travel

Catching Up…

I’m alive. I really am. Just in case anyone was wondering.

Life has been insanely hectic lately. You too?

I was invited to go out to the Men’s Advance in Troy, MO, with Covenant Family Church to spend some time speaking with the wives and daughters who accompanied their husbands/fathers/brothers to the weekend of teaching. It was such a blessed time for me. I brought my oldest daughter, Peyton, with me. It was our first mother/daughter getaway. To a Men’s Advance. Haha… A tad bit ironic. She’s too young to be looking for a husband, and I already have one. Thankfully, we had lots of women and girls to meet and spend time with. We both felt so welcomed and loved.

Flying to Missouri

Then, we came home, and Mike took the family skiing. I tagged along, although I don’t ski. I have a bum leg, and can’t do dangerous, high risk things. And, if you know me at all, you know that anything that takes grace and skill is high-risk for me. I stayed in the lodge and worked while watching the children careen down the mountain. Even Faith gave it a try this year. One so short shouldn’t be doing such crazy things. But, she loved it. She told me she has a new favorite sport. Skiing. Funny. I don’t have a favorite sport. The idea never crossed my mind.

We came home, and then my husband whisked me away to a castle. We spent the weekend away for our church’s annual marriage retreat, which my husband organizes every year. So romantic. We arrived to a snowy winter wonderland {The photo above the post title is the view from the window in our castle room the night we arrived.}. Absolutely loved it. The next day, it was warm, much of the snow melted, and we were able to spend a couple of hours walking outside, sitting on a bench talking, holding hands, learning, growing together. Such a great investment! One of the assignments he gave the group was that we were to talk together and each make a list: something we want the other to stop doing, something we want them to start doing, and something we want them to continue doing. I really struggled to come up with my list, but once I got going, it seemed to flow. He also encouraged that the continue doing list can be 4–5 things to add to the encouragement. We both learned a lot about the other, and what was on our hearts. Things we might not have known before. We laughed, cried, and grew stronger. I highly recommend this exercise. Be open, be honest, and don’t be afraid. Start. Stop. Continue.

Oh! And Faith was invited to participate in a commercial for a local SEO company. She had so much fun. She got to wear a tiara and blow pixie dust. What 7 year old little girl wouldn’t love that? It was right up her alley.

So, that’s been our life around here lately. Busy, full, good. I’d love to hear what you have been up to! Anything fun?

Filed Under: VW Front Page Tagged With: faith, love, memories, my wonderful husband, travel

Strike!

22 Jul By Tonya 1 Comment

We are still traveling, but I wanted to share a quick video of Faith bowling. This is how she bowls every. single. frame. She is just a happy little girl.

Wouldn’t you love to approach life with such joyful abandon? She inspires me to bubble over with thankfulness and joy. Which reminds me: throughout our trip I believe she has uttered the words, “Thank you, Mommy” no less than 10 times a day, everyday. Where does she get it from? I fear that I am not thankful nearly enough in my life.

Thank You, Lord, for the gift of this silly, wonderful, thoughtful girl!

Filed Under: Faith's Corner Tagged With: bowling, faith, field trips, thankfulness, travel, where does she get it from?

Ain’t It Grand?

11 Jul By Tonya Leave a Comment

On the second day of our annual field trip, we ventured to the Grand Canyon. Admittedly, I was a little nervous. Last time I was at the Grand Canyon, I had three little boys, aged 4, 6, and 8. Plus a sweet little six month old daughter who was strapped to my body. Boys and canyons that are opened wide for falling just aren’t a great mix.

I was pleased to see that some mother was able to influence the powers that be in the decision making and money spending realm of the National Park Service because this time, they had railings and fencing everywhere I looked. A boy would have to work hard to hurl himself down that canyon to certain death.

And I know it was a mother because a father doesn’t tend to notice such things. In my experience.

Have I ever mentioned my insane fear of heights?

Seriously. I have often contemplated just driving off of a high bridge that I am driving over, just to get it over with. I KNOW I am going to end up falling off anyway. So far, I’ve made it across all bridges unscathed.

Mike recommends just staying put when I have the option. We were visiting in San Diego once. He had meetings. I had the day to explore with the kids. Huge bridge to get to the beach. Me freaking out as we drove over. It was a wild ride. He suggested an alternative plan for the next day…

Anyway. Back to the Grand Canyon.

It was spectacular. The railings were helpful.

But I think that going with little girls and an older son made it much more peaceful for me.

We made it safely out of the park. Not even a close call this time. We continued our drive to Kingman.
And we even got a surprise for dinner:

I feel like a hero.
It’s been a good day.

Filed Under: Homeschooling Tagged With: field trips, homeschooling, mothers, travel

Old Route 66 and Drive Up Motels

10 Jul By Tonya 3 Comments

We left Colorado in the early hours of the morning on Monday, driving through New Mexico and on to Arizona. My husband had pre-planned our trip and made hotel reservations for me. He takes such good care of me that way.

I remember him mentioning that in Holbrook the pickin’s were slim, but that the hotel he chose was rated the best in town, and it had great reviews. He said something about me not freaking out when I got there. I was only sort of paying attention. I guess I thought he meant something along the lines that it was probably more of a Holiday Inn rather than a Marriott or something.

Um. Not quite.

We gleefully made our exit off of I-40, arriving into Holbrook, AZ, after a long day of driving. As we drove the 1/2 mile into town, realization set in. Um…

Wait? What? The reservations say Globetrotter Inn. Does that sign say… Oh. Wow. Well…

We tentatively entered the parking lot. I snapped this picture:

I frantically called Mike.

No answer.

Google… I looked at the reviews. All four and five stars. 186 of them. One 3 star rating. Nothing below that. Gulp.

I grabbed my strapping son to go into the lobby with me. Jessica, the adult daughter of my dear friend who happens to be my traveling partner, waited in the car with the girls.

I braced myself, put on a brave face, and told the kids that we were going to be adventurous. It was all a farce. I was shaking in my boots.

Oh! The lobby was adorable. And clean. I think we can do this.

We were greeted with smiles and sweet hospitality. We were shown our room, which actually had two rooms in it. Perfectly clean and retro. Adorable.

We moved in for the night. Jessica went outside to call her mom. She ventured to the pool area, which I had told the kids was not on the agenda for the night. I could only imagine what that was like. Old, dated motel with one of those old pools. If you lived in the 70s, you know what I’m talking about. Right?

Well, Jessica came running in excitedly. “You’ve got to come see this pool!” Really?

I’m a bit slow on the uptake. It was adorable like the rest of the place. We all moved outside to poolside. We lounged on chaise lounges: beautiful, wood chaises. We dipped our feet in the pool. We swung on the swing. We chilled. It was glorious.

Eventually, we had to tuck the girls into bed and turn in ourselves.

Morning greeted us with a little continental breakfast. The family who owns the motel is from Austria, it turns out. Breakfast was delightful.

Thus ended our stay in a motel I would have never slowed down for had I made the call for the night. I have to admit, it gave me the courage to even consider the other option we could have had, just across the street:

Ok, who am I fooling? I could never stay there…

By the way, those old cars in the first photo…they are just for show. They are there to give the feel of visiting the old Route 66 motel. Clever. Even if it did make me nervous when we arrived!