and that? is just the first day.

liv said on facebook or email or twitter or something that she was heading up to the north shore.

i turned to my husband and said ... "i wanna go up to the north shore." 
i probably used my whiny voice. 
though likely, i didn't ask over and over and over and over and over and over until he finally relented ... like some people i know.  *coughcough* cora *coughcough*

and so we threw together the skeleton of a plan. 
and then we changed it.
and then we found a dog sitter.
and a cat/bird sitter.

and then we changed it again.

and jeremy went to work.
and we talked on the phone and decided not to go.  decided that we should go anyway.  decided to camp.  decided that that sounded like too much work.  decided that maybe the weather wouldn't be good and we shouldn't go.  decided that we didn't care.

jeremy came home and we left. 

we drove in relative silence.  with virtually no plans but the plan to just be together and have fun. 

we had an idea of where we might stay.  and then we abondoned that idea when i saw the location and the in the downtownishness of it.  i may have used my whiney voice again when i mentioned that we should maybe drive on down to canal park and see if there were any vacancies.  (i have secretly always wanted to stay on canal park.  by the bridge.)  so we drove to the farthest down hotel.  made our agreement about how much was too much and i ran in to ask about vacancies. 

please note.  this is also around the time that finners was screaming DONE DONE DONE from the middle seats.  and the girls were politely indicating HOW MUCH LONGER?  and ARE WE THERE YET?  and I HAVE TO PEE!

they had one vacancy. at that just right price.

and we walked into a jacuzzi suite. 
the girly girls loved the bathtub in the living room.

i was in love with the view.  from my bed. 

the bridge.  right outside my window.

the rain splattered to the ground and we watched the storms roll through from our porch.  the cool breezes off of the lake forced us to sweatshirt up.  and then when the rain slowed to a drizzle we ventured out.

first stop. 

popcorn.

and lemonade.

and i stood back and watched my kids doing something that i grew up doing.  and there was a bit of surrealness to it.  i remember standing upon that same hill with the gulls swooping in a dance to be the first to grab a bite to eat from the children.  i remember feeling small and afraid and utterly astounded at how close these silly creatures would come to me. 

it starts out quiet.  a simple grassy hill. add a minimum of one child and a superty expensive box of popcorn and you begin to hear seagull noises.  and they begin to drop out of the sky and scatter amidst your feet ... quickly grabbing a popcorn here.  and chasing a friend away there.  all of a sudden the child is surrounded by the chattering soaring creatures. 

i remember that fear.  and amazement.

i was reminded of that.  watching my babies standing in that same exact spot that i stood many many years ago.

we were relaxed.  and calm.  and it was so fun to feel that lack of stress.  the children splashed in the puddles and no one said no.  or stop.  or worried about clothing being soaked.  dry clothes and a warm bath in the living room were a mere steps away.

we promised boats to our boy.
that little blue caboose of our family that excites over cars. and trucks. and buses.  and now boats too.

he was in his element ... outdoors.  under the crazy clouds still recovering from the bout of rain.  with his family.

my husband grabbed my camera and i've just realized as i'm editing these photos through tears ... has given me the best gift ever. 

that.

that silly little picture right there that proves to my children that i love and adore and cherish and am actually WITH them. 

you have no idea how much in love with that photo i am right now.

we saw rainbows.  and played and laughed and truly enjoyed each other for the whole night. 

and my husband didn't even think i was crazy when i asked him to take the kids up onto the bridge and then proceeded to take a photo of the ground.  because i thought it was crazy neat that i could totally see him and the kids in the puddle.

he also didn't think i was nuts as i pulled my camera bag close and snapped a photo of this ...

because the thought that kept rolling through my head as i tried to drift off to sleep ... was ... that is something that you might just never get the chance to see again from your bed.  and you'll kick yourself when the sun comes up in the morning if you don't take a minute to capture it now.

funny.

that's kind of how life is ... isn't it.

it was a really lovely amazing evening.

and that?

was just the first day.