Our slice of heaven

We packed up our bags, bid farewell to the gorgeous lake and the wretched sandflies and drove through the beautiful foggy mountains to our favorite spot in all of the South Island..

After we stayed at this beach house last summer we went home and immediately booked it again. I can't even describe how relaxing and picture perfect it is to stay here. It is so remote, we have the entire beach virtually to ourselves, rain water is the only source of water and I can only get cell reception if I crouch on the second chair to the left in the sun room and hold one hand in the air. But who needs cell service when this is your back yard.

This place is filled with some of my most loved memories with my most loved people. Swinging in the hammock with Ryder nestled perfectly in the crook of my arm. Early morning sand castle building with Ryder teaching me the fine art of wall building. Lazy afternoons spent napping and reading in the sun with the distant sound of the kids playing in the waves. Meals together in the sunroom over looking the ocean. Climbing into bed with Maddox and having whispered conversations about life and how he wants to come back here with his kids someday and show them the best place to find crabs. Watching Jayden patiently teach Kylie how to skim board. Kylie leaving Ryder in awe as she performs magic tricks with shells. Rescuing jelly fish and collecting crabs, all day errryday. The exercise classes the kids held on the beach, Maddox was quite an impressive yoga instructor. Namaste. Campfires and s'mores under stars and a full moon, cuddling little boys on my lap while listening to the fire crackling. Having Spiderman marathons in pajamas on rainy days. Our New Years eve party, one of my favorites yet. The kids dressing up and making music videos to Thrift Shop. Jayden always winning at monopoly. Falling asleep with Jason to the sound of waves. Late night movies, no bedtime, no dresscode, no agenda and not a single worry in the world. It really is heaven on earth.

For New Year's eve we had a fancy dinner. Loved the sparkling grape juice, regretted the noise makers the minute I passed them out

We recorded interviews of the kids talking about highlights from the past year and goals and things they're looking forward to in the new year. And then we played "dare Jenga". It was going to be truth or dare Jenga, but we figured dares were way more fun than learning the truth about what your favorite color is. So we all wrote down a bunch of dares on strips of paper then taped them to the Jenga blocks. Which ever one you pulled out, you had to do. We had some pretty good ones, like Kylie going in the ocean in her pajamas, which wouldn't have been too bad except that this was the one day that it had rained the entire day and it was pretty cold.

Or when Kylie had 30 seconds to make any creation in the kitchen and Jayden had to eat it. Cheerios swimming in BBQ sauce and soy sauce anyone? Who knows what else she put in there. (Side note: I always wonder if "Uncle Toby's" is like a sister company to General Mills, or if they blatantly copied the Cheerios name)

Jason got a makeover

And had to run around outside in my bra. We laughed so hard that night, even Ryder was totally into it, volunteering to run around naked in the spirit of the game. And then decided to just run around in his undies. Then finally settled on running around with just his shirt off. Modesty first.

More lazy days on the beach. A recurring theme.

And while everyone else is building snowmen, we're building sandmen. And because I've had this idea pinned to my board forever and I couldn't delete it until we did it. I have a weird thing about keeping my pinterest boards clutter free. I spent so much time beforehand pinning ideas for games and activities to do on the beach, but sometimes I forget that it's not always my job to create childhood memories for them, they do a pretty good job of it all on their own. Sometimes I feel guilty if I'm not front and center in their lives, but I need to remember that it's okay for me to slip behind the curtain sometimes. It's okay if I sit back and read a magazine while they use their imaginations to come up with games to play or contests to compete in or creations to build, those are the childhood memories they'll remember. More so than that organized game of shell tic-tac-toe mom had on her checklist. Or maybe that's what my subconscious came up with so that I wouldn't feel guilty about ignoring my kids while catching up with the Kardashians.

It's like we have our own soundtrack at the beach house. Itunes is constantly streaming in the background and the oversized picture window is just begging to be slow danced in front of as Ed Sheeran pours out his soul. Hearing certain songs just brings me back to these moments both this year and the last.

We love when the tide goes out because not only is it the best time to go skim boarding, but we are left with so much undiscovered terrain just begging to be explored. Last year was the year of the starfish. There were so many starfish constantly washed up and left behind that the kids would rescue. This year was the year of the jelly fish, they were every where! Once again their animal rescue unit was called into action. Crab collecting and sand fish catching was another favorite past time.

We did find a few starfish. I think they were secretly thrilled when Ryder would take them for walks.

Bonfire nights are always my favorite kind of nights. It was the perfect way to spend our last night there.

We were so sad to leave, knowing we might not ever come back. I really do hope that the kids come back at some point with families of their own and stumble across ghosts of their younger selves playing on that beach. But so grateful for these memories that we have to take with us and cherish for years to come. A pit stop at our favorite real fruit ice cream shop on the way home helped soften the blow of leaving.

And then a picnic on the side of the road next to this waterfall wasn't too bad either

And finally a stop at our favorite swimming hole. The water level was low so their wasn't enough water for the water slide, and the rope swings were taken over by the teen crowd, so we didn't stay as long, but long enough to stretch their legs and cool off after driving for seven hours. We came home to a warm dinner Judy had cooked for us, then had just enough time to do a few loads of laundry before packing up again for another adventure. So grateful this is the life I get to live and the people I get to share it with. Hashtag feeling blessed.

Summer Vacation Kick-Off

One of these days we're going to look back and this is going to all feel like a dream. Just looking at these pictures it's hard to believe that this is our life. Okay, but I have to admit that looking at the pictures is a little more enjoyable than being there because what you don't see are the five million and twenty two sandflies eating us alive. On our way to the beach house we decided to take a detour at Nelson Lakes for a few nights. The property manager suggested that we bring bug spray on our stay, but she should have told us to bring full body armor to protect us from the infestation. We stepped out of the car and it was like moths to a flame, or more like hungry sandflies to our creamy white flesh. We were darting back and forth bringing in the luggage and slamming doors trying to keep them out of the house and car. It was nuts. We were tempted to stay inside, but we would have been left to the mercy of a stack of National Geographic magazines and basic cable with really bad screen color. We decided to bundle up and brave it. I know it looks like we're freezing with our jackets and hoodies on, but it was strictly a preventative measure. It was so hot, but sweaty armpits was a small price to pay to avoid getting eaten alive. It was an adventure trying to get this canoe to the lake, Jason thought we could just pop the seats down in the back of the car and stick it in there, it was pretty comical when only the front third of the boat fit in. We found these wheels in the garage but it was still quite a struggle, that thing was heavy! But the views on that lake made all the tears, blisters and aching backs {almost} worth it.

Ryder was an early riser the next morning, and usually I just turn on Netflix and go back to bed, but this morning I was excited for an excuse to get out and explore with my little guy while the rest of the world slept. There was a quiet calm in the air, we found ourselves whispering so as not to disturb it. I loved letting him take the lead while I followed quietly behind as he turned over rocks, searched for the perfect hiking stick and dug holes wherever the ground was bare. It was special, just the two of us.

I think it's like an innate characteristic for little boys to pick flowers for their moms. Each one of mine have done that since they were little and it gets me every single time. Mama's boys for the win.

By the time the rest of the kids rolled out of bed all blurry eyed, a foggy drizzle had moved in. Which meant that we spent the morning sorting through the record collection, playing a few games, watching Robin William's face in an unnatural shade of orange and taking a crack at tackling that National Geographic magazine stack (which I actually find them fascinating, and so did Maddox. He referenced Cleopatra, the Great Barrier Reef and the volcano articles several times throughout the rest of our trip).

When we had our fill of Pictionary and scratched records we decided to bite the bullet and face the swarms. We learned that if you're moving they don't bother you as much, so much to the disappointment of the kids we announced that we were taking a walk. The kids always groan when we say that four letter word, but they always end up having a good time as they explore off the beaten path and are forced to use their imaginations to pass the time.

We ended up having this ongoing game of hide and seek where one person would run ahead up the trail and hide somewhere along the side and see if everyone could pass them without getting spotted. I usually leave these kind of games up to dad, but it was actually really fun.

Jayden wanted to jump off this bridge, but needed a little lucrative courage. I'm a little ashamed to admit that we paid him to do it, but I love seeing the kids challenge themselves and push their limits just a little farther.

The sun came out and we went back to the lake to jump off the dock. If I could capture summer in one photo, this would be it. I don't know what it is, but jumping off docks at the lake is just iconic summer to me. Memories flood back of summer girls camp. High on fun dips and delirious from lack of sleep  Cicadas buzzing in the overgrown trees while swimming in the lake was the only relief from the warm, muggy Georgia summer heat. Then sneaking back at night and daring each other to go skinny dipping, but never being brave enough to actually do it. Glad my kids get to experience this. Minus the skinny dipping. That might be a precarious situation with the sandflies.