Our 5 Week Family Retreat

This is a common conversation we had with people before we embarked on our trip:

Wait, you're going to Puerto Rico for how long?
Five weeks.

Wow, that is crazy! 
Yep, I know. I am ready to do something bold and crazy with my kids.

So like, what about work for you and Jeremy?

I'm teaching as a substitute this year, so I can take off as much time as I want. For my piano studio and family music classes, I only scheduled fall and spring lessons to give time off for the trip. Jeremy will take vacation days to come down with us the first week and then come back to get us the last week. Our earnings this year from AirBnB are paying for everything.

The boys will miss a lot of school, won't they? Is that allowed? Won't the district/state fine you or something? 

The boys will miss about 4 or 5 weeks of school. Between sickness and snow days last year, they each missed about 2 weeks of school anyway. It's obviously not advised to be gone that long, but that isn't going to stop me from doing what I feel is right for my family. I have a doctor's note to excuse my children since we are leaving for medical reasons, and I have put in a request to have my boys return to their same teachers when we get back. The teachers and principals have actually been very suppportive of us doing this.

So then, are you going to homeschool your kids while you're there?
Well, they are only in kindergarten and first grade, so I'm not very concerned for their academics. But yes, I have materials for reading, writing, and math to do with them on a daily basis. Remember, I'm an elementary school teacher, so I've got lots of learning activities planned for us.

Where are you staying?
In an AirBnB apartment on a beach! It's an adorable one-bedroom apartment with a full kitchen and 1.5 baths. It also has neat things like a pool, basketball and tennis courts and a playground. It's in a town called Rio Grande, on the north shore of the island, known as the town of El Yunque Rainforest. San Juan, the capital, is about 45 minutes west of us. And as a Christmas present, our parents booked us a rental car for the trip, so we have secure transportation, too.

But isn't the country still in disarray from Hurricane Maria?
There are areas still recovering from the hurricane, but most of the north shore and rest of the island is back on its feet. There is electricity, internet, and clean running water. So we are confident it will be okay! We're told that being a tourist there is one of the best ways to help Puerto Rico's recovery. Also, fun fact, Puerto Rico is actually not its own country, it's an American territory. Everyone born in Puerto Rico is an American citizen.

What about the crime? Aren't you worried for your safety?
Well, we aren't dumb! We looked into the safety of the area before booking flights. And we've both been there a few times, so we have a decent idea of what to expect. Also, our apartment is in a gated complex with security gaurds on duty 24/7.

Wow, I am so happy for you, but I'm also super jealous!
Well, you are welcome to come visit us! Flights right now are decent, and we have 4 beds in the apartment, so once you get there, you'll have free lodging. Actually, our parents are coming to visit us, so we aren't joking when we say you can visit.

(can you see our family's shadow?)

I just can't even imagine doing that. How did you come to this whole idea, anyway?
Well, last winter was rougher than normal for our family. Tanner seems to get seasonal depression every winter, and it definitely hit me last year. Which is weird because we were blessed to go to Costa Rica after new years and then Hawaii/Texas after Valentines day. But coming back from those trips was not easy. I felt like it took a ton of energy to pack up and get there, and before we could really soak in the warmth, it was already time to pack up and return home.
I started thinking, if we are going to bother traveling somewhere warm in the winter, we should stop kidding ourselves that being gone for one week is helping us. I had been fasting and praying for several months about other problems we were facing, and one day after praying, I got the idea that several of our problems could be addressed by going on a trip in the winter for 5 or 6 weeks.
I began imagining all the ways we could actually relax if we did something like this. Images of taking life at a slower pace, thoughts of learning skills with my kids to battle anxiety, and thinking of how I could enjoy my children without all the stress of school and work all motivated me to make this dream a reality. Jeremy didn't like the idea when I first mentioned it to him last May, but he quickly warmed up to it. We both felt like God would support us in this endeavor. When we looked for flights somewhere warm, Puerto Rico checked all the boxes for what we were looking for and we felt really good about being there.
So, this is our effort to take a much needed family retreat. It will be fun, of course, but it will also be a lot of emotional hard work. We're hoping to focus much of our time on developing tools and skills to gain better health for our bodies and minds. So please wish us luck!

Yes, of course, good luck! I can't wait to hear all about it!
Don't worry, I will make posts all about it on our family blog. ;-)

Christmas and Beyond

We had a very calm and peaceful Christmas eve, Christmas day, and the entire week following.

Our Chirstmas Eve dinner was just the four of us and we were able to carry out pretty much every tradition we have established over the years living here in Minnesota. We did our traditional stake dinner, and this time we had sweet potatoes with brocolli. I loved our cranberry wassail from our wassail party so much that I made another batch special for this dinner. 

Then we acted out the nativity. Dallin was a wise man, I was Mary, Tanner was a shepherd boy and Jeremy was Joseph. Can you see the angel off to the side? That's what we used for all the angels.

