Back from Vacation!

 

***WARNING***Middle-aged body in bathing suit ahead!***

Hey everyone! Just getting back to reality after two back-to-back weeks of vacation. What?! Definitely unusual for me and probably most other Americans to take that much time off. Oh, how I wish we could import that European idea of many weeks of vacation without any of the negative side effects (are there any?)!

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Anyway, after returning from California (you can read the post here), we have a long-standing family tradition of going to a small island in Lake Michigan with our two daughters. We have gone to this island 9 times because we have found this to be the best solution for traveling with teens. If you have a teenage daughter (maybe sons too, not sure) you know they can make or break a vacation. Honestly, I have dragged a texting teen through the Louvre and thought “never again”. So, to not repeat that expensive mistake, I really thought about what my kids and my husband and I needed so we all could have a fun and relaxing vacation. I found my kids really needed independence from constantly being with parents and siblings and they needed opportunities to bike or canoe or go get ice cream on their own.  I needed to not have to worry about them or be with them constantly so I could sit peacefully on the deck with my dog Laura…

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quietly having a glass of wine…

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and peacefully reading my book.

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When my toenails match my dress!

So, to get to this “vacation Shangri-La”, I also figured out we needed to bring other kids with us, perhaps a friend or cousin, about the same age, so my kids would have a buddy to do kid-things. This island is small enough (and boring enough) that they are safe going off on their own, especially if they’re off with a friend.

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We also started going on vacation with another family, which includes one of my best friends and, thankfully, the husbands get along really well. They have kids the same age so they all hang out in a big teenager gang. The kids are able to do their own thing during the day, and really their dad is often joining them, but in the evening we all get together for dinner and silly group activities. We always do a scavenger hunt (this year they put one on for the adults, super fun!), limbo contest (yes, one of the kids always wins) and new this year, a talent show. Everyone participates, even someone who is joining us for the first time. It’s actually so much fun when we have a big group because it becomes a party. We have so many fun memories from these activities but also from the quieter times too. So, that’s how we’ve managed to vacation happily through the teen years. Now my oldest is 21 and youngest is almost 18 so we’ll see how much longer we have these family vacations, though I could see this tradition, or some form of it, lasting into the next generations!

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I’m not posing, just getting my crazy hair out of my eyes!

This island is very casual. So casual, I didn’t have any “blog-worthy” outfits. Really just a t-shirt and skirt (you saw here) are what I wore most days. I did, however, need to purchase a new bathing suit. After getting advice from other blogs, especially Allison at Wardrobe Oxygen, I knew I needed a different style of bathing suit than what I had before. My last suit, which I bought at my local bra shop, was low cut in the front and it had more of a shelf bra built-in which wasn’t as much support as I wanted. It was, however, better than the one before that I had to buy at a department store and only had 4 sizes (S, M, L and XL). Once I figured out there were such things as “bra sized swimwear” I was excited! Finally they’re making suits for women who have larger than a B cup and would like some support!

Tankini for apple shape

And here it is in all it’s glory. It has a completely built-in bra with all the support of a regular bra but with bathing suit styling. It has the side-rouching which creates some visual texture so there are some distracting wrinkles. I did find the strings at the bottom annoying as my hands got stuck in them often so I had to tie them up so they were short loops. It has the complete coverage I was looking for and I don’t have to tug it down over my tummy every time I moved.

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Because I had to buy it online (something I advised against here until you knew the sizing and fit) and I didn’t have a lot of time to send things back and forth through the mail, I was wary about my chances of finding what I wanted. I contacted Bare Necessities and they were extremely helpful, even checking on when an item would be available and calling me back with an update. Unfortunately it was on back-order and wouldn’t arrive in time but I was lucky to find the same tankini at Her Room and they were easy to work with and shipped it quickly.

I find that most options for bathing suit bottoms show the top of the thigh (not an area I care to showcase!) and often require fussing and rearranging with every movement. The alternative has always been those little skirt bottoms that make me feel like a cheerleader. Since I don’t care for either of those two options, I looked into more athletic wear for a suit bottom. Success! I bought these surf-boarder shorts (my second pair) several years ago from Title Nine and they have lasted as my primary suit bottom and are made for someone who moves in their swimsuit rather than lounges on the beach. Sometimes I just wear them as shorts on hot days because I like the length and fit and velcro and tied waist. Swimsuit dilemma solved so I can actually swim!

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So, that’s it for summer vacations until next summer. I’m back at it and will be posting on my regular days again. A couple more summer weather weeks then it will be fall (my favorite season!) and lots of fun outfits to show then!

I do not have any affiliation with any of the brands or stores nor do I receive any compensation. I’m just sharing what I’ve learned.

 

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