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Connor: He has been super into building his own lego creations lately. And since he is so detailed, he is always sure to tell me what everything is or why he chose to use one part over another. 

 Isla: When I glanced over and saw Isla sitting like this, elbows on her legs, hands cradling her face, I couldn't help but be a little taken aback by how grown up she looked. Not to mention, I heard her say "my parents" in a conversation with a little friend the other day. It just sounds so grown up, referring to us as her parents. 

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

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My 2015 Journey

Because life is a journey, my year can be one, right? Plus I think picking a word for a year really is spending a year discovering what that word means for your life...thus it's a journey. Last year, I chose the word generous and spent time pondering the various ways it worked in my life. Being generous is something that I know will continue to grow in my life as the years go on. For 2015, I chose the word

simple

I like it. It's just so...simple. The word simple has such a negative connotation in our society today and I really think it shouldn't. I want my life to be more simple. I want less drama and busyness and more downtime. I want to keep getting more and more back to the basics with the food I eat and feed my family. I want less stuff...less to clean and to pick up. Over the year, I look forward to writing a bit about what I discover during my journey of figuring out what simple means for me and my life.

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Trying Out Skiing

Ian has been wanting to take Connor up skiing for a while now. I was always put off with how much it would cost just to see if our kid would be ok with skiing, let alone how long he would last. Well, we found out a friend took their kids up to our local ski resort and hiked the bunny hill with their kids, thus it was free. So, we decided to do the same. On the way up, we stopped and rented skis and boots for $15. When we got to the bunny hill, it was obvious we weren't the only people doing this. Isla and I found a place to cozy up in...a place for me to sit (actually I spent most my time taking pictures or making sure Isla didn't hurt herself jumping off boulders) and a place for her to play with the snow. Ian headed up the hill with Connor. 

Connor's first trip down the hill was a huge success. He had a big smile on his face and it never left the whole time we were there. He never cried or complained when he fell...he just used it as an excuse to eat some snow. He actually didn't even fall his first couple runs, but the more tired he got (though he never admitted to being tired until the walk back to the car) the more he fell. And, the funny thing was, he skied in the direction he was looking. So if he got distracted by other people, he just skied right toward them. The whole experience was really cute and fun and next time we are planning on putting him in ski school.

Isla quickly decided she wanted to try out skiing too. So, we gave Connor a break and let her use his skis and boots for a couple runs. Though she didn't get the concepts as well as Connor (pizza pie, french fry anyone?) she still had a blast. She was a bit lazier than Connor, so Ian would actually carry her up the hill.

 

 

When the kids weren't skiing, they were playing in the snow on the side of the run. Connor spent his time eating the snow...using his mouth, not his hands. Isla ate some as well, but she used her hands. She was actually more interested in the various rocks to climb on and sticks to play with to eat too much snow. Girlfriend loves her some being outdoors and playing!

It will be fun to watch our kids develop a love of snow and skiing, as that is something Ian really enjoys doing. And, well, once upon a time I really enjoyed it too. Now, I am just afraid of falling and breaking a hip or something because we all know I am not getting any younger!

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From the Mouth of Connor {nine}

This kid likes to talk, talk, and talk some more. Often times it is questions. But he will also tell stories and they are always the cutest. Sure, I am his mom, so I am biased, but I think stories from little kids are just the best. Like when he starts out a story with, "Once upon a time, there was a little boy named Connor. He was five years old and born in Scotland." Hmmm, I wonder who he is talking about?! Enjoy some tidbits from Connor lately.


Give me some space


Connor: Can I play Mario? (on the wii)
Ian: Why?
Connor: So I can get some dad time. 


I love picking my nose cause I don't like boogies in it. 


Connor: I'm going to change my name when I am big cause Connor is just a boy name. 
Me: What will your new name be?
Connor: Maybe I will be Papa Clive.


You need to not make muffins mom, because when you do, I want to eat all of them. 


I like candy better than good food. 


I don't like wearing clothes and shoes everyday because they look weird. 


Where there's legos, there's Connor! 


This kid simultaneously has me laughing my head off and pulling my hair out and I wouldn't have it any other way.

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The Exploratorium {San Francisco}

One day this past week, we headed to the Exploratorium in San Francisco for a fun little excursion with the kids.  This was my first time there, so I was pretty excited. When we got there, it was crazy busy. Like hard to move around, where are my kids, kind of crazy. So, I was feeling kind of stressed about that and overwhelmed not knowing what we should look at. After a little while I got my bearings and was much more comfortable exploring the place with the kids. Plus the crowds thinned out as the day went on, making it much more enjoyable. I would say the Exploratorium is definitely geared towards kids older than mine, but they still had a fabulous time...and so did I because there are so many amazing things to explore. This is definitely a hands on museum with so many things to see and do. We spent hours there and got to maybe half of the stuff. The kids enjoyed how hands on everything was. Connor said his favorite part was "All the games, or maybe the mice." And Isla said, "Me making the lights." We ended up getting a membership, so I am excited to go back and explore again over the next year.

 

 

We also learned a lesson on this trip. We stayed until the museum closed at 5pm. We were planning on going to a bbq restaurant that Ian has been to before and really liked. We thought it would help us kill some time while traffic cleared. Well, almost and hour later, we had only made it four blocks from the museum because traffic was so bad, so we stopped and ate at Chipotle, which was only a block away from where we were. After we ate, we got back on the road. At one point we sat in the exact same spot for eight light cycles...not even moving an inch. It was kind of crazy. But, with full bellies and a day of play, everyone in the car was happy, so all was good. And we learned to never drive in San Francisco during rush hour traffic again!

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It's funny to go from the emotions and everything of something ending, right into the emotions of something beginning. So, hello there 2015. I am ready for you. I am ready to document this life of mine and freeze moments of time, through pictures, of my kids childhoods this year.

Connor: He is so inquisitive. He wants to know exactly how things work. He is full of very detailed questions about anything and everything. 

Isla: She will pretty much use any excuse out there to not go to bed. This usually involves an outfit change (or two) because the pjs I put her in just weren't the ones she wanted to wear. Then there are the multiple bathroom trips. I get it though...after spending an amazing day with her mom (which of course happens every day), why would she want it to end?!

"A portrait of my children, once a week, every week, in 2015."

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The Abundance Mentality

I wasn't really planning on writing about generosity again, given that it is now 2015 and all, but the other day I was reading about the abundance mentality and it really struck me because it is exactly what I wanted to learn, to become a part of me, when I set out on my journey of generosity for last year.

The abundance mentality.

Basically it is the view that there is enough out there for everyone. We don't need to hoard or hold on to things (or recognition) because there will be more to come our way. In the book Clutter Free, Kathi Lipp said, "When we actively practice an abundance mentality, we set our hands to share the very things we held on to so tightly in the past: money, things, time and recognition." This has really been what I have been exploring and trying to expand on over the past year in my life. I have worked at being very intentional in sharing my things, my money, my time. Trying to allow myself and my things to be a blessing in other people's lives. I don't want to hold on to things so tightly that it seems that I value objects (or even money) over people.

Then I felt poked in the eyes with this, "This is not a "name it and claim it" philosophy. This is the radical understanding that no matter how little we have, we are better when we share." WE ARE BETTER WHEN WE SHARE. What a novel concept, right?! It's amazing to me how easy and obvious things seem when in fact I have been ingrained to think totally the opposite...to think about myself before others.

I am excited to see that generosity is coming more natural to me one year on. I hope and pray this is an area of my life that I continue to grow in and becomes an integral part of who I am.

Now on to 2015 and that journey...

   

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