Our Vacation Home

At the beginning of the month, we finally found some time to have a weekend getaway at our friends Bud and Abby's home.  Bud and Abby are great friends of ours from when we were in Florida and were both in our wedding.  Oddly enough, they moved to the Midwest (well, technically back to the Midwest since they both grew up out here) about a year after we did and we've been trying to get down to see them ever since.  They live in a tiny (yes, much smaller than Small Town, IL... 'small town' is a relative term I guess) little town in central Illinois in a great house on a lake.  I. WAS. IN. HEAVEN.  Their house is now referred to as our vacation home whether they like it or not!  I think we're going to have to make time from here on out to get over there and see them more often.  Needless to say, most of our time was spent outside in the water... this is truly what summer is all about.


These guys were really excited to see "Mr. Josh" again!  Funny story: the boys have always called us "Mr. Josh and Miss Kim," and one of the twins referred to Jake as "Baby Jake," which is fairly common.  The other twin, however, called him "Mr. Baby" which cracked us all up!  There is nothing funnier than hearing a child yell, "Mom!  Mr. Baby spilled the Goldfish all over the floor!"

Speaking of "Mr. Baby," he is quite the little water bug!  Having a lake out the back door was lovely, except that he never wanted to get out!  The house has a little beach down to the water, so it was perfect for him to sit down and play.

This face?   Absolutely priceless!   He pretty much had this expression on his face all day, everyday.  Well, until we made him get out and come inside anyway!

I even got in on the action.  Thankfully my husband was kind enough to take a photo of me standing in the water, rather than one of me floating on the raft.  Or even better, photos of the struggle to get on the raft!  The funny thing was that one of the twins was so concerned about me (at least we think it was concern... we're still not sure) that he would swim out and get me if I floated too far out.  Eventually he made me hang onto the dock and stay in one place.

What's better than having a beach in your backyard?  How about having parents that live across the lake and have a boat!  Poor Jake was so wiped by this point that he really did not enjoy the ride much, partly due to the life-vest.  He and I cut our ride short and while he napped, I sat in an Adirondack chair and read.  Ahhhh.... sweet bliss! 

Apparently the boat ride was a success!  The weird thing is that I think I've only seen one or two other pictures of my husband with a fish, and he makes this face in every single one.  And now he has a follower.  Nice.

This will probably be our only "vacation" this summer, or this year for that matter, but I honestly could not have asked for two better days.  It was a great time with great friends in a great place... what more could we possibly ask for?  We're already searching our calendar for a time when we can visit again... thanks to Bud, Abby, and the boys for such a wonderful getaway!  We love you guys!

Oh yeah, and the highlight of the trip?  This would get Jake's vote: