Camping with five children requires a lot of stuff. Last week we took a spur of the moment summer vacation. I’ve decided that’s the only kind we can have with this lifestyle. I have to come up with the what and be ready whenever the hay is up and we have a break. That happened last week and it also coincided with my family’s reunion, a sister’s birthday, a nephew’s baptism, and a friend along the traveling route. Wow–talk about the stars all aligning!

My idea of a vacation always, always involves water. I love, love, love, most anything to do with the water. Someday I’m going to swim with the dolphins and scuba dive. Just wait. It’ll happen. I was so close to scuba diving eight years ago. Nate did some freelance in trade for scuba lessons. I just happened to have a baby a couple weeks before the lessons started. So I’m still waiting to get certified. My turn will come.

There’s the first ingredient: water. See that big lake behind us. Can’t you feel the fun?

They can … that’s for sure.

We take Nate away from the farm and in less than twelve hours what does he do?

This boy kinda liked driving his own tractor.

Now what’s he up to?

A mini swimming pool?

Uh-oh…

Buried!

He’s having a little bit of trouble.

So his siblings decided to join him.

They all made it out eventually. Now they are hiding from the wind. It wasn’t the warmest day at the beach. The next day we toured Minetonka Cave which fascinated the children. Then we spent the afternoon at a water park. Water makes a vacation.

Now for the second ingredient: Family. After a couple of days by ourselves we arrived in Logan for my family reunion. And what better thing to do than take the boat out on Hyrum Dam for the day. More water–yes!

My niece and nephew struggle to stay on the tube.

Here’s my tough little girl trying the kneeboard for the first time.

And crashing for the first time.

Look at that! She pulled herself up and she’s a goin’! We probably should have told her about letting go of the rope when she was done. When her arms were too tired to hang on anymore, she signaled us that she was done. My dad slowed the boat, she tipped off the board but held on to the tow rope for a good ten feet as it dragged her through the water. Ouch.

Next up is my other tough girl. Two years ago she tried to water ski, but the skis were too big. My dad felt so bad he bought a smaller pair that came with this cross bar to keep the skis from crossing. She looks like she’s gonna make it up.

And there she is. That’s one excited girl.

Even Nate and I took a turn. There aren’t any pictures of me because I only got up on two skiis and as Nate told me, “We already have pictures of you on two skiis. If you’d got up on one, I’d have taken a picture.” I can always hope that day will come again, but I haven’t been able to pop out of the water on one ski since I six weeks pregnant with my first baby.

What do you do after a day of water skiing? One thing’s for sure–more water is involved.

How about a water slide on my parents’ front lawn?

Saturday was my nephew’s baptism and big sister’s birthday. After lunch what do you think we did?

Yeah, we set up the water slide on my parents’ front lawn again. Personally, I would love to have a water slide set up for my birthday. The guy hurtling down the tarp in the red swim tunks is my youngest brother, Kyler. He and I were the only adults to brave the water slide. (That is until a couple of his married friends stopped by.)

Cousins talked.

My littlest boy practiced moving pipe. That skill will come in handy in a few years. I realized I never took any pictures of the adults with my camera. I did with my parents’ camera, but not mine. So there are no pictures of my siblings or parents whom I chatted with for hours.

Now for the third and final ingredient: Friends. On the way home Sunday afternoon we stopped for a dutch oven dinner at my friend’s house. She and I worked in the same office through college. She now has five children as well whose ages very nearly match each of my children’s ages. We haven’t seen each other in six years and mostly correspond via Christmas cards. Each year when her cards arrive, I take them to a quiet place in the house to read so I can savor each and every word. My friend Jenni has a gift. She “makes the words sing,” my husband once commented. She set up a blog earlier this year and I have enjoyed keeping up with her as “friends in a parallel universe” as she once described us.

I have to say a big thank you to our husbands and children who allowed us to sit and talk and talk and talk. We had a lot to say after six years!

So there are the ingredients for the perfect vacation: Water, Family, Friends. We had the best time.

As we pulled into home my husband said, “They cut the oats.” It’s now midnight and he’s out baling oat hay. We’re getting pretty good at taking full advantage of our breaks here. I’m learning how to be more flexible than I ever imagined my life being. It’s a good life with family and friends–and water.