What I learned from our summer vacation...

We just got back from our family vacation to California. I cannot begin to tell you how excited I was for WEEKS before we left. I had visions in my head of sun, surf, and sand. It's all I could think about for weeks. Well...we get there...and...it's cloudy and cold in JULY! What the mess??? We actually had to buy sweatshirts and sweatpants. Our plane landed on Tuesday midday. By Wednesday, I realized that there would be no sun, surf, and sand. I am embarrassed to admit that I was depressed and snippy and angry! I stayed that way for the ENTIRE day. Then it dawned on me...I had WASTED one day of my long awaited vacation. So, I was at a crossroads. I could keep pouting about something that I could not control (I couldn't change the weather) or I could make "lemons out of lemonade". Luckily for all involved, I chose the latter of the two. Oh my...the fun we had!!!

First, my husband rented a Mercedes and we headed to LA. On the way, and at the last minute, we decided to go to Venice Beach instead. The girls had no idea what to expect next. We stayed at The Hotel California. Our headboards were shaped like surfboards. We then rented bicycles and biked down to the famous Venice Beach strip. Wow! There were so many interesting people down there. We saw a couple of sideshows, did LOTS of people watching, and ate some good food. At first, the girls were scared but, eventually, they adjusted. That night we went to the pier, played games, and rode the Ferris wheel. The next day, my oldest daughter and I went to Trapeze School! I would have NEVER even known about it had the weather been different. We had so much fun and took lots of pictures. Then, we went to Malibu for lunch and headed over to Hollywood after that. We went on one of those cheesy tours of the "stars' homes". We froze our butts off but had fun anyway.

That night, as I was tucking my happy, exhausted girls into bed, I realized what an amazing experience that we all had! If the sun had been shining, we would NEVER have gone on our "adventure". We would have just sat on the beach all day. Me: working on my tan and reading...My hubby: surfing...My kiddos: playing in the ocean by themselves. (Side note: the water in CA is too cold for me. My hubby would have gotten in the water and played with the kiddos) Mostly, though, we would not have had the quality family time that we experienced.

So, what I learned is...many times in life, reality does not meet our expectations. Many times, God has other plans for us. Sometimes we get lemons and they are sour! So, we have a choice to make: sour lemons or sweet lemonade? I thank the good Lord for helping us to choose lemonade and having such a wonderful family vacation full of amazing memories!