Our Adventure called Life

Each summer I ask the kids if they are interested in going to Vacation Bible School and each year they say "no."  We don't have a "home church" and visit a couple different churches a handful of times throughout the year.  So I understood their hesitation in attending.  However, this year when I asked, Paisley responded "let me think about it."  A few days later he said he wanted me to sign him up.  Lila (overhearing the conversation) said she wanted to go too!  I located the forms on the Internet and sent them in. The church is located in the little town we live in, but I was unsure about who would be involved.  I asked the kids if they would like me to volunteer, such as to help with crafts, snacks, etc, and they said they would like that.  I sent in my own form to assist, filled out the background form, and the next week I was sitting in my first VBS volunteer meeting. I didn't know a soul in the room, which was a little nerve-racking. ...

My skin has turned a reddish brown, speckled by freckles that only return after a little time in the sun.  Sand from our morning at the beach has taken up residence in my sun dried ocean blown hair. I sit on the very balcony that I've relaxed on since birth, my eyes squinting against the sun as I look over the tops of palm trees and into the sparkling waters of the Gulf of Mexico.  1982-Me (standing) with Rhea and Grandma It's a moment I never saw happening. The condo my grandparents used to bring us to yearly now have the laughter of our children bouncing off the walls.  I haven't stayed here since before Scott and I said "I do," 7 years ago.  Between the fast pace of time passing and vacationing in other locations, returning to St Petersburg hadn't been a priority, until now.  Yesterday we filled the car with gas and luggage and began the 13 hour drive south.  The kids were entertained with "prizes" every few hours and a movie or two.  S...

I hope you read the title as if you were hearing Alice Cooper sing his hit from 1972, "Schools Out." Pre-school 2014 I could ask where the time went, except I know exactly where it went. It slipped past us while we've been outside enjoying the spring weather. It crept around us while we've been at the ballpark 2 nights a week. It blew through our hair while we planted flowers and pulled weeds, and dripped off us like water from the slip in slide. We've been soaking it up in daily routines, only taking time to notice its passing as a milestone pops in front of us, causing us to notice the date on the calendar. This milestone of completing pre-k isn't monumental. He's not going to a different school this fall or taking a job that has him moving out of our home. He's taking the step of partial school days 3 days a week to being at school all day everyday.  It's not monumental, but it's big.  A change for all of us. This boy...the boy th...

Good Morning!! The first morning after a travel day is rough, especially if you don't get a good nights rest.  My brain was over thinking the events of the following day which kept me from having the best sleep.  Paisley had ski school the following morning at 8:45 and I was fairly nervous.  This was his first day on skis, with an instructor he/we've never met, with kids he's never met, and we're in another county.  I can't tell you how many times I questioned if this was a good idea.  Luckily, Paisley was extremely excited and we had talked through the details as much as we possibly could.  The next morning, Paisley hopped out of bed and wanted to get his snow pants on immediately. Fueling Up We fixed breakfast from the convenience of our kitchenette and had everyone bundled in snow clothes and out the door on time.  We found the Whistler Kids area and signed in.  Paisley got to meet one of the instructors and went over a check list of...

Our little travelers As our 9th annual ski trip was in the planning phase, there was some interest in hopping the boarder and skiing in Whistler, Canada.  Accommodations were a little trickier than normal as there aren't a lot of VRBO's up for rental near the ski area.  We settled on a hotel room with a kitchenette, renewed our passports and waited on our departure date. The boys We flew out of the airport near our home, while a little more expensive, saved us a couple hours in the car with little people whom were already facing a long travel day.  Armed with snacks, prizes and coloring books, we boarded our flight and headed to Chicago! Discussing runway activity After boarding the plane from Chicago to Vancouver, we were mildly nervous there wasn't a movie screen on this flight.  We had planned on the kids being entertained on the 4+ hour flight with a movie  or two.  Luckily, the time flew (literally) and the items we brought were enough t...