The Author

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I am a high school English teacher, and mother of two charming little ones of my own. I teach in a high poverty urban charter school, while I live in a typical American suburb that has frequently been rated one of the safest cities in the country. It is a paradox I struggle with constantly, but it is my life.

Thursday, June 23, 2011

Staycation, All I Ever Wanted

I am approaching this summer vacation like a real vacation, only at home. Think about it, what do you do during vacation? Sit around a lot? No. You pack your days full of activities to actively make memories with your family. That is what I am doing.

Yup, that's my cutie trying to drink the recirculated water. Beautiful.
Yesterday was another packed day.  We went to the park with our playgroup in the morning. Then we headed off to the Oak Park splash pad. We were initially going to meet friends at the beach, but when plans changed to the water park, that was fine with me. This place was AWESOME, especially since it is totally free. As we were leaving, Vinny asked if we could go to the beach after. I guess he was really looking forward to it. Since we were halfway there, I decided, "Why not?" He's a beach bum, just like me.

So we hit one of my favorite beaches, one we don't go to a lot, the one across from Malibu seafood. If you have never been there, you have to check it out. A jewel of a beach, just along the the highway.  It is this beautiful little stretch of beach with only a narrow strip of sand near the water, but just enough to set out a blanket. It has the softest sand. I love that I can set our blanket near the rocks, but still be very close to the water to watch Vinny, since that's where he wants to be the whole time we are at the beach.

After a long, but scenic drive home (I took the streets to avoid the 101 traffic), I hit the gym. As I was getting out of the car at the gym, I thought to myself, "Man, I am so exhausted and drained from all the sun today, working out is the last thing I want to do."  But I terribly want to have a bikini body by our trip to Hawaii in October, so I keep at it. It helps that Vinny loves the kids club so much he begs to go. That... and I wanted to alleviate the guilt of dinner at Cheesecake Factory.

Yup, after it all, I got to end the day with a beautiful dinner to celebrate the birthdays of two friends. I love, love, love having a night out with the girls, and at one of my favorite places too. Woo hoo.

Ah, it has been a good summer.  I am getting a little sick of all the driving, so I think we will be staying local today and tomorrow. Vinny begged to go to Bright Child this week.  We should just move to Agoura... seriously... too much driving.

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