11:55 Late Sunday Morning   Family Vacation 4 people around the age of 50 2 people around the age of 15 2 people around the age of 20 1 person edging towards 30 1 person edging towards 5 10 people on a little houseboat for a week on Lake P 2 families, longtime friends, reconnecting after a long time apart. good times. frustrating times. hilarious times. 5 year old was a bit more like 4 people, the way she'd run around and the noise she'd make and the amount of energy she had. Adorable though she was, the quietest times of day were before she woke up in the morning, and in the early afternoon when she had her nap. Funny kid, though. I spent a lot of time with her (I didn't really have a choice). She had a really good memory, she'd 'read' stories to me, holding the fairy tale book open and reciting almost word for word what was on the page (the fact that she stayed on one page when the story spread out on 4 pages sort of tipped me off that she couldn't actually read what she was looking at). We played a lot of counting games that I found to be very boring (i already know how very well how to count to ten, it has long since lost its novelty to me), but i figured, hey it's educational, so why not humour the child. I also spent a lot of awesome bonding time with my old and dear childhood friend. We talked about boys (of course!) and poop (it's so funny) and pretended to be little mermaids (sort of mandatory when you're a girl sitting on a rock in a deep lake). I miss her already. I think it's really awesome that we've remained so close and friendly for the last 16 years, even though for the most recent 9 years we've been living in different states. I think it's awesome that my little mermaid buddy and I can still make a conversation flow easily and effortlessly even though our lives have taken us to different places and given us different challenges. There were things I didn't like. I managed to survive all of the spiders (and even appreciate their appetites and taste for gnats), and the sharing one boat potty between 9 other people. I found it hard to survive such a huge lack of communication with the outside world (most notably Caleb), and I didn't really enjoy taking my baths in the lake with camp soap (man i really am too much of a princess). I got a little annoyed with how crowded the boat seemed at times and wished for a little bit more private space. But I wouldn't trade it in for a week at home, it really was worth going. now it's back to work, paying bills, and studying for the GRE (on tuesday, yikes!)