Vacation!

Wehad a wonderful time at Vero Beach.  We were at Disney's Vacation Club Resort.  We planned this vacation as a "Hooray, John's Retired!" vacation, since he planned on being fully retired on October first.  But as the summer wore on, John changed the date to November fifth.  We kept the vacation date and had a blast.  The best part?  I didn't see John on the phone with work the entire time.  (He may have called when I wasn't looking, but I didn't see that--so different from every other time we've had time away from home.)  We really had his attention.  I loved that, and so did the kids.

Our condo had two bedrooms plus a fold-out couch and chair in the living room.  Plus, with the full kitchen and washer/dryer, you can vacation pretty cheaply.   The programs for the kids are a lot of fun, and quite a few of them are totally free.  Some cost a little bit, and some are expensive.  This trip we stayed with the free and low-cost items, plus John and I had one night out on a date, so very little money was spent all together. 

We had a great time just being together and taking it easy.  Disney World is fun, but we are always scattered, running and TIRED.  Vero Beach was just fun, swimming, and games as you will see:

What Do You Do at Vero Beach?

First you need a good water slide.

and a 14 year-old dare devil who WON the slide contest with the fastest run!

You simply must go to a tea party (and the un-birthday party! I can't remember which one Luci is headed to here).  All week the counselors would greet Luci with, "Hi, Luci, also known as Belle, and also known as Ariel the Mermaid!" Because she was in the pool whenever she wasn't dressed as Belle. 

You go to archery lessons...

and watch Mom's arrow fall to the ground IN FRONT OF the target!  Yes, that's my arrow on the ground--that stick-looking thing in the middle of the picture.  Thanks for recording that, JT.  You are so sweet (not!).

You make new friends!  Here Luci is with new friends from Kentucky and Florida, at the campfire one evening.

And, you must eat SMORES!

Peek-a-Boo!  Taking a bath in the "indoor swimming pool."  That's what Luci calls it.

You go to Mickey Chef Classes.

You watch Daddy fall asleep before supper.

You wonder if the 18 year old will ever get out and get some sun.

You get embarrassed by your Dad.

Especially when he gets chosen at the campfire to act silly during one of the songs (come on, John, first place in the SMORE line is hanging in the balance!).  Campfire that night was an "un-campfire" because of the high winds.  We were on the porch of the main building for this frivolity.

And you still wonder if Bryan ever got any sun.

You watch Mom go bonkers trying to play Boggle.  And catch Luci sneaking into the freezer!  Can you see her arm behind me?  She ate more that week than she ever had.  Lots of swimming will make a girl hungry.

And watch Luci conk out before bedtime.  This, along with the good eating, rarely happens at home.

You get to make crafts with Miss Rita!  This was one of Luci's creations.  Miss Rita is the one who inspired this post.

You get your whole family to build a sand castle!  Luci had this as her only "must-do" for the entire week.  She'd been talking about it for a whole year.

You bury your brother in the sand.  And look!  Bryan did get out in the sun after all.

What a great sand castle! 

We love it at Vero.