It seems as if we have been spending most our summer in California this year. Any chance we get, we head on up. (and lucky for us we have a free hotel to stay in...thanks to my wonderful inlaws) With Brian's work schedule he is able to move days around here and there so that he is still working full time, but just spaces it out where he will work 6 straight 12 hour shifts and then will get a 10 day vacation. I don't know how he keeps working the system, but it seems like every time we get back from vacation, he already has his shifts all moved around so that we can go on another trip. Which I am not complaining about one bit! It gets hard here without a swimming pool because my kids want to play outside all day, and they don't seem to mind the heat but I do.
We meet up about once a week to go to the public pool here with our girlfriends and then whenever Brian is off he has some fun activity planned. Last week he had 3 straight days off so one day we went to Cold Springs. I am bummed when I don't bring the camera because it is much easier to document the memories with pictures, rather then writing it. But I am trying to be better about journaling, so our kids can remember their young years growing up.
Anyways, to get to Cold Springs was this 2 mile hike (just on flat land) and I was surprised that the kids made it all the way down and back without being held (except Chace) But it was totally worth the hike because it was so beautiful. There was this waterfall that went into this clear spring of water and then there was this log that someone sawed steps into so you could walk up it and jump off. There was also this rock that was flat and steep so you could slide down. The kids loved that, but I was a little nervous to go down it myself! We just stayed for a while and swam, caught tadpoles and fish and any other moving object. We bought the kids little net catchers, and they had the funnest time trying to catch stuff. I just love when I get to sit back and watch my kids interact with their daddy. They are seriously so lucky to have a dad that loves to do stuff and is always playing with them. He takes full advantage of days off just to be with his family, and we all appreciate it so much!!
The next day we had family car wash day. Brian and I are really trying hard to teach our children the responsibility of hard work and how important it is now to instill this in our children while they are young. Our family motto is WORK HARD & PLAY HARD. Which we do our best at both. The kids think it is actually fun now to do work, because I always am trying to make it into some little game. I was so impressed that they both worked hard without even complaining. Sure it took us like an hour longer then it would have if we did it ourselves, so that's what I am having to work on. Sometimes it is just easier and faster for me to do it myself, but lately I have been really trying to have the kids to the work if its something that they can do. Bryce's job was to vacuum the Honda. He was in their working so hard with sweat dripping down his face, and so I asked him if he wanted me to help and he said," This is my job mommy and I can do it all by myself." It was so cute. (took him a good 30 minutes) We don't do the allowance thing around here, but Brian and I are in the works of coming up with a system that works for our family.
Thursday we packed up the sparkling CLEAN car and headed to a place called Fossil Springs....we hadn't been before and probably if we knew how long the drive was on a DIRT road, we would have opted to go somewhere else. So after about one minute of driving on the road, our clean car was no longer clean, it was a dirt ball. Oh well...guess it give us something to do tomorrow:) We had a fun time at Fossil Springs, I surprise myself by the mud and muck that I trench through, just to have fun with my kids. These kids are sure teaching me a lot, and making me do stuff I would have NEVER done in my life.
A bonus to playing hard is that it wears the kids out and 7:00 bedtime has never been so easy!
Well I am just trying to write while my last load of laundry is done and then we are headed off to California. My summers routine has been pack, unpack, do laundry, pack again.... but I am not complaining!
Britt, Kierst & I are having a little sisters trip with our 5 year olds before they start school in 10 days!! I still can't believe that my baby girl is going to be starting Kindergarten. I am so excited for her. This begins a whole new chapter in our lives, and we are excited for it to begin, while nervous at the same time. The people who Kiersti nannies for have a beach house on Mission Beach so they are letting us come up and stay for a few days while they are back home. Its fun that Kierst nannies for a 5 year old, because it feels like we all have kids the same age. So I am looking forward to a fun time with my sisters, and our girls! Of course I can't go to California and leave the boys at home. So we are all driving up to Brian's parents today and the boys will stay there while Brynnly and I go to the beach, and then we will join them for a few days before we have to drive back home.
Well I realize that post are not nearly as exciting without pictures. And I always contemplate whether to just totally have this blog private so I can write what I want and not have to worry about someone taking things the wrong way, or that I think my life is all bliss...even if it is:) But I am a positive gal and so therefore I think in most situations I do think life is great! I try to look at the positive of a situation rather then make it negative.  Someone else may think staying at home all day with 3 kids half naked isn't a fun day...but I would have to beg to differ. Their is nothing more that I ever wanted than to be a wife and a mother. So I am sooooooooo very thankful for all that I have and the fun times that I get to spend being at home raising these children while trying to keep a clean house:)