vacation recap... in 100 words or less (almost)

yes i'll be back with pictures and funny stories and all that good stuff but since i haven't blogged in AGES i figured i'd start with this to tide my readers over for a few days.

so in a nutshell, vacation was:

• too short. we went for 5 days last time, 7 this time. its not enough. aiming for 10-14 days when we return in 2012.
• hot but not as hot as it was here most of the time, which i especially enjoy after everyone chided "why on earth would you go to Florida in July?!"
• fishy. only in that i learned to love eating fish! i kid you not. John made hogsnapper and swordfish that were to-die-for. i'm a convert! especially when you pair it with his famous sauce (recipe to follow)
• sandy. loved that beach. but playing w/ kids in the water=sand up your bottom in places where sand should never go. thought those days were behind me.
• family. so many wonderful people. coming and going. kissing and hugging. taking pictures and making memories that will last at least one whole lifetime *and maybe more. I even got me a "Litchfield Reunion T-Shirt" after the rules for awarding of the shirt were amended (original version: You must be a Litchfield or Married to a Litchfield. revision: or sleeping with a Litchfield).
• trying. when it came to patience. our condo was cancelled, our flights were cancelled. we ended up with a layover and then they proceeded to lose the car seats... 2 full days of travel for what should have been two 3 hour flights. ugh. patience was required and running short at times... we all had our bouts of crabbiness, but we survived.
• funny. chris' new time-piece. uncle thad's new "bathing suit." karl and his conspiracy theories. running through Bealls with Becky like we won a shopping spree! duck, duck, goose. jungle juice creating potty-mouth.
• beautiful. shooting stars. gorgeous sunsets. waves crashing. storms blowing through. tropical plants and tropical drinks. cool breezes.

and alas we're already back home and back to work. that alarm clock was a killer this morning and i doubt tomorrow will be much better.

i hope to be back this week with photos. they are all edited (thanks to that large amount of traveling time) so its just a matter of uploading and adding commentary (she says as if that's the easy part)....