the.best.life: Vacation, Part II

Vacation 2008 was a new adventure. Instead of our normal trip to Ocean City, we decided to hit up beautiful Hocking Hills in southern Ohio....so we stayed in a spacious lake house on Lake Logan. We definitely missed the ocean air and Dan & Tim missed riding the waves...but it was nice to try something new...and we got to hike and swim and fish and hot tub...all just 3 hours away from T-burg.

Emily was the menu mastermind and we overpacked foodwise, but did better than last year. Tim and I suffered from minor sleep deprivation as Mason and Levi tagteamed us each night...but we tried to keep our chins up and were able to stay motivated to hike despite the muggy heat and tired eyes.

Mason had normal 2 1/2 year old sharing issues with his cousin Luke and disciplining became tiresome towards the end of the week....but I just kept reminding myself that Luke would be beating up on Levi next year, hopefully, evening the playing field.

The highlight was a 2 1/2 mile hike around the rim of Conkle's Hollow. We were 200 feet up for much of the trek--it was breathtaking and gave quite a sense of accomplishment that we were all able to go with such well-behaved children on our backs.

The adults were even able to muster staying up late, playing cards and Trouble and Hillbilly Golf (borrowed from Tim's Aunt & Uncle) and going for dips in the hot tub. And I was able to start and finish a book, Operating Instructions by Anne Lamott, which was quite a fun read.

Mason loved fishing with Daddy and Uncle Dan. He caught several sun fish and even touched them. Levi had his first taste of real food--bananas.

Here are some pictures....and you can check out Emily's blog for more pics and details. All in all, another year of memories with our favorite people = a trip well worth it!! Some day, we'll be able to vacation without the kiddos....and then what will we do???