Father's Day weekend getaway

For Father's Day this year, we thought we'd get away a bit to the other side of the state in order to enjoy the fine, soft sandy beaches and calm surf.  As much as Caleb enjoys playing tennis, we thought we would sign him up to play a tournament on the West coast of the state, instead of the typical tournaments he plays in the central part of the state.  That led us to hitting up Sarasota.  We headed over Friday evening...in a torrential downpour.  At one point, we had to pull off of the highway.  And when we did, Patrick remembered that he left the hose running that he was using to fill the pool back up a bit because the water level was low.  We were a good hour away from home, which meant quickly texting our neighbors to see who could get over to the house to turn the hose off.  Fortunately, one of them was able to help us out, and we were able to continue on our way.  Once the rain let up a bit, I took my camera out to try to capture some of the scene.

We were heading west, into the sun, and a lot of the rain was behind us.  So I managed to capture this rainbow in the mirror and then some of the sunset in front of us.

We finally arrived at our hotel about an hour after we originally thought we would.  So we quickly settled in and climbed into bed.

Thankfully, Caleb had only one match on Saturday in the middle of the day.  So that meant we could enjoy a nice, relaxing breakfast out and then head to the tennis tournament.

Although he only played one match, he had three lightning delays.  That meant our plan to hit the beach afterward was a goner.  On Sunday, he played in the semi-finals, and although he didn't win, he played a great match.  We're so proud of him.  And since his tournament finished up earlier than he was hoping, we decided we would hit the beach.  And boy, are we so glad we did.

Apparently, everybody else thought that Siesta Key beach was a good idea too.  We couldn't believe how crowded it was.  But oh, we didn't care.  The sand is so white, soft, and fine compared to the sand on the east coast. And the waves...or the lack thereof...just glorious for relaxing in the water.  It was funny to see people using pool floats and noodles, but that was because the surf was so calm.  Even Havi was floating on her back and swimming (though I warned her not to open her eyes under water because it might hurt.)

It was truly an awesome time.  We decided that Caleb needs to play more tennis tournaments over that way. lol  We absolutely loved the beach.

Anyway, we love you Baba, and we hope you enjoyed your Father's Day at the beach.

A minimalist Easter celebration and why

This year for Easter, we decided to keep things simple.  As in years past, we went to church Sunday morning and had a simple dinner at home (maple glazed ham, mashed potatoes, and creamed spinach.)  We also opted to dye eggs on Easter Sunday too.  However, we did not do baskets for the dumplings.  We've never done anything outrageous or grand on Easter, but this year we decided to scale back on the candy and chocolate, gifts, and "stuff."  The girls each got a little chocolate bunny and two small chocolate squares.  Caleb got a bag of gummy bears and marshmallows.  They all split some peeps.  That's it.  And not a single one of them complained.  Well, Havi did when I first told her she needed to eat breakfast before she ate her chocolate squares.  But then I relented, and all was well in the world again.  

Earlier in the week, the girls did an egg hunt at Patrick's work while Caleb went to tennis practice.  And as such, we decided to skip the egg hunt at home.  Once we got home from church, we snapped a few photos of everyone outside.

The sequence on Havi's dress was so reflective that it shimmered on Caleb's shirt.  I didn't even see this until I uploaded the photos. And if you couldn't tell, that big boy of ours has decided he wants to grow out his hair.  Just how long he's going to let it grow, only time will tell.

So after photos, it was time to dye eggs.

After egg dyeing, we went swimming and watched the movie Home Alone 2.  I found it funny that we watched a Christmas movie at Easter.  lol

Anyway, the simplicity of our Easter celebration was the result of our desire to keep our focus on the true meaning of the holiday.  We wanted to celebrate the resurrection of our Lord, not keep track of baskets, eggs, candy, and "stuff." 

One of our goals for 2015 has been to declutter our home and our lives.  We have donated a lot of stuff we no longer use in our home, and it feels great.  But we're not just ridding our home of unnecessary things; We are also "decluttering" our lives, in particular our food choices and screen time.  All three dumplings have been supportive of these changes as well.  It's been great seeing them spend more time doing things together as well as taking an interest in their health and well being.

While we still have a way to go with decluttering our home, we're happy about the direction we are going in.  We've realized the importance of living with just the things you need.  That was one thing my Bubby (gramma) taught me well.  But that was easy for her to do, as we had very little.  These three precious kiddos of ours, however, are growing up in a very different world than the one I grew up in.  Patrick and I have a greater opportunity to provide for them, making it more difficult to instill in them this same core value.  The world and its influence will also try to pull them in a different direction.  But our desire is for them to value togetherness over stuff.  And if that is our desire for them, we need to model it for them as well.  Now don't think we're going to go off the deep end and sell everything we own and live off the grid.  We're not going that extreme. But...we're embracing the minimalist approach to living and are already happy with how it's working for us.  

