a much needed vacation

so we just got back from taking a few days off and went to top sail island, about 2 1/2 hours away from durham. we stayed in our company beach condo which was literally like 30 feet away from the ocean. the condo itself was small, decorated and fantastic! also it was free so that makes it even better. our bosses just bought it from a lady who had decorated it to look like some lighthouses and seashells took their turns throwing up in each room. but it all matched and fit the beachy theme. i just am more simple in my decorating tastes, but who's judging? we had SUCH a great time just relaxing and being with our little family for a while. here are some highlights:

1) this was by far the FUNNIEST moment of the trip. the very beginning, when we were on our way to the beach we stopped at wendy's for some lunch. ben was at the wheel placing the order to-go. the man through the microphone called ben ma'am like 17 TIMES!! i was laughing so hard. first of all the man oversaid the word ma'am even if it had been a woman. every sentence started and stopped with it.
"ma'am, you wanted a chicken sandwich, ma'am?"
"ma'am, no mayo on that ma'am?"
"ma'am, just water with that ma'am???"
"ma'am pull up to the next window, ma'am."
my poor sweet husband has told me times where people on the phone mistake him for a woman but i didn't believe it. he said people have even gone so far as to call him "bev" or "jen." now i have been a witness. i love my boy!
2)while there, we made a pact that we couldn't talk about work. so instead we called the guys "those we do not speak of." turned out to be kind of fun, we may start trying this at home. but it helped us truly get away.
3) i was eaten ALIVE by mosquitoes! it was insane. we literally pulled up in the parking lot, i got out to start unpacking and had three bites on my arms immediately! i ended up getting them on my arms, my toes, one on my cheek and one on my "other" cheek if you know what i mean. they attacked me while i was in my swimsuit! okay it was more like upper thigh. but it makes for an awkward itch in public.
4) caleb became obsessed with his beach towel. he nicknamed it "tooley tooley" and carried it around everywhere, even slept with it. i had no idea i'd be arguing with a 2 year old about why it's not okay to walk through the grocery store wrapped in a beach towel. but then we thought you know what? we're on vacation. let the kid have his towel. so we were the ghetto family zooming through the aisles with a child wrapped in & loving on a tooley tooley. i'm sure people were thinking, "get the kid a blanket already!"
5) there was this store called "WAVE" that was about 5 minutes away that was this enormous beach gift shop. however it had a 50 foot shark in the front of the store, not real of course but still. you had to walk through its MOUTH to get into the store. it was like my worst nightmares had come true! i absolutely am terrified of sharks, to the point that when i was in high school & on the swim team, the way that i went turbo fast was by imagining being chased by sharks ready to nip my toes off. or rip out my brain, either one worked. so i may have been the shortest swimmer but i was darn close to the fastest!
6) i had the best time being with ben and caleb. it made me realize how lucky i am to have the little family i do. ben is the best husband to me & is such an example to me of how to treat a spouse. he makes me a better wife because he sets the bar for unselfishness, patience and kindness. not to mention his hilarious sense of humor. we laugh all the time together and that is what i love the most. we were able to talk about our goals for our family & our future & get a perspective on the life we have chosen for the next 9 months. and it was so much fun to be with caleb one-on-one, not in the group home where i have to constantly be on guard and watch him closely. i remember not too many months ago where i thought i had hit my stress limit, just having to go through all of his health issues. ahhhh, how things have changed. it's amazing how you can feel you've reached your limit and then look back and think, "that was a breeze! if only that was my biggest worry right now." but i loved being able to relax with them and enjoy just being us.

so it was hard to come back to reality, but that is what a vacation is all about! getting a little break, taking naps, sleeping in, listening to the waves 24-7, eating great food and then coming back home and getting back into it. we are forever grateful for the staff who covered to make it possible! they are awesome.

while we were gone, ernest decided to attempt to beat up a teacher (getting suspended until monday) and carrot top had a heyday standing up on our kitchen table and counters yelling profanities. but when we got home, the house was clean, the guys were in bed and we were able to not see them until the morning time. yippee! ben went to a duke vs. wake forest game this afternoon with them so i'm sure he'll have some fun stories to share after that.