We had so much fun dressing up and reading from the scriptures to bring Christ's birth to life in our home. It was fun to see that the boys know details about the story that I didn't learn until I was a teenager and in college. They are remembering what we teach them each year and becoming quite the scriptorians!
Before bed, the boys filled each other's stockings with special notes that they wrote, and then they did their normal bedtime routine. They did not ask to put anything out for Santa to eat this year, which was the first year we didn't do it. As many of you know, I have told my kids since they were babies that there isn't actually a person that flies around with reindeer and comes down our chimneys on Christmas Eve. Instead, they know about a saint named Nicholas that left a legacy of gift giving, inspiring people to pretend there is a Santa. (Notice I don't use the word fake, out of respect for the actual St Nick).
This year, The boys played pretend with Santa really well at the HHH during Soup and Santa. As the season progressed, they talked a lot about Jesus, and wanted to tell their friends about Santa being pretend. Dallin especially needed a few reminders that many families like to wait until their kids are older to tell them that Santa is pretend. It's a tough conversation for me to have because my kids always ask: "Why can't those parents just tell their kids the truth?" Yep, son. I have spent many years pondering the same question. This year, I think I found a real answer to it. I told them, "Maybe some parents are afraid that the magic of Christmas is lost if they tell children that Santa is pretend. Maybe they are afraid Christmas won't be fun anymore." Tanner wisely answered, "Christmas is fun and special without Santa being real! Because it's about Jesus. It's His birthday!" From the mouths of babes.

They were very excited to wake up to see what surprises we had put out for them. We kept things very simple this year because we are trying to minimize the belongings and junk that accumulates in our lives.

Both of them got these to share.

This is what I do at night to keep warm. I sleep so well like this, and Christmas Eve was no exception.

Christmas morning, the boys woke up at a normal hour and waited patiently for us to let them see their surprises!

They loved them!

Among his gifts, Tanner found his first clue to a scavenger hunt. He loved going around the house looking for the surprise. It was a very special set of scriptures!  

We looked into getting him a brand new set, but the price was steeper than we wanted to pay. We had several sets laying around the home, so we chose a set that Jeremy was given before his mission that is in pristine condition and has it's own case. This made the gift even more special, and Tanner was immediately in love with it. He is excited to read the scriptures more often so that he can learn and prepare for his baptism. 

The boys loved reading the notes they made for each other that they put in their stockings.

Jeremy surprised me with a dance floor that I can use for tap dancing!! He bought the supplies in Rochester when I was at the Nutcracker with the boys, and he got the boys to help build it, almost without me knowing.

It was a colorful morning with all the wrappings and openings! The boys were spoiled by all their grandparents.

We took our time opening gifts, playing and enjoying each thing at a time before opening the next thing. I think we were finally done around 3 or 4 pm. We took breaks to eat our delicious eggs benedict and crepes for breakfast and lunch. And then of course kept busy trying out all the new funness into the evening!

On Christmas day, we also made a birthday cake for Jesus. This year we managed to make a stable out of chocolate and got a candle right above the stable so it looked like the star!

The days after Christmas were well spent. Tanner tried out his drone.

Dallin requested piano lessons. He is really liking piano time me lately now!

Jeremy took the boys bowling.

On Saturday after Christmas, we decided to have a pizza day. We ate homemade breakfast pizza, homemade lunch pizza, frozen store bought dinner pizza and homemade dessert pizza. 

Guess what kind of pizza the boys liked best... the store bought frozen pizza. So we told them we are never doing pizza day again.

Jeremy and I went on a fun date with Riley and Kristin, but I didn't get a picture of it.

The boys enjoyed organizing baseball cards that they got for Christmas.

For New Years Eve, Lacey Gabrielson and I hosted a party at our home. For dinner we did a simple chili bar with veggies and munchies.

Everyone wore pajamas to the party. We did board games together for about 1.5 hours. The whole group of adults and kids played Gas Out for one round, then the kids kept playing the game together. All the kiddos did a great job playing games.

Right before 7:30, we did our midnight countdown by watching the Dubai fireworks. We gave all the kids noisy instruments and kazoos. It was way to cold and windy to run outside and make noise, but Jeremy did get a firework to finally go off outside. We passed out sparkling cider and I made a simple toast. I then invited anyone else to make a toast. This sparked an ordable toasting session by the kids. They each took turns hollering something great to toast about and then we all repeated them with big cheers! We toasted to friends, animals, fireworks, elephants, babies, Santa tractors, moms, dads, and ice cream! It was such a cute thing, definitely a great way to ring in the New Year. For dessert we had the Zavoral traditional banana splits.

The next day, we did a special Art Day up in the cities. First, we went to the free Museum of Modern Art in Minneapolis. We prepped the boys just like we did with our Chicago art museum experience by showing them art that we would find in the museum and specifically learning about Henry Mattise with a book they got from us for Christmas.

The boys brought their brand new drawing kits that they got for Christmas and we let them choose paintings that they wanted to sketch and immitate. Dallin chose one by Henri Matisse. It was so cute watching him try to make lines he saw in the painting.

Tanner chose a more simplicistic piece to sketch with Jeremy.

We found this beautiful piece by Van Gough. Dallin sketched it, and Tanner was really inspired by a painting a few spots away. Absolutely warmed my heart to see these boys sketching and genuinely appreciating art together.

Tanner was SO proud of his work.

I enjoyed making a sketch, too!

Then we took the kids to the Mall of America to try out the Crayola Experience, which is like a mini amusement park of art projects. We got to watch a live show about how them make crayons, and we got to try out all kinds of crafts with crayons, paper, clay, digital art, and more. There was even a fun play place!

Check out all the fun art we made. Thank you, Aunt Melissa and Uncle John for the tickets to go here!

School was back in session the next day, which gave me a chance to get geared up for our big trip to Puerto Rico. I made sure to get a playdate scheduled for Dallin with his friend that he had been begging to play with for months. They had such a great time together.

Since our trip was 5 weeks long, I had to get some things in order at church before leaving. Dallin was a good sport waiting for me to do my work. He passed the time by having Freddy the Teddy give spiritual thoughts into the microphone and listening to a lesson in the primary room.

 Then it was time to go!! The next several posts will be all about our adventures away from the cold!