Our Christmas festivities...mostly

I hope you all had a wonderful, relaxing and joy-filled Christmas.  I know we did!

In an effort to play catch up and do a better job sharing on the blog, I figured I should get crackin' on all the Christmas festivity photos that were begging to be edited.  I'll start with Christmas Eve.  We attended our church's 2pm service.  So after lunch, we headed out.

 I know you might be thinking the above photo is more appropriate for an Easter service.  Well, we don't always go with "traditional" around here.  So it works for us.  But the good news is, the girls can certainly wear their dresses again, for Easter. lol

After church, we came home and started working on dinner.  We have started a tradition of eating lobster on Christmas Eve.  To this we added some Alaskan king crab legs (Caleb tried them a few weeks ago and LOVED them), and I also made some potato latkes.  It was so delicious.

We have been working our way through Ann Voskamp's book Unwrapping the Greatest Gift: A Family Celebration of Christmas, which we love. So we read another passage.  And then the dumplings each opened up a "group" gift for them to enjoy together. And then Caleb and Madeline each opened up a special Willow Tree figure.

 Then it was time for lights out and a quick snap of the tree with all the presents underneath.  This is not a Pinterest-worthy presents-under-the-tree photo.  Nope.  The wrapping paper isn't all coordinated.  Not every present has a bow, or a tag for that matter.  But under the tree is love and thoughtfulness wrapped up in a variety of gifts from lots of different people.

Much to our surprise Christmas morning, Caleb didn't wake up till 6:45am.  (Havi had been up for a bit with Patrick.)  So we had him go wake up Madeline.  We poured our coffee, and I took the cinnamon rolls I was proofing overnight out of the fridge.  We read the last passage in Ann Voskamp's book and then proceeded to open gifts.  We gave each of them just three gifts, with one big group gift for all of them.  The rest of the gifts they received from extended family.

In taking pictures, I opted to focus solely on capturing  the dumpling's expressions.  I cared little about composition or technique that morning.

 They started off with their stockings.

 A New York Yankee pillow pet

 Peppa Pig figures for Havi, which she loves

 Olaf

 Roller skates for Havi

 A pink tennis backpack for Madeline

 A microscope for Caleb

 The new WiiU for all of them

 A much needed phone for Caleb.  His intense tennis training schedule necessitated it.

 And then Caleb and Madeline's last gifts could not be wrapped.  So we placed them in the kid's playroom and threw some sheets over them in case they went wandering away from the tree and toward the kitchen, which Madeline did.  Thankfully, though, the surprise was not ruined. Havi was so cute covering her eyes also.

 A vanity for Madeline and a bike (that now fits) for Caleb

While I captured a lot of presents being opened, there was one in particular that I missed because I, myself, was wrapped up in its unveiling.  My mother-in-law painted a beautiful picture of Madeline wearing her dance recital costume from this year.  As soon as we safely removed it from its packing, Patrick quickly whisked it away to Madeline's room to keep it safe from all the hustle and bustle.   Well, that meant not getting a photo of it.  Boo.  I will have to do that.

So after presents were opened, we ate breakfast- those cinnamon rolls I alluded to earlier.  Then the dumplings played while Patrick and I began working on dinner- lasagna!  He made the meat sauce while I made the ricotta cheese and lasagna sheets.  Once I got all the sheets cut, we headed out for a bike ride.  We just go around the neighborhood, but the path we take makes for about a 40-45 minute ride.  That's enough to put Havi to sleep on the back of Patrick's bike. lol  Anyway, once we got back, Patrick and I got to work layering the lasagna sheets with the sauce and cheese.  We made a great team.  And the lasagana....woah! It was so delicious.  Homemade everything just makes all the difference.  Seriously.   

The only thing I would do differently next year is make the cheese and lasagna sheets ahead of time.  I didn't think it would take too much time, but it definitely kept me in the kitchen instead of photographing the kids playing with their new toys, like I usually do.  So that part bummed me out.  Lesson learned.

Well, the cooking, baking, and Christmas celebrating has continued through this weekend because my sister and her peeps came into town yesterday.  Andy had a gig with his band Elevators Friday night.  So their typical visit on Christmas Day was delayed.  Anyway, we have already done some serious eating, and we're only half way through the weekend! lol  If you've followed this post all the way to the end, then I'll be sure to send you some of Jesus's birthday cake. ;)