therapeutic holiday

I was so grateful when President's Day came this year. I needed a break so badly from school and stress and schedules. Because we are on a 4-day school week, and since President's Day is on a Monday, that meant we got a 4-day weekend, and it felt like heaven to me. These were my moments of bliss during that weekend that helped me survive the rest of February without having a mental breakdown:

SLEEP
I went to bed early every night and two of the mornings I got to sleep in. Because I have raised my sons to be independent, they get themselves up and dressed and eat breakfast all on their own in the mornings. So on weekends, when they all insist on waking up early, I can just lay in my bed for a few extra hours without feeling guilty. My bed feels so good to me in the morning, and I like to stay in it as long as possible! I was so glad I got to sleep in for two days that weekend!

SOAK
Josh took me and the twins on Saturday night to Sharkey Hot Springs. There was only one other family there, and they were preparing to leave when we arrived. It was nice to have a peaceful soak in the pools, and be the only people there. It was very calming and my body always feels so soothed after soaking in hot springs.

 

EAT
Our cousin Janoa invited us over to Sunday dinner at her house. Her dad Uncle Ed was up visiting, and it was the first time I'd seen him since the death of his wife Aunt Joy.

(Uncle Ed & Aunt Joy are in the middle of this photo & Uncle Joe & Aunt Louise are on the outsides. July 2011)

It was a full house for dinner: Uncle Ed, Janoa & Dennis, Trisa & Greg, Ed & Kathy, Tim & Barb, and Josh & I with our twins (Ammon & Kanyon were home sick). Dinner was absolutely delicious, and there was so much good food. Eating comfort food always feeds my soul. Janoa asked us to bring our ice cream machine & make some homemade ice cream for dessert. I was in the mood for oreo ice cream, so I experimented with making that flavor myself. We made the vanilla ice cream and put it in the machine, and let it set up for a bit while I crushed some oreos, and then we added that to the mix. It turned out super yummy! I'm definitely going to try that again sometime!

RELAX
Other than church and dinner at Janoa's house, there was no other place I had to be at any specific time for the whole weekend. Since Kanyon & Ammon were sick over that weekend, I stayed home more, and whenever I went out, I only took the twins with me. It felt so good to just let the days turn out however I wanted them to, instead of having the days' schedule be the boss of me!