Condensed version

We did so much during our week of vacation that I'd be here for days if I tried to write it all down. Here, then, are what I think are the five most noteworthy things I personally experienced:

1. Rented Waverunners with my husband, sister, and her fiance. Say that three times fast! Rent Waverunners. Rent Waverunners. Rent Waverunners. :) I was not, I admit, overly interested in this activity, but my husband has been talking about wanting to do this for the last 2 years, so I was obliged to try it, and being a Florida native, I was embarrassed to say I'd never done it before, so this was a good time to remedy that situation. And we really had fun. We rode in tandem, 2 of us on each machine, and what I really enjoyed the most was just holding onto DH so tight, knowing he was going to be careful and safe (and still drive the thing faster than a speeding bullet). Is it too cheesy to say it was a metaphor for life as we know it? Of course it is. But that won't stop me: We're just holding on (or, at least I am), while we bounce over all the waves and make sharp turns and get sprayed with salt water. Fun in the sun, it was.
   
2. Took AJ to the wading pool and to the beach, and took video of both. Not that this was really important, but it was fun. He had a good time in the water, but only when he could stand up near the side and put his toys in and out of the water. So cute. He also enjoyed the beach, but just the sand part. He'd wad it up in his little fists, wondering ever so obviously "what in heck IS this stuff?" Then he'd grab his green plastic pail, and dump the sand all over himself -- so much that after a while, he couldn't even move. He was our little Sugar Cookie.
   
3. Went shopping with my best friend, MB. There is a huge outlet mall close to our condo, so we went looking for bargains and had a great time. We also talked a lot about money, and saving money, and her life as a stay-at-home mom, and mine as a working mom. I came away from it feeling inspired. I even talked to DH about it and I feel great about that, as well. I think we are going to have a plan here real soon.
   
4. I did not read one single blog for 7 whole days. I missed you guys, but... wow. This item in itself was a vacation. Because it's an addiction, reading blogs. It really is. I'd like to say I did not think about work one single time, but that would be a lie. Every once in a while I thought about the Big Project I was trying to get finished before we left. I had to close my eyes and go underwater each time it happened to shake those vacation-interrupting thoughts away! Boooo for that!
   
5. I got a tan, swam laps one morning, and did not, as hoped, jump-start my workout regimen. I am no longer Mighty Whitey. But I am also not thin and gorgeous and physically fit. All this is noteworthy only because the next big family event is my sister's wedding, in which I wear a light blue spaghetti-strap bridesmaid dress. We're excited to all be together again in only 4 weeks, and.... I really couldn't care about the "thin" thing, because, damn, were those fried shrimp and Oreos and Mudslides and daquiris good. :)

And yes, this IS the condensed version. :)