Out with a Bang

  Last week might have been the best week of my life. Russ took the week off of Skywest and only worked one job so we could spend some quality time as a family before the craziness with Delta started. We also started an experiment, we committed to not eating out for 30 days to see how much money it would save. I cooked dinner every night and we ate together as a family and it was amazing! I know these things aren't a big deal for most people but for our family, it is a privilege and the result of this togetherness was incredible! I was a great mom all week, more patient & loving and I even made dessert every night. On top of that, the house was cleaner, the kids behaved better and the overall stress level was down.
   On Saturday we took a 4 mile hike up Alpine canyon, Russ carried Zoey, Taevin forged ahead, and I had the opportunity to spend most of the hike with Ryler, he is almost four but despite his young age he is so full of inspiration. As we fought through the tedious climb he just kept telling me "mom, we've just gotta stick together" and when I was about to give up he'd say "just keep going mom, you're strong". Well I guess if my six and three year old could do it without complaint, so could I. After two long miles we reached the waterfall, and had lunch, it was beautiful and the weather was perfect. When I see things like that I kind of get why hippies are so obsessed with being "one with nature", as my little brother  Brian would say. There is definitely a certain spirit to be felt when immersed in one of God's stunning creations.
   After lunch, we started our 2 mile trek back down the mountain, my boys helped me along and Russ kept telling me how proud he was that I made it (yeah, as if I had any other choice). Anyway by the end my legs were shaking and muscles I didn't even know I had were burning, but I was glad to have spent the day with my four favorite people.
   Saturday night my brothers came over to watch the kids so Russ and I could go on a much needed date. We had a nice dinner then enjoyed a couples massage (which we were particularly grateful for after the hike) then Sunday evening we had dinner with Russ' family.
  As we sat together Sunday night, we felt rejuvenated and ready to face the challenging schedule ahead of us knowing that at least we went out with a bang!
   We're two days in and already I miss my husband, I fantasize about the day when every week will be like last week, but he is working hard to support our family and I am grateful for that.