Family Skip Day 2018

One of my favorite things to do is surprise the kids. Big or small - it doesn't matter. I just love seeing their reactions to the unexpected. (And full disclosure - I have had to learn to be happy with a big or small reaction. Ehm, Disneyland 2013). 

During the last few weeks of school the kids had a dentist appointment one morning and Ryan and I arranged to take that afternoon off and surprise them with our annual Family Skip Day. Last year I had a whole theme lined up - this year we decided that a trip to the Houston Zoo was the perfect way to spend time together. We bid on an annual pass at their school festival because miracle of miracles, it was for a family of FIVE and we just couldn't pass it up. 

Cue the perfect Monday. We felt like we had the entire place to ourselves and scored with pretty perfect Texas weather, too. 

This was our first time to the Houston Zoo and we loved every inch of it. They are doing a big renovation but we were still able to see tons of amazing exhibits including the big cats, red pandas and some crazy looking (but adorable) monkeys.

Landry decided to bring a journal so she could write down the names of each animal we saw. She was so dang cute about going to find the info sign and copy the names exactly. 

The bugs are always Radley's favorite stop - mainly because he knows it's my least favorites stop. Even I have to admit, that some of these critters were pretty dang cool. 

We just enjoyed a fun and unexpected (to them) afternoon together. The best thing about our "skip days" isn't how big or how planned or how themed it is... the best thing is showing these three that we have time for them. We prioritize our family. We love being in the moment of the right now enough to enjoy a random Monday as much as a big event. 

I dare you to try it one day... could be during school, in the summer or even just a weekend...you'll never regret skipping out on all the extra of life to soak up the right now with them!

Worth the wait...

Monday afternoon was filled with a lot of excitement, a little bit of silly and a full waiting room. It's been six years since we've all sat around waiting for a baby to arrive and that baby is my baby. Monday was filled with differences but chalked full of the comfort of similarities, too. 

Those big babies wanted to hear about their stories - who was in the waiting room for them, how long they took to come out, who cried the most, who held them first, who cried at their arrival. 

And we reminded them that even though that are big kids now, there is still plenty of space for them right in our laps (or they were just being silly and recreating a picture).

We were all trying to fill the space of waiting... 

and waiting... 

and waiting...

and waiting. We let the kids stay until 8:45 and finally sent them home for some sleep. They were as thrilled about this as you can imagine. The new hospital policy doesn't allow any visitors for at least one hour after delivery to allow for plenty of uninterrupted bonding time for mom and baby.

Where was this when I had kids? My momma and Cathy Lyles were beating down the door a hot second post Radley. 

Gigi, Pops and I weren't going anywhere and finally we got to say hello to Keirstyn Avery Guercio

As you can imagine, she was worth the wait... 

and no one had waited longer than this guy. 

Small town Christmastime...

Radley had a soccer tournament in Round Rock so we decided to make an entire fun-filled day out of it. He had two games on Saturday that did not result in wins (one was a tie and he scored the tying goal) so we needed a little Christmas to lift our spirits! Between games we ran to Ikea (where I promptly decided I was throwing everything I own away, buying a flat in London, and surrounding myself in coffee and books) and I also ran into one of my sorority sisters who talked us out of driving into Austin and instead heading to her hometown for their annual Georgetown Christmas Stroll. 

Best.Decision.Ever. I can't even describe how amazing this afternoon was and we immediately knew that we had done the smart thing when we arrived, promptly parked (for FREE) less than a hundred yards away from the festivities, and were greeted with a kiddie train (again FREE). 

The girls were set on riding in that first cart and Radley thought about being too big to go for a split second then decided he'd hop on, too. 

We couldn't find one thing that wasn't lovely - from the adorable welcome sign...

to the sweet swings. 

Every part of this celebration was as charming as could be! They set up a miniature "ice rink" for the kids and my crew couldn't wait to get on. 

Radley is definitely more nimble on a soccer field. 

Landry needed some support from Pops. 

And Emersyn just took off! I was a bit surprised and incredibly impressed! 

We couldn't find one thing we didn't love about the day.

Completely unplanned.

