A little bit of rest and a little bit of labor.

Tim and I spend a lot of time on projects. We own two homes, and anyone who has owned even one home knows the time guzzler it can be - particularly when you actually give a darn about the condition of said home. Every single Saturday is pretty much the same - the kids and I clean the inside of the house while Dad works on outdoor projects until we find a stopping point (because, let's face it, the work is never done) and we do something fun with the kids until quiet time, at which point, I crash with the kids while Tim fools around on his laptop (or watches college football as the season dictates) until dinnertime. Sometimes we'll have a quick family activity in the evening before baths and bedtime.
We don't see a ton of variation from this routine - except when the projects are so ovewhelming that I end up doing something fun with the kids so that dad can get even more items checked off his to-do list.
So imagine the joy when we have an extra day tagged onto our weekend with which to do more chores - er, I mean throw in the towel and have a bit of fun. Something about all work and no play...
We drove the kids out to a desert oasis last weekend. A quick jaunt from the parking lot to a gorgeous waterfall cascading into a beautiful pool below. It was a bit of Hawaii - except for the part about flying in a plane. And there were no beaches. And... well, nevermind. The path was flanked by rows of poison ivy - but that didn't stop us - we were smart enough to equip the kids with long pants and jackets. It was so wonderful to simply spend quality time with each other. We do fun things together often, but it seems that it's always preceded by work, which is what made this outing so unique. We woke up, ate breakfast, and went. Simply marvelous.











Oh, and it didn't hurt that we passed a bunch of orchards along the way and I impulsively stopped and picked up two boxes of peaches so that I could spend the afternoon canning. 30 jars to be exact.