A Bit of a Break

Late last night we got home from a 4 day camping trip. It is our very first one of the summer, with many more to come. Have I mentioned before how much I love summer? Because I do, and camping is just one of those reasons.

Zoelle loved the monkey bars at the campground playground.

 As the girls get older, camping has become much easier. In fact on this trip, with the exception of one night where Xiomara was up for a few hours wanting to play with me, the girls all slept great. The hardest part of camping trips is trying to fit in naps. Zoelle pretty much doesn’t nap anymore, but the other girls do. Since we have a Pop Up Camper, it is a bit hard to get Meridian to nap. So this weekend, I didn’t even attempt to try, and instead let her take a rest time or play quietly during nap. Xiomara did nap, but they were short because the camper is a bit brighter and louder in there than her typical bedroom. The girls end up being a bit more tired than usual because of missed naps and staying up later. But it is all worth it for the experience of camping and building up another block of family memories.

Proud auntie Nessa with my niece India

This trip included my parents, younger siblings, and older sister’s family. We also got to see some extended family including my Grandma which is bittersweet since my Grandpa’s passing. It just doesn’t ever seem the same without him.

On our way home, we decided to visit the Minnesota Zoo. Maybe a bad idea for an 80 degree, bright sunny day, but hey, we are trying to build up more family memories. J While it was extremely crowded, I am so glad that we went! The animals have huge enclosures, so you don’t get to see them up close very often, but the Minnesota Zoo has a wonderful indoor area, and those animals tend to be more up close and personal. I also found the long walks outside to be beautiful and relaxing. The girls had a favorite part though that had nothing to do with animals. That would be the splash pad! If I had to do it over again, I would spend a lot more time there. We wanted to ride the monorail, so we hurried at the splash pad, but it ended up that the monorail was a bit boring, and not really worth our time or money. So next time, I would definitely spend more time at the splash pad.

Meridian the fish!

In my almost 3 years of blogging, I have never once taken a blogging break/Internet break, etc. However, with no Internet at home, I had no choice. Outside of a few quick log ins at my parents, or free Wi-Fi in town, or the little bit I can do on my phone, I have been Internet free for over 3 weeks now. In fact, even my blog posts are written in Microsoft Word ahead of time, and then I just quickly upload them when I find Internet access and then I’m on my way. This “break” has been different for me. It has been some of the most enjoyable times with my girls and our family. I find that I don’t really miss Internet at all. The only reason I say it has been different is that at the same time we have no Internet, I have also had next to no cell phone reception, no cable TV (which we have never had anyway), and we moved 10 miles out in the country. It feels different for me to be this disconnected from the world around me. However, this weekend, while staring at my three girls, I realized, this is the world around me. Our family is all that truly matters to me and that these three weeks have been incredibly sweet for me and I hope for them as well. We did manage to find a cell phone company who provides great reliable service and the plan is to possibly get Internet within the next few weeks. However, my plan is to stay as disconnected as possible. For some time before moving, I felt God telling me to put my computer away, and to focus on them. However, I kept finding myself telling them and myself, “Just one more minute”, yet that minute would turn into 5, and that 5 minutes, into a half hour. Before I knew it, I just wasted an hour of my time on something that doesn’t matter.

So here I am blogging out how a simple camping trip and zoo visit reminded me once again on how family is all that matters in life. How this is the only time they will be 5, 3, and 1 and I don’t want to miss it. So please, do me a favor and hold me accountable ok? I still plan on blogging as most of that is done at night when everyone is in bed. I just don’t plan on spending as much time reading and researching other blogs, news story, etc. Because when it is all said and done, these girls aren’t worth missing.

Have you ever felt it was time to take an Internet break? Blogging break? What caused you to realize that?