my mom, who was a very bad sport. Mitch's strategy: scribble on the paper and say "YES!" to the first guess.

2. The tidal pool on the last day (aka the "baby ocean"). Paige was in splish splash heaven.

3. Watching Owen and Mitch driving kiddie go-karts. Owen = old man driver (complete with side swipes of parked cars) Mitch = bad ass teenager (complete with turns on two-wheels). The attendant feared for his life.

4. The filet mignon. Who cares if they were bought on the "sell by" date and lived a long life in my parents' deep freezer. Against all odds, they were freakin' delicious.

5. Owen asking my dad for his change at Dairy Queen after being told he could pick something under $4. He did pick a $2 item after all. The kid just wanted what was coming to him!

6. Owen loosing his first tooth. He was mighty brave about it, so the tooth fairy was generous.

7. My 5-year-old niece's submission to a round of Apples to Apples (such a fun game). The adjective was "haunting." Her card said "kittens."

8. Mitch's refusing to call my brother-in-law anything but "Dave." Not Uncle David, not even just plain David. Just "Dave."

9. The Orange Blossom Bakery vs. Gingerbread House Bakery taste test. Apple fritters went to Orange Blossom. Butterscotch cookies went to Gingerbread House.

10. My mom wearing the kids' hooded fish towel. While having a serious conversation during which no one was able to take her seriously. (She was trying to keep sand out of her ears on a windy day.) I so wish I had a picture.

Totally vaca

If you speak Spanish, you might think my title means, "totally cow."

But no, it's VAY CAY, as in VAY-CAY-tion, as in, I'm so 80's cool I call it "vay cay."

All this to say, I'm away for a week enjoying a week of unpluggedness. Don't miss me too much!