Have you guys ever had the kind of week or weekend that was so, so good but also so, so hard? Personally raising both hands after this past weekend which, by all regards, was amazing and guess what!? It was 4 days long! Even better, the weather was to-die-for. We crammed so much into 4 days (including a hike at Twin Falls!) and had lots of fun but at the same time, we were all a little “off”. Johan worked 3 of the 4 days, the kids bickered with each other like crazy and were (generally speaking) hard to please, bedtimes were HARD for no apparent reason, and the list goes on.
Sure there were special moments sprinkled in over the 4 days. But I fell asleep most nights exhausted and ready for a squeaky clean start!? I’ve since gone over things in my mind and think I’ve found a pretty good perspective on it all that I’ll share below but first, a few pics from our hike — AKA one of the very, very good parts from the weekend (except that Johan and Ozzie weren’t with us — we missed you!).
Tilly and Griffin snagged the big camera a couple times and snapped some pics. It’s always so fun to see what they capture — I love them all. Even the fuzzy ones :)
I think it’s just the all black outfit, but looks a little like big foot is sneaking up behind Espen and Griffin in the pic below, LOL.
It was gorgeous up in the woods and mountains and the air was crisp and delicious to breath. There were little turn-offs along the trail where we could take a break (or let people pass us, lol) and throw rocks into the river.
Our view of the waterfall – almost a mile into the hike. We made it another 1/4 of a mile before turning around. Tilly and Griff were disappointed but the other two were ready to head home.
Overall, Poppy did way better than I expected, walked almost the entire time (even the steep parts!) and slept soooo good that night!
The next best thing to chubby baby legs has to be skinny middle school legs (insert heart eyes emoji)… example: two pictures up.
Also… so many sticks, HA! Walking sticks, throwing sticks, funny looking sticks, so basically kid heaven and my worst nightmare. Okay, I’m exaggerating a little. I don’t normally mind when my kids play with sticks, but the trail was pretty busy so it was a little stressful and, like with most outings we go on there’s always one phrase I repeat constantly. This time it was, “keep your sticks pointed down, please!”
Espen stopping for a snack break and Poppy stopping for a kiss break!
Back to my fresh revelation on something I probably knew before but know in a new way now… may I always remember on the rougher days (weeks + months) that God’s working things out for our good. And that even though I might be ready for it to end so we can start over the next morning (hallelujah!) it’s not a throw away day. It hold just as much value (maybe more?) than the good days because through it I’m learning to be a better mom and human and they’re learning to be better, sweeter humans too. It’s just a little uncomfortable, ya know?
How does that saying go…? No guts, no glory. Pretty sure that applies to motherhood too but guess what?
WE CAN DO HARD THINGS.
Hope you’re having one of those good days but if not, I hope this post encourages you!
XO, Rae
Thanks for this! I want to go on a hike now. I appreciate that you also include how the days were rough too along with the good. Last night, both of my kids were simultaneously high-pitched crying, and I thought, “You have got to be kidding me. When will this night be done?” You have such a healthy perspective while still being a really positive mom, and that is refreshing.
You are so welcome! Even when it’s not what we want to focus on, we all have those kinda nights, days, weeks… Thankful for you. Thankful for fresh new days. But mostly thankful that we aren’t alone!!! xoxo
Rae, you are so refreshing. I might sound like a crazy person but I am not on any social media because I haven’t figured out how to fit it into my life with my 5 kids. You are literally the only blogger that I always read.
Thank you for being positive, fun and funky fresh!
Your family is beautiful, I wish you were my friend in real life! ❤️
SAME!!! Thanks so much for the sweet words friend. Keep up all the good momming. You’re doing awesome! xoxo
“I’m really loving the theme/design of your website. Do you ever run into any internet browser compatibility issues?
A handful of my blog visitors have complained about my website not working correctly in Explorer but looks great in Chrome.”
Thank you! Nope, no complaints! xo