Spring Break week - oh man, what was once so liberating and exciting is now daunting and exhausting. Jackson needs school - it makes him a happy boy. Ryan needs outings and a lot of them so without school, that's a lot of pressure. Andi and Cole also need to do something at least once a day. Considering this, it can become expensive and draining.
Monday I decided we would take it easy because at the start of the break, no one would be going crazy just yet. We cleaned and organized and hit up Costco. Simple and pleasant enough. Success!
But then that afternoon, upon realizing how beautiful Tuesday was supposed to be, I decided to try to get some people together to go to the beach. Most couldn't make it on such short notice, but Michalle and I decided to go anyway.
Tuesday morning Andrew decided to join us and plan on working late that evening. Just before we left, I called my mom and she jumped in the car to join us. The kids were so excited and quite helpful getting ready. I mean really, every girl needs a styling pair of heels to go to the beach - accentuates the calves!
We haven't been to the beach since January and so I wondered if there would be an adjustment period once we arrived. NOPE! All were happy and at ease.
The most at ease was Mr. Cole - which is quite frightening with how quickly he crawls. I mean seriously, this kid is fast and fearless. He was in above his waist and still wanted to go further. Let me just say that the water was ICE. Seriously chilly. It was gorgeous and hot outside so the shivering didn't last too long once he was out of the water.
What was adorable was how concerned Ryan was with Cole getting too close to the water. He tried to stop him and then looked up at us like, "Uh, seriously guys, is someone going to get him?" and then he'd go back to block Cole.
Once the novelty wore off, we got the kids to hang out closer to our "camp". I love the beach because it requires very little from me. We all have a blast effortlessly.
The best part about having dad with us is having someone to bury the kids. I hate doing it and getting all that sand under my nails - call me what you will, but I seriously can't stand it. Maybe I should learn from Allie and use a baby spoon to help bury my children! Awesome!
After two SHORT, blissful hours, the two whities wanted to head home. Yes, I have already informed Andrew and my mom that this was their last invite.
Last night I got bummed out by something. Then today I got more bummed out when I realized we were going to have to miss out on a Magic Mountain adventure with friends. As I moped around I decided to play some worship music. Then I decided to read some Conference quotes. Then I decided to stop and watch my children play outside. Look at them, not a care in the world.
They have no clue what they're missing and quite frankly, they couldn't be happier inventing adventures together, in their backyard. We are so blessed and yet I allow outside influences to bring me down. Why is it so easy to become discouraged? It's shameful, really, just how blinded of our blessings we can become. It's so easy to dwell on the things of this life instead of dwelling on the eternal perspective. Because the fact is, the second we are faced with a real problem, none of that other crap even matters. Do I really want some tragedy to occur to remind me how blessed we are? No. I messed up and now I'm fixing it. To start, I'm throwing on my swimming trunks, as Andi likes to call them, to lie on a blanket and read in the sun. Oh yeah, and I'm putting the youngers down for a nap and grabbing my tanning oil.
.JPG)
.JPG)
