Collins Extraveganza

So I haven't posted for a couple of weeks because, well, my whole family was in town for most of that time. Four of my six sibs live out of state, and my mom was giddy with joy at having them all at her house for almost a week. Well, everyone but us. We live about 20 minutes away, with my youngest brother, his wife and little boy living in the small apartment above my parents' garage, so they might as well have been in the main house. But the rest of them, four siblings, four in-laws, two two month old babies, and eleven other grandchildren. Our 5 stayed home with us, but we spent most of the past weeks at my mom's house, so it was like we never really left. We did some church family stuff, a baptism for my niece Emma, and the baby blessings for the two baby boys, Henry, and Mason.
We also did some swimming:

and took family photos:

(sorry, Tina, I totally stole your photos since we never seem to take a camera anywhere)
The photographer was amazing, Aime Maughan. Check out her work! You might even see one or two of my kids in her galleries.

And one day, my mom and all of us mothers (except Merci and Haley who were already back in CA) went shopping at the outlet mall in Park City. Now that was fun. A full day of shopping...so much so, we didn't even eat lunch!
We said goodbye to everyone last night, so life gets back to "normal". But boring. Oh well. Next year it will be 10 days in So Cal, and we'll get our Collins fix next summer!

Vacation, Staycation, and Escapism

So we spent last week up at East Canyon, where we have a membership. It was horrible getting up there, packing clothes and food for 7 people for several days. I was so grumpy by the time we got up there and poor Andrew, who decided on July 4th to be newly independent from diapers or pullups of any sort, had not yet gotten used to using a toilet not his own. I was prepared for accidents, but not that many. I was afraid that first night all the progress we'd made would be swept away by another toilet, until I figured out it was because the toilet was too tall, and the upstairs ones were the right height. It only took 3 hours and 4 accidents before I hit the "DUH" button and reset my brain.

Honestly, though, after the first day it was great, very relaxing, and I could forget, for a few days, that real life with all its time pressures was waiting for me at home.

I've talked to a few people this summer about taking vacations, just getting away from it all, and between those conversations and my own observations, I have realized that even if a vacation means more stress for Mom, they are so important to the sanity of the household. And I have to agree. That family bonding time is important, away from the normal ins and outs of life. It strengthens the family unit through common experiences and memories, even if the memories consist of kids throwing up, kids throwing bottles at the other passengers in the airplane, kids throwing up, "AAAAAAHHHH! Mom, he's pinching me! AAAAAAHHHH", kids throwing up....

That being said, Kendall and I have two different definitions of what a vacation is. For me it is doing whatever will cause the the least amount of stress for all parties, myself being the exception. (And now I know why my mom was always working during vacations. I could never figure it out at the time, but now I know that for mom, if the vacation includes the children, there is no vacation for mom, only the same work in unfamiliar surroundings.)

Kendall's definition is exploring, finding interesting places to visit and learn about, expanding one's horizons. That was great in Italy, where every P-day was filled with those visits to amazing places and vistas all crammed into that little boot, but here in Utah it's all too familiar. And if it's not familiar, it's too expensive for a family of 7.

So this year we opted for the staycation approach, something really close by, and within reason. (This is also because Benji is still a horrible child in the car, demanding after about 45 minutes "Stuck! Stuck! Stuck!" at the top of his lungs, pulling at his carseat buckles all the while. He has occasionally been able to worm his way out of the seat, I don't know how, and wandered freely in the car until we can pen him in again.)

But after we came back and reality with all its pressures had reasserted itself, I find myself searching for ways to escape. Not that I'm running away, mind you, but I just am tired and don't want to do it anymore. So I am reading. A lot. Or staying up until 2 in the morning. Too much Facebook. Any and all of it, just to escape it all for a few minutes.

Sometimes it's harder to come back from vacation than to be on one. Sigh.