a week away.

Matt went on a business trip last week to Washington D.C. This has sort of become an annual trip for him and one he really enjoys. As hard as it is to have him away I love supporting his passions and giving him the freedom to travel, meet new people, share his love for credit unions and its mission and see some cool stuff. One of these days we'll plan to go with him. Because how fun would it be to visit these amazing monuments?!

 While he was away I tried to keep the house in order, kids fed, meals made and activities planned so the week could go by quickly. And I must say, we had a pretty fun week! Sure, I didn't shower much or really sleep much either but kids were happy so I consider it a success.
Simon is finally starting to grasp the concept of finger foods. Lucy went straight to finger foods and never really looked back but Simon prefers purees more. After his first taste of Cheerios though, he's discovered feeding himself is pretty fun.

 Matt's first day away include me taking all 3 kids to the Children's Museum for a birthday party. Carter hung out with the older boys while Lucy, Simon and I wandered around ourselves for a bit.

 The next day we met up with some great friends for a trip to the beach. We have had the strangest winter. Lots of rain, random storms, super warm days and everything in between. This day, though, was perfect for getting outside. I just love that we have these great local beaches only 20 minutes from our house.

 Simon LOVED playing in the sand and dirt too.

 Back at home we stayed busy. I didn't realize it until now, while looking through these pictures, how much growth this little boy did in just one short week. Crawling, opening drawers, pulling himself up, discovering books....no wonder I was so tired!

 We tried to send Daddy lots of pictures while he was gone. I'm also now realizing almost all of these pictures included kids in pajamas. We did get dressed, at some point in the day.

 And this little one just kept exploring. This is such a fun age!

 I think Lucy has the hardest time when Matt is gone. She just adores her Daddy and really likes family time together. While Carter was at school one day we went out shopping. She's a pretty great shopping buddy and is always ready to give her opinion on what she likes.

 Apparently all that shopping tired Simon out! We got home and he crashed on the floor. Ha!

 Another early morning. The first 3 days of the week Simon slept in and I had time to get dressed and ready for the day. Then he thought he'd switch it up and spend a little extra time with me before the sun rose. This was the morning I was pretty thankful for that extra cup of coffee!

But, seriously, as tired as I get sometimes I can't get over how ridiculously cute these kids are. I feel so lucky to be at home most days with them. Matt works so hard to provide for us and give me the chance to work less and I couldn't be more grateful. These smiles, the hugs, the simple things like coloring or reading books...it's really the best.

 So here I was thinking I'm supermom after 6 days of juggling 3 kids, activities, school, meals, laundry, work and everything other little task on my to do list. Only 24 hours left and Matt would come home to a happy little family. I was pretty darn proud of myself! Ha....then God thought he'd humble me a bit and throw a little wrench in our plans. Lucy was at preschool so I took Carter and Simon over to a park to play and then go for a run on a local trail. It was a great afternoon! Until we got back in the car to go pick up Lucy from school. Boom. Dead Battery. 5 minutes before I'm supposed to be across town. With a hungry baby and tired kindergartner. So I did the only logical thing. Call Matt. Ha....why I chose to call him really makes no sense being he was 3,000 miles away and had no way of helping. But somehow it made me feel better. Then I called my next best friend: AAA. After pleading with the woman on the phone that my sweet little 4 year old would be all alone at preschool if she didn't get someone to come out to help me RIGHT AWAY she put in an emergency request and help arrived 20 minutes later. After a quick phone call to Lucy's school, her preschool teacher graciously drove her across town to meet me so Lucy wouldn't be left waiting and wondering. Seriously, in those moments I'm just so thankful for such helpful people in our lives.
So, 30 minutes later we were back on the road....but....headed to Les Schwab. Matt was worried if I didn't get the battery checked out the same thing would happen to me the next morning so it was worth a trip to the super dirty tire store with 3 exhausted/hungry kids. Yeah, easy for him to say!
Thank the Lord for coloring books! While I fed Simon the kids happily colored away as we waited for a new battery to be installed. By the time we were done I now had super hungry kids and my lovely dinner plans of healthy, nutritious salmon and homemade sweet potato fries were thrown out the window. Local burger joint right next to the tire shop for dinner with milkshakes and chicken strips? Sure, why not. I was supermom to my kids once again and didn't have to do dishes later that night. Whew!

 We ended the week with more playing while we waited for Matt to come home.

And had some very happy kids when they saw Daddy the next morning!

As a special treat, Matt took Carter to see Marvel Live 2 days later for some quality boy time. To be honest I think Matt was almost more excited to watch his favorite superheroes in action but they both loved it. And had seats in the 5th row!

 Now that we are all back together again with no future business trips in the works we can get ready for the next holiday...Easter! Can't you tell Simon is thrilled?!?