Ok, ok, what I meant to say was...

Right, so there was some mentioning of a vacation, and it was mentioned in somewhat bitter terms if I remember correctly, which I rarely do.
Let me clarify a few things:

• Yes, vacations with the little ones suck the big one.

• But! It doesn't mean you can't have a damn nice time anyway. What with the enriching of the little souls and all.

We had a good time. Really. We had our own house with our own bedrooms and our own coffee pot where we could brew our own coffee and also there was a Whole Foods down the street and a little further down the street was the best beach I've ever been to period.

Well not the BEST beach I've ever been to, but I'll bet, hands down, that it's the best beach the kids have ever been to, and it is, without a doubt, the best beach I've ever been to with the kids. Too bad it's a 4 hour drive away. A 4 hour drive that I swore last summer I would never drive ever again with the kids ever. But! We did it and it was fine. Also, the beach was awesome.

Pappasan took the kids kayaking (!) in a big kelp bed and Peanut saw an otter and Bean saw...well, he got to help pull garbage out of the ocean, so he had a good time too. Sprout and I sat on the beach while I got a stupid-huge sunburn on my lily white back (Sprout was smart enough to stay in the shade and also stay completely covered in sun block. His mom, however, is a complete moron.) and watch two older English couples turn themselves into nicely roasted tomatoes. Sundried English Tomatoes! Merchant-Ivory (or whoever is doing period English dramas involving characters who "suffer from disillusion and tragic entanglements" (Thank you Wikipedia!) ) should totally get on that. A tale of sunburned love on a California beach complete with harbor seals and hot dog vendors. Now THERE'S something worth driving 4 hours for.