Serious Discount from Shutterfly

Okay, you all already know I'm a major nerd who starts Christmas shopping in August. 

Well, I just had to share that Shutterfly has a 50% off deal right now. It seems to be for nearly everything they sell. Seriously. 

I don't want to spoil the surprise in case my gift recipient is reading this post, but I will say that I was able to order exactly what I wanted for half off! The code is SAVE50. It's a Labor Day sale. 

Also, it seems like you might be able to get a free 8x8 photo book if you click on this link? They gave it to me after I placed my order. 

I've included photos of other stuff I like (if my friends/family are peeking, I did not get you any of these things!). 

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Fun Things to Do at Work

We started a fun little tradition at work: a monthly event where the whole team gathers for 30 minutes to do something fun together. 

We've only done two so far. The first one was a popsicle party to celebrate the end of summer. We ate popsicles while we played a get-to-know-you game. We each wrote secret, random personal questions on slips of blank paper. We put them into a cup. Next, the first player rolled the dice and passed a stuffed animal around the circle that number of times. Whoever ended up with the animal would have to select a question and answer it. If anyone rolled a 6, the whole group answered the question. 

For this month's get together, we ate fondue together: chocolate with pound cake, strawberries, and bananas. So fun! 

Do you have any fun traditions at your workplace? 

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Happy Birthday, Henry! (7 years-old)

Our Henry,

You are such a gift to our world! You make our lives better every single day.

This year you graduated from kindergarten and into 1st grade. You love the three older girls in your community: Stella, Frances, and Lila. On Lila’s birthday, you let her wear your airplane wings. You also lost your first tooth! And then three more!

This past year you stopped doing Aikido and started doing swimming at Nitro. You swam until December and then switched to ukulele with Ms. Lesley.

We went to San Diego for Spring Break. You loved learning to surf with our friend Andrew! We went to Stinson Beach for Fall Break and Florida for Thanksgiving Break. You learned to boogie board. You love the beach!

We went camping for the first time as a family. You loved it! You have the strong sense that you belong in nature. You even decided to camp in the backyard by yourself for two nights in a row (before it started to rain). The temperature was in the 30s. You slept with a shovel to protect yourself from wild animals.

You are still full of ideas and love making money. This year you participated in the Magnolia Makers Market. You painted wooden beads and made keychains. You made so much money and decided to donate some of it to the Elephant Sanctuary. You are incredibly generous with your money and frequently buy things for Tate.

For Winter Break, we went to Australia. What a magical experience! You found kale in the garden and made a salad. You found a lemon and made lemonade! You found a large lizard swimming in the pool, and you named it Lizzie.

On Valentine’s Day, you declared that we should start a family tradition. So now we make waffles in the morning, brainstorm a list of how to celebrate “Family Love Day” in the evening, and write love letters to each other (your idea). This year we had a Game Night and played Operation and Hungry, Hungry Hippos.

It was a wonderful year with you in our lives. You bring so much light into our family. We are so lucky to have you in our life!

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My Favorite New Thing

I know this is a dumb post, but I couldn't help but share my new favorite things: food covers. 

I am really, really trying not to buy things on Amazon, but I have been wanting these for more than a year. I saw them at a birthday party at the park, and they make so much sense in Texas! I regretted not having them all throughout last year whenever we hosted a party on our deck. I ended up trying to cover the food with dishtowels, which makes it very difficult to see what is available to eat!

I'm excited to try these out at Henry's birthday party! 

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18 Summers

I recently read or heard a reminder that we only have 18 summers with our children. (Hopefully this isn't entirely true, since I still vacation with family in the summer. But it resonated with me nonetheless.) 

While that was percolating in my mind, Matt read something about a father who spent a month traveling with his children every summer, and we both agreed that that sounds so lovely! 

So I think we will try to go on a 3-week vacation every summer as a family. We will aim for 2019 so we have time to save up for another big international excursion. I have two weeks of vacation in the summer plus 6 sick days a year. I can try to save them up to make the third week! 

I'm thinking the French countryside? Or Portugal? Or Guatemala? Or Bali? Or Borneo? I think I need to get updates from one of those sites that lets you book inexpensive airline tickets...

Or maybe even in an RV around the U.S.? 

So many possibilities! 

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Template: Planning Vacations

This post is for BabyD! 

From the comments, it sounds like BabyD is stressing about vacation planning. 

