If I had to say what we gained from this vacation was what rules us Carters should follow to make a good trip.
DAY 1, Rule #1 - Try it, you might like it!
DAY 2, Rule #2 – Taking it easy on vacation makes it feel like a vacation!
Day 3 -- coming up next!
I was truly looking forward to Saturday morning because I was scheduled for a massage! YAHOO!!! First, however, we had to eat breakfast and I had to have Morgan good and full so she’d sleep for Ryan and not be a screaming banshee.
Meals are such a trying experience at this stage of the game – too bad it has be seen in public now and then. I had Morgan in one arm and tried to hold my tray in the other and then eat one handed. Ryan loaded up for the boys and himself and then had to pop up and down to meet their whining needs. Bless him!
I tried a Swedish massage with those hot stones. Man, I should invest in my own set of stones – that was awesome! I liked my masseuse until she got comfy chatting with me and began to show her loose lipped, worldly young 20s-ness. It would have been fine except for the profanity. I actually like getting to know all sorts of people and finding out about things they know or have done that I’d like to add to my life list, or bucket list. She’d always wanted to live in Europe and grown up poor. She went to massage therapy school and then signed up with the Army so she’d get school paid for and get to travel. We have new friends here who did this with dental school and sounds like a good plan to me!
The only other kink to my massage was the fountain that was my nose! ARGH!!! I kid you not, it would not stop running and running – totally disgusting! I couldn’t breathe and was so mad I couldn’t just relax and enjoy those hot stones massaging away all the knots in my back from this move and carrying Morgan around. Guess I’ll just have to do it again when this cold finally takes a hike!
After my massage, I hurried back to our room fearing the worst with the boys bouncing off the walls, Morgan screaming, and Ryan . . . but all was serene on the scene! HURRAY!!! I was so grateful Ryan didn’t have to suffer while I was away! It was snowing still and continued all day. I offered to take the boys swimming while Ryan caught a nap. The plan was that Ryan and Morgan would come down when she woke up.
So off to the pool we went! The boys loved sprinting to the elevators to push the buttons. I realized I missed seeing their lil bods in swim suits and bare feet scampering about. They grow up so fast! I would have enjoyed taking my book to read poolside but the boys are just too little and still require vigilant eagle eyes.
My eyes and mind did wander time to time as I was mesmerized by the different types of falling snow outside! It was like watching a bonfire, I just got lost in it. By the end of the three hours there with the kids, I’d seen so many different types of snow falling and realized how joyful and rejuvenated it made me feel! I just couldn’t get enough of it!
I realized a few other things too. I don’t think I’ve ever seen such a collection of tattoos in one place before! Men and women! Guess that comes with the military, eh? Also the ratio of fit men and women here to my stateside pool time in little ol’ Leesburg was staggering. I won’t delve into my feelings of flabby inferiority; let’s just say it was alive and kicking!
I actually had a good time watching the boys play in the pool. Because it was pretty quiet there while most hotel guests were out enjoying the snow and slopes, McKay ventured off the steps. First he took a few rounds holding on to the edge where he exclaimed he was “swimming” and then he timidly walked away from the edge and was real excited about that because it meant he could follow Easton wherever. Easton surprised me the most because by the end of our time there he began going completely under water all by himself! I wasn’t even asking him to try it! He just did it on his own! YAHOO!!! I wondered if it’d ever happen! This my kid who has howled any time water got in his eyes whether he was in the tub, shower, or pool. I only wish we’d stayed longer at the hotel to hang at the pool so he’d pair up his new doggy paddle with his underwater bobs. He’s rather proud of his new skills and we keep congratulating him on it!
Easton cracked me up with his attempts at being social. There was a little boy there with his family. One time as the kid passed by, Easton roared at him in an attempt to play with him. The kid was the youngest of three boys and Easton’s age and he understood the growl gesture and so Easton and McKay had fun chasing the boy around the pool until the family left. The second attempt of this tactic didn’t work. Easton growled, the kid again was the youngest but had an older brother and sister and mom who you could tell doted on him. This kid yelped and swam away leaving Easton a little sad and concerned.
I called Easton over poolside and told him that if he wanted to play with the boy he should say, “Hi, my name is Easton. Will you play with me?” My cute little sponge took it in and when the boy warily swam by again, I saw Easton cautiously approach him and deliver his new greeting with perfection. The boy said yes! They started chasing each other and McKay joined in, of course. I found it really funny how McKay eagerly tried to engage kids with a simultaneous growl to Easton’s. This time, McKay was still using the growl tactic but was real curious as he saw Easton try a new strategy. I’m excited to see this all play out as they get older and learn from one another.
McKay does size people up pretty fast and I watched him get out of the pool to stand on the side of the deep end. He started gesturing and ordering a 14 yr old real timid boy (perhaps with some sort of delay) to do something like swim in another place. The boy kept silent as he slowly backed away from the edge where McKay was, all the while keeping a steady eye on this pint-sized dictator. Once McKay had said his peace, he walked back around to the stairs of the kiddy side of the pool. He’s too funny sometimes!
Ryan and Morgan finally emerged a bit after 2pm so the boys had swam 3 hours! Ryan and I grabbed some poolside paninis which the boys refused to get out of the pool for. Finally I got them out of the pool and fed them. It was great we ate so late because me and the boys weren’t much hungry for dinner so Ryan could justify going back for another filet mignon. We ended our lazy day in true fashion with rented movies. I wish we were better prepared with snow gear for everyone to enjoy all that snow but this day was perfect for us. Next year we’ll be better outfitted to take it all in or maybe we’ll just opt for the same ol’ thing!
