Category Archives: family

We Love Games.

Growing up we played a lot of board games, and to this day I really enjoy a good board game night… unfortunately we don’t often get to play them. I suppose that’s one thing I’m really looking forward to when the kids are older, as I have so many fond memories of playing games with my own family. There is always someone who drags their feet because they don’t like board games (my dad), and then halfway through starts to have a blast and is nearly in tears because they’re having so much fun (thank you Quelf). There’s a game for everyone!

So, it goes without saying that I was really excited to get Enzo his first real game. It comes with a big stuffed die, and cards that are color coordinated to match the colors on the die.

The cards have different categories that ask the child to make a noise like a certain animal, to complete a certain action, to find something a certain color, and etc. As you can see, Enzo was more interested in throwing the die around.

We’ve played the game a few times now, but are still trying to show Enzo that we roll the die first and then choose a card that matches, but in the meantime he really loves picking cards and completing the action on the other side.

You can’t ask for much more than a game that is both educational and a lot of fun… even if you’re not really following the rules. Who wants to do that anyway, though? :p

Crossroads

Sometimes Sweet is doing a weekly journal prompt, so I thought I would join in on the fun! This week’s prompt? Write about a time you view as a marker in your life; a distinct place where things changed, for better or worse.

I can think of two moments in my life that were completely life changing, and both of them happened within the same year. Thankfully for me, they both ended up being positive experiences, though the events leading up to the first were anything but easy and was a daily struggle. That story, however, is for another day.

In June of 2008 I met a man. Technically I met him a year before that, but didn’t remember it. He tells me that he tried to talk to me, but I was apparently not interested. Whoops. Thankfully for me he decided to try again, and as these were the days of the MySpace he sent me a message asking me out. Throwing caution to the wind, I figured I might as well, even though he had been stalking me at the nearby coffee shop (which I didn’t actually know at this point – I just thought I saw him in there because he also liked coffee, it’s not like I kept running into him in the feminine hygiene aisle at Wal-mart… that would have been awkward). Long story short, he picked me up for lunch, we talked and joked around and set up a second date… for later that same day. We stayed up way too late and watched movies because we apparently both really liked movies.

Within a couple of weeks we decided to make it official and label each other boyfriend and girlfriend and we almost virtually became joined at the hip. Before I knew it he was inviting me to go with him to visit his family in Minnesota for Christmas and suddenly we were talking about living together. At the time, I thought nothing of it, but now looking back I can see why family might have been nervous at how fast things were moving. I wasn’t someone who dated often, but I felt really good about Josh, and was happy with the way things were going.

And then we came to it – a major crossroad. Josh had decided that he wanted to move home to Minnesota from our current location in Colorado… where I had spent the majority of my life, and he wanted to know if I would come along. I vaguely remember when he told me that he wanted to move back, but I do know that my heart sank when he said the words. Our relationship was in early stages, but I knew that I loved him and that he loved me, so I wasn’t surprised that he followed this up with his hope that I would come with him. As much as I loved him, I was immediately torn. I’ve never been one to jump for joy at change, and I wasn’t sure I was ready to leave my entire family and little world behind.

I can’t tell you how long it took for me to make a decision, but I don’t think it was long. I knew I had to take a leap of faith and just believe that everything would work out. I’m not sure who was more surprised that I was taking such a big step to move across the country to the unknown… me or my family. Either way, it was one of the best decisions I could have made. Sure, the first couple of years were tough, but overall the experience has been a good one, and I don’t even want to imagine what my life would have been if I had stayed behind.

Granted, while Minnesota has been good to us, it is not our forever home and we are yet again coming to another crossroad in our lives. We’ve been there before more than once, but tend to make a U-Turn and circle back around. This time I think we’re going to have to just take a chance and risk getting lost. Maybe we’ll find the place we didn’t even know we were looking for.

Another great purchase…

Enzo is an awesome baby, but when he’s so little it can be hard to put him just anywhere and considering he spends so much time in the car in his car seat, it’s no wonder he doesn’t want to be in it when we aren’t in the car. Plus he’s kind of small for his stroller still and with his delicate skin, I want to make sure he’s protected from the sun and bugs. We finally got to use the little tent we bought him this weekend and it was awesome. It’s perfect for long days outside because he can kick around on his back then take a much more comfortable nap than he would in a stroller or one someone’s lap.

I think the only downside was that he still got kind of hot (his back was all sweaty) so we may just need to strip him down – it is summer after all.

He did really well at the family BBQ this weekend, though, not that I’m surprised… he’s an awesome baby. 😉 The only time he got fussy was towards the end of the day when he just got a little too hot and tired. I think he passed out as soon as I put him in his car seat, ha ha. He’s a good little man, though, and is going to make having a second and/or third child much easier. Even if his brother/sister isn’t as easy going as he is… I know I won’t have to worry about this little man.

The Open Road

I love road trips. There’s just something exciting about hitting the open road with the windows rolled down and your favorite tunes playing on the stereo. It doesn’t matter whether it’s 4 hours or 20-something, it’s the same feeling. I get butterflies in my stomach a few days in advance and barely sleep the night before because I’m giddy with excitement.

My love of traveling via automobile is probably because at least once a year my parents would pile us in the car either to see relatives or to go to a convention or both. It was usually early morning when we’d leave, with the sun barely risen yet, or occasionally not at all. I loved getting up early, and usually barely slept a wink before we’d embark on another trip. Dad would warm the car up and try and fit everyone’s luggage in the car. (Girls really do pack too much at times). Then we’d all pile into the car and off we’d go. Sounds fun, right? It’s amazing how cramped a vehicle with 5 people can get in such a very short period of time. It would often start with the need for each child to have a bag of items to keep them occupied, which cuts down on foot room, a lot. Then there was the arguing over who would have to sit in the middle, and most often that would end up being the youngest (Daniel). It’s amazing how much heat a small boy can produce. I remember so many occasions when we’d be driving along and just roast in the back seat because it was as though we were sitting next to the sun, and on top of that, the AC was not running because the parental units up front weren’t crammed next to each other. 😉 Ah, the good ‘ole days.

Sure, there was always some sibling arguing as is bound to happen when forced to sit in a car for hours at a time, but it never made me dread these excursions. You can’t really stay mad at your fellow prisoners for too long, so arguments generally ended within an hour or so. 😉

Eventually it got to a point where my sister and I could drive ourselves, so we’d follow behind like a shadow. I remember the first time we drove separately, blasting music with a backseat full of sugary snacks and entertainment, most likely bringing far more luggage than we needed, just because we could. Then eventually there were no more caravans as we’d all grown up… I have such fond memories of those road trips, though, and so many funny stories that come to mind and make me smile.

Thankfully I have married a man who loves road trips even more than I do. He can keep driving long after I’ve gone completely stir crazy and have to pull over before I begin to twitch and have a melt down after cackling maniacally, usually brought on by lack of food. I get grumpy in the car if I’m hungry or tired, much like a toddler, so Josh knows when it’s time to pull over. 😉

As we drive along on one of our longest road trips yet, I’m excited at the thought of torturing… er… sharing with our future kids the joy of driving to new (and old) destinations, stuck in a car with their family for hours upon hours at a time. How exciting to share our love of wacky places with them, our eclectic taste in music, our random and odd conversations that take place on the road as we drive through towns that are clearly inhabited by zombies and/or pod people.

“It is good to have an end to journey toward; but it is the journey that matters, in the end.”
– Ursula K. Le Guin

Walk down memory lane…

It’s funny, how looking back there are huge gaps in my life where there are no photos – either I didn’t take any (though I had a camera) or they are lost somewhere. Then there are the years when I was younger where maybe my parents just didn’t take any pictures. I’ve gotten better about taking pictures more frequently, but want to be even more diligent. There are so many photos that I wish existed, and now I’m determined not to miss any future moments. I’m terribly sad I can’t see pictures of Josh during his awkward years (which he assures me is a good thing), and even though our kids might hate us at the time, I want to be sure all of the years are captured.

All of this reminds me I have a package full of old pictures to scan that my mom mailed me that we were originally going to use at our wedding, but let’s face it – we got busy, so it’ll be fun to go through and scan some photos. Here are a few older ones – from when I was little. Doesn’t my mom have a pretty smile?

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures