We had a fun fall break trip with just Nate, the hubs and I. We drove all night to Georgia where we visited my sister and her hubby and 1yr old.
Nate was totally stoked to go to the Lego Adventure Center in Atlanta. He said it was the best ever.
The next day we went to a local fall festival with my cousin's family.
Then we went to Myrtle Beach for rest of the weekend. Can you tell Nate was excited to see the ocean for the first time? ;-)
Thankful we were able to have lunch with Isaac's cousin's family!
What is a trip to the pier without a pix with a fake dead fish?
On the drive home we pulled over to look at a cotton field! Totally counts as a field trip. ;-)
Thank goodness for audio books and game boys to help occupy this guy on the 20+ hours we had in the car that weekend! What a blessing to have some quality time with our oldest son!
My husband and I celebrated our ten year anniversary in January. While we had two nights in Indy to celebrate then but its been four years since we have taken a "real" trip together. We were both eager to set aside some time to devote to one another. And we felt a milestone like 10 years deserved something big!
Back in the fall we were given the opportunity to get a "free" cruise plus airfare if we would be willing to listen to a presentation from a timeshare company (they insisted it wasn't a timeshare but it sure seemed like one to us). Well, we weren't very interested in buying what they were selling (especially at the prices they were offering) but we were interested in the "free" cruise. So we went and sat through the whole presentation. It was rather tedious but we stuck it out. Frankly, by the end of the evening they had lowered their prices enough that we were actually considering it - but it was still a substantial investment and we don't make that kind of financial decision without careful consideration. They insisted that we had to sign up on the spot or the offer was off the table so we said no. But we got our certificates for our incentive cruise.
We were not completely surprised to discover that "free" was not exactly accurate. "Discounted" would have been more truthful. We had to jump through some hoops and be flexible on our dates of travel, etc. And we were responsible for some taxes and port fees, etc. But we do feel that it was worthwhile in the end.
We did end up with a busy itinerary. Wednesday we took Megabus from Indy to Chicago. We have some friends who live on the northside of Chicago so took them to dinner at Taste of Peru, this Peruvian restaurant that we found on a Diner, Drive-in and Dives fan site. It was really good food and great company. Our friends have always lived out of town so we don't get to see them nearly often enough. It was so nice to get to visit with them. They were kind enough to let us crash at their place and drive us to the airport at the crack of dawn the next morning.
Thursday we flew to Fort Lauderdale via Newark. When we arrived in FLL we attempted to figure out the public transportation to take us to Miami (where the Norwegian Cruise Line port is located). Being from the suburbs of Central Indiana we are not adept at public transportation and were easily lured into a shared van ride for a whoppin' $42 (when he quoted us he said $21 and we thought it was total, not per person). We were the last to be dropped off so we got a somewhat scenic tour of Miami on the way to our hotel. We enjoyed settling in at our beachfront hotel during the afternoon and took a walk on the beach. That evening we took an overpriced cab ride to Tap Tap, a Haitian restaurant (also from TripleD ). The decor was lively and the food was memorable. I had the shrimp in coconut sauce and it was amazing!
The next morning was leisurely and we hailed a taxi to take us to the cruise port around noon. This cab driver was insane. I seriously thought we were going to die... or hit a pedestrian or something. Not our best taxi experience. But we lived to tell about it so I guess we can't complain too much. ;-) We were ushered (or herded like cattle) through registration and customs and onto the Norwegian Sky. Neither of us having been on a cruise before we were blown away by the size of the ship. It is huge!
That day we were a little worn out from the traveling and just kind of chilled on the boat. I took a dip in the pool and we acclimated ourselves with the rest of the ship. There were several dining rooms that were complimentary, some that were open 24/7. We were very satisfied with those and did not even venture into the "specialty" dining rooms which all had cover charges.