I made a vacation-planning template for my leadership coach, so I thought I would share it here, in case it's helpful for others:

Vacation Planner

I love going on vacations with my family. I'm always so excited to see new things and go to new places. It makes me feel really present with my boys. 

Here are some of our recaps:

• Los Angeles
• San Juan Islands
• Stinson Beach
• San Diego
• Australia

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Traveling with Kids: Australia

Where do I even begin when it comes to recapping a magical trip to Australia with my family for Winter Break? 

I guess I could pick a single word to encapsulate the experience. And I guess I already did in the sentence above! 

Magical.

It was simply magical. 

It's a magical continent, and it's magical to travel to a different hemisphere (especially to escape winter by heading into summer!) and it's magical to spend an extended amount of time with my family. 

We weren't very strategic about how we picked where to go on the world's largest island. I came across an incredible home in the hinterlands outside of Byron Bay (near a small town named Bangalow) on a house exchange site called Home Away. It seemed like a place where the boys could really immerse themselves in nature, and where Matt and I could bask in beauty and enjoy each other's company. I did some quick research and realized that Byron Bay and Brisbane seemed like interesting places to visit. So we booked flights!

The flight from Austin to LA to Brisbane was fine. We just let our children watch way more screen time than normal. They were mesmerized and pretty much catatonic!

We rented a car and drove into the hinterlands. We awoke in the morning to the most incredible views of rolling green countryside.

Matt and I were working for the first week we were there, so we balanced childcare and phone meetings. We quickly fell into a routine: work/hang out at the house until 10am, take an adventure from 10am-2pm, rest/work/let the boys watch Netflix from 2pm-4pm, start dinner and play games on the back porch from 4-5pm, put the boys to bed at 6:30pm, and work/rest/watch Netflix for the rest of the evening. 

In retrospect, it seems a little crazy that we only left the house for about four hours a day, but a) we are introverts and like hanging out at home b) our "home" was an incredible destination in and of itself and c) the slower pace helped everything feel more relaxing and less stressed. Since our children don't nap anymore, they can get overly tired and cranky if we try to push it all day long. 

Here were the adventures we went on in the hinterlands of Bangalow outside Byron Bay:

1. The Farm: We ate brunch, walked around the farm, and sat on a blanket in the shade eating homemade ice-cream while the boys played (I always carry a large sheet with me for such occasions, along with a deck of cards for a game of gin rummy). 
2. The Lighthouse: How cool to explore the eastern most point of Australia! The views were stunning. We hiked down to a remote beach to explore. 
3. Crystal Castle: Totally creepy but really serene and fun to explore! 
4. Trip to the rainforest (with a stop-off at an alpaca farm): Matt ran a marathon in the rainforest, so we spent the night in a screened in cabin-type thing. Eating meals at the top of the rainforest was breathtaking. I taught Henry how to play checkers! 
5. Christmas Market in Federal with lunch at Doma. Federal is such a tiny town but has incredible food in an idyllic atmosphere. We listened to live music while the boys climbed in the tree (Henry quickly abandoned the concept of wearing shoes). 
6. Minyon Falls: We hiked around and played in the creek. 
7. Brunswick Heads: We spent one day swimming in the river and one day at Torakina Beach. 
8. Macademia Castle: Totally kitchy but really off-the-beaten path and fun. We got to pet kangaroos! 
9. Flat Rock: We explored the tide pools and then played at the beach.
10. Byron Bay Beach
11. Snorkeling: Henry and I went while Matt and Tate played at the beach. Henry and I saw a shark, bull ray, turtle, colorful fish, etc. 

Here were the adventures we went on in Brisbane: 

1. D'Aguilar National Park: We ventured down to Rocky Hole. It was an incredibly idyllic swimming hole with deep and shallow areas. It was Christmas Day, so there was hardly anyone there. 
2. City Botanic Gardens
3. Pillar Project
4. Lone Star Koala Sanctuary
5. Took the river ferry to the South Bank public beach and pools

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How to Celebrate My 40th?

40!?!

It's on the horizon!

Over the Thanksgiving holiday, I got to be with my cousin while she celebrated her 30th birthday. It got me thinking about how I used to celebrate birthdays with a lot more creativity and zest. For my 30th birthday, for example, I invited my good friends to trek to a camp in the mountains of Colorado. We went snow-shoeing, cooked meals together, watched a movie, played board games and just had a lot of cozy fun together.

