Wordless Wednesday - Camping

Our family is going camping @ Snowflower Campground Ca next week. So here are some camping pictures to get inspired by.

inspiredcamping.com

Country Living Magazine

 

 

6 Steps for Planning Trips

My family loves going away on vacation and we enjoy it even more when others come along. BUT why is it so hard to get two groups (and I only mean two families) to make decisions? I'm the kind of person where if I want to go somewhere I look it up / call around and plan it. I don't like to dilly dally around for 3 weeks and then try to finalize everything the week before we leave.

Here are the tips that I use when planning a vacation:

1. Decide where you want to go. This may need to include the area immediately around your ideal locale just in case you can't find a place to stay.

2. What kind of trip this is going to be? - camping, hotel, vacation rental, etc.

3. Have a budget - How much do you want to spend on where your staying, food, and fun?

4. Make your reservations - check the cancellation policy and make sure you keep your confirmation numbers with you.

5. Meal plan - Plan your meals and leave a little wiggle room for eating out. I also get together with my friend / family members and do a joint meal plan so the cost of meals is shared.

6. Get with the group that's going and plan your activities - we always plan some together and some separate because not every one wants to be with their friends or extended family for 24 hours / 5 days.

Using these 6 steps will help take some of the stress out of planning a vacation, because vacations are for relaxing not stressing about what's to eat or where to stay.

A long weekend

Well after 4 days of being in bed with my back blown out, I'm back...well mostly. Sorry I haven't been working on projects so not much to share. Here is a little review and recap of last weekends local Rocklin Family Festival.

The event was located at a large local park and featured Food, Rides, Games, Local businesses, and fun for the kids.

Our family of four plus our friends and there two kids all got together and since we only live about three blocks away decided to walk over to the event. Let me start by saying it was about a billion degrees outside, we adults decided that all outdoor event should be held in September and October.

When we got there the kids got to explore the Rocklin Fire Departments fire engine.

 

 

We stopped at a local daycare / preschool booth that had some learning and interactive activities. We spent about an hour there and then headed home for some water and snacks.

 

 

 The Family Festival had more of a carnival / fair type feel and there was little for small children to do. Due to the lack of activity for younger children I don't think we will visit next year. The kids had more fun playing in the sprinklers and eating popsicles and cherries at home.

 



The Loss of a Friendship

I never thought growing up that I would loose as many friends as I did, and now as an adult I have the same thoughts. As a teen when friendships dissolved it was upsetting, but not like it is now as a woman.

In the book Captivating by John & Stasi Eldredge - it explains that women are "relational creatures" It goes on to say "Most women define themselves in terms of their relationships, and the quality they deem those relationships to have" If this is so then why do women constantly hurt each other? I underlined "each other" because we ALL do it!

Not to blame Eve, but part of the consequence of Eve's decision to eat the forbidden fruit is "relational heartache". It seems that most friendships go along great and then become infected with "a virus that makes them fundamentally unavailable...even when its good its not enough."

When I read this it struck me straight to the heart, because its soooo true! My best friend and I had a falling out almost a year ago and I am still really struggling with it! She blames me, I blame me, and all I wanted was to be closer to her and re-connected in our friendship and in each others lives again...(I was a little disconnected after having my youngest).

So what now? How do I deal with the heartache, loss, and regret? Oh the regret...that's mostly what I feel now looking back. And since its been so long how do I repair it? Or is it past repair and if so how do I move past it?