Simple. Vacation.

We went into Nisswa today to walk the town and race turtles.

While T and M choose turtles based on strategy, E chooses her on size. Bigger must mean better. {It didn't.}

We go for an afternoon swim. Outside. Then inside. A dip in the hot tub and then just a few jumps back in the pool.

Between trying to remove her swimsuit in a hot tub full of men and asking someone at the pool "Why you take my towel?" when they hold a similar towel, not hers, Miss E makes us laugh.

We eat dinner outside. The typical bargaining goes on. Two more bites of this. Please drink this.

We walk on the beach, feeding the ducks. Literally letting the ducks take the bread out of our finger tips.

We walk to the resort arcade, where all the games are just 25 cents. My dad and I rock out pinball on E's quarters. She stands between us on a chair thinking she's scoring big.

{By the way, Boppa and I are pretty good.}

I've promised a candy treat even though I claim they're shortly off to bed. H chooses a sugar lolly pop, the kind I loved eating as a kid.

We get back to the cabin just in time for kickball with the neighbor kids. H jumps right in. And E tries but mostly disrupts.

The neighbor boys ranging in age from 3-7 have all taken off their t-shirts and tucked them into their shorts and H copies them. I am smiling.

They play while the sun is setting, the air is cooling down, later than we planned.

Perfect night we say aloud over and over and over again.

J & I sit together, we're listening to the beach outside, water hitting the sand. Relaxing, him with his Rolling Rock, me with my Chai tea.

These are the simple joys, the things that make vacation, vacation.

I lay in bed next to E reading her her Dora library book for the 56th time this week. "Again?" she says as I turn the last page, I oblige, because after all, this makes vacation, vacation.

{Thoughts on Wednesday night.}