8:20 p.m. - 18 August 2003
Vacation rocks
I'm still trying to get unpacked and resorted after being on vacation all last week. My parents rented a house on a lake, with the caveat that my sisters and I would have to provide meals and snacks. A bargain, if you ask me.
My brother-in-law has taken leave of his senses (hopefully temporarily), so he did not join us, and Lee couldn't afford to take a whole week off from work, but we all had a lovely time. It wasn't until we got there, though, that my Mom told me that my aunt, uncle, and two cousins would be arriving for a few days. Apparently my dad had mentioned the house to my aunt and as a joke, told her to come down for a few days; she took him seriously. It was good to see them (I hadn't seen them since last summer), but it did make for a very crowded house while they were there.
My niece is still the cutest thing ever; any time anyone raised their voices she would smack the table and say "Calm down!" Another of her favorite phrases was "Look at me!" particularly while she was in the water. She talks constantly -- everything called for narration. My dad refers to himself as "Grampy," but I swear it sounds like "Bippy." Tricia and I have decided that Dad needs a shirt that says "Bippy" for Christmas.
The one bad thing that happened was on Friday: Mom, Dad, Jen, Little Bit and I went into town to do some shopping and looking around (Tricia didn't feel well). We stopped to get some things, and then walked over to the grocery store that was on the side of parking lot. Dad drove his truck over there to meet us, but when we came out of the store, it wouldn't start. After a tow from AAA and a walk over to the dealership, Dad's truck had a shiny new battery and we were on the way home. Little Bit was very concerned, though: "Bippy's truck better? They fixed it? All better?" I told her that they'd put a big band-aid under the hood; she kept repeating "band-aid on the hook," which we figured was close enough.
She loved swimming in the lake. She had a life vest, and would float around with someone nearby. The lake was nice and warm, but a little weedy for my tastes. I bought a swimsuit and some swim shorts so that no one would actually have to see my butt and did some swimming just about every afternoon. One afternoon, Mom was with her in the shallows and I floated up next to them; Little Bit turned to Mom and asked "Katie has on her swimmy pull-ups?" Mom agreed and we both laughed.
Oer all, it was lovely. I ate when I was hungry, slept when I was tired, read when I was bored, swam when I was hot, fished when I felt like it, and basically did a whole lot of nothing for an entire week. The real world's got nothing like that.