The next day was spent at Great Stirrup Cay - a private island owned by Norwegian Cruise Line. There is no dock on the island so we had to use a tender to get to and from the island. There was a shopping area on the island as well as some recreational areas and the lunch buffet provided by NCL. We enjoyed the beach and lunch and did some shopping. We attempted to explore more of the island but it was under construction so there wasn't much we could see. The tender ride back to the ship was tumultuous. First, during the boarding a little girl got her foot smashed in the ramp. She was attended to promptly by staff but it shook everyone up. And then the waters were very rocky on our way back and the boarding of the ship took awhile because they had to keep stopping to let the water calm down. I was a little nervous during all of that.
That night we took in some of the entertainment offered on board the ship. Throughout our trip we saw the Deal or No Deal live gameshow, a Battle of the Sexes game, a comedian and a Showcase Showdown musical. Isaac also spent a little time playing blackjack in the onboard casino. I lost a little money playing slots but Isaac ended up $150 ahead in the end. Winner winner, chicken dinner!
The next day we were docked at Nassau for the day. It was kind of amusing to see the cluster of people inside the welcome center madly checking email and such on their laptops and phones in the wifi zone because you had to pay an overpriced amount for internet access on the ship. Everyone was technology deprived.
We indulged in the cliche and had lunch at Senor Frog's a few blocks away from the docks. It was like spring break in there! Lots of party girls "woo"ing. Isaac had some tasty wings and I got pretty good chicken tacos. They would have been great but I accidentally tainted them with what I thought was sour cream but ended up being blue cheese dressing. Ugh!
After lunch we wandered around the main downtown area a bit and ended up at the beach for awhile. I will admit that the skinny bikini clad gals I saw throughout our trip did not make me feel any better about myself... but I didn't let it put a damper on our trip. I had the attention and adoration of the only man that matters to me and that is all I can ask for. ;-)
We said good-bye to Nassau and the ship headed back to Miami. We had dinner in our room that evening but ended up walking around the deck late that night looking at the stars and clinging to our last night on the ship.
The next day we were again herded like cattle as we left the ship and returned to the mainland. We decided not to fork over the dough for the shared van ride to the airport this time and we did manage to navigate the Miami bus system... but it did take its toll on us. ;-) It took us a few hours to make what could have been a 40min trip. But we saved like $30. So there you go.
We are not in the position to take a trip like this too often... but I think we both realized how much we need to prioritize setting aside time together. Date nights are great but actually going away together is important too. We laughed and talked and enjoyed one another's company like we haven't done in a long time. Frankly, I was more relaxed than I have been in years. Having more than just a day or two without having to change a diaper or wipe a runny nose or feed someone every tedious bite of their meal... you get the idea... it was nice for the break.
We are so thankful to our friends and family who helped with the kids and transportation so that we could have this trip. We couldn't have done it without them and I certainly wouldn't have been able to relax well had I not known the kids were in good hands. Love you guys!
Here is a short slideshow of a few more pix from the trip. Enjoy!
Ecclesiastes 4:9-12 - Two
are better than one because they have a good return for their labor.
For if either of them falls, the one will lift up his companion. But woe
to the one who falls when there is not another to lift him up.
Furthermore, if two lie down together they keep warm, but how can one be
warm alone? And if one can overpower him who is alone, two can resist
him. A cord of three strands is not quickly torn apart.
I was blessed to spend the last week on the road with three of my favorite ladies! My best friend, my mom and one of my aunts and I hit the road from our home in the Hoosier state and made our way to Florida for my cousin's wedding. We spent a couple of days on the beach and then headed up to Georgia for a few days with my sister who just a baby last month. What a good time with great ladies! Here are a few of the highlights from our trip.
The first of many gas station stops... though may aunt's car got 40 mpg! ;-) whoohoo!
Our first day on the beach! No, I'm not that short... there was an incline! seriously.