It made me sad to think that I was about to let my 40th birthday pass without much ado. It's not that I need the attention or need to put myself at the center of some narcissistic celebration. Instead, it's about seizing the opportunity to bring people together (with a socially-sanctioned excuse).

I've talked a lot about my "former self" and how she has "slipped away" in many ways. It's been a combination of things, mainly deciding to raise two children who are two years and four months apart, as well as giving birth to a giant career all at the same time. They say that entrepreneurs can only choose three of these things: family, career, fitness, sleep, or friends. And that list doesn't even include things like personal expression (through creative outlets) or service to others or emotional growth. Oh my!

But I am slowly reclaiming a more well-rounded version of myself, mainly by making myself stop work by 8pm every night and by radically prioritizing what our organization commits to taking on.

It's a process that started this year, and I'm beginning to feel the effects.

So, back to the birthday story.

On the 20-hour road trip back to Austin, I started brainstorming birthday ideas. My ideas mainly involved my going somewhere along, like to Camp Good Life Project or to a crafting camp.

Then Matt had the idea that we rent inexpensive cabins in a forest and invite our friends with families to get together for a weekend. Yes! That's exactly right. It's like recreating my 30th birthday but with all of our children in tow. I'm calling it Family Fun Fest (to Celebrate my Fortieth). Can you tell that I love alliteration?

It's going to have things like campfires and sing-a-longs (did I tell you I'm going to start learning the ukulele?), board games, a movie night, communal meals, hiking, kitchy camp crafts, outdoor games like flag football and frisbee, creek exploration, and a Family Field Day (I love some cheesy competition). Yes! It sounds so fun (to me). I'm going to put together the invitation and see if I can get some friends to commit to coming!

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'Tis the Season: Our Holiday Traditions as a Family

The holiday season seriously seems to fly by. Halloween, Matt's Birthday, Thanksgiving, Christmas--BAM!

I'm trying to slow down and savor it as much as possible. I've worked to reduce the stress by staying ahead of everything I want to do: we start Halloween costumes in August or September, then we move on to getting our Christmas shopping started and holiday cards done. 

Now that Thanksgiving has come and gone (we had a fantastic week at the beach visiting my family in Florida), we are rolling out the Christmas traditions. Here's what we do as a family:

1. We travel out to Elgin Christmas Tree Farm (with our dog) to take a hay ride out to the fields. We jump off, grab a saw, and run around (not the person holding the saw) until we can reach consensus about which tree we want to cut down and bring home. 
2. Next we decorate the tree with ornaments that we've collected over the years, including from every vacation. We label them with the year, so we can keep everything straight in our memories. 
3. Then we hang up our version of an advent calendar and use it all month, which includes different ways to celebrate the season together as a family, with things like going ice-skating, writing notes of gratitude, making gingerbread houses, baking treats for the neighbors, making and delivering meals for homeless people, dancing to Christmas music, spray painting branches for decoration, etc. I simple order all the supplies we need at one time and then we are good to go all month! 
4. We also break out our Christmas books to read each evening. 

These experiences are getting more and more fun as our children get older! I'm imagining there's a sweet spot from about 6-10 years-old where our children will optimally enjoy these things before they turn into angsty adolescents. I'm trying to enjoy it while we have it! 

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Family Goals: Update

Yikes! 

The new year is almost upon us. It has caused me to go back to our Family Goals to see if we are on track. We have volunteered more than twice, read more than three chapter books, gone on more than three vacations, saved money for new deck railings (but not a hot tub), hosted 10 events at our home, and hung out at a creek in the summer. 

I realized we only went to one instead of two performances, so I quickly found a random aerial performance in East Austin. It looks quirky and has definitely piqued my interest! 

We also never went camping. So camping it is! We are so unprepared for camping. We don't even have a cooler. But we are going camping! 

I've started a project plan because that always helps to calm me down. 

It's weird. I have camped a lot in my life, but there's something about family camping that gives me pause. I think it's the fact that my degree of responsibility has gone up so much. I used to just have to worry about myself.

For updates in between blog posts, check out Instagram! 

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JOIN US!: Registration is currently open for the next Purposeful Conception Course: Preparing Your Mind, Body, and Life for Pregnancy, which starts on January 8! Register now! We'd love to have you join us!

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Print Your Own Holiday Cards

Close your eyes if you are expecting a holiday card from me; I don't mean to ruin the surprise! (As a side note, you should e-mail me if you think we are kindred spirits and we should start exchanging holiday cards. Anna and I started doing that and became friends in real life after we took a road trip to Oklahoma to meet her family!). 

