Monday, December 14, 2015

Mother Nature is showing off again

Do we look happy?  Of course we do.  And why shouldn't we?  After all, Grandma and Grandpa gave us two days off and took care of our children and goats so my sweetie and I could escape without kids.


Steve and I did what we usually do when we have time without kids: hike in beautiful scenery, eat insanely good food, read, knit (that would be me, not Steve), and other activities related to these sorts of circumstances, nudge nudge wink wink.

Mother Nature put on a show for us, with some dramatic cloud formations and colors.  We hiked at Bowman Bay, Ebey's Landing State Park, and then went to Coupeville to a lovely Air B and B.  In case you never heard of this sort of thing, it's a great alternative to hotels and can be quite a lot cheaper (and funner).  Google it.









It's so easy to get caught up in day-to-day life, taking care of all the thousands of details involved with making a living, raising children, and running a farm and household.  How quickly we slip into predictable routines where we take each other for granted, or worse, where we resent each other.  

Does this ever happen to you?  Sure it does.

Without wanting to come across as preachy, and realizing that I am basking in the afterglow of having spent two very relaxing, bonding days with my husband, I want to encourage every couple to spend some time without kids.  I know, I know... it's really hard to do, especially if you don't have reliable people you can trust with your kids.  But if you can make it happen, do it.  It's so worth it.  Even if you can only get away for two hours to go on a walk, or to drink coffee together without any interruptions.

Our getaway ended at Deception State Park with this big finale:









Back home, life is back to its busy pace.  Baking Christmas cookies features big on the list, as well as our new obsession: cutting out paper snowflakes (Thanks to Brooke at the Upper Skagit Library for inspiring us!  See?  You created monsters!).
I made a Christmas wreath from materials cut in our and the neighbors' yard (cedar, hemlock, fir, holly), and if you want to make one yourself, check out the tutorial I wrote about it last year.











I will leave you with an image of my son Luke, who is starting to help with milking chores.  Finally a kid who is interested in milking the goats!  He did great, milking an entire two quarts from our goat Quasar while our other doe Dandelion looked on.  Luke even managed to get most of the milk into the pail!  Go Luke!



17 comments:

  1. So happy you guys got away for some alone time. It can heal just about anything!

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  2. Yes yes! 100% agree! As a matter of fact getting together time is vital to a relationship. I think of it as a way to make us better for the kids. Kids need to see their parents really bonded. It helps make them feel secure which is important to growing up feeling strong. So yeah. (this would have been the old days for us. kids have fledged a long time ago. Now I'm waiting to be able to be like your grandparents and do what they did for you and Steve).

    Love the pictures of the coast. Reminds me of our trip to Southern OR coast in October. Yeah!

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  3. Also Go Luke! What a young man!

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  4. Yay! So glad you guys took the time to nurture your relationship. It helps so much!!!! And it's goid for everyone. We love you all oodles and oodles....aaaaand you are inspiring me to learn how to make paper snowflakes!!!!

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  5. Yay! So glad you guys took the time to nurture your relationship. It helps so much!!!! And it's goid for everyone. We love you all oodles and oodles....aaaaand you are inspiring me to learn how to make paper snowflakes!!!!

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  6. You nudge and wink, when you are alone with your man?? Weird woman... :)
    Yes, it is vital to spend some time away from it all, incl. offspring as I have come to find out not to long ago. The resentment might become an issue otherwise...
    Good to see your son helping out. I am already grateful when ours takes the dog for a walk after dinner without moping and groaning.

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    Replies
    1. Ahem. I thought I should mention the nudge nudge wink wink thing, lest people think my hubby and I are very, very boring people.

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  7. So happy for you Corina. I enjoy "date days" alone with each of my three children - I think it's important to have quality time alone with each of them (especially my teenager who lives with my ex). But somehow, my poor husband always gets short-changed with never a "date day" for him and me...thanks for the excellent reminder Corina.

    And oh man, love your paper snowflakes!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Michelle, this issue is next on my list to tackle. Quality time with each of my three children indeed - my kids don't get enough one-on-one time with me. They tend to always be together and get my attention that way. Thanks for the reminder!

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  8. Beautiful photos! My husband and I just went on our first cruise for 7 days. We will be married 25 years in April and have 6 children. We have never been away from them for that long. Our oldest is 20, so between him, the 18 year old and my parents, they were still alive and well when we got home! We had a lovely, wonderful and very much needed relaxing and restful time!

    I am very happy that you and Steve get away once and awhile. You live in a very beautiful place, too!

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    Replies
    1. Ruth, so glad you managed to get away! A cruise sounds perfect --- that way you can't jump in the car and race home when you miss the kids!

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  9. Love the paper snowflakes - something I always enjoyed as a child and now enjoy even more with my own two boys. I have to ask the origin of the framed print next to the wreath (the hands with the goat and the house, etc.) It is just beautiful!

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    Replies
    1. I will write a tutorial on the snowflakes soon since so many people are complimenting them.
      The framed print was done by my friend... I love it too. It's actually my logo on my website and business cards!

      Delete
  10. What a good blog you have here. Please update it more often. This topics is my interest. Thank you. custom website design service

    ReplyDelete

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