It's been a wonderful week.
We traveled to Florida last Sunday and have been enjoying the wonderful weather and a visit with my parents.
The end of the week marks the beginning of The BEECH Retreat - which I'm sure I'll share about next week.
We did have a few hiccups. My husband threw his back out on Tuesday (thank you Urgent Care and good medication). I know some of the travelers to BEECH will be having less than desirable weather. I'm hoping we all arrive with eager hearts and minds ready to learn so many new things about being better bloggers.
I'm praying for safe travels home for my husband and children and they will all do well while I am gone for four entire days. I've never left all of them before - while it's an odd feeling I'm glad for the time they can spend together and know they will be JUST FINE.
1. This was our first view of the water as we neared our destination. I miss living in Florida and this first sight of blue just makes me happy.
2. The ride down was very peaceful. Both kids had movies playing, and Anna spent lots of time listening to music. The kids are at the ages now where they are very good travelers.
3. A HUGE milestone occured in the car! Grant blew his first bubble with bubble gum. He spent much of the trip pointing out huge bubbles to his dad and I. Cuteness!
4. I vowed to maintain the healthy habits of the past month during our trip. So far I have succeeded. We packed yummy salads in our cooler for lunch during the trip. I have also managed to avoid all of the wonderful goodies that grandma and grandpa made for everyone - cookies, etc... It really hasn't been that hard. We went out to lunch one day at a local rib place. I LOVE ribs. I ordered a grilled chicken salad and didn't miss the ribs.
5. You MUST READ Little Princes: One Man's Promise to Bring Home the Lost Children of Nepal.
6. Our sweet doggie, Gizmo, is staying with a dog sitter this week. We all miss him when we are away. Something is just missing without him around.
1. Staying healthy while on vacation included walking each morning. My husband and I could get in a nice early morning walk several days.
2. I love this picture of my two best guys. They are two peas in a pod.
3. The kids enjoyed a lot of time in the pool.
4. My kids love the chance to spend time with Grandma. My mother is a highly creative person. She organizes all of the displays in large glass cases of the clubhouse where they live. She does a beautiful job and was proud to share this with the kids. She and Anna also did a lot of decorating for Valentine's Day. My mom was always the room mom, the mom who made sure I had the most fun birthday parties, and the grandma who does the best stuff with the grandkids. Aren't my kids lucky?
5. I was very relaxed at the pool, reading my book and watching the kids play. I'm thankful for this vacation.
6. My view for some of the week (over my book) was my cute toenails and the kids in the pool.
7. Grant is trying to learn to use a snorkel. After a million demonstrations and coaching from his dad, sister, and I, he still can't use it correctly. It cracked us up how he tried so hard and never got discouraged.
I am so thankful for some time we spent at the beach. There is a wonderful state park here in Naples - lots of shells and just beautiful beaches as far as the eye can see.
Sometimes I just miss my original home so much.
Can you believe the gorgeous shells we found?
Goings on from the blog this week:
Valentine "I Love Being a Bookworm" Printable
The Perfect Blogging (or anything else!) Bag
Please join me for Collage Friday!
The rules are simple. Link your post (that incudes photo collages) about your homeschool week. Be sure to grab a Collage Friday button or text link back to this post in some way. Then, be sure to visit the other blogs on the list to offer support and gain ideas. This is a wonderful community and I love reading through your blogs each weekend and seeing how you all encourage each other.