I wanted to share a breakdown of how we did our cards this year and how much it cost:

• $20 design fee from this awesome Etsy artist
• $81.08 for printing 200 cards from gotprint.com (full Color front and back; SIZE: 5" x 7"; 16 pt. Dull Cover with Matte Finish)
• Envelopes = $39.80

Total cost per card = $0.70

I did a quick search on Minted.com and it looks like something comparable would have cost about $1.67 per card. Phew! I'm glad our cost ended up cheaper (since I didn't do the calculations in advance...)

Let me know if you have any questions! 

For updates in between blog posts, check out Instagram! 

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JOIN US!: Registration is currently open for the next Purposeful Conception Course: Preparing Your Mind, Body, and Life for Pregnancy, which starts on January 8! Register now! We'd love to have you join us!

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Traveling with Kids: San Francisco

One of the things that makes me anxious (there are many!) is thinking about how quickly my children are going to grow up. I'm friends with many of my former students and/or their families on Facebook, so I have watched children go from 3rd grade to high school in the blink of an eye. 

When Matt and I are falling asleep together and trying to talk about things that don't induce anxiety (no Trump talk!), I'll ask him questions like, "What can we do to make sure we truly savor this time with our children?" 

One of our answers is family vacations. During our most recent Fall Break, I had to participate on an education panel in San Francisco, so we turned it into a family trip. 

Oh, how we love California! 

Here's how we spent our days:

Day One (Sunday): 

We always try to give ourselves at least one normal weekend day before going on a trip so we can get everything done without feeling stressed. On Sunday we woke up at our normal time and headed to the airport. (As I've mentioned before, we are now traveling with these booster seats, which makes traveling a lot easier.)

One we arrived, we headed straight to Oakland to reconnect with friends. Our first stop was to visit some friends (who also happen to be awesome musical artists). We walked from their apartment to an Ethiopian restaurant. So fun to be in such a walkable city! (When my memory wants to cling to all the positive parts, I will start to forget that Tate was totally stressful in the restaurant. Gotta love 4 year-olds!)

Then we headed to Berkeley to reconnect with another set of friends at Adventure Playground. So much fun! 

Then it was on to Stinson Beach where we stayed in a small cottage near the beach through AirBnB. 

That was the night the wildfires started. There was such intense wind, and we would smell the burning of trees. We didn't learn what was happening until the morning. 

Day Two (Monday): 

We drove down the hill into town for breakfast and to hang out at the beach. The boys are such beach creatures, even when the water is downright frigid. 

We then drove into Mill Valley (which I think is one of the most beautiful towns in America--except that it isn't very diverse) for lunch and a quick stop at one of the most beautiful playgrounds in America (which is nestled in some redwoods). Henry was thinking about the song "This Land is Your Land" and kept asking, "Is this the Redwood Forest?")

Then it was back to Stinson Beach to meet up with some friends from the city. We hung out on the beach and then headed to an amazing little restaurant right on the beach.

Day Three (Tuesday): 

Matt went for a long run, so I took the boys down to breakfast alone. Even though we sat at a large booth, they both cozied right up next to me. It's an adorable memory I'm going to hold close to me (and let it overshadow those other memories of my children being pull-your-hair-out frustrating!).

We then headed to the beach again. The boys managed to find disregarded beach toys to play with and they occupied themselves for a long time while I read and talked on the phone with my mom. 

That afternoon we headed back into Mill Valley to grab a picnic lunch from Whole Foods, and we ate beneath the redwoods back at our favorite park. 

We then made our way to Palo Alto for my education conference, and we ate at Stanford University in the dining hall. 

Day Four (Wednesday): 

On this day the boys went out for an adventure on their own (visiting a friend who works at the Opera House and connecting with friends at an amazing park in the Bay Area!).

Day Five (Thursday):

Matt went for another long run while the boys and I went back to Stanford University for breakfast in the dining hall. Then we drove back to the city for a touristy trip to Alcatraz (luckily my tendency to plan things in advance was more helpful than annoying and I purchased tickets for us in advance since they sell out so quickly). 

After lunch, we grabbed arepas at Pica Pica and ate them at the Mission Dolores Park. When we travel, I always bring a sheet to use as a picnic blanket and a deck of cards so Matt and I can play gin rummy while the boys play. 

