Six Kids Plus Four Adults equals Bliss.

How does six kids plus four adults equal bliss?  A vacation.  My college friend and his family moved from Illinois to Watertown, Connecticut last September.  In exchange for their patio set, we agreed to visit  before their first anniversary out East.  (We would have come no matter what.)  We tried to coordinate a visit in March, but life got in the way. This time we used all the frequent flyer miles and purposely did not set a  back-up plan. Our vacation was set in stone. 

Revin' Roger trying to figure out how dad's phone gets music on the plane.

This trip was a first of many events for us.  First real vacation, first plane ride, first visit to the beach and first sleep over for the kids.  The kids were outstanding on the plane ride to and from home.  Wild Regan thought take off and landing was one large roller coaster.  Revin' Roger had a little trouble with the air pressure but quickly recovered.  Amazing Ann just wanted to watch TV and check out the clouds.  

The moment we finally arrived at their house, the kids flew out of the car.  My oldest, Amazing Ann, has a huge crush on their oldest son.  While Wild Regan was thrilled to play dolls with their daughter and check out her princess collection. Their youngest son introduced Revin' Roger to "Thomas the Train" – he  has not stopped playing Thomas ever since.  The next morning we traveled over to Rob's office, the Coast Guard Academy.  He was kind enough to give us the royal tour.  While we were in awe of the views and cadet accomplishments, the girls were yelling into the ocean looking for Princess Ariel.  

Check out the ocean beyond the field.

Next day we finally made it to a real beach. The local beach was pristinely gorgeous.   Our kids built castles, chased waves and got buried in the sand.  I was so worried about sunburns, that everyone was lathered up with sunscreen except myself.  Nasty burns greeted me that night.

All six kids slept upstairs in one giant slumber party.   Downstairs we enjoyed an adult beverage and cheered on the Hawks for a do-or-die game.  Good friends with a good game was pure joy.

The next morning we knew home was calling. My kids were tired from not sleeping in their own beds.  I also suspect they were not really sleeping at night because they were too busy having fun with their friends when the lights went out.  Lack of sleep and being hungry made the little ones a bit crabby.  

Amazing Ann with her main man.  

Sadly our time was up and we said goodbye with tears.  My hope is to host them soon, in Crazyville.

What are your vacation plans this summer?

Sharon, The Mayor of Crazyville

On a side note, I had no problem publishing these photos because the kids faces are hidden or masked.  I firmly believe in protecting our most precious gifs, our children.