Family Time

Okay. I take it back. I do live somewhere pretty.

On Saturday we decided it was high time to put our family first, so we hopped into the car and drove up to a nearby trail for a little hike before a really huge rain storm was about to hit. The dark grey sky and the fall colors were beautiful. It felt so peaceful to be out there in nature. Until about the time we heard the roaring of the wind rushing towards us. Then we high tailed it about as quickly as we could back to our car and opened our doors just in time for the first few rain drops. We even saw the wind kick up a few dirt devils on our way back. It was pretty epic. And enchanting. And exciting. And fun =].

In an effort to put down our electronics more and connect with each other on a real level, we have decided to do more active family activities, to not use devices while the kids are awake or others are around (not even browsing through text messages or reading a political news source when other people are talking/around us) and I have designated all future Facebook use to Fridays. So, if I don't respond to some really amazing announcement...or I miss some terrible news, please don't be offended.

Our family needs to unplug a bit and focus on creating real memories together, especially with how much our schedules have exploded recently. Online school, church callings, work obligations, mommy and daddy obligations, and everyday cleaning/eating/sleeping etc obligations have made it necessary to ruthlessly prioritize more than ever before. We are kind of anti socialites now. Do forgive us. We hope someday we'll have more room to open up our time to all the people we love and care about. In the meantime, we buckle down and put what's first first. God, Spouses, Children, and Family. <3.

Here is to a future of thriving amidst all the busyness, instead of just surviving.



P.S. Isn't my family just the cutest? Love 'em.

Bad Luck

 

So, this one time? I plugged the wrong AC adaptors into both our elliptical and stationary bike and fried the circuit boards. And then Tuna exploded all over my backpack full of rented text books. And then our chop saw blade got caught on the plastic guard. And then we dropped our laptop and the computer screen shattered. And then my DSLR camera stopped working. And then we bought smart phones. And Kevin's smart phone got washed in the washing machine. Less than a week later.

And now I'm just sitting here wondering...what else dumb are we going to do next?

A New Beach...

Kevin, the kids, and I went on a picnic with Grandma and Grandpa to a new beach we had never been to before. And I'm wondering why we haven't explored this area more earlier! I told Kevin I wish we lived somewhere beautiful. 

 

 

 

 

Not that the place I live isn't beautiful... it is just different. I miss the mossy green trees and the fern covered floor kind of forest. I miss beautiful tall redwoods and knobbly old myrtle woods. 

We recently went on a hike to see the largest myrtle wood tree in the state.  Our windows were up our whole drive there, so when I opened the door the most crisp, sweet, beautiful smell of the forest spilled in through the opening. 

My first words were literally "It smells so good here!"

What a beautiful gorgeous world our Heavenly Father created for us. Below are a few pictures of the new (to us), beautiful beach we explored last week. It was so magical!

When we arrived on the beach there was a beautiful shallow tidal pool, about 15 feet back from the actual breaking of the waves and beginning of the ocean. It was not your typical tidal pool, with sea animals and plants, but more like a flooded portion of the beach, fed by a freshwater creek coming down from the mountains and the crashing tide of the ocean.

 

I felt like we were in a beautiful, tropical, pirates cove. It was fantastic! Kay even found a dead jelly-like fish! Apparantley, it was a Velella Velella.  And Tucker, of course, had a lot of fun. He ran. And ran....and then he ran. There was lots to see, you know.

The kids even made new friends.

It never ceases to amaze me how outgoing my children are. I love that they are not afraid to be kind to and get to know others. I could really learn from their example. I wish I didn't avoid talking to new people like the plague. It really should not be such a scary thing, after all. People, overall, are good and kind and friendly.

The kids found a giant washed up log and had Kevin help them push it into the water. Then they all grabbed sticks and rowed the log all over our private little lagoon. It looked fun. And I would have joined them, and I actually tried, but I weighed to much and sunk the whole boat. Woops.

Before we left, I ran over to the north side of the beach to take pictures of an area Kevin, Kay, and I had explored when we first got there. It was beautiful, with two small waterfalls coming directly out of the rock face that created a stream that wound its way down the beach and into the ocean. It was breathtaking and I couldn't leave without pictures.

And the end of the day we carried our junk, our little monsters, and half of the beach back to our cars to head home.

If the amount of sand you leave the beach covered in is any indication of how much you enjoyed yourself...then our kids had a blast. They got some good spray downs and some warm baths as soon as we got home and then it was time to put our happy little sleepyheads to bed.


I desperately wish my house was a five minute drive from the beach. I could so do days like this every day. For a long time. But for now, I'll  close my eyes and just pretend that we never have to leave and I get to take my kids to the ocean any ole' time I want. So there.

;P.