After a glorious 3+ days in WV at my parents' Mountain House of Hope, it is time for the girls and I to head home to Tangly Woods. I'm very eager to see Jason, to do the chores again, to sleep in my own bed and get back into the rhythms and routines of our life in Keezletown together. That said, I'm not all that eager to depart. It's been another special winter trip over the mountains and Mom and Dad have filled the time with fun and relaxation for us all!
My goals and hopes for the time were all met and fulfilled beyond my expectations: to do some reading for pleasure, to play games, to enjoy some walks outside in the invigorating mountain air, to do our taxes and to not spend a lot of time on work stuff. I read a novel a day for the first 3 days and then when I had lived in the lives of others for enough hours for awhile (and cried enough tears - my mom sure can pick out tear-jerker love stories well!!), I decided to leave the last novel for another time and focus more on my own love story. I definitely soaked up the preciousness of our three gals as we hiked up the mountain together, played around the ice covered pond, enjoyed indoor games, and as I observed them loving their time here and with Grandma and Grandpa. This place is a place full of special memories and we keep creating more!
We just tanked up on a pancake brunch and Terah is happily putting together a puzzle with Grandpa. They were so excited to get in the car and head to the mountains. This was our first car trip since Terah stopped nursing/napping. She has never been a great car sleeper so I didn't think about even trying to make the trip aligned with any previous afternoon nap times. As it turned out Terah was sacked out before the first mountain and slept over all four, waking upon our arrival. That seems to be the story of much of my parenting experience - working hard to get kids to fit into some prescribed schedule and as soon as I relax about it what I had worked for with much effort and little success happens effortlessly. :)
Here's just a few additional memory-jogging pictures for the girls and I to enjoy looking back upon, and for you, whoever our readers are, to get a taste of our time away:
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| The girls went to the library with Grandma on day one to stock up on books and puzzles. I was already deep in my first novel! |
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| And we were headed back to the library on day two as all the puzzles of the day before had already been put together! |
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| I got a lot of reading done while Monopoly and Birdopoly were being played. Thanks to dad for playing it probably two times too many (I think he played it twice)! It's hard for me to remember the days when I could enjoy that game for hours without ceasing - Alida is smack dab in the middle of that phase! |
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| A few of these pictures are ones my dad took and some of these activities I wasn't even aware of until seeing the photos - yes, I can get that lost in a book!!! |
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| Here's one of the times I resurfaced for some game playing. I missed having my hubby as my Upwords buddy, but I also didn't have to worry about being a grouch if I lost as I don't seem to mind whether I win or lose unless I'm playing with Jason! |
The girls and I enjoyed a hike just the four of us up to my uncle's cabin the first full day, complete with some hilarious games of tether-ball. Another day we enjoyed a walk up to Mom and Dad's pond, which provided for some great ice breaking play, which thankfully did not end in any child breaking through the ice with their body! I was holding on pretty tight to Terah! These little stints were the only quiet times in the house I think! I'm sure Mom and Dad will be glad for the quiet when we leave today and will soon after miss the chatter!
I'll have to do another post soon after we get home - or have Jason do a guest post on his days while we were gone. The days leading up to our departure were busy with finishing up the carpentry on the back kitchen cabinets, oiling them all, doing the back kitchen demolition and then waxing and buffing all the cabinets. I delayed our departure by a day to have the getting ready to vacation not be so stressful AND so that I could help Jason get the upper cabinets hung. I didn't want to leave and have him throw his back out on day one! So here's a few photos of the pre-departure fun that we got to work together on. The credit for this woodworking project goes largely to Jason's amazing carpentry skills, but it was fun for us to all get our hands on it towards the end. The girls also enjoyed there few stints going over to the garage with Jason to work on it. Another great homeschooling activity for all (me included).
I should probably give a bit of an Alida-update as far as the back kitchen project is concerned (this is for her to laugh at down the road when she reads it). She has been quite resistant to this whole project - everything was as it should be in the back kitchen and now it would never be the same and the new cabinets would be horrible and.... She sure knows how to make a fuss about something! That said, she was still always eager to help Jason when she could, but would just remind us on and off that she did not like the changes.
Well that changed dramatically when her eyes fell upon the "cute little doors." The upper sink cabinets have a section with two small doors. It was love at first sight! I am not exaggerating - before long she couldn't stop gushing about the cute little doors, she was writing letters to them downstairs and coming up to read them her letters, she sang them songs and before you know it she wanted to add their "birthdays" to the family birthday calendar. I put my foot down. That is, until the family meeting. Then I picked my foot back up...with the promise that the "cute little doors" would be the ONLY non-human, non-animal-pet addition to the family birthday calendar. So the cute little doors share our niece and nephew's Groundhog Day birthdays! What a kid!!
Before we left, we also got the next round of seeds started. It was time for parsley and fennel. I'm hoping for a good crop of fennel this year for all our sausage making!
I know Jason has been very occupied in our absence so he probably has not had a lot of time to miss us. And it had to have been more enjoyable to make noise and dust without worrying about our whereabouts. But I also know he will feel like home is home again when we are in it with him. And I know I will feel more grounded and at home within myself when we are together again!
My goals and hopes for the time were all met and fulfilled beyond my expectations: to do some reading for pleasure, to play games, to enjoy some walks outside in the invigorating mountain air, to do our taxes and to not spend a lot of time on work stuff. I read a novel a day for the first 3 days and then when I had lived in the lives of others for enough hours for awhile (and cried enough tears - my mom sure can pick out tear-jerker love stories well!!), I decided to leave the last novel for another time and focus more on my own love story. I definitely soaked up the preciousness of our three gals as we hiked up the mountain together, played around the ice covered pond, enjoyed indoor games, and as I observed them loving their time here and with Grandma and Grandpa. This place is a place full of special memories and we keep creating more!
We just tanked up on a pancake brunch and Terah is happily putting together a puzzle with Grandpa. They were so excited to get in the car and head to the mountains. This was our first car trip since Terah stopped nursing/napping. She has never been a great car sleeper so I didn't think about even trying to make the trip aligned with any previous afternoon nap times. As it turned out Terah was sacked out before the first mountain and slept over all four, waking upon our arrival. That seems to be the story of much of my parenting experience - working hard to get kids to fit into some prescribed schedule and as soon as I relax about it what I had worked for with much effort and little success happens effortlessly. :)
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