In Sync

Nate and I start out on our run, even though it's the last thing I want to do. It's been a stressful day full of accidents, disobedient children, a short tempered Mom and a needy baby.  All I want to do is sit down and relax, but I know I'll feel better when we're done.
 So we go. The air is thick and muggy, it's 90 degrees, and I'm sticky before we even start. I'm not doing this for enjoyment, that's for sure.
 We settle into our thing, him setting the course, me setting the pace. I follow when he turns, and he slows down when I start to lag. He could run faster and longer, but his desire to be with me outweighs his desire to burn a few extra calories. We talk here and there, but mostly we  listen to our feet hitting the pavement and our breathing quicken as our heart rates rise.
 We cross the road to the sidewalk and I end up closer to the street. Without saying a word, he slows down, taps my behind and we switch places. He's a gentleman, and he wants to be closest to the street in case something happens. Apparently, that was also a good time to tap my rear end. Duh.
 The dark patches of road and looming shadows don't seem as scary as when I ran alone a few nights ago. In fact, I don't notice them at all. My strong man is running next to me. I'm safe, secure and if anything happens, I know he'll swat away the bad guys without batting an eye.
 3 miles later, we slow to a walk and our heart rates back down. I slip my hand into his and we walk the last mile together.
 He runs, I follow. I slow, his pace pulls back. We cross, and switch. No words, we just know. We're in sync with each other, and it feels good.

My Joy, My Life, My Blessings

They look at me

I watch them play

They look at each other, eyes filled with admiration and love

Most days they play sweetly together, letting their creative imaginations lead them to the land of pretend. He's the dad, she's the Mom. He is Mickey, she is Minnie. They have to go to sleep now. They've been sleeping for 5 days. This is the water, and they have to stay on the pillows or the alligators will eat them. 
 There isn't a much better sound than listening to children play happily, but nothing even comes close when those children are your own.

They are my 3 little companions, my small best friends, my joy, my life, my blessings.
I know I say it a lot, but there is no higher honor in this world than being a Mom.

Family Time and Frozen Yogurt

Normally by now we are very weary of summer. We're waving our white flags of surrender to it's relentless heat, beating sun and sauna-like air, but this year we continue to enjoy temperatures under 100 and it makes all the difference. We can sit or take a walk outside in the evenings, which has prompted us to do more than just swim or sit inside the house. It reminds me of summers up North and I love it!

We discovered an awesome little yogurt shop about 5 minutes away and it made the perfect summer night outing.

 It's a self serve yogurt bar where you have the choice to fill your bowl with your flavor of choice and the amount you want, along with toppings and it's weighed at the end. I chose fat-free vanilla, strawberries, raspberries and mini chocolate chips. It was divine! 

 It was pretty inexpensive for all of us (although the kids and I didn't get much) and the best part was that we could sit outside on a gorgeous summer night and eat it without sweating our heads off.

After we were done, we just sat outside and let the kids run on the sidewalk while we talked and watched people come and go. It was such a fun evening and we'll defiantly be back there before school starts.

This is a family picture, because my reflection is in it too. :)

 I'm teaching Brookie how to hold my camera, focus and push the button. The strap is safely around her neck so if she dropped it it wouldn't break. She loves taking pictures and I look forward to having a little assistant someday!
 That being said, she took this picture. Pretty good for a 5 year old, wouldn't you say?

We all leave in less  than a week, but I'm hoping to get a few more photo-a-day post's in before then.

 Happy Friday!

Vacation

We've done a lot of travelling in our 6 years of marriage. After several long road trips and countless airplane flights, packing and preparing for trips are second nature to me! Last weekend we packed up everyone once again for a 3 day vacation with Nate's family. My brother-in-law, Adam, is home on leave from Afghanistan so we decided that a little get away was in order. After some Internet research, we found a large, gorgeous home to rent and call home for a few days.

Our first day was spent at Sea World, ooh and ahhing and the live animal shows, riding rides and splashing in the kids park.

We took a break for a gourmet picnic lunch--pb and j and chips.

I have this thing for turkey legs and try not to leave an amusement park without eating one. Can't let myself down!

Brooklynne loved the rides. She would have rode this one 100 times if we had the time. She is her daddy's child, because I had butterflies waiting in line for this tiny kiddie roller coaster and that is not a joke (which means you may not laugh).

While my children enjoyed this kiddie ferris wheel, I was taking deep breaths and hiding behind my phone to snap pictures of their un-afraid, smiley faces.

 We ended the day exhausted but happy and so thankful for the opportunity to visit such an educational, fun place.

When we got home that night, we worked together and quickly whipped up a family favorite--fettuccine Alfredo.

This house was perfect for a large family to stay in, and almost magical for the kids with it's woodsy backyard and swings.

Playing in a damp backyard resulted in dirt between my suburb-raised children's toes which was slightly traumatizing to Brooke. I smiled as daddy meticulously scrubbed between each toe.

After staying in this house, I'm convinced that our Heavenly mansions will be complete with light, airy, cool sun rooms. We spent a lot of our time out there, talking, relaxing and enjoying each other.

We spent a few hours at Chuke Cheese one afternoon, and my kids thought they were in Heaven. I haven't been there since I was very little, and my kids had been asking to go so it was the perfect opportunity. I'm not sure who had more fun, the big boys or the little boys!

On our last afternoon, we decided to have a girls spa party in the master bathroom whirlpool. Because of the jets, the bubbles grew and grew until they plopped over the sides of the tub and the girls thought it was hysterical! Our original plan to sit on the edges to soak our feet quickly turned into a bubble party for the girls, and they made themselves snowmen, Santa Claus and pretty puffy dresses. It was a blast.

 I am so thankful that I've been blessed with such a great second family that has accepted me as their own. Many daughters-in-law are not afforded the privilege to be close friends with their in-laws, and I don't take it for granted. We had a wonderful 3 days making memories that we will never forget!