I used to think that flopping on the beach of some (mostly) deserted island in the tropics somewhere, with sky so blue it hurts to look at and sand as soft as cotton, would be my dream vacation. [And it TOTALLY would be, btw!].

It turns out there are other vacations that fall into the dreamy category.

For instance, the one we just got home from (and I can’t stop thinking about going back).

We spent the week of 4th of July at my cousin’s house in New Hampshire. If you’ve never been, it’s absolutely gorgeous – trees, mountains, granite, trees…. anyway, the state is lovely. Even lovelier, however, was her house and neighborhood. Her house is gorgeous – all wood floors and tile and open floor plan. Big enough to give everyone space, small enough to be cozy.

More than that, though, it was the just being together that was so wonderful. I’m not sure I can explain it right, but it felt like home to be there with her and her family.  Her kids and my kids were great together, and  it was so nice to have other adults to talk to regularly!

We spent our days in the lake, on the lake, and in the pool. Lake Winnipesaukee is a mere golf cart ride from their house and is by far one of the most gorgeous bodies of water I’ve had the luck of seeing and being in. We had dinners together, home cooked, and everyone pitched in. Having 4 adults to 5 kids made everything just a little easier, especially at meal times.

We didn’t rush, we didn’t panic, we didn’t have things we had to do. We just lived and it was dreamy.

What’s your idea of the perfect vacation?

Last week Tonight I was able to cross something off my life list! (for those of you unfamiliar, think ‘bucket list’, but without the underlying dread).

We took the boys to Fenway in Boston to see the Red Sox play (thanks to the fabulous Patrick and his connections!). The stadium looks spectacular for being 99 years old. Beyond that, it was clean, the people were FRIENDLY, the field pristine (though so small in person!), and the Green Monster as big as imagined.

The item I was able to cross off the list {sidebar: I should probably post that one of these days.} was singing Sweet Caroline with the crowd at Fenway. It’s a fairly long-standing tradition in the middle of the 8th inning, and we almost didn’t get a chance to do it because of a rain delay one out from the end of the half-inning! Luckily the boys were able to hang for a while longer so we belted it out with (the slightly smaller) crowd.

The energy at the stadium was great; loud, excited, happy. A fabulous experience…even though the road to get there looked like our kids had built it with GeoTrax tracks and the ride back was dark and sleepy, I’d definitely go again.

hope you had a great holiday!

From our goofy crew to yours.

(Gentz / Hynes Kids NH 2011)

No year end recap, no lists of resolutions I’m going to break, no look back.

It’s 2011.  I’m in the throes of getting things ready for us to go to Florida this weekend.  We’re meeting my lovely cousins, their kids and spouses in Orlando and going to DISNEY!!!!

I am so very excited! I feel like I’ve been waiting forever to take the boys to Disney and now they’re at the perfect age AND we get to do it all with my best-friend-cousins!  YAY!!

Preston is so excited he said the other night “Mom, my cheeks can’t stop smiling!” Last night he was bouncing up and down in bed. He wants to meet Mickey and Pluto.

This will be a great vacation.  I’m not worrying about anything – about this cold I’m fighting, about my weight, about how much my leg is going swell, about the weather or about the money.  No worries – ALL FUN, dammit!!

So I’ll catch up with you all on the flip side.

With Mickey Mouse ears on.

We have arrived at the beach. I’m pretty sure the entire afternoon can be summed up in one sentence:

Why did we wait so long to do this?

Sadly, I have no clue. The water of Lake Michigan was a balmy 76 degrees today, and while the clouds are moving in, the air was very comfortable in the low 80s with very little humidity. (sigh…perfection)

Matt and Preston have been to the beach only once before, in New Hampshire, 3 years ago, so this was practically a new experience for them. Matt, as usual, was ready to hop right in; Preston took awhile to warm up to the waves, even with his life vest on. Once he was comfortable though? There was no stopping him! He was screaming with joy, laughing hysterically, getting smacked in the face with waves. It was perfect.

Can’t ask for a better start to a vacation than happy kids.