Being off social media all summer was AMAZING. I felt so much freedom from my life. I didn't feel responsible to anyone except my family, and that my friends was glorious. In fact most of the time during the summer I couldn't even find my phone. I was constantly losing it because I wasn't on it hardly at all. No instagram posting. No twitter or facebook checking (although I don't keep those on my phone – because I would become a slave to them). Nothing except just spending time with my family. It was honestly the best summer I have ever had with my family.
Since you didn't see any pics I thought I'd share a few with you guys.
Aaron and I spent a week alone in one of our favorite little places in the world. Tulum, Mexico is absolutely one of my favorite places in the world. It's almost like another country – oh wait, it is! Seriously this little town is super quaint and the food is …. OH MY GOODNESS THE FOOD … This will sound crazy, but the best Italian food I ever had was on this beach. And it was gluten free. Seriously the best.
On a side note, if you have been watching Bachelor in Paradise (which I haven't by the way … you know I do have my limit of bachelor scandalousness) I hear they were staying in Tulum.
Next, we went on vacation with our Supper Club and I took a total of about 4 pictures and here are the best 2. I'm not sure why I didn't take more, but we did have a great time even if we have no pictures to prove it! We had 16 kids at the beach, so there's that.
Here's six of the sixteen – that means there are 10 kids missing from this picture. What the heck? That's a lot of kids and I have no idea where the others were at this time. Probably stuffing their faces with cheese balls or something.
After this we loaded up our family and drove halfway across the world to TN. I guess not really half way around the world, but with four kids it seemed that way. Aaron's entire family lives in Cleveland, TN and so we spent some time with them.
From there we drove to Lenoir City, TN and began the best week of our family's life. For this trip it was just Aaron and I and our kids. I had wondered if the kids would get tired of being together for so long, or if Aaron and I would feel as though we were stuck at a house with our kids all day and no where to go. Nope. This was the best week our family has ever had.
We stayed at some friends house and it was the most beautiful view in the world. We woke up everyday to mountains, rolling hills, green grass, vineyards, and the best air in the world. Seriously it was so good for both of our souls. We were just present. In every moment with our kids we were present, and let's be honest in the hustle and bustle of everyday life that is difficult. That week was a gift from God for us.
We spent every single day on the lake and my kids tore up this lake. There wasn't hardly a time that tube was out that Cayden wasn't on it. He was a tubing champ. I'm not one to brag, but I did get up on ski's on my second try. Makes me feel wonderful for an out of shape 36 year old mom!
All day long these kids jumped and jumped and jumped! It was also the best week of their lives!
One of the days Aaron's brother and his family joined us and we had a blast hanging with them. We don't see them often, and so this was a great time for us to hang out!
We ended our trip with a stop to Smyrna, TN to see our friends the Shingleton's. These people are so dear to our family. When we lived in Murfreesboro this family was our family. They took us in, and treated us as family. While Aaron was on the road so much and I had two little babies, Shawnah was my rock (besides Jesus, obviously!). She helped me grow into my motherhood. She helped me with my babies. Her kids loved my kids. This family is precious to us.
Tulum to Port Aransas to Cleveland to Lenoir City to Smyrna = an amazing summer
