Vacation. Aaahhhhhh.

So, this has been a doozie of a summer. Like, the doozie of all doozies. When I look at the circumstances on paper, it doesn't seem like it should have been that bad (well, except for that whole recovering-from-grad-school and lots-of-traveling and getting-rid-of-3/4-of-our-belongings and uprooting-and-moving thing). Okay, I guess I'm not crazy for feeling like I got run over by a truck. 

We needed a vacation. BAD.

As in...we needed some of THIS. Aaahhh.

Annabel got her vacation when we stayed for a couple days at an amazing cabin decked out for the owners' 3-year-old granddaughter - it was like a toddler girl's wonderland, complete with princess pinktastic bedroom and playhouse (as in, a whole separate little girly-girl cabin JUST for her). A-mazing. She asks almost every day if we can go back. 

But Nate and I needed ours. And it so happened that our desperate need for R&R (rest & relaxation/relational reconnection/romance rejuvenation) coincided nicely with our 5th anniversary (which is in 3 weeks) and babymoon timeline (Pepe the King Prawn is due Dec. 15th). Oh, and the fact that we're living with my parents now - ideal childcare situation. 

We prayed and contemplated the idea for awhile, trying to decide if we could justify the expense. In the end, we both felt convinced that it would be a really, really good idea for our marriage and that after this past year (and summer) we needed it - especially considering that we'd be able to visit Nate's grandma on the same trip, who I've only met once and who has been a huge supporter of our family in many ways. 

In the end we got great deals on everything and have not a single regret. (The fact that I'm here blogging about it after a long stress-induced blogging absence is testament to the rest & rejuvenation my spirit received.)

Where we spent most of our time: lounging poolside. Our resort had an indoor pool + two outdoor pools. (Indoor pool = great for Irene-induced rain but terrible for photograph lighting.)

More [dorky] lounging. This pool had a sweet ocean view. Pretty much my favorite spot.

Nate's favorite picture of me from the trip.

It was our first time to the ocean beach together. The only other time we were "at the ocean" was in Conakry, a city in Guinea, West Africa, where we stayed for just a few days during our summer in the African bush - and that trip definitely did not involve beach lounging. We definitely soaked up the ocean goodness.

Sunset walk. 

best.picture.ever. [Also known as my husband is HOT.)
(I kind of love that you almost can't tell I'm pregnant in this picture.)

Oh yeah, I guess I am pregnant after all. 

More sweet baby belly goodness.

No-neck Nate.

Yet more dorkiness via bubble-blowing. We're awesome.

Accidental belly-shot. 24 weeks.
(In a non-maternity swimsuit - score!)
(I'm so glad this picture happened because I've been seriously slacking on the belly-shots during this pregnancy. One more casualty of our doozie-of-a-summer. Actually, I slacked on that last time around too. Oh well.)

Love.

More love.

The most we saw of Hurricane Irene (this and the next picture).

Irene-induced waves. These were WAY bigger than the waves the rest of the week, though still not all that dramatic.

Nate entertaining himself with our underwater camera. (Many awkward underwater videos will not be posted.)

 Final verdict: all of those R&R objectives = completed. Rested and relaxed: Check. Relationally reconnected: Check. Romantically rejuvenated: Check. All in all, a huge vacation success. It was our first time to the ocean together. (How is that possible?! Oh yeah, we live in the frozen midwest).

We're back and I'll be honest: it's been a bit of a rough landing. Call it real-world culture shock. Setting up prenatal care, more unpacking and settling-in at my parents', and preparing to leave in six days for our epic 6000-mile, 5-week support-raising road trip. Yikes.

But, we're trying to keep it in balance with a healthy amount of Star Trek and Auction Hunters episodes, and most importantly, carrying those serene oceanside moments into our crazy daily life here. (My parents' deck is about the closest we can get, but we're making the most of it.) We also painted our bedroom yesterday! -- An effort to increase my feelings of Minnesota and rooted- and rested-ness.

I have to say: our vacation was an excellent investment in our overall spiritual livelihood, relational health, and parenting energy. I'm looking forward to the next one already (though I'll likely have to wait another five years).