Family Holiday!

Joshua's work has been extremely demanding - he has been so busy and tired and we haven't really been able to spend much time all together...

Sooo... we decided to take a "Family Holiday" the past few days! It was fun! I wanted to really celebrate all being together (seriously, its been MONTHS  since we have had a work free weekend and even this weekend Joshua had to work a little!)

We played soccer, did crafts, went for walks, played at parks, read stories, ate special food, had picnics and spent time outdoors as much as possible! I even baked a special cake from scratch and put candles on it! ( why not? ) I wanted them to give them a really special memory of spending time together!

On Sunday night we set up a tent to celebrate Sukkat - it was hilarious to hear the boys "helping" daddy set up the tent. They were giggling and laughing and running around! We set it up in the living room and made a little bed inside with lots of pillows and their favorite stuffed animals! Joshua made yummy burritos for us and then we watched part of a movie and played a little wii and ate popcorn and drank hot peppermint cocoa! Afterwards we all snuggled and read stories by candle light ( the kids made special lanterns for the candles ) We didnt talk about Sukkat at all - we celebrated each other more but it was good, it was sooo good!

So many special memories were made! At first no one wanted to sleep and once we did finally all settle down Caleb kept saying "psst mom - I love you" and stroking my hair. He is such a sweetheart! After they went to sleep Joshua and talked for hours - about our marriage, about God, about our dreams, it was good.  Its so easy to talk to him.  

Tonight we continued the celebration by going to the park and eating dinner picnic style by a big beautiful fountain surrounded by huge GORGEOUS trees!

The kids were full of energy but a little grumpy from staying up late the night before but they had lots of fun - and I savored my few quiet moments lying on the grass looking at the beautiful tree's and sky towering over me. The air was more humid than usual and smelled exactly like the outdoors should. I love the smell of earth and grass and tree's. It reminds me of home. It was so great to spend so much time with Joshua - he really is my best friend and I enjoy his friendship so much! 

Here are a few pictures of our picnic!

I am so excited about what the rest of the week will hold! Hopefully I will be able to get the house more organized and we will all get more quality time together!