Family Outing

Last Friday night, I was having one of those days where I started to feel closed in.  We'd had a disappointment the night prior in learning that the wonderful house we'd put an offer in on had not been accepted.  I'd been feeling peaceful throughout the day, feeling that everything would all work out, but by the time we finished dinner, I had to get out of the house!

Yes, I was really disappointed that a wonderful, beautiful house that I had fallen in love with was going to someone else.  But more than anything I was frustrated at how much work we had put into getting our house ready to sell and house hunting and we still had nothing to show for it.  A while back, we promised our kids that every weekend we would do a fun activity as a family.  Usually they are simple things like go to the park, or go for a walk together, but they are always a sweet and rejuvenating time for our family.
Because I had been so sick over the summer, we had largely gotten out of the habit.  I had only been feeling well enough to do outings in the last few weeks, but all our spare time had been spent house hunting. It bothered me that I had neglected our family time and had nothing to show for it.

I realized that we were out of balance. So, even though Amalie was at a friend's house and Brad wasn't home from work yet, I took Noah and Gabe on a walk to our beloved Provo River Trail.  It was amazing how quickly I gained perspective and peace in that beautiful, outdoor setting.  We stayed and played for awhile and then met up with Brad and Amalie later, but as it was getting "buggy", the walk with our whole family only lasted about 10 minutes.

Still, it was nice to recommit to our family and making sure our lives were in balance.  We had a lot of things that we could have done the next day, but we decided to have some family fun time.

We decided to go to a park and then get a treat.  No one could agree on which park to go to- which we were trying to decide as we drove, but Brad saved the day by remembering a cool park he had driven by recently.  A newer elementary school in our community built this amazing pirate ship playground.  It was so fun when we drove up, the kids were just giddy and in awe.  They got out of the car and just started running towards the playground.  Brad and I looked at each other and grinned.  What a thrill it is to see our children get so excited.

We played for awhile and took this cool family pic that reminded me of Neverland.  It looks as though the ship has taken flight.  So fun.  Afterwards we headed to Yogurtland and used our coupons and everyone was so happy since we don't go out to eat that often.  It was so nice spending time together as a family.

Brad and I finished out the night with a date to the Temple.  That was the perfect place for us to go after having a disappointment with our hunt for the house that will be a blessing to our growing family.  I love that when I am there, the cares of my daily life seem to melt away.  It opens my eyes and helps me to see that truly, I have all the most important things in life.