Sand, Shore and a little HGTV

Isn't this a great sand castle? I forgot to ask who made this, but I suspect my artsy husband might have had something to do with it...

My family is back home with me...and I tell you, it must be true what they say about absence making the heart grow fonder. I am so loving my family this weekend!

Amazingly, right after the car was unloaded, we all headed off to a company picnic at an amusement park.
So, if you think that my husband and girls might have already been on their way to being tired after 5 nights of camping, you can just imagine how exhausted everyone was after spending 4 hours standing in lines and sailing through the air on crazy rides on a humid afternoon made them.
Although they wouldn't have missed this annual picnic for the world, they were beyond tired and each took a turn in what I fondly refer to as "Melt-down City". Understandably, of course...but even when you expect to have to go to this "city", it's never a nice visit!

But as far as their week camping, they tell me they had an absolute wonderful time...

A little chilly as it sometimes is on the Northwest coast, but not too chilly to hang out on the beach!

But today, after their living outside for nearly a week, plus being over-tired, we all cozied up inside...playing games and watching TV, and just generally relaxing.

My girls even bonded with me as I watched my two, back to back season finales this evening.

Forget Survivor....Forget American Idol...
Forget all the other reality shows where people get voted off.
I hadn't been suckered into watching any of these for years!

And then....
Then, I was pulled into the two-fold sage that is:


Designer Star

and

The Next Food Network Star

And to think we have to vote for the next designer star. How can I pick between these two sweet people?


Matt or Jennifer...Jennifer or Matt....

I'm going to take a deep breath and go on to bed now. I just can't take the pressure...wake me on Wednesday when American sends one of them packing, please.

Meanwhile, back to reality...

And actually, that is pretty nice.
It's so wonderful to simply "be" with my family and I'm looking forward to enjoying simple moments with them this week, with no big plans at all.

Because although having a break each year and time to myself is truly a good thing for me...having my family back with me after they've gone is even better!

Blessings!

A day with George and the Duggars

First of all, is it me or does February seems to be flying by?
In a way, I guess that's good...since I always long for spring about now!
However, after weeks of rain, we had a "teaser spring" with sunshine and warmer temps...and it's amazing how everyone pours out of their houses-both adults and kids alike- practically doing cartwheels!

Also, as the month hurries on, it brings us a little closer to our vacation to California!

By the way, I want to thank all of you who gave me some great ideas and suggestions for keeping kids happy on a long road trip. I appreciated that so much!
And in case any of you will planning one in the near future, here's a super website I found!



Alright, I admit it. If you haven't guessed already, we're big on American history here in our little school at home. Mainly because the teacher (that would be me) loves it.
I already blurbed about Abraham Lincoln. But here's some of the artwork we did on President's Day this week:

The middle picture is free-hand drawing by the five year old...not bad! And the one on the right was from my third grader. (They get their artistic side from their daddy!)
And the one on the left...well, gotta' love his do!

Of course, my Kindergartener's civics still needs a little work. I had thought she knew who was currently president, but when I asked her, she had evidently forgotten.

"Remember? His last name starts with "B"..." to which she replied,

"Blincoln!"

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On a slightly different subject...I don't watch a lot of network TV anymore, so Monday evenings find me watching TLC, with all of the family reality shows.
(And that's how I spent my President's Day evening- notice the tie-in.)



First, there are the antics of "Jon and Kate Plus Eight"
Sure, the couple does squabble a lot...but having sextuplets plus twins all under the age of seven has bound to get a little stressful. Plus, how many of us would want to cameras rolling in our own home, catching all our foibles and times of losing it a bit? Yikes, they are a brave family!

Also, on Mondays is Little People, Big World (OK, so this husband and wife also squabble a bit!)
As many of you know, they don't live all that far from us, so we had the fun of visiting their farm at pumpkin time a year and half ago!

And then the many adventures of The Duggars!




All three of these families happen to be Christian families...yet, amazingly, the family with now seventeen children seem to rarely argue! Oh, I'm sure they are not perfect since nobody is...but wow, I really admire them!

No... more to the point, I am in complete awe of them!

Sometimes I tire just mothering and home schooling my two...just TWO!
Yet, she manages this huge bunch with such love, grace and godly wisdom.

Whether you agree with having that many children or not, it's hard to argue with what you see.
Not only do the children respect their parents, but the husband and wife seem to have a great love and respect for one another, as well.

My favorite episode is where they take their huge motor home along with a truck and trailer and get on the road.
Destination: Disneyland. With lots of stops along the way.
Those kids were literally crammed in there, sleeping every which way...but still managed to have a good time.

And if they can all make it to Disneyland...well, then so can we!

Blessings!