Here I sit and it is June 27th. I'm probably the only mother that could not wait for the school year to end. I wanted Jacob to enjoy the warm sunny days of spring and summer. I wished his school year would end at Memorial day like it did when I was a kid. He was actually dismissed for his summer break on the 9th of June this year. Of course, for the first week he slept in - probably until noon each day and then played video games until the wee hours of the morn. So he probably never stepped foot outside. Grampa put a kabash on that and had him watering and mowing the lawn. Grass seed was planted in the bare spots and the lawn was fertilized. A fascination with sprinklers was developed and now we have the optimum watering systems for our gardens. BTW, I have a great lawn. Even the deep shady areas look great. The grass is lush and green and so soft it feels so good in bare feet. The next week took our first summer vacation. We took a short jaunt to two small towns that border the St. Croix river. After a cool and rainy spring we had absolutely perfect weather. Our first day brought us to a cute little restaurant called The Drive-In that serves Frosttop root beer floats made with hand scooped ice cream and great homemade cheeseburgers made to order. Mine was topped with caremalized onions. Yum! The carhops wore poodle skirts and our drinks were served in frosty mugs just like the A&W. Adjacent to the drive-in was the best miniature golf course. It had several tricky holes that involved waterfalls and even a triple decker hole. We strolled through several antique shops and a small shop much like a flea market. That is Jacob's favorite type of shop - the junkier the better. His friend came along and I had to pull the two of them away. Our next stop was the local hardware store. We have discovered over the years that hardware stores contain a lot of character. It is fun to check out the old electrical components that still remain on the shelves or the cooking or gardening items. This store had the largest Ball canning jar - it was so cool. It had the glass top with the wire closure. It really was cute. I didn't buy it. I didn't want to carry it down Main Street. I was going to pick it up on my way back. I got sidetracked. I intended on buying it the next day and then the store was not open. It still bothers me today. I will absolutely have to go back for it this summer. However, Jacob managed to buy an old tube tester. You know, for the tubes from an old radio or TV. (Jacob has a small collection of old tube radios.) After a hot stroll down Main Street we went back to the hotel and swam for hours in the pool. It would not be a vacation if we didn't have room service delivered to our room for supper. Just like most small towns today, this one also contains a Walmart. We popped in for a few snacks and snooped around. The boys found a few things that our local store doesn't have. One being a Nintendo Wii! They had three. The kid working in the department said they had them for a while. I didn't buy it. I figured I would pick it up before we left town. I didn't want it in my SUV trunk or my hotel room. I should have put it on lay-away (do they still even do that?). Anyway, when I went back to get it - guess what - they were gone! All three. They were sold the night before. It figures. I digress. Our second day was spent at a local attraction that has go-carts, an alpine slide and waterslides. Of course, the go-carts were the big attraction for two boys that don't get to drive yet. I definitely got my money's worth there. Our day rounded out with a picnic cruise down the St. Croix river on a paddleboat. Our dinner consisted of BBQ ribs, a quarter of a chicken, smashed potatoes, coleslaw, baked beans, and a brownie. The river was very high. The boat had to be launched further downstream then usual away from the dam and rapids. But because the river was high the boat could travel further downstream then their usual course, our cruise was about an hour longer than scheduled!
Our vacation would not be complete without a stop at the fireworks store. I will not incriminate myself and go into detail here. So let's just say every night has been a blast since our return. My vacation was not in vane. When I returned to work I discovered the vacuum was busted, our dental dishwasher was broken, supplies needed replenishing, people were stuffed into the schedule. I worked late every night of the week to catch up. Let's just say I wasn't very pleasant to be around. If I don't get to bed we will have the same results tomorrow.
Our vacation would not be complete without a stop at the fireworks store. I will not incriminate myself and go into detail here. So let's just say every night has been a blast since our return. My vacation was not in vane. When I returned to work I discovered the vacuum was busted, our dental dishwasher was broken, supplies needed replenishing, people were stuffed into the schedule. I worked late every night of the week to catch up. Let's just say I wasn't very pleasant to be around. If I don't get to bed we will have the same results tomorrow.
