Adventures in La La Land

1. We had winter break on Monday and Tuesday, so I only worked 2 days this week. My neck appreciated the reprieve, but I was happy to be back at it on Wednesday. The day flies by and I adore being surrounded by books all day . . . even if my own reading life has taken a hit because I'm a responsible adult with a job now! Anyway, despite two days off of school, I still feel like this week was crazy.  2. On Monday, after sleeping in and lounging around for a while (as is required on winter break), the kids and I went up to Luke and Esther's house to celebrate Presidents' Day with them. Truly. Esther is the only person I know who actually celebrates Presidents' Day. Lol. [#nerd] We actually just went to visit because Esther recently had knee surgery and has been cooped up at home. My kids love her kids and they had a blast together.  3. On Tuesday, we had some friends over. Kelly and I talked for four hours while the girls entertained each other, and Levi bounced around be...

1. While we were in Florida, we played the license plate game every time we went to a different beach or store or even the library. I couldn't believe how many different states we found. By the end of the week, we had 41 states and 2 Canadian provinces! The only ones we didn't see were Hawaii, Montana, Utah, New Mexico, Wyoming, Washington, Oregon, Louisiana, and Mississippi. We even spotted one from Alaska! That's a long drive! The kids loved it and it kept them entertained anytime we were in the car! 2. My last observation from Florida is that I couldn't believe the ostentatious displays of wealth. I kept thinking those beach houses must cost an unfathomable amount of money. It's hard not to be jealous sometimes - to look at all these rich old boomers and play the "poor Millenial" card. We'll probably never be able to afford to retire in some extravagant Florida beach house. But then I thought of our Compassion Child who lives in a tiny village in Bu...

1. Well, in case you're not on facebook, here's the news of the week: we're in Florida! We left frigid Michigan bright and early on Monday morning, and despite a bit of anxiety along the way, we had a smooth flight and made it to Florida by 11:20 that morning.  Levi did better than I expected with the mask, and was content to watch a movie on his tablet for most of the flight! It wasn't super warm, but we headed right down to the beach anyway. Lena found these cool coral formations on the beach We also found our first sand dollar! I've never found one before, but this year, we've seen multiples washed up on shore! We crammed Levi's remote control excavator into our suitcase specifically for this purpose. Haha. 2. Tuesday ended up being cold and rainy most of the day. We slept in, went out for lunch, then did what any smart person does on a rainy day:  Hit up the library!  Because Justin's parents are snowbirds, they have a library card here, so we were a...