A tale of a busy husband, and our thankful tree

My poor husband is for sure going to give up and stop coming home.

For reals.  Because, you see, every time he comes home, his wife hands him a to-do list that's like thirty lines long.  And she doesn't pick nice, simple tasks.  She really puts him to work.

What a Scrooge, right? 

In my defense, it's because my house has been in the same partially-finished state for the last two years.  We made a ton of progress in the first year we lived in our home, but since then... well, we've had another baby and started homeschooling and Casey traveled like 275 days a year.   

We put together a really adorable kids' room for Leah and Logan (which I still haven't taken photos of) and re-did the nursery for Olivia (which I still haven't taken photos of.  Are you sensing a theme yet?), but almost all of the other home improvements have been put on hold.  Sometimes it feels like an indefinite hold.

So, when Casey had a few days off before Thanksgiving, I set him to work.  Because, this year?  That dining room was getting it's final face lift.  It's time!

While that project is still in progress, I can show you one of my favorite little additions.  This is one of my favorite November traditions.  Two weeks before Thanksgiving, we start our Thankful Tree. 

This year, because of our re-model, it has a new home in our almost-finished dining room (see the baseboards there?  SCORE!!!!)

Every night at dinner time, we each take time to discuss and record what we are thankful for that day. 

It didn't take very long for that tree to begin overflowing with all of our blessings!

I so enjoy the process of intentionally pausing to reflect and appreciate how very full our lives are.  We have so much to be thankful for!

I'm pretty sure this tradition has been popular for a while, and to be honest, I don't even know where I came across it.  We've been doing it for a few years - maybe three now? - since Leah was old enough to participate.  

But this is definitely our best version so far.  

It's so fun to hear the sweet expressions of gratitude from my children's hearts.  There are a lot of your more "standard" thankfuls, along the lines of I'm thankful for my family, food and home (which are still important to remember!), but also the more specific ones where we really get to hear their individual voices come out.  Those ones are my very favorite.  

From Logan: I made an "I" with legos today.  My Scoutie toy.  Pumkin bread. Mac and Cheese. (As you can see, his currency is food!)

From Leah: My brown teddy.  My warm sheets with snowflakes on them.  Going to the store with Mommy.

It is awesome to pause and reflect.  More than that, though, it is just wonderful to hear my children's voices raised in praise as they think about their own blessings.  It's a tradition we'll hang onto for a few more years!

California: Days 4-6

The second big stop while in San Diego was, of course, the San Diego zoo.

One important thing we discovered this day: the zoo is huge!

There were tons of things, not only for them to see, but to touch, learn about and experience.

It was very fun, but also very hot and crowded.  There were definitely a few more melt downs on this day than there had been at Sea World.  Not to mention, the majority of the zoo somehow is up hill.  It's like some sort of magic trick.  You just keep going up, but somehow you also end up back where you started the day. 

But, we did get to see a panda.

And it was adorable!

It was a fun experience, which we left pleasantly exhausted.

The next day, we headed up the coast to Dana Point.  There was very little on the agenda for the next two days.  We had planned in a couple of days of rest, beach and swimming time. Which is exactly what we got!

Our kids are little fish.  They love the water. 

And when the hours in the pool were finally enough, then there was the beach to explore!

The beach was fun, but it didn't afford quite as much swimming as the kids like.  There were other things, though...

Like building sand castles and playing in the surf. 

The littlest one tolerated it, but that was pretty much it. 

When she got to do that barnacle thing she's so good at, it was okay.  

So long as nobody tried to put her down or take her away from mom.

We played a few rounds of "can you outrun the surf?"

I hadn't planned on actually getting in the water, assuming I'd have to tend to and carry the baby.  But at heart, I'm a water baby too, and the lure of the ocean was too much for me.  

I loved playing with the kids!  They were too small to go in, but had a great time running up and down the shoreline.  

Until, of course...

...the great face plant of 2015.

That pretty well ended our beach expedition!

It was Casey's birthday, so we all got dressed up to enjoy a very yummy dinner - and a show!

A neekid bebe show, which is definitely one of my favorite kinds!

Seriously, aren't those buns delicious?!

It just gets better when you add a hat.  

I love that little cute girl!

The next day brought an adventure at Seal Beach outside of Laguna, where we did not see any seals but did spot a pair of dolphins in the wild.

We stopped at Santa Monica Pier for a very fun dinner and ice cream with Casey's family.

It was so great to see them, and we just love watching how much the kids love them!

It seems the feeling is mutual. 

After that, it was off to our hotel to get ready for the big day.  DISNEYLAND!!!!

California: Days 1-3

As so many things do in our world, our California road trip kicked off a bit more slowly than we had hoped.

One of the more unexpected side effects of homeschooling is that our kids tend to run entirely on their own time.  Even though we maintain a pretty well-scheduled routine, getting our kids anywhere in a timely manner is not our strong suit.  

Our intention was to be in the car, on the road around 7 a.m.  

At 7 a.m. back in the world of reality, bleary-eyed children were straggling out of their rooms without pants, all attempts at breakfast were going poorly, and the car stood, trunk open in the driveway only half packed.

After only a little bribery, a lot of patience and some mad running about, we did eventually make it out the door.






















We stopped for a picnic lunch in Vail before heading on, ultimately stopping in Saint George, Utah for the night.

We are so lucky that our kids are good travelers.  I had been prepping things to bring for several months, and I had a whole bucket of treasures stored up.  The biggest hit by far, though, were these sticker pads from Melissa and Doug.  They were great for both kids, although they kept Leah entertained literally for hours.

The next day, we stopped in Vegas for lunch, and to let the kids take a quick look around at the Venetian.

Because... man is there a lot to see at the Venetian!

From the gondolas to all the treasures in shop windows, to gelato and even a living statue.

Vegas was actually a great place to stop with the kids.  There was plenty of space to get out and stretch our legs, and lots to see and do to keep them entertained.

We have done our share of traveling by car, but this year was particularly fun because our littles are big enough to pay attention and enjoy a book on tape.  We listened to Frog and Toad, The Wizard of Oz, and a variety of short books we found on youtube - mostly that they were already familiar with - like Pete the Cat, Room on the Broom and the Rainbow Fish.

I wish that I had taken more photos of our hotel room those first couple of days in California.  We stayed at the Double Tree in San Diego, which had a separate room with a bunk bed for the kids.  They were absolutely thrilled!

I can tell you that they loved the pool!

Even though we didn't get in until about 7:00 that evening, the kids were so excited to get in the pool!

It was really sweet and fun to have the kids all in the same room together.  They did an awesome job, maybe in part because we kept them busy and they were worn out!  Success!  Logan is our little up with the sun boy, and he takes his job as family alarm clock very seriously. 

We came in the next morning to find that he had abandoned his bunk bed in favor of Olivia's pack and play.  Go figure. 

Up first on our California agenda: Sea World!

And it was ah-ma-zing!!!

The kids had so much fun exploring, touching and learning about these little sharks.  Along with our CC curriculum, we're learning all about animals - classification, vertebrates vs. invertebrates, etc, and at the risk of getting all "educational" (c'mon, you knew I would, right?), this was such a fun opportunity to take an up close and personal look at the things we've been memorizing.

They also stuck their hands into this little pool of sucker fish - much to their mother's horror.  ICK!

We had such a fun morning.  But the stars of the day, by far, were the whales and dolphins.  

Because, that face right there?  It's exactly how we all felt!

Oh my.  They are incredible. 

Even Livvy gaped and smiled and clapped and pointed with all the excitement her 14 months could muster. 

It was so much fun.  It really reminds us of the wonderful world God created for us to enjoy, and how important it is that we are good stewards of our world.  

We had lunch at the park, and a little somebody got pretty sleepy.  We are lucky that she is still in baby mode - Olivia fell asleep right on me.  While she slept, we went inside where it was cool and dark to see the aquarium.  

After the littlest one woke up, we pet and fed some stingrays. 

I was super proud of Leah, who went on a raft ride with me that was really fun and quite grown up. 

And, of course, we got soaked!

After little ice cream, we were ready to watch the dolphin show, which was equally as awe-inspiring as watching the whales.  

I love, love, love dolphins!  They are magical!

The kids were pretty enthralled, too.

Despite the fact that we had warned the kids that they would get wet if we sat down low, they insisted.  Adamantly.  They wanted to get splashed, they said.  It would be fun, they insisted.

Of course, when push came to shove, and they actually got soaked, it wasn't quite as endearing.  There was a bit of crying.  It may or may not have been hysterical.  And some very last minute running up the stairs to reach drier ground.  

It was an absolutely wonderful way to kick off our vacation.  Our little adventurers had such an awesome time!  And, because I am sappy, I have to mention that it is entirely more fun to experience these moments with my children, through their eyes, than simply on our own.  

And, I have to make special mention of my wonderful husband, who made one of my life-long dreams come true!  But, that's a topic for another post.