Let the Vacation Begin

Last week marked the end of school and the beginning of summer vacation.  The last few weeks of school are always filled with too many activities, parties and responsibilities.  By the time we got to Friday we were all exhausted.  I haven't felt much like cooking lately and have been attempting to nourish my kids with chicken nuggets or hot dogs and fruit.  I dare say they are surviving, but it's definately time to return to a more varied and healthful diet.  It was my intent to take the weekend off and start fresh on Monday, but we woke up Saturday morning refreshed and fully energized.  Besides that, Eric started his vacation on Saturday as well, so a good family breakfast seemed to be in order. 

It was just a simple breakfast of scrambled eggs, toast and strawberries, but we all came together to make it happen.  Jonah helped me crack the eggs.  He is still a little heavy handed with them, but he got five chances to get it right.  He'll have to practice a lot more in the future.  One of his biggest obstacles is that he squeezes the egg just as it makes contact with the counter.  In the interest of saving a little money and making a little less mess, I may try to have him practice with hard boiled eggs in the future.  I knew way back when I said that little kids are surprisingly good at cracking eggs that there was a good chance I jinxed myself.  I am now paying the price for that statement.  Thankfully eggs are relatively cheap.

Elijah helped me season and mix the eggs, but quickly became bored and moved on to help his sister with the strawberries.  Before the egg cracking I had set Abby up with preparing the strawberries.  She enjoyed every step from removing the stem to washing the dirt off to cutting out the core.  Lately she has developed a love for science.  I think the methodical step by step processes and discovery through problem solving speak to the gentle and thoughtful side of her.  I knew that her little kiddie knife would destroy a strawberry if we tried to just cut a small hole in the top to remove the core, so I just instructed her to slice off the top.  This was not good enough for her.  All on her own she devised a way to remove the core with her own knife that didn't turn the strawberry into mush.  Instead of slicing all the way through the top, she only cut through a little bit,  and then cut around the top at the same depth in order to cut off the top and remove the core all at the same time.  What's more is she taught her 4 year old brother to do the same thing!  I don't know if her love of science will continue throughout her life, but she definately has the brain and the demeanor for it!

Jonah helped me finish with the eggs and put the toast in the toaster.  Suddenly, breakfast was ready and it was time to eat.  For the first time in a long time, all five of us sat down at the table and shared a meal.  We talked and we laughed, we relaxed and we enjoyed each others company.  What a great way to start off our vacation; all together, in the kitchen, around the table.  Sometimes it's the simplest things that can bring a family together and erase the stresses of life.  For us it was breakfast.

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It is Memorial Day weekend - a time that has been set aside for our country and all the citizens that belong to it to honor and remember the men and women who serve or have served in the armed forces.  There are so many fathers, mothers, sisters, brothers, sons and daughters who are not with their families right now because of their service to this country.  Some will never be with their families again.  My post is a little shorter this week, and maybe a little rough around the edges, because spending time with my family is more important than writing about it.  Not taking them for granted is my way of honoring all those amazing people who have given up so much.  I hope you do the same.