That evening we reconnected with old friends for some Indian food. 

Day Six (Friday): 

We walked with our friends to breakfast and then headed to Pacifica to see their new office/house. We played at the beach again (the boys cannot get enough!), ate at a tiny taqueria, and then Henry requested to see a tide pool. Luckily, we were literally in the middle of low tide according to the internet, so we headed to the Fitzgerald Marine Reserve where we were able to see sea anemones and hermit crabs. 

After that, we headed back to the airport for a 5 o'clock flight. 

This was the first trip where Matt and I made a concerted effort to ask ourselves, "Who do we know in the city that we should try to spend time with?" It was so fun to see the city through our friends' eyes, and it was so fun to spend time with good people. With good friends, you can skip right over all the small talk and get straight to the meat of life. My conversations went from talking about how to dismantle white supremacy to how to start your own life coaching business. 

And as our children get older, these trips get more and more fun. We get to spend such concentrated amounts of time together. I love just soaking those boys in (and letting my mind erase all the hard parts)!

For updates in between blog posts, check out Instagram! 

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JOIN US!: Registration is currently open for the next Purposeful Conception Course: Preparing Your Mind, Body, and Life for Pregnancy, which starts on January 8! Register now! We'd love to have you join us!

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The Park Project

The boys and I are on a quest to visit every park in Austin. We purchased a real map, and we circle every park we visit. Sometimes we'll be out and about and we'll have some extra time, so I'll google the nearest park. Other times, we will intentionally bring out the map, look at it, and decide where to go. One day the boys decided they wanted to visit the "biggest park in Austin," so they selected Emma Long Metropolitan Park. It even has a beach! (The picture I have doesn't show the beach part.) It's such a sweet little ritual/tradition in our family. Living with children is so fun! 

For updates in between blog posts, check out Instagram! 

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Halloween: 2017

Those of you who have been following Feeding the Soil for a while know that Halloween planning starts early around here. I let my boys keep a running list of what they might like to dress up as this year. They know they can add whatever they want to the list all the way up until the cut-off date. After that date, they have to stick with the costume they chose! 

Since we don't buy Henry and Tate a lot of weapons for toys, Henry has gotten the idea to pick a costume that comes with a weapon (smart guy). This year he decided to be a devil so that he could get a pitchfork. I tried to talk him into being a farmer with a pitchfork, but I wasn't persuasive (I didn't try too hard; I really do want to honor who my children are and what they want in their lives). 

So two devils it is! 

We are going to move forward with our annual Halloween party (it's our 5th one!). We post a general invitation on our neighborhood list-serv. We start at 5pm with pizza in the driveway. We set up sidewalk chalk, train tracks, etc. and just hang out for a little while. Then we go trick-or-treating as a group through the neighborhood. It's fun to have these kinds of rituals in our lives. The boys are looking forward to it. 

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How to Teach a Child to Swim Properly

Henry and Tate are such little water babies. We swim in our backyard nearly every single day after school and definitely every weekend (basically from March through October). I want to continue to support Henry's growth as a swimmer (as long as he wants to; there's no reason to push him during his free time). 

I did a little research to figure out how to best teach young children the freestyle stroke. I wasn't able to find one amazing, comprehensive resource, but was able to piece together a few things, and this will be my approach:

1. Use a child-size kick board to teach him how to properly kick: long, extended legs and loose with fast kicks (being carefully not to bend his legs too much). Chin should be kept in the water. Here's a more thorough description. I can say things like "fast kicks" and "small and fast" to cue him about proper form. 
2. Then I'll teach him the "arrow" pose for swimming across the width of the pool without taking a breath: hands extended above the head with arms over the ears.
3. Then I'll teach "catch-up" arms. 
4. Then add in the breathing! 

During my research, I came across the most amazing website that has free step-by-step lessons with videos and lesson plans. I highly recommend it! http://uswim.com

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Summer Is Around the Corner

Have you all watched Capitan Fantastic? It's my new favorite movie and my parenting inspiration. Unfortunately, Matt thought the dad was too strict (I thought he was awesome). Not sure what to make of that.

Anyway, I'm preparing to have a lot more time with my boys this summer, and I want to make sure I'm intentional with it. I'm self-conscious when I talk about being an "intentional" parent because I see that our generation of mothers is driving ourselves crazy with unrealistic and unhealthy expectations about how to "do mothering," and the worst part is that things like scheduled activities, doting, formulaic crafts from Pinterest, constant supervision, and anxiety over inane details related to clothes or party planning actual undermine the things I want to develop in my children: resilience, self-direction, independence, creativity, joy, a growth mindset, self-confidence, and contentment.

