Mommy Vacation Time- Year Three

This post isn't as long as it looks. Really. And a few of you just may find a surprise tucked into it for you!

Some of you who have been stopping here for a long time may remember that each year, my husband's large family (and assorted spouses and children) converge at the same campground on the coast.
(They've been doing this since the their parents began in the late 50's and it's continued all of these decades!)

And as some of you also may remember, for the last few years I have not gone...it's been my own little Mommy Vacation.

It's really hard to believe that the time is here once again.
(In fact, I just looked back and re-read my previous posts from not only last year but two years ago! Time has truly flown at the speed of light, I think...)

I just helped send off my family last this morning...making sure hair was braided, special activities and "luvvies" were in tow, toothbrushes were packed, special mommy notes were tucked into suitcase pockets...

Only this time, because they are staying almost a whole week, I am thinking seriously of joining them in a few days when my sister in law drives out there. Yes, I am.
Now, this would be a first for me in about three years! But not seeing my family for six whole days is pushing this solitude thing just a bit far...so we'll see!

What will I do with at least three days of alone time on my hands, you ask?
Oh, there will be the usual boring stuff...
catch up on house cleaning, finish organizing the school room...

but...
I really, really hope to finally tackle writing the end of the novel I started a few years back. At least make a dent in the ending!

I will also be getting out the dusty scrapbooking supplies, maybe watch an old movie, and basking in the sunshine with a good book on the hammock I got for Mother's Day! (Are you jealous yet?)



In fact, I just borrowed an interesting looking book from a friend yesterday by Francine Rivers called "Unspoken" and I can't wait to get into it!


Speaking of this friend, she and her husband, along with their sweet little boys, graciously had us all over for a barbecue and swim in their neighborhood pool on Sunday it was such a refreshing time!
(Thank you M and J!!!)

I will use the topic of gracious friends to segue into passing on award I was given recently....(Thank you, again, Tammy from Country Girl at Home!)

The rules are to pass it on to seven other blogs and link to them... And even though seven seems like a lot, there it's still difficult to present this to only seven when there are SO many of you that I love to visit! (Some of you may have already received this, but if you have, just know you are extra appreciated!)

1) Susanne from Living to Tell the Story.
Not only has she become a dear friend, but she always seems to have a recipe to share, a book to review, or just some wonderful insight.

2) Midlife Mom from Home on the Range.
Visiting her, you can almost smell the country air as she tells about her life on her beautiful acreage, complete with horses!

3) Dawn from Call Me Grandma Dawn.
I think I met her after I had only been blogging a few months and I love that when I visit her, it's like sitting down at her kitchen table with a cup of coffee and a good friend. She has just recently retired and added twin baby granddaughters to her family in the past six months, so it's fun to peek into her life as she enjoys this interesting phase of her life.

4) Leigh Ann from Living to Learn and Learning to Live.
She is a young mom who seems to not only have such a good heart, but a super sense of humor, as well!

5) Susan from Penless Writer.
She is a dear lady who is such a blessing in blogland! Married for 49 years, she is a woman of much wisdom and a woman of prayer!

6)Barbie at Mamaology.
A young mom to four little girls, who also does home day care as she and her husband move towards a life in ministry, she is an amazing example of someone who strives to be the best wife and mom, savor each moment, while trusting in God to lead their family each and every day.

7)Nancy at Daily Blessings.
Nancy is such a dear blogging friend, and it always amazes me how- though her posts are usually not very long at all- how she seems to convey so very much in them without using many words! As her blog name implies, she certainly is a blessing to blogland.



I actually had another award to give out, but it will have to wait until another post.

Not that I'm busy or anything...but now I need to visit all of you now, and besides, I apparently don't have Nancy's gift of saying so much in few words.

But that's right, no dinner to hurry and fix for the family this week.
Cooking vacation! WOO!

I know some of you who love to cook are shaking your heads at me, but really, this is the thing that I sometimes dread the most.
What to do for dinner to make everyone reasonably happy, on a budget, and without a lot of...of you know... cooking.

In fact, I just ate a healthy light spinach salad- aren't you proud of me?

Of course, that's not to say I may not eat a big bowl of root beer float ice cream while watching HGTV later...

To be continued...

So, what do YOU do, if and when you get time to yourself?