We had used FlavortownUSA to find Diner, Drive-in and Dives in the areas we'd be traveling. The closest one we found was the Alpine Steakhouse. We tried alligator... it was cool to be able to say that we had it but we found it to be a bit chewy (my aunt said its been that way the other times she's tried it too), so we probably won't become big alligator junkies in the future.
We did get the TurDucKen sandwich, which was like a thanksgiving dinner all wrapped up in a nice little bun. Good stuff!
A few of us from my mom's side of the family all dressed up for the beach wedding.
It was a beautiful small ceremony on the beach with close friends and family. What a blessing to be able to share their special day.
My uncle has always had a way with words and he brought a lot of us to tears with his toast.
We got a little crafty while we stayed at my sister's house in Georgia. She wanted to change the color scheme in her living room. We made a trip to Goodwill and got the picture above. Ugh! But it was only $11 so we snatched it up.
We ModPodged old book paged onto it and let them dry. Then we placed vinyl letters (though we had to stick them to the carpet once or twice to help them become slightly less sticky to avoid destroying the modpodged pages) to spell out their family name.
My mom painted over the whole thing. She used a wash technique so that you can still see the book pages a bit in places and you get a lot of texture throughout the piece. My sis loves it and it brings a whole new color to the room!
My friend got a tattoo of "love & prayers" in her late grandma's handwriting. Precious.
We took a day to tour a couple of plantations north of Atlanta. They were beautiful!
This one was the childhood home of Theodore Roosevelt's mother.
We tried to find another Diner, Drive-in and Dive place but it was only open for dinner and we were hungry girls.
Thankfully a local turned us to Fat Matt's Rib Shack which was awesome! The food was delicious (and between the four of us we tried a bit of nearly everything). I even bought a bottle of their BBQ sauce to bring home for my hubs. Can't wait to use it!
One day we spent the afternoon at the State Botanical Gardens with my cousin and her daughter. It was a perfect day to spend wandering around the beautiful grounds!
I had a wonderful week with these ladies. It was such a great break from reality. What a blessing to have them in my life! Love you guys!
"A journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step." -- Lao Tzu
Sometimes any travel with kids feels like a thousand miles! ;-) But in the end all the hard work that goes into traveling with kids is totally worth it (most of the time)! As Summer Break is coming soon I thought it might be helpful to share some tips for traveling with young children.
Last year for spring break we drove from Indiana to New Mexico for spring break. We had four adults and four kids (two under 1yr who were still nursing). It was a ton of work, but also a lot of fun. Here are a few things I would recommend to families planning on traveling - especially when driving long distances:
- pack lots of snacks (saves you from spending a fortune at gas stations)
- pack busy bags (just google busy bag ideas - you'll figure out which ones are best for traveling
- whether you are a gamer family or not bring a portable game device! On the long road you will be thankful for anything that stops the "Are we there yet"s that will be coming far too often!
- make pit stops to potty or sight see when needed - don't be too confined by a driving timeline
- bring portable dvd player (with head phones) - I know some may have an aversion to this but if you are traveling a really long distance you will be so glad that you did it!
- be involved, interact with the kids, play road trip games ie. liscence plate bingo, I Spy, etc
- don't have too high of expectations ;-) Relax and enjoy the ride!
If you are looking for inspiration on where to take your next family vacation check out this site: Budget Travel compiled a list of viewer voted places that every kid should visit and made The Top Places Kids should See before age 15. Todd at FamilyManMinistries takes his family around the country in their RV and he suggests some of their favorite camping spots.
It took me six years to convince my husband to do a road trip together, just the two of us. Then it was another two years after that before we took one as a whole family. And honestly that was only because I had gotten to the point that I was going to go with or without him. He had built up in his mind how hard and potentially awful it would be to be in the car so long with all those kids. But when it came down to it he did not want to miss out on being a part of the special memories that would be made on a trip like this. He decided to dad-up and do it. And we are all glad that he did! It was a great trip! And even though this year we are keeping things a little closer to home, we are looking forward to doing another big trip someday soon!
"Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." -- Mark Twain
I've been wanting to attend a Hearts at Home conference for several years now. It has been challenging because I've been either nursing or breastfeeding for nearly the last seven years. On top of that, our church's ladies' retreat is always either the same weekend or a weekend apart from the Hearts at Home conference, so I always have to choose between the two. Well, this is the year. A couple of my gals and I finally decided to make it happen. We had a few hiccups in the planning process. Tried to get a big group to go and it is a difficult thing to coordinate with so many people. We ended up with a split group and our part dwindled down to four, which is a good number to travel with anyway. It all worked out... but I think we have decided to keep it simple next time. ;-)
Road Trippin' - Friday afternoon Sarah, Lehi, Mia and I set out from Central Indiana for Normal, Illinois, where the National Hearts at Home conference is held every year. We are all busy moms (are they any "not" busy moms?) and very excited to get a chance to have some grown up girl time! We all chatted together on the road, but after awhile Mia plugged in her Korean music (which I like to tease her about) and took a nap since she'd been up all night with a sit kiddo, and I broke out my half finished copy of The Lucky One and nearly finished it on the drive up. We did a bedbug check at our less than five star Super 8 hotel rooms and were relieved that there were none to be found. ;-) You can't be too careful!
Mom's Night Out - Friday evening was the Mom's Night Out event which included worship by Abide and entertainment by 321Improv. Those three guys were hilarious! We were laughing so hard our cheeks hurt! It was insane! Who would have thought they would have ended up doing skits about going on vacation to prison in the North Pole with a skunk breeder, Dora and a Barbie holding a dirty cloth diaper... or something like that. I guess you would have had to been there. ;-) The next morning started off great thanks to a few of our girlfriends saving us some awesome seats in what was a very packed auditorium! The first main session kicked the day off with Michelle Duggar (of the TLC show 19 Kids and Counting) as the keynote speaker. I have watched their show a few times before and know a bit about them but still learned some things I didn't know about their journey. She and JimBob shared their testimonies and how they got together, and how they came to have 19kids and a "reality" show. They seem like such a sweet couple. It is great to see the way that the Lord is ministering to people through their unique family. In their workshop they shared some parenting tips that they have used over the years.
I opted for a short lunch and four workshops. There were so many good ones it was so hard to choose! In addition to the Duggar's Practical Parenting workshop (which it seemed nearly everyone attended) I ended up attending Julie Barnhill's Confessions of an Imperfect Mom. She is so great! She shared candid stories of her child-rearing years and the mistakes she has made. She spoke biblical truths, helped us realize we are not alone in our struggles as moms and also made us laugh at ourselves. Then I went to Marianne Miller's Growing Grateful Kids in a Culture of Consumerism. She shared a lot about how our culture is all about more, more, more, and gave us tips on how to focus on teaching our kids what “enough” is. She shared humorous anecdotes about her four boys and practical ideas encourage us toward equipping our own kids to be grateful for what God has provided and find contentment in a world of excess. My final workshop was the only one that I could have done without. Marla Cilley, a.k.a. The Fly Lady's workshop: If Momma Ain't Happy was a little lacking. I have been on her website before and I really like her tips for decluttering and creating good house cleaning routines but she was clearly not a professional speaker. She was disorganized and distracted most of the session. The conference ended with the afternoon main session with Juli Slattery sharing about the importance of seeking wisdom. Good times... We had unseasonably warm weather which was good. But the lack of air-conditioning was back once you had over 3000+ women crammed into an auditorium. But the weekend was very uplifting and encouraging. It was refreshing to share openly about struggles that we often try to sweep under the rug and convince ourselves that we're the only one who feels that way, or does that thing. We are not alone. Us moms need to stick together, show our true selves so that we can support one another throughout this very challenging journey that we are on!
Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another—and all the more as you see the Day approaching. Hebrews 10:25
