Paradise

It’s been six years since my family last was here. We used to come every year for a big summer vacation. Aunts, uncles, cousins, grandparents, and parents alike. There were many summers in a row that we vacationed in this teeny tiny little town called Paradise. It’s been too long and I am so happy to be back.

So happy, in fact, that I keep forgetting my camera everywhere we go. I just keep thinking that I’ll grab it later because vacation lazy is in full swing. Thank goodness for iPhones and emailed images from everyone else’s cameras who were in fact smart enough to bring them, unlike myself.

It is 8:56 and I am laying here currently held up in our hotel room, overlooking the courtyard, freezing because without thought to my pg&e bill, I have made myself comfortable {yes freezing is comfortable}. I am laying crooked because my bed is so entirely old that when I lay down and I am instantly at a 45 degree angle, slanted toward the middle and I don’t even care. I am held up in here because my baby is sleeping so soundly. Day two of no naps and he is wiped out. He is such a good natured little guy. With the exception of sending every item in his reach into orbit during dinner, he has been an absolute brilliant little traveler.

My girls were about asleep this evening, when Aunt Jill came and knocked on the door for a late night Baskin Robbins run. Yes, I gave them 60 seconds to get up and get ready if they wanted to join. It’s vacation. Vacations rock.

My sister and her husband and three of their six kids are here, my whole crew, and my mom and dad.

We spent the day today playing in a river, eating at the world’s best Mongolian BBQ, ignoring the running shoes that I had brought along with good intent and getting hotel ice because it is the best kind of ice.

Finally, I bring you a little story about a beached whale. The river we were at today is lovely. I mean really lovely. My sister and I have a history of doing water ballet on inner tubes being pulled by boats, Xanadu re enactments in our driveway, and well you get the idea. So, of course you can imagine this river and a couple of swimming rings leaves endless possibilities for our showmanship, but there was just one problem. It was too shallow. Despite our hike upstream and our valiant effort, we remained beached in the middle of a river while our tiny children floated their way peacefully downstream. Repeatedly.

We slowly, yet surely made our way downstream while our backsides met many a rock. It was nearly fun, intermittently painful, and somewhat humiliating all at the same time. I have no pictures of this event and I venture to say that I think you will understand why. I will leave you instead with a couple of phone pics of some of the men in my life.

Today will end shortly, just after a late night hot tub swim with my daddy and tucking my self in to my slope-y-licious bed.

More of all of this loveliness tomorrow.

Bring my camera.

Bring my camera.

Bring my camera.

Goodnight.