it's been a month but....

I love October and Fall and here in Colorado, seriously, it's so great!

I mean it really is glorious!

 

But for some reason this month got off to a rough start

There was my crock pot (my life line) that randomly stopped working

Then I broke my food processor, my beloved food processor the one that helps me make all of the food staples for Norah

And then, then there were the maggots......... the horrible, scary, life changing occurrence with the maggots.

It was just another lovely fall day

"Hey girls lets do fall decorations with steamers, even though it's 85 degrees out"

As a whistle my way down to the basement and open the storage bin with Fall decor a wauff of flies comes right toward my face....... "what the....."

and the smell...... the smell is horrindous!!

I run upstairs and take the bin upstairs and outside.

I open the bin and to my horrification there is a pile of nasty, moldy squash sludge.  With Millions of flies, and maggots and so much nastiness!

I  quickly try to grab a few things from the opposite side of the bin as I inhale the mold toxins

I run them inside and throw them in the sink to try to wash.... but the smell the smell is so bad!!!! and there are maggot eggs stuck all over ever thing, permanently stuck

My kids are starring at me like I have gone physco, because well, I have!!!!

I throw everything back in the bin and throw it all out, all of it out!

Tears......

You know how holiday decor is, it is things you have collected over years and time and some things I had made

I was sad a permantely scarred, scarred forever from the maggots, the millions of maggots, some that were now flying around in my houseo

So instead of my pleasant afternoon drinking steamers and decorating, I spent it killing maggots and looking up signs of mold toxicity.  so fun.

I must have put a real squash/pumpkin in with the fake ones....

The story is not over

About a week later, Brett and I were putting the kids to bed and there was an agressive door knock and bell ring.  It startled the heck out of me so I had Brett run downstairs.

He opened the door, and there was no one.  So I assumed it was a ding dong ditch kinda thing.  Put then on our front step was a small pumpkin and note, inside the note was a $35 gift card to hobby lobby.

I cried.

It was a simple, sweet, small act of kindness and it blessed me so much.

And I had a good idea of the people up to it!

It is so good to live life in community

And then yesterday we were booed!  You know someone dropped off a halloween treat basket for our family, and they obviously knew Norah's situation because it was so thoughtfully put together.

There have been other things this month, when the budget has been super tight that the Lord has provided for us and I am reminded how he cares about the little things and He loves us.  And it has also reminded me to give, even when things are tight I can still find ways to give!

And now I have started my new fall collection, thanks to my sweet friends and left over pallet wood, that $35 went a long way

And we made some Vail inspired placemats for $1.75

And even with no crock pot or food processor I still have my sweet family

they are fun

I like being with my kids.

They are fun!

Mostly.... ha!

Brett is busy with soccer season and gone many evenings this fall.

That leaves a lot of time with just me and the kids

We go exploring

or sometimes to the library

 or the park  

and sometimes our car ride home is everyone crying all.at.once.  

 

But I still like being with them, we hang out, we ago places, they are my best friends.

There is really no one else I would rather be with

And it has gotten easier.  The kids are getting older and so much more helpful

see, it's mommy #2

I am in a season of just really wanting to be with family.  Not filling our lives with busy-ness and lists of things.  But just enjoying each other.  Simplifying things a bit.  I don't need a play date every week anymore (although I like them), I just need time with my husband and kids

I have a good husband

And some good. silly.  kids

My unintentional blogging break

Some how the whole summer went by without me blogging...........sorry about that

I am not sure how it happened

It was not at all intentional

Somehow I found my time extra time spent sitting on the porch just a little longer with my kids

Letting them stay up just a little later

 

Going on a walk

Reading a booking

Going to California (twice)

or the reservoir

or Kansas CIty

or Red Rocks to see NEEDTOBREATHE (dream come true)

We spent as much time outside as possible

And enjoyed lots of time at our new pool

 And just a second relaxing...

I actually do really enjoy blogging, but I found my time better spent or consumed elsewhere this summer

And rather than feeling guilty, I just let it go and knew that my habit would return again, soon.

And here it is.

California 2015

Ahh along with the crazy busy travel we have had  my computer pooped out on me, so I had a silent June in the Blog World.

I finally just got around to looking through some photos and making a video.

The video warmed my heart because it reminded me what a great time we had.

When you only get 14 days a year in California, you have to make the most of every minute: Park City Mountain restort. Family. Eating Outside. Swimming. In&Out. American River. Park. Apple Hill. Paradise. Billie Park. Disco Cab. Rock Wall. Slumber Party. Capitola. Farm House. Zip line. Hornaceks. Family. Exploring. Camping. Fresh Berries. Late Nights. Dirty Faces. Great Heat. Boegar Winery. So many Memories.

 Check out our video.

How we do it- a quick guide to road trips

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Let me say that taking our family on a road trip is not an "easy" experience
Packing a pile of life saving medical supplies and homecooked foods while traveling for hours in the car with 4 little ones; one who gets car sick;  the same one who has diabetes, one who is allergic to soy and a 1 year old that has the patient of a.... well one year old. 

 but if I were to not do things in life simply because they weren't easy, well I pretty much would do nothing

Road trips take a lot of planning and prep, we cannot just stop by McDonalds or taco Bell, without at least 2 of our 4 kids have some type of medical attack..... so we avoid that

I plan each meal we have and each snack the kids will be eating during our travels.  And if we are gone for the long weekend, I plan every single meal and snack for our entire stay.

I put each days food in a ziploc with the menu written on

Then I put their meals in these for ease while in the car or at a park

I plan out each outfit for each day for the kids by previewing the weather for the destination we will be going

I do not have room to over pack, nor do I want to.

We always back lysol and paper towels because vomit and diarrhea seem to accompany road trips

I plan our day in the car like a day at home,: time for breakfast, then coloring, then a snack, then a movie, then lunch, then quite time/nap time in the car, then electronics (refurbished i-pods).  It makes the day not so dredful (except for the Driver Brett) and it gives them something to look forward too.

I always put a toilet in the car, because it is a million times quicker than a gas station

I want our kids to be able to see places and people and family.  I want them to know what the beach is like, chase fireflies, and get muddy next to a river.  I want them to know their aunts and uncles and great grandmas and lets be honest hardly anyone ever comes here and there is certainly no beach in Colorado.

We stay with people to reduce costs.
We don't eat out much, but allow for it as part of the fun.

Don't get me wrong, I am a total crazy lady the week before we leave on a trip. I'm sure my husband totally loves it hates it.

I do have the kids help a lot!  They love packing for a road trips and my constant reminders of
"if I don't have help we can't go" probably get a bit naggy (working on that)

And you know I can't leave with a messy house, so you know what I'm doing at 10pm the night before while everyone is asleep.... yep being the crazy cleaning lady

Yep, I am sure you can all tell I am a type A all the way.

But then we get to enjoy stuff like this and it makes it so worth it!

We loved our trip to Durango, Colorado

You should try it too!