:: FAMILY TIME ::
I’ve been having a hard time accepting how much time my family spends away from each other… whether it’s Husby at work for days at a time at the fire station, or just the kids weekly schedule with school and other activities. As much as I try to soak up quality time with my family during the week, it never seems like we get enough. Our schedule seems consumed by the runaround schedule of drop-offs, pick-ups, homework, and other obligations…. as I guess it would with four children.
So… just over a week ago, Husby and I decided to forget about the never ending to-do list at home and take our two youngest to the beach while our older boys were at school. It seemed horribly wrong to leave Ryan and Seth out of the fun…. but I reminded myself that they had this alone time with us when they were little, too {right?}! We packed up a picnic lunch and headed to one of our favorite secluded spots in Laguna Beach….
It was the perfect beach day…. beautiful, breezy, and clear. When we got home and the boys found out where we had been, they were a bit disappointed that they weren’t able to go… rightfully so {sorry, boys}! So we decided to sneak away for a long weekend for more family time to celebrate my birthday.
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We made the long drive up North to Mammoth Lakes and stayed in the Village. The gondola and main lodges had closed less than a week prior for the season, so the charming town was empty. We spent our three days cozied up in a 600 square foot condo and enjoyed the simple things…. like playing board games and Battleship. We watched movies at night, cuddled up in bed together, went for drives {taking in the magnificent scenery}, swam during the day, and ate out at night at family-friendly restaurants with arcades. Husby even decorated our condo for my birthday and made a cake with the kids! It was perfect… just what we all needed.
The highlight of the short trip was making our way North to June Lake…. At first we drove around not sure what the big deal was! Then, we saw this…..
It was the most magical beach….. adorned with white and grey rocks of all shapes and sizes. All you could hear was the soft motion of the waves breaking against the rocks and pebbles on the shore. The kids were instantly drawn to the assortment of rocks….. making paths to walk and tossing a few into the water as they went. They spent the afternoon practicing the fine art of skipping them across the surface. We had packed a picnic lunch. Nothing too fancy, but with the surroundings so beautiful… even PB & J seemed enticing! 
It was such an amazing trip… and so nice to just sneak away for a long weekend. Going away forced us to slow down and take things in… to be more present, essentially. While at home, we are frantically trying to keep up with everything that needs to be done. While away, we just relaxed and soaked it all in.
I caught myself sharing glances with Husby knowing full-well exactly what he was thinking at the given moment… that we were {beyond measure}… blessed. Blessed with these magnificent four that God entrusted us to love, guide, and nurture….
I hope that with warmer weather on the horizon, and time off from school approaching…. you will be able to plan a few special family days or short trips where you can forget about your daily obligations and just focus on those you cherish most! Here’s to more family time!!!
