Going on an Adventure...

"Sometimes homeschooling is an uphill climb with the sun beating down on you. Other times you're coasting downhill with the wind in your hair and all is right with the world. For every difficult day there will be a whole lot of awesome days. For every defeat you face, there will be far more victories. And we all know this: anything worthwhile and valuable doesn't come easy, but it's always 100% worth the fight"

-WildandFree

This has got to my favorite quote of this past week. I am a words person. I love finding inspiring quotes and either writing them in a notebook, on a scrap of paper, share them on instagram, or share them here on the blog. I believe words can have an amazing power to either build up or knock down. I have been striving more and more to use this little space of web and social media that I have for goodness. I am thankful for all those men and women who do the same. I am constantly inspired and it seems that when I most need it, God is leading me to a little tid bit that is the answer to a prayer I have been praying.

This year has had a lot of change in it. We've made more time for adventures, got rid of a lot of unnecessary stress, and really learned to let these little red heads lead our learning. We had different plans last Tuesday. We were suppose to go to a homeschool potluck, but those little munchkins weren't feeling it. They really wanted to go on an adventure. It was a very easy request to accept. We have been wanting to go to The Springs Preserve for quite a while now. They do a Nature Exchange program there, which my kiddos had been itching to get back to. I renewed our pass and we spent the day exploring.

It was a tad overcast, which meant the sun was giving us a break for the day. We walked through the Butterfly Gardens, Dinosaur Exhibit, Water Works, and many others. The park had very few people out and exploring in the morning and early afternoon, so we felt like we had the place to ourselves. At one point it started to lightly drizzle. It was fun to be able to walk though the gardens there, while we felt light raindrops on our cheeks.

The kids ran the show on this adventure. We walked till we were plum tuckered out. I remember once reading on Mandy's blog that if you end the day feeling exhausted, knowing you had poured everything into your children, then you had done well. After our adventure, her words came to mind and I knew what she meant. It feels good to spend the day learning with your kids. It feels good to know that at the end of the day, you have given them your all. In the grand scheme of things we only have them for such a short amount of time, before they are grown and ready to take on the world. I want to cherish every single moment.

I see many more adventures in our future and I can't wait to get outside and explore with them again. 

XO Danielle

Enjoying His Masterpieces....

This past week I was able to pack up our car, load up the kids, and head out of town for a day trip. We tackled the hour long drive to Arizona, so we could enjoy a day on the Colorado River with friends. We had never been before and let me tell you....it was amazing.

I am not a natural outdoorsy person. It is something I am working on. Remember I said my word for this new school year is adventure? Well I am totally keeping true to my word and planning more time for my kids out in nature having adventures.

I am naturally a worrier. My brain goes 100 miles an hour. I'm always thinking of what might happen and sometimes that keeps me...and my kids... from having fun. I also have a lot fears....one of them being swimming in water I can't see the bottom of....I pretty much only swim in pools... but with us going on more adventures...I wanted to push that fear aside and enjoy the wonderful creations God has blessed us with. I made a commitment to myself to get out in the water and have fun. Thankfully God knew of my plan and the river was quite clear. It was a tender mercy this mama was very appreciative of. I was able to push pass my fear of swimming in something other than a pool and enjoyed a full day of swimming in the nice cool water of the river.

As I floated in the water, I was caught breathless by the splendor around me. I've heard it said that God is truly the greatest artist, but never had I truly come to understanding exactly how much of an artist he is. 

It is amazing to think that with just a few words spoken, the land and water were separated. It is mind blowing to think that the fowls of the air and fish in the water, were created by His hand. 

To say our scenery for our day trip was amazing is an understatement. It was a beautiful thing to be unplugged with my kids, out in nature. 

We are already planning more days outside... we are looking for more opportunities to see the wonderment that is this world God created for us. Us...simple, imperfect beings...and yet He made this perfect place for us to dwell. What a kind and loving Father in Heaven he is!

I pray you are having a wonderful week and an even greater weekend! God Bless! :)

XO Danielle 

Gilcrease Orchard...

Morning lovelies! Today I had a wonderful post written for you. I got up early, wrote it all out for you, and I even included a few jokes...I know can you believe it! I actually included some jokes...but then blogger decided to hate me. I hit published...somehow it thought I hit delete and poof! My post was gone....much to my dismay. I still have a big ole' sad face about the whole thing. 

So instead you get to see some pictures from our recent trip to Gilcrease Orchard. It was such a fun field trip we took with our homeschool co-op group. Anything to get those kids outdoors, burning off energy, is good in my book :)

I am thankful I get to be home with my littles, exploring the wonderful land God has created. There is truly beauty all around us. I hope your day is a fantastic one. If you missed it, be sure to check out my channel. The first of the budgeting series videos is live for you to view. Enjoy Lovelies!

Find more homeschool posts here :)

XO Danielle

Exploring the Outdoors...

I am not naturally an outdoorsy person. There is just a part of me that does not look forward to getting outdoors, in the heat and with all those yuck things...like insects and dirt. I know! I know! I am such a big baby. I blame it on my Mom (sorry Mom). She is not a big outdoorsy person and I think it rubbed off on me. When planning fun activities for my kids, I always think of things like museums and library fun....getting outdoors is rarely on my radar. It just isn't something I think of doing for fun. Going outdoors is what I have to do to get from my house to my car (I wasn't lying about not liking to get outdoors! Haha!)

With this new school year, I vowed to plan more outdoor fun for my littles. I would step outside my comfort zone and do something outside....in the sun...where all those insects are...oh and the dirt is too! This past week we ventured outdoors for a fun homeschool group hike. We went to the Historic Railroad Tunnel Trail. Lovelies, I couldn't believe it! I got outdoors and actually enjoyed it!

We ended up hiking about 6 miles, with a stop for a picnic lunch in between. The weather was beautiful, the kids didn't whine, and we all got some energy out of our system.

I think more outdoor adventures are on the horizon for this family.

What do you do to get outdoors and have fun! I am all for fun family ideas!!

XO Danielle

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