Finally! A vacation! These past few days were exactly what I needed. I feel so much better after catching up on sleep (I slept like a bear this weekend), not thinking about work, chores and responsibilities. I now realize that we all need time to recharge, rethink and relax–it can’t all be about work, or we are bound to get burnt out. For a workaholic like me, yes, that is a big realization, and I have finally put things into perspective. Work is important, but so is fun!

And yes I had a lot of fun this weekend. I was very happy to have the beach as my backyard for a change, and spend quality time with my husband, my dog Lily and our close friends. My husband, our friends and I used to do this often, but not lately as we’ve all been very busy. It was good to be back in our second home and update each other on what’s been happening in our lives.

It was especially exciting for me and my husband because it was the first time for our Lily to be at the beach with us. We felt like proud parents, relishing every milestone–her first time to swim, her first time to play and run with other dogs, her first time to lay on the sand (with me using her as my pillow)… Before this, this dog didn’t get out much. It was only since moving into our flat that we made it a point to walk her everyday. She didn’t even know how to interact with other dogs/people, which we now realize is our biggest mistake with her. But all is well because we’re really making an effort to change that. Because of this trip she was able to interact with a big group that included other dogs. She ran and swam and barked to her heart’s content. We were so happy to see her so happy. My Lily, who is now seven years old (49 in human years) is a sharpei-mongrel mix. She has a lot of sharpei traits–she is loyal and smart, and she hates the water. We don’t know how her dad looks, but we imagine it was a tall, furry, nervous dog, which she also takes after. Her mom, Coco, is my sister-in-law’s sharpei.

She got over her fear of the water though, as she was already going with us to swim on our second day at the beach. She even ventured far from us while in the water. We were so happy to see her swimming, you cannot believe how much she hates the water!

Our little playground. Low tide was especially low this trip, the sand bar was a great place to run with Lily.

Another beautiful sunset.

Mandatory bonfire to dry us off and drive away mosquitos. We made smores this trip. Yum.

The dogs were not too happy about this. We lit fireworks! It was the perfect way to cap the night.