Lair O' The Bear

It has been awhile since we headed up to Lair O' The Bear (a beautiful hike not too far from home which is absolutely beautiful and where Ben and I took our engagement pictures almost a decade ago). I have a couple of friends who have never been there, so we decided to take the kids up yesterday. It was a great decision- it is always nice to get out in nature, breathe in fresh air, and see the beauty of the world that God created for us. It helps to put things in perspective. What a blessing!

Camille seems to be our little naturalist. She loves to pick flowers (though she has learned, I think, to only pick dandelions). She loves to pick up rocks in particular, and then show them off to anybody that will look at them. And, she just loves to be outside.

 Believe it or not, Camille actually likes being in this hiking backpack- although it doesn't look like it here, I realize.

 I love this view!

 We realized too late that instead of the hike, we should have just stopped at this trail at the beginning and let them play on this tree the entire time. Next time we need to make sure to leave plenty of tree climbing time!

Our Traditional North Pole Visit

The girls have been counting down the days for several weeks, and today it finally arrived: Our annual visit to the North Pole! Last night Claire told us she was nervous because on the Candy Cane Slide she might not be able to go on the "green" light, and she might accidentally go on the "red" light. I couldn't believe that she remembered this small detail from last year, but that is how powerful this annual trip is. Ben's parents were able to come with us, which was great. We had such a great time!

Audra's Last Day of School

Last Thursday was Audra's last day of school. We were all very excited!!!!!

On Wednesday night at dinner I said, "We need to go celebrate Audra's last day of first grade tomorrow  night!"

She looked at me in horror and exclaimed: "What? You and Dad are going to go celebrate without us?!?!?"

Perhaps Ben and I go on too many date nights?

Things worked out in her favor, though, because Claire ended up having a massive tantrum and Ben wasn't feeling well, so just she and I got to go out- we had a date- and it was very nice.

We went to a frozen yogurt place and I told her she could get whatever she wanted since we were celebrating how great she did at school all year, and she was super excited.

We are very excited for Audra and for all of her hard work- and now we are excited to be FREE this summer!!!!!

Patriotic Play

On Monday Audra had her first grade production- a singing of several patriotic songs along with some speaking parts by the kiddos. It was pretty cute. Audra practiced super, super hard and was so excited. She was mostly nervous for "Fifty Nifty United States"- and with good reason. That is a hard song! All the kids struggled with that one.

Anyway, it was super cute. And, to anybody that says that American-ism isn't being taught in schools, well, Audra's class proved them wrong!

 Afterwards they did a little party and had a "ceremony" where the kids got certificates saying that they graduated from first grade:

For Those "Blah" Days

I saw this (I take zero credit for this) and thought it was something I needed to remember for those days when things just aren't...right. Here's a post from the blogosphere somewhere:

For the days we are running on empty. For the days we just don't think we have it in us to read one more story, play one more game of Uno, wash one more round of sheets. For the days when we think everyone else has it together. For the days we're sure anyone else would do this job better.

For those days. You know the ones.

Repeat after me:
1. I shall not judge my house, my kid's summer activities or my crafting skills by Pinterest's standards.
2. I shall not measure what I've accomplished today by the loads of unfolded laundry but by the assurance of deep love I've tickled into my kids.
3. I shall say yes to blanket forts and see past the chaos to the memories we're building.
4. I shall surprise my kids with trips to get ice cream when they're already in their pajamas.
5. I shall not compare myself to other mothers but find my identity in the God who trusted me with these kids in the first place.
6. I shall remember that a messy house at peace is better than an immaculate house tied up in knots.
7. I shall play music loudly and teach my kids the joy of wildly uncoordinated dance.
8. I shall remind myself that perfect is simply a street sign at the intersection of impossible and frustration in Never Never land.
9. I shall embrace the fact that in becoming a mom I traded perfect for a house full of real.
10. I shall promise to love this body that bore these three children out loud, especially in front of my daughter.
11. I shall give my other mother friends the gift of guilt-free friendship.
12. I shall do my best to admit to my people my unfine moments.
13. I shall say sorry when sorry is necessary.
14. I pray God I shall never be too proud, angry or stubborn to ask for my children's forgiveness.
15. I shall make space in my grown-up world for goofball moments with my kids.
16. I shall love their father and make sure they know I love him.
17. I shall model kind words to kids and grown-ups alike.
18. I shall not be intimidated by the inside of my minivan this season of chip bags, goldfish crackers and discarded socks too shall pass.
19. I shall always make time to encourage new moms.
20. I shall not resent that last call for kisses and cups of water but remember instead that when I blink they'll all be in college.

Best Family Picture

Through pure serendipity, we were all kind-of matching today so I decided we were going to take a picture before we went to church. It might be the best one we have ever taken without a professional photographer- simply by virtue of the fact that everyone was looking at the camera:

 

This might just be our Christmas photo:)