Walking away from our leaking house

As this



And this


(water soaking our garage)

Were happening to our house...

We were here


Completely ignoring it.

Much like the crappy paint job the previous owners put on the inside of the house before they moved, they also did a crappy exterior paint job before we bought it.  The paint all around the house (2 years after we bought it) is cracking and pooling water under it.

We just committed to buying a portion of a falling down river house, have baby coming in four months and an au pair coming from across the world, need to build out our basement to house said au pair, and now we're looking at a full strip, calk and paint job on our house!  Whoop De Doo!  Is it horrible that I'm looking forward to picking out paint colors? 

But...as we're packed and just starting to relax a bit before our 5am flight to paradise, my husband shows me where the rain is actually leaking INTO our house.

Inside the built-ins in the dining room - in a back corner, a giant (like 4in x 4in piece of caulk popped out and behind it a stream of water - and there is more caulk behind that - and the front of the house behind that).  I suppose this is a lesson in not buying a house that used to be a rental.  The owners had no pride in ownership, didn't care about fixing things with long term solutions, etc.

But, we're here in paradise.





It is difficult to get to see my husband's family - they live all over and in difficult places to get to (expensive for three of us and at least two flights and mostly a long ass drive in places where you can't get fresh vegetables, fish, or wine on Sunday).



This is our second "holiday" trip to visit them in a tropical location.

2011 - Sanibel, Florida
2012 - Tulum, Mexico

Bubbs and I honeymooned here and loved every second of it.



And, while we aren't spending quite as much time gazing into each other's eyes, that is actually happening here - with a 2 year old.  This place is magical.

This year we are renting a HUGE house on the beach on Soliman Bay - which is amazing b/c the water is calm and warm and T can safely play at the edge, walk through the water, and be a free-range kid.

He spent the first few days weary of the "waves," the dogs, the new "beach house."

But the dude is ballsy now in a way I've never seen him.

Yesterday, he opened the front door to the house and announced, "I'm leaving for the beach."  He doesn't leave our front door at home!

He's been afraid of dogs his entire life, but is now in love with the dogs that live on the property (though I HATE them since they have woken him up every night with their barking).



He runs back and forth from the water to the sand toys up closer, takes off for "water walks," and has latched onto his auntie, uncle, and grandma, despite only seeing them twice a year at most (plus skype occasionally).




He love "walking his dog."

The place we are staying is fantastic.

Seven days is a long time for vacation, and I honestly wouldn't have loved it if I were not a parent, but I need 7 days to unwind, get into a routine, and really start enjoying myself (by day 3).




The quality time here is something we never get.

Quality time with each other, Tim's family, and our boy.

As we packed for this trip, we kept telling ourselves this was the last one for a long time due to financial obligations.

I'm having a hard time believing that at this point.

More on our trip later - for now my coffee is brewing :)