But because of the pressures we face culturally around doing motherhood right, it does seem like we have to be even more intentional about where we put our energy and how we spend our time (even if it means we end up deciding to put less energy and less time into it).

The ironic part is that I have to make a plan for open, unstructured time or else I feel unsettled. I'll have to write another post detailing what I'll do with my open, unstructured time while the boys are playing. 

In terms of what the boys and I are going to do, I took this list and calendared it out. I'm feeling ready and excited! 

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Setting and Tracking Family Goals

I am enjoying my family so much right now. I know that sounds weird to say. I have always loved my family, but we are getting into the stage of life when I really enjoy our time together. We are out of the breast feeding stage and the napping stage and the diaper-changing phase. We are in a phase when the tantrums are decreasing and the conversations are increasing. We generate ideas together and make plans. We play games and read and ride bikes and hike and do art. And swim. How could I forget that one?  Tate is now swimming completely independently so being around the pool is more fun and relaxing. 

Our Family Goals are taking on more meaning as Henry moves into what Maria Montessori calls the "second plane of development." He is building a reasoning mind. And he loves making plans and going on adventures! 

He's excited about and invested in our goals for this year:

1. Host 10 Saturday Suppers to build community.
2. Save up enough money for a hot tub and new deck railings to replace our temporary ones.
3. Volunteer at least twice.
4. Become a gluten-free, soy-free, dairy-free family.
5. Read three chapter books.
6. Take three awesome vacations. 
7. Hang out at the creek.
8. Attend two theatrical productions. 
9. Go camping. 

It's fun working toward these things! Last weekend we went to the theater. We also hosted our third Saturday Supper. Good times! 

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A New Hobby

Book stores hold a special place in my heart. I have fond memories of walking into a book store feeling lonely, a little at odds with the world, a little out of place--and walking out with a deep contentment and a renewed sense of excitement. 

Lately I've been craving a trip to the book store. I'm feeling like I need a new hobby. I want to pore over a non-fiction book, take notes, make plans, and make something happen. But I have trouble fitting trips to the book store into my life as a mother. In the evenings, after the boys have gone to bed, I don't have the energy to get in my car and drive across town. On Saturday mornings when Matt takes the boys for a few hours, I want to run around the lake and write. 

So I've been holding this craving in my heart but haven't acted on it yet. Luckily, a book found its way to me: Cut Flower Garden: Grow, Harvest & Arrange Stunning Seasonal Blooms.

Thanks, creepy Amazon targeted marketing! This popped up while I was buying a new mattress topper, a chalk pen, and omega fish pills for the kids. 

This book looks like exactly what I need: a new project. I can't wait to plan how to bring flower gardens into our life and fill our house with blooms all year long. And gift bouquets to others! 

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Weekend Adventures

Spring is in full effect around here, and we are trying to live outside as much as possible. Last weekend, I took the boys on an adventure to find "Secret Beach." We strapped our bikes to the car, brought a picnic lunch, and set out. We even had to follow a map and try to identify off-the-beaten-path trails. 

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Summer Vacation Planning

Summer vacation is upon us! I have three weeks off every summer. (I technically get two weeks off, but I always save almost all my sick days for an extra week). 

I feel like my boys' interests are changing as they grow. We can't just repeat all the things we did last summer. Additionally, I'm rethinking how we use our time together. Last year, I worked from 7am-10am while Matt watched them, we went on an adventure from 10am-12pm, then we cooked lunch at home and cleaned up, then we had an hour of quiet time in separate rooms, and then we either went to someone's house or had people come over. 

Although that schedule was a lot of fun and helped the days go by quickly, it didn't have the kind of open-ended play I want for my boys. I want them to build forts and look for bugs and invent things. So this year I think we will only do one big thing a day: either an adventure or a playdate, not both. 

I'm also trying to think about what kind of family we are. What do I do when I have free time in front of my boys? I want to cross-stitch germs, work on LSAT logic problems for fun, read real books, and do some pottery.

We'll be going on a road trip from Austin to Dallas to Hot Spring, AK, to Memphis to Marion to Terre Haute to Indianapolis. If you live in any of those places and want to get together, let me know! 

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