Vacation, all I ever wanted

I can't get the damn Go Go's out of my head today 'cuz I'm still in a vacation frame of mind. I'm only just now getting caught up with laundry and camping unpacking, and I sure as hell haven't grocery shopped. Priorities, people. We've been trying to be outside as much as possible, and Clementine needs her daily bike rides to keep her happy. I think she's pissed off about returning to real life schedules and as a protest has given up on her good sleeping habits. The last two nights she has been wide awake and whiny from 2-4, which makes for whiny parents the next morning.

I did spend some time last night working with our vacation pics, of which there were far too many. I need to slow down with the digital and take a little more time framing my shots, but it's easy to get carried away.

Our first day at the beach was the first time Clementine had seen waves or sand. She wasn't sure how she felt about either at first, but she warmed up tot he sand right away. The waves were another story. Although they captivated her, and she constantly walked toward them, the lake was way too cold, and she invariably started freaking out when she got up to her belly. So on the sand she sat:

I'm not sure what her obsession with beer is (I contend it is just the bottle concept), but pretty soon she was just one of the adults chillin' on the beach with a cocktail.

The outdoors totally zonked her out, and she napped so well. She loved being in the tent, and its various windows and doors meant we could use it as a crib and playpen too:

She wouldn't keep a hat on her head (and don't even start on her helmet, which she spent a good amount of time trying to pull off her head while also stretching her neck to unreasonable lengths), so the bandana was the next best thing:

She LOVED the bicycle, even if she did hate the helmet. We had to pry her out of the bike seat most times, and some times we just let her use it as a chair.

I

t's Michigan, so of course there were lighthouses to visit:

Her hair in this shot kills me, as does the fact that someone let her eat macaroni salad, which violates a major rule in my house against introducing mayonnaise (the most disgusting food on earth, I think):

And because Clementine was so anti-water, Nate had to use the beach to practice their surfing moves. I think they're going to take their act on the road...

Like I said, I took about a thousand of these puppies, so if you want to see more (including the horrifying pictures of me in a bathing suit, though you can imagine I've edited most of the truly terrible ones out), click on one of the above pictures and check 'em out. I do believe there was never a cuter camper than my little girl.