My Summer Vacation

This past week, Hans and I have been on vacation.  Oh what a lovely vacation it has been!  Ideally, Hans and I would escape off to some remote location and have the whole week to just ourselves and Cody.  This vacation, though, was not that.  This vacation was with Hans' whole family.

Of course, this meant there was a lot of anxiety going into the vacation.  When we left Friday morning, I was worried about so many things.  How would my race go? (Well, we know the answer to that one.)  Would I get along with everyone, or would tensions be high?  How annoyed would I get over things that never would have even come close to affecting my family on vacations?  Would my nephew, whom I haven't seen in a year, like me?  What about food?  Is it possible to vacation with people whose food choices are completely different from yours and still eat the way you want to?  What about exercise?  Would I get enough?  These are some pretty serious questions, and I'm happy to report I have some pretty decent answers.

The Family
I am relaxed and happy to report that things went surprisingly well on this trip.  Hans family and my family are somewhat...different (from each other, not from the world).  In the past, this has caused many a tense moments and, dare I say, resentment towards each other.  Over the past few years, though, I've noticed that my relationship with his family has slowly improved.  Still, though, I was nervous that a whole week with the whole family could be problematic.  Maybe it's just that I was super-relaxed and I really had not a care in the world, but I enjoyed the family.  I didn't just tolerate, I didn't vent behind peoples' backs.  I thoroughly enjoyed my time spent with everyone.  In fact, I even miss that time spent with them now.  Sure, there were tense moments (it was a whole family in one house for a week), but all in all things were great!

Oh, and my nephew was absolutely adorable.  He does like me, and I have the slobbery, food-stained kisses on my shirt to prove it.  I love that little guy.  Cody loved the little guy too.

I'd say we're happy.

Cody's even sharing his bed.

The Food and Fitness
Well, I can give myself a C.  Things started off really well.  After my 5k, I was so elated that I made sure I kept going like that.  I ate as healthy as I could, and on less-healthy things I'd take small portions...large enough to not be rude (or hungry), but small enough to work quickly through my system.  About half-way through the week, though, I think I said, "Aww, screw it!"  I had a lot of custard, and I felt free to help myself to the desserts.  It was always the desserts.  My stomach seriously rebelled, and my workouts became a lot harder.  I did, however, do all my planned workouts in their entirety, and I had a lot of running on the beach.  I missed going to the gym, though, and I'm looking forward to going back tomorrow.

The Boys
Cody and Hans LOVED their beach trip.  I know Hans loved the time off from the dogs, and Cody loved having us all to himself.  There was definitely some joy over being in the ocean, too.  Hans, unfortunately, caught a head cold in the latter half of the trip, so he's feeling like crud now, but Cody is just plain old worn out.  Lots of sleep is needed for this boy!

That's some special guy love.  Yes, I love my boys.

Someone's exhausted after having just chased all the seagulls off the beach.

All in all, I've returned feeling happy and refreshed.  I don't think I realized just how much I needed that break until I had that break.  I'd be more than happy to do it again!  For now, though, it's back to the daily grind...which luckily I enjoy!