On October 21st, Kyle and I celebrated our 14th year of marriage.  We've passed the 7 year itch mark twice, with no signs of any itches. We are extremely happily married, and in today's world, I realize more and more how rare and wonderful that is.

To celebrate our anniversary, which fell in the middle of the week, we decided to do something we rarely do - have our kids stay with my parents and get a night for ourselves at a bed and breakfast. We like B&B's. We stayed at one in Bar Harbor, ME on our honeymoon and ever since then, we look for opportunities to try them out. The best type of B&B's are those where you're not obligated to be social. I realize some people LIKE that about B&B's, but Kyle and I prefer anonymity and solitude. Which makes the Gardener's Cottage at the Rosemont Bed and Breakfast absolutely perfect for us.

You sign up online, get a code for the door, walk up a back walkway, up your own staircase into your own room and you're in your own world. Breakfast is delivered to your door the next morning and you leave by those same back stairs and never have to see anyone but each other. 

We've used this room twice now, and each time it has been perfection.

A cozy space with high ceilings, a little fireplace, HUGE whirlpool tub, super comfy bed, little kitchen space...it's lovely. 

Yes, this year, we had a stowaway. Since I'm still nursing Wyeth, there was no truly feasible way to leave him with anyone. Especially since he does most of his nursing at night.  As it was, he was pretty delightful. He explored the place, took a bath, nursed and fell asleep. Good boy.

Kyle and I were able to have a dinner date at a fantastic Italian restaurant that we'd never tried (Vesuvio, I think it was). Amazing food, great ambiance, and adult conversation. Priceless.

See how precious this place is? I love it!

And since we had the good sense to get married in the best month of the year (October), we frequently get lucky and have cool weather, which we did that particular evening. Yeah!

Here's the little courtyard our room overlooked. 

You feel like you're in your own world, not downtown.

So after our amazing breakfast, we dropped Wyeth back off with my mom and extended our special day by going on a 22 mile bike ride on the River Trail. It was my first real ride on my new bike, and a wonderful time with my best friend and husband.

I could write for hours about how much I love Kyle, and what an amazing husband he is. If you know him, you probably get that. I am truly blessed. We have such a wonderful time being married. Literally every day is a delight. God has been so kind to bless us with four amazing kids in the time we've been married, and we continue to be transformed by those little ones into the man and woman God designed us to be. It's a journey. Some days are exhausting, others exhilarating. I'm not gonna pretend that I don't have frustrating days, because I really do. But having Kyle come home at the end of the day and smile at me and hug me and tell me he loves me makes every day wonderful.

It's been a great 14 years, and I am so thankful the Lord blessed me with Kyle and the lovely journey that is our marriage.

Little Wyeth is now big enough to get me in a headlock.

I have such love for the little towhead.

He is an explorer.

Forever climbing IN my drawers. 

On my chairs.

Up the stairs.

On the couch.

I gotta keep my eye on him.

He is happy to double as a ring toss game when necessary.

He's at that age where all he wants is to be put down so he can explore.

What is this stuff???

What I really want to know is, is it edible?

Now THIS is a particularly interesting specimen.

All that being 1 gets exhausting.

Tackle the Mommy is a favorite pasttime.

And then there's the reach for the camera...we've arrived at that age. 

Not quite yet to "I wanna see!" It's more like, "I wanna taste it!"

What you may not realize about home schooling is that many days, you're doing so much more than just teaching reading, writing and arithmetic (although those are important)...you may also just be conducting Knight Training. And yes, it's very important for knights to occasionally lounge in beanbags and read. With their pink blankies close by.  In this case, Sir August is reading to us from the Discoverer's Bible. He and Brooklyn like to split the really long readings between the two of them. Please note that his sword is nearby should the need for battle arise.

Brooklyn is more of a Fair Maiden. No training required. Comes naturally.

What is it that Knights might need? 

Math skills are up there on the list.

For instance, Sir August took it upon himself to do some sums to determine just how much money he needs to save in order to afford all his desired Lego sets.

The answer? A lot. 

The best thing about this particular math problem is that he undertook it on his own. I was very impressed.

Writing skills are also a must. 

And it's ok to keep your mask on and your sword in hand during such exercises. 

Keeps you absolutely ready.

Sir Dorien isn't truly a "Sir" yet. He's more of a Squire. Maybe even a Page.

But he's quite fearless.

He informs me periodically that when he grows up to become a knight, he'll kill all the bugs for me.

I  believe him. And I look forward to that day.

In a few short days, Wyeth will celebrate his first birthday.

Unbelievable.

Fastest year ever.

Yes, my son is wearing a pink cloth diaper.

Because it was free.

And because real men can ROCK pink.

His shirt also says, "I Love Hot Moms." 

I did not make that shirt or purchase it...it was a gift. And it makes me happy when he wears it.

He is my recessive gene baby with his WHITE hair and BLUE eyes, but in all other ways, he looks just like his siblings. He's handsome and chunky and kissable, and just generally perfect in my eyes.

He's a hoot. He bangs on things and unrolls toilet paper rolls faster than a speeding bullet.

He speed crawls and pushes chairs around the room using them as his walkers.

He puts absolutely everything in his mouth. And I do mean everything. From hickory nut shards to clods of dirt to dead bugs. It's disgusting. He licks everything he doesn't put in his mouth. If I wasn't breastfeeding him, I'd be worried about all the diseases he's exposing himself to.

This is the other face Wyeth has...the ear-piercing scream that makes me crazy.

This is a favorite spot of his.

He ponders life's more challenging questions.

And practices his pirouettes.

And plays King of the Chair!

Clearly about to get up to something. And thinking it through in advance.

What the heck?! I'm going for it!

Hard to resist that grin.

His new favorite spot? The lazy Susan. He just fits. 

My new favorite picture. Caught in my closet with my shoes and a half-fastened diaper.

He recently decided the Velcro straps are so much fun to undo. 

For no reason other than it's my blog and I can, I am sharing with you what I would/do look like with curly hair! As my hair gets longer, it takes longer and longer to dry. Since I don't want to spend all morning messing with my hair, sometimes I braid it. And at the end of the day, after it has dried...this is the end result. 

Kind of a whole different me!

If only it would stay like this. But then again, I don't have the slightest clue what to do with curly hair. Probably best mine's straight. Most of the time.

We began our fourth year of homeschooling on August 18, 2014.

Brooklyn is in 3rd grade this year.

We returned from Captiva and literally began school the next day.

Thankfully, I'd already prepared and had our school stuff ready to roll before we left on vacation, so there was minimal stress involved. Truthfully, we were all ready to get going with the school year!

Hard to believe she's 8 and in the third grade! I am so proud of Brooklyn for a thousand different reasons.  She is extremely smart, kind, sensitive, caring, imaginative, creative, confident, friendly, inquisitive and a thoughtful young lady who surprises and delights me daily.

August is in second grade this year (age wise, he would ordinarily be in 1st, but it is what it is).

He is my introverted, focused, determined, detail-oriented, extraordinarily creative young man who is gentle, loving, tender to his younger siblings (and cousins) and best friend to his big sister. He used to dislike math (although he was really good at it), but this year has embraced it and is rocking it. 

He is an exceptional reader and while he doesn't spend as much time drawing as his sister does, his artistic ability shines through in many other ways (such as his Lego creations). He also is an artist, though. He is the perfect complement to his big sister.

Dorien desperately wanted to "do school" with us too this year, even though I don't actually have a curriculum I'm using for him. He gets to listen to all the books we read, which cover history, geography, Bible, science and play at the same time. He's a true fire-cracker, shooting off in different directions and causing lots of sparks, particularly in regards to Brooklyn. He LOVES to torment her. 

He is crazy affectionate, very intelligent, and at times, a definite challenge. There is no status quo as far as Dorien is concerned. He moves the bar all over the place, and usually has his trademark killer grin plastered on his face. Watch out, world. There's a Dorien coming.

It's amazing how different your children can be from each other and how insanely intense the love you feel for each of them is.

Here's a snapshot of our "school room."  We begin our school day in the living room with prayer, a Bible reading by me and one of the kids, a daily reading from an Indian Prayer guide (which is a daily reading about different tribes in North and South America and ways to pray for them), and various songs. Such as Days of the Week, Months of the Year, the Alphabet (for Dorien), We keep a graph of the weather. I read to the kids from different "Read Alouds" that pertain to the various parts of history that we study (Aztecs, Incans, Mayans, Native Americans, etc). I am usually sprawled on the couch reading while the kids listen from various parts of the room.  While listening to whatever books I'm reading, the kids draw, color, play blocks, something quiet that allows them to hear, but also absorb the info in the way they learn best.  

The kids do their handwriting, copywork, critical thinking work, language arts work, math workbooks and anything else involving sitting with decent posture, in these vintage desks my mother passed down to me. Wyeth, as you  can see, is frequently at their feet, pulling books off the desk, or just generally causing mischief.

It takes about 4 hours for us to do school when we really focus. There are usually breaks for diaper changes, to feed our cat, to check the chickens, to potty, to eat a snack, and a long break for lunch.  Sometimes the kids read their reading books to me while I make breakfast or lunch, so we maximize our time. And the kids usually beg to read while eating lunch. Very often we finish up right around 3 which means it's time for Dorien and Wyeth to nap. Brooklyn and August play quietly in their rooms during nap time. I use that time to do my quiet time, read a book, pay bills, work, it varies...Kyle usually gets home between 5:30-6 and we then go to the gym. Sometimes we have to do spelling or science later in the evening, which is ok, because it can be really fun to do school when Kyle's there.

This is a classic pose for Wyeth who LOVES to mess with the printer which is tucked away underneath this desk.  Wyeth finds the buttons immensely fascinating. What I find fascinating is that he has it in his head that to access the printer, he must crawl THROUGH the rungs of the chair.  I can't tell you how many different ways he's managed to get himself stuck. It makes for some frequent laughter from us as we rescue him, and some wails of protest from him as we remove him from his beloved printer.

The Princess on the Pillows!

And uh, the Prince on the Pillows!

Fresh back from a run! Nothing like running on a gorgeous summer morning. 

Kyle and I both brought bikes and we alternated working out. I'd run in the mornings and he'd bike during nap times. I rode about every other day, too. I'm signed up to run a marathon in March, plus I want to compete in triathlons, and Kyle is riding in more rides/races, so our workouts are pretty specific, targeted and planned out well in advance. 

Don't mess with my baby.

Lunch break on the lanai.  We'd head out to the beach immediately after breakfast, swim until around noon, head back for lunch - at which time Brooklyn and August would swear up and down that they were done for the day, just too tired to go back out...until right after they'd eaten and suddenly were re-charged and ready for lots more ocean play! Then we'd take naps around 3:30 or 4.

Ok, Mom, I get it...this is the ocean. Now, let's go back under that umbrella thingy.

August, Brooklyn and Dorien were little aquatic mammals. And they got so brown, it was unbelievable. We slathered them with sunscreen, so they never burned, but boy...they were so dark! 

Obviously, the picture above doesn't reflect that as much, but just trust me. 

Daddy's turn to hang out with Wyeth. And Dorien just needed a quick break from the action.

A slightly pink Wyeth getting sleepy...and probably with a fever. Poor guy.

Dorien, Dorien, Dorien. 

Lady killer.

I love this girl. And her striped romper. And her gap-toