vacation hopes

ahhh vacation ... the word just gets me all tingly inside ... 


i've been counting down the hours since last week for when my vacation would start.  9 days of no work and spending time with my family and my nieces ... 


my bags are packed, my kindle has 4 new books from the library installed on it and is currently charging, my brother & sister-in-law are in route as we speak (praying that the 3 girlies sleep through the night), and my dad even found out he will have be able to join our little party for 4 days (he was scheduled to work)


we are schroon lake bound ... i have not been there since i was a little girl, and i remember virtually nothing about it ... 


i was contemplating bringing the laptop with me and doing some blogging while i was there, but alas, there will be no wi-fi where we are staying ... so maybe i will do some journaling instead ... 


here are the things i am most looking forward to:


1) spending time with my nieces - the bear is 6, the bug is 4 and the bean is 1 1/2 ... they are the cutest kids on the planet and they make me smile ... ALL the time :)  i'm looking forward to decorating cupcakes, having water gun fights, swimming in the lake, playing old maid and go fish, putting puzzles together, reading books, snuggles at bed time and seeing things through their eyes


2) hanging out with my brother ... he is one of my best friends and i don't see him that often ... when we get together, the sarcasm flows and witty repartee abounds


3) seeing Riley swim in the lake ... he's only been swimming one other time and that was for about 15 seconds one day when i let him take a quick dip in a pool to cool off ... his beautiful white coat may be stained tan after swimming in the lake, but i'll allow it if its something he enjoys


4) the peace and quiet ... i'm honestly hoping that there is not great cell service .... not that my phone rings very often ... but the idea of not being able to check facebook, twitter and instagram is actually appealing ... i'm on my phone almost all day long and think it might be nice to have less "screen" time


5) celebrating the 4th of July in the village of Schroon Lake ... they have a festival during the day with live music and activities for the kids ... a parade in the evening and fireworks (which we are supposed to be able to see from our yard) at night


6) not working ... need i say more???  not having to run 15-20 reports a day, not having to answer telephone calls, not having to deal with drama and unhappiness, not having to sit in a 6 hr meeting, etc etc etc


7) having loud, crazy, chaotic family dinners ... 


i am desperately overdue for some down time and i'm very optimistic that i'm about to get 7 days of it!!


hope you all have a great week and i'll catch up with you all hopefully next saturday night


r