Exhilaration

On Sunday, my awesome sister-in-law and brother-in-law took Caleb and Chloe to Sea World (they had the most wonderful time!). My mother-in-law kept Luke for the day.

And Brett and I got to go meet up with some of my most favorite people in the world at Islands of Adventure.
The back story is that I have known the Lemley family since 2002, when their oldest daughter, Libby, was the cutest, sweetest 8 year old in my soccer clinic at Kanakuk. Carol (her mom) and I connected at parent closings, and we've been close ever since.

She and Jeff are incredible parents, and much of my parenting comes from watching their family. As a college student, I used to meet up with Lemley's at Disney each year. I loved spending time with their family....parents and children alike!! Ask anyone around them: they are simply an awesome family. And each minute I spend with them is a tremendous blessing!!

Imagine my joy to reconnect with them in Orlando after all these years. Their young children are now not so young....and I have kids of my own. My kids were not there this day, but on our way out of town on Wednesday, we stopped by to meet up again so my kids could meet the Lemley crew!

Back to our adventure.....
Recently, I had shared with Brett that I felt like I was in a rut. While reading Facebook status updates, I would find myself feeling slightly jealous of my kid-less friends who were sleeping in or watching movies all day or whisking away for a surprise trip with their man. That is very unlike me, as I typically would not trade my life for all the sleep in the world, but on this day, I found myself longing for something different....which made me realize something needed to change.

So fast forward to Sunday morning....
Upon entering the park with the Lemley crew, our first stop was The Hulk ride. Realizing it had been over six years since I last rode a roller coaster, I had a moment of freak out right as the ride shot out of the gate.

But the feeling immediately disappeared as we took off when I realized how much I LOVE roller coasters!!! The ride was so exhilarating!! What an adrenaline rush!! I laughed. I screamed. I thought back to the last time I rode it. I felt good. I got off the ride and immediately realized this is just what I needed to get out of my rut. Sounds silly but its true.

We spent the day riding crazy roller coasters, laughing, and strolling along without worrying about our kids....while getting to enjoy time with great friends. Growing up, I was always an adrenaline junkie. I loved adventurous things: skydiving, skycoaster, parasailing, snow skiing, and more! Since having kids, though, I am not as adventurous as I used to be. I am responsible. People depend on me. I have to be careful.

Until I realized that the little people in my life are so much better off when I do something fun and even a bit crazy on occasion.

A trip to Islands of Adventure with one of my most favorite families on the planet is just what my soul needed to return home with a great attitude and ready for my crazy but awesome life!!

Pictures from our second meet-up....
All of the kids:
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Aren't they beautiful:
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These boys share a birthday (one year a part)
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