No set agenda. 

And themed Christmas outfits clearly weren't a priority.

We simply enjoyed the company of each other and had the most amazing time. 

As we were winding down our day, we walked through the most darling Bethlehem village hosted by a local church. 

The kids got to visit tons of vendors representing various markets in Bethelem. A perfume shop, produce, basket weaving, and even a place that let them dye cloth. 

Radley's favorite may have been the Roman guard. Please note that he (Rad and the guard) refused to smile for this picture.

We capped off the night with front row seats for a singing live nativity.

As we were walking back to our car, I snapped a picture of this tree to send to Ryan (who was stuck home working allllll day) (on a Saturday) (booo) and said, "Let's do this to our trees in the back!" So, stay tuned for a completed project in 20 years.

What an unexpected, unplanned, unimaginably awesome day! I've had a magnet on my fridge for forever it seems that reminds me daily "We plan. God laughs." And it's true, we can plan every single thing down to every single minute and nothing goes "right" - the unexpected happens to throw off our best of intentions. 

Or we can plan nothing and God shows up in giant ways to remind us of His presence and loyalty and love in our lives. 

Royally Waiting: Healing...

Another week, another Wednesday of waiting... Shelly, Holly and I appreciate that you come back week after week to connect and share. I know that I'm not always the best at keeping up which may mean that what you're waiting on is for me to get it together!

Waiting is a crazy game - Dr. Seuss was spot on ...

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come, 

or a plane to go or the mail to come,
or the rain to go or the phone to ring,
or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting kind of stinks but, if you allow it, waiting also refines you. Waiting shapes you and directs you. Waiting gives you the opportunity to release your fears, your worry, your apprehension and focus all that energy on Him. Especially when what you're waiting on is much bigger than what you can handle on your own. Releasing that anxiety kind of stinks - I don't enjoy being patient, none of us do, but I'd much rather spend my days waiting with Him than worrying.

Right now my family is waiting on answers. My dad is having surgery today to remove a growth from his kidney. While we're waiting, would you join us in prayer? Pray that this surgery is the solution so we can avoid time waiting on more solutions.... we'd much rather be waiting on him to finish his next round of golf! 

An InLinkz Link-up

Family Skip Day...

Ryan and I decided that since he was home last week, we should let all the kids "skip" school and just spend a day as a family. Instant family tradition.

When the kids woke up on Friday they found signs in their room where their clothes for school usually hang - each kiddo had a sign with this header and a picture of them and in the bathroom was one with the whole family. I also made a brief little itinerary of the day which Radley quickly spotted and brought into our room to read to everyone... 

One quick sleepy-eyed selfie and we were ready to start the day!

Per usual, our plans had to be a bit flexible... Landry had school pictures on Friday and since this will be her last time taking pics at WDS, missing wasn't an option.

This is how she felt about that.

Luckily Kim, the Director, was sweetly accommodating and let Landry hop in line to go first!

We were home and changed in no time and back in the car for our first little outing...

Ryan suggested that we head to the driving range and the kids were so excited - especially Emersyn. And you know what? She's really good, y'all! She connected so well with the ball and had a pretty consistent and straight shot!

Landry had lots of fun and hit about 30 balls 3 feet directly in front of her. 

You know who else was pretty good?

Yours truly.

I really think that I have hit my athletic prime. Seriously - I may not be as fast as I once was, a little heavier around all the parts and unable to pick up things that weigh more than 60 pounds - but y'all... I am so good at sports. 

#humblebrag

And by good - I hit the ball straight every time. But I do think I'd really enjoy golf... maybe I'll go more often. And by that I mean... maybe I'll go.

Saturday morning tradition? I think it would be hit!

I did have to laugh at a few things -

1. Ryan told Radley what to do but showed the girls what to do

2. Radley told everyone what to do

3. I kept making sure no one's head was going to get bashed

4. Quiet is not our love language

5. We went through a $10 bag of balls in under 30 minutes

5. People are eager to take your picture if it means that the noise level will drop when you leave

After we left the golf course we headed to Sonic for some thirst quenching and then straight to our next destination. We bid on a combo prize at the silent auction during the CHE school festival that was a gift card to Pei Wei and a "tile party" for four at U Paint It, our local pottery painting shop so we decided to incorporate that into our day which ended up being so much fun.

We had the place all to ourselves so we got to spread out and take our time on our family tile project. 

We decided that we would make a picture of our garden/flower beds to hang the tiles outside. Each kiddo got to pick their own design abut we used a theme so they could all be displayed together.

These kinds of things stress me out - I am just so afraid to "mess up" (I totally blame that "B" in art from my 5th grade art teacher) but they just went straight ahead with confidence and creativity. 

Even this kid who gets that perfectionist nature from me. He wants so badly to do things "right" and I can just see myself in the way he pauses and overthinks things. I want so badly for him to realize that being "right" pales in comparison to being confident and self-assured. I pray that he discovers this as he continues to mature and need to make a note to do small things like this more often to boost that confidence. 

Ryan's actually pretty great at these activities and I love watching him join in the fun and encourage the kiddos. 

Penny is the greatest shop owner in all of creation. She is so patient and helpful and totally gets that I am just not good at this stuff. Ha!

The girls didn't need me at all though...

Emersyn was a pro - I mean check out her frog in that corner and that darling caterpillar she was making. She is SO confident. And SO sure. And SO creative. I can't wait to sign her up for art lessons this summer - I just know that she is going to bloom!

Landry knew exactly what she wanted on her tile, too, but she needed a teensy bit more help.

She made a yard of bees and butterflies and pink and purple flowers. 

In no time at all, two hours had passed by and we were finally done. 

Left to right:

Landry, Emmy, Rad, Mom&Dad... the blank space on the last two tiles will say "Our Big Back Yard"... 

We will definitely not win any awards but we had a blast hanging out together!

We headed straight to lunch to use our second half of our silent auction prize. We had $5 to spare from our gift card (dang Radley eating adult meals these days) so when the cashier didn't hand me back my card I was a bit confused - apparently they were one time use only cards, so I told her to throw in a beer. Ha!

These girls wouldn't stop for a picture they were so hungry!

We had some time to spare between lunch and our next adventure so we headed to park we hadn't visited before to let the kiddos play.

Landry fell asleep in the car so it was just the bigs that got out and they were alone until this sweet boy joined them. I love just watching my kids interact with new kids. This little boy was about three years old and didn't seem able to speak. He made lots of noises and gestures and was definitely communicating but not in the traditional way we were used to. This didn't stop Rad and Emmy from trying to play and engage with him - they helped him up the ladder and down the slide and on the swings all while I sat on the sidelines. Maybe we're doing something right after all. 

This kid flew on these monkey bars - 14 rings in 14 seconds. I was super impressed!

We made a quick detour in our day to drop me on campus to hand this kid his Aggie Ring! The ring is probably my favorite tradition at A&M, mostly because it's a visible sign of the connection that Aggies share and a representation of what each student works to accomplish during their time in Aggieland. When I was a student, we just walked up and got our ring but now the day has become a huge celebration and students ask people to give them their ring. Drew asked me to give him his and I just couldn't have been more honored. We took lots of real pictures but this one was much more us. 

While all that was going on, Ryan and the kids picked up Emmy's bestie, Macy and her brother, Cade, from school. The girls had dance pictures that night so we all got ready at our house. We snapped pics, changed into our pjs and headed out for our final outing of the day. 

Ryan finally got to see why we have listened to NOTHING but Beauty and the Beast in the car for the past three weeks. We got our popcorn and contraband (M&Ms and CRAZY BREAD) (yes, we snuck in Little Caesar's Crazy Bread) (My purse will never smell the same) and settled into our seats. The movie was even more magical the second time around. I loved that the girls sang each and every word, I love that they crawl in our laps, I love that they requested crazy bread. 

Mostly I love the precious time We5Kings get to spend together. These moments are few and far between these days so I cherish them even more. And I pray for the day when we are together every day and not just special days, but I'll take what I can and I'll be thankful no matter what.  

What are you waiting for? Go plan your family skip day - I'm already plotting the next one!