{ coming home }

Does anyone else ever feel like they need a vacation after they get home from vacation?

After 2 weeks of deciding what we should take with us in case someone gets a fever, or a cough, or it rains for three days straight and we are locked indoors with nothing to do other than stare at each other need to take with us, I was exhausted before we even left.

Then it's

Pack all the stuff. Drive 12ish hours with 2 kids, unload all the said stuff. Make darn sure I used each and every item I packed.

Relax for a few weeks. You know with two kids 5 and under who refused to nap and not one night went to bed before 11:00pm. Visit friends, visit family, find a kid who went to Grandma's without telling us, try and relax while out fishing while making sure the girls keep their life jackets on, make sure girls don't get run over with people backing boat trailers in and out, make sure girls don't slip on wet dock.hit their head on a rock.and drown. Make sure you are up before girls in the morning so they don't go in the lake without you knowing. You know, relax {grin}

Load back up, drive 14 hours, pull into the driveway and realize how much work there is to do.

But this year on top of the normal unloading and unpacking, we also had some severe weather in our area while we were gone.

We had 2 fairly big tree branches come down. One was big enough Tim had to hook up a chain to one and finish pulling it off the tree. Trust me, he enjoyed every.second.of it. He turns and grins at me and says "Did you SEE that?" I just smile back and think "you are such a boy." He wasn't smiling nearly as big when he had sweat running off of him as he used to chain saw to cut it up.

While he was busy doing that I was picking up hundreds of sticks and wondering

(Here is one "baby" pile)

if there is any chance our trampoline will be salvageable?

Tim thinks no. I think if there is a will, there is a way.

I have a will. {grin}

Then to add insult to injury I open my bedroom mini-blinds and see

a window that had gotten broken the day before we left. Tim thinks he hit a rock with the mower. In my crazy packing quest, I had forgotten about this.

The good news since we have been home, Tim has got new blades and belt on the mower, the grass is mowed, the sticks are picked up, the house is unpacked. Sure there are still things that need to be fixed, {insert window and trampoline and now our washing machine is leaking water} however there is always things that will need to be fixed.

Instead of worrying if my house is perfectly clean or about checking things off my list, we have spent the last two days swimming and at the park. If one thing vacation has taught me, it's not to get to caught up in life. To simply be. To enjoy every minute of my girls. To thank God for vacation and to thank God for broken windows.

To not take for granted that we got to spend 2 full weeks in Canada, that we get to come home as a family and live our life. Together.

Vacation may have been a lot of work. Life sometimes is a lot of work.

But I wouldn't trade one single minute of it. I wouldn't trade one single minute of this.

{ what a trip! }

After a 14 1/2 hour drive, a drive that Tim and I used to make in 9 hours, we finally made it back to our house. I lost count of how many stops we made. Between Tim and Kenna stopping to use the restroom, finding a gas station with a air compressor, eating, and a quick stop at an outlet mall, it seemed to take forever this round.

The girls thought so too.

Just ask Kinzley.

We didn't even get out of the resort's drive and she asked how much farther. She proceeded to crack up laughing, saying she asked because Kenna had asked while all the time on the way up.

Quite the comedian she is.

We were in Canada for 2 weeks this year and you may have noticed I didn't blog our trip this year. It makes a big difference when your 3 year old doesn't nap. There just wasn't time. Never fear though, I took photos {grin} so I thought I'd share our trip in pictures.

...swimming w/ gum of course...
...the girls usual position when riding in the boat {grin} it's a little windy going across the lake...
...kinz striking a pose...
...upside down goggle face kenna...

...kenna in her sand chair...
...kinz buried in the sand...
...our cousin colin. we buried a squirt bottle in the sand to make it look like he was, well you get the point...
...kenna with her scowl...

...cousins with their catch...
...sleepy kenna...
...kenna not quite sure about her crappie...
...cousins...


...tim and his girls with a 4 pound small mouth...
....kenna driving boat...
...kinz LOVES to drive the boat. She took us all the way across the lake to a friend's with no help...
...roasting hot dogs...

...moi...
...kenna with her first catch. she is quite the fishergirl. she would throw her line out and then throw the pole in the boat and say "I in twouble!" on her first cast, i started to reel it in for her and there was a fish on the line. she finished reeling it, then proceeded to dance around the boat saying "I KNEW it was a fish. i thought maybe it was weeds but it was a huge fish. I DID IT!" just look how proud she is!...
...kinz with her first fish. Not quite as proud as her sister...
...i tried to tell Tim he had too much sunscreen on but he didn't believe me untili showed him the picture...


...kinz licking the frosting off a piece of saran wrap...
...girls looking at the falls...
...the falls...
...kenna and mom...

...meet turtley...
...turtley got "caught" by kinz the first few days we were there...
...she kept him in a tub for 2 weeks and caught him minnows to eat...
...poor turtley....


...speaking of turtles, look at this monster!..
....tim scooped him up with a net...
...later kinz came and told us the turtle has layed eggs in the rocks...
...tim believe her. i figured out quickly she put yogo's in the water {grin}...


...walking on the beach...
...leaf and pinecones...
...sandals...
...driftwood...


...smores...
...kinz eating her hot dog...
...kenna "eating" her hot dog...
...campfire...


...a loon sitting on it's nest. this guy was on a little piece of land on a bog. it's really unusual to get to see their nest. let alone get close enough to take pictures. if you know me and my fear of birds, just imagine the anxiety i felt getting within an arms length to take this picture. i just knew that poor mama loon was going to fly off that nest at me and i would end up flipping over the opposite side of the boat...
...2 baby loons with their parents...
...the lake wigwam, that we portage the boat into. it's beautiful back there...
...an eagle that followed the boat around wanting us to throw it a fish....

...sun shining thru the trees...
...a float plane that I was sure was going to hit us...
...they take off off the water and boats are suppose to stay back. obviousally we didn't...
....a cool piece of wood...

...our sassy with a crawdad crawling on her {smile}...
...tim weed eating the hill in front of the motel. yes, in the lake...
...kenna filling her pockets with sand {eye roll}...
...the drama even goes on vacation with us...

....the upper and lower boathouse...
...the gazebo...
...all packed up to come home...
...vacation is hard work...

Are your eyes burning yet from all the pictures?

Just wait, I took over a hundred senior pictures of my cousin when she was up there. {grin}

{ a bend in the road }

A bend in the road is not the end of the road... unless you fail to make the turn.
~Author Unknown













Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding;
in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.
Proverbs 3:5-6

{ Sleepover }

The girls stayed overnight at my parents house tonight.

I let them pick out their own clothes and pack their own bags.

Can you tell?



Personally I liked their shoe selection the best. {grin}

{ Three Wishes }

The girls and I walked past a wishing well the other day they begged and cried very nicely asked if they could have some money to throw in.

I dug to the bottom of my wallet until I found the pennies {grin} and gave them each three.

I told them they needed to make a wish for each penny they threw in. Normally when someone makes a wish, they do so in their head and I am always wonder what they ask for.

Not Kinzley.

She throws in her first coin and says I wish I had a hundred kitties. {Fat chance of THAT happening while you live under my roof}

Second penny goes in. I wish I could go swimming every day.

Third penny. Third wish. I wish I lived with Brynn, Megan and Leah.

I ask if I can live with them too and she didn't think that would work. I pretend to be sad and say I don't know who is going to live with me when I hear sweet little Kenna say I'll live with you mom. I won't weave.

Isn't that the sweetest thing?

Of course this is right after she took all three pennies at the same time and throws them as hard as she can across the wishing well

and almost fell in

with a bright pink and blue cotton candy ice cream cone.

I just shake my head {after grabbing her and setting her feet back on the ground} and wonder who is going to entertain me next fall when they weave me to go to school?

I guess if nothing else at least I'll be 6 cents richer.