Family nights
Family mornings
Family just-rights
There is something to be said for QT. something to be said for adventures , firsts and new frontiers.
I love and enjoy vacations without the kids, but trips as a family are priceless. Magical. Exhausting and one big beautiful mess.
This summer Tim and I made a pact about vacations with memories and time with "The Greats", our own Grandparents that is. We - ok, maybe I - thought that the kids have reached an exciting age that seems (somewhat) manageable, and so we set off to planning.
In July, we trekked to San Diego to see Great GG & Papa, and my side of the family. There were 25 of us (if I remember correctly) and we soaked in the beach, the sun & (as always) the fun. We attempted the San Diego Zoo and I was a little sad at how much it had changed since the last time I had been there (cough, 20+ years, cough). The best part of the trip was seeing my kids really start to interact and get to know the people that I saw as grown-ups & role models when I was a kid (along with their kids too). I know just how special these memories are and I treasure every piece of this family puzzle. I pray that my boys see what I see when they look at these pictures in our hallway.
Last week, we visited the other side of our "Greats" and headed to Florida. Since Cameron's last visit to Florida to visit Tim's Grandmother was when he was 4 months old, we explained to both boys that "Grandma B" (to be clear this is Grandma B as in Benton, not as in 'not A') lived by Mickey Mouse and that they were neighbors. This tid-bit of information was better than cake. For our kids, who had no concept of Disney World, when they heard Mickey Mouse all they saw was the cartoon, "mickey mouse clubhouse". Slowly, we introduced Disney movies: Peter Pan, Robin Hood, Zootopia, etc. We didn't go into specifics about rides, but I did mention things like, "Did you know that Winnie the Pooh and Mickey are friends? I wonder if they'll be at Mickey's house when we visit?" The boys would respond, "Naaah!" They thought this concept of Mickey's friends being anyone other than Goofy, Donald & Pluto was hysterical. To say that the idea of a special trip to see Grandma B, celebrate her birthday (we love birthdays!) and the chance to meet Mickey on top of it was highly anticipated, is an understatement. (I will post later about our day at Disney.)
In Grandma B's little community there was a bustle of golf carts, Cameron "scored a goal" with a putter, friendly faces & even better: Grandma B's love. It was so nice to spend time with her and see her giggle at these wild boys that always have us on our toes. She commented on Cameron's sweet tooth that is apparently (to no surprise) just like Tim's was at that age and she loved Payton's facial expressions. We left with books and treasures of love both tangible and in our hearts.
In July, we trekked to San Diego to see Great GG & Papa, and my side of the family. There were 25 of us (if I remember correctly) and we soaked in the beach, the sun & (as always) the fun. We attempted the San Diego Zoo and I was a little sad at how much it had changed since the last time I had been there (cough, 20+ years, cough). The best part of the trip was seeing my kids really start to interact and get to know the people that I saw as grown-ups & role models when I was a kid (along with their kids too). I know just how special these memories are and I treasure every piece of this family puzzle. I pray that my boys see what I see when they look at these pictures in our hallway.
Last week, we visited the other side of our "Greats" and headed to Florida. Since Cameron's last visit to Florida to visit Tim's Grandmother was when he was 4 months old, we explained to both boys that "Grandma B" (to be clear this is Grandma B as in Benton, not as in 'not A') lived by Mickey Mouse and that they were neighbors. This tid-bit of information was better than cake. For our kids, who had no concept of Disney World, when they heard Mickey Mouse all they saw was the cartoon, "mickey mouse clubhouse". Slowly, we introduced Disney movies: Peter Pan, Robin Hood, Zootopia, etc. We didn't go into specifics about rides, but I did mention things like, "Did you know that Winnie the Pooh and Mickey are friends? I wonder if they'll be at Mickey's house when we visit?" The boys would respond, "Naaah!" They thought this concept of Mickey's friends being anyone other than Goofy, Donald & Pluto was hysterical. To say that the idea of a special trip to see Grandma B, celebrate her birthday (we love birthdays!) and the chance to meet Mickey on top of it was highly anticipated, is an understatement. (I will post later about our day at Disney.)
I'm so very glad that we were able to spend some quality time with our Greats this summer.
We are beyond thankful and so blessed with time.
We are beyond thankful and so blessed with time.
If I've learned anything, it's that TIME is the biggest and best way you can show someone you LOVE them.
Extraordinarily, this summer, we were able to give it and receive it.
That's more than magical.
That's more than magical.
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