Wednesday, September 10, 2008

The Family That Vacations Together . . .



Oh, I'm back from a nice long week of fun in the sun. I have mixed feelings, of course, it's always nice to be home after a long trip away, but the beach is such a delicious get-a-way that it makes you want to stay there forever and ever.


This was an extremely unique vacation experience for us. Usually just the three of us go, with Baby Doggy in tow, but this time the in-laws invited us to go with them on vacation. I was pretty weary of the whole set-up from Jump Street, but Mom #2 insisted everyone could be on their best behavior for a week.


So just to recap, the vacation includes: Mom-in-law, Pop-in-law, two Bros-in-laws, along with Mom #2, Baby Boy, Baby Doggy, and myself. We did manage to get our own beach house for
just our little family while the two bros-in-law stayed with their folks since they are both single.


Now let me just explain the difference in our family dynamics. Mom #2’s family is a very traditional Hispanic family: Dad sits in the recliner, Godfather style, and demands everyone do what he says, when he says, and how he says. Family members shuck and jive to keep the peace.


Our family unit is run a little differently: Mom #2 and I hash out discuss everything and try to come to some resemblance of a compromise and even solicit Baby Boy’s opinion on what he may or may not want to do IF we’re in a good mood.


Even with this major contradiction in leadership styles, everyone did manage to behave themselves and there wasn’t too much tension other than a few ill-scheduled fishing trips (which Baby Boy simply did not attend), one extremely tense lunch, a few murmured, “Why don’t y'all just eat when Dad and I eat?” And a three person family decision to come home a day early just so we could spend a little time alone on the highway, LOL. Oh, the joys of extended family.


As you can see from the photos above . . . we officially survived our Summer Vacation 2008.


Baby Boy and I are officially getting back to learning on Monday . . . so I’m just going to try to
get all of my last minute lesson planning and preparations done for the rest of this week, and of course, catch up on my blog reading. ;-)


Thanks for stopping by!



Until next time . . .



11 comments:

:)De said...

Welcome back...Love the new digs.
Peace,
:)De

Ami said...

nice to 'see' you again!!

I love my family.
I love my hub's family.

At a distance.

The further the better.

Welcome back!!

Rebel said...

Love the pics! I'm glad ya'll had a nice time. I'm pretty sure I couldn't spend a week with extended family...

Anonymous said...

Welcome back! I'm actually the one who gets waited on hand and foot around here. Oh, wait a minute. That's just wishful thinking again :-).

SabrinaT said...

Welcome home! The beach looks wonderful.
Love the new blog get up!!

Your Pal Pinki said...

A family trip like this one is worth a hundred actual school lessons. Don't you just love homeschool and going on vacation when you want? I sure do! Glad you had a good time!

Jason, as himself said...

I love these pics!

Hula Hank said...

I LOVE the new layout!

Aren't extended family holidays a blast? ;)

One becomes so comfortable with how their own "units" operate that it is sometimes hard to adjust.

X

Katy said...

I just found your blog from one of your comments on Jason's blog (doesn't that sound like a foreign language exercise) and am lovin' it. I've jumped the public school ship for thing two and learning about all the different homeschooling approaches is fascinating.

Totally relate to the in-law conundrum. My motherinlaw is leaving on Sunday after a six-week visit (she's from Iran so a shorter one is not practical) and the mental stress has my head spinning even though she is an absolutely lovely person. (A person I cannot have a conversation with which makes for some lively games of charades as we try to communicate.)

I'm looking forward to hearing more about your homeschooling adventure. Now I'm thinking I need to find a homeschooling group for thing two to meet up with and make friends!

Heather said...

I've found the best way to survive extended family and in-law outings is to curb my desire to whisper and murmur. You know, those little whispers of, "WHY does your mother do that??" and murmurs under my breath of, "Sure, I'll just drop everything because YOU asked." The less I say those things out loud, no matter how inaudible, the less I think them. The less I think them, the happier the event. :)

Glad you had a good time despite the added stress, and I'm glad you're back!

kitten said...

Glad you survied and had a good time. I could never tell by looking at baby boy that he has had any health problems. Thanks for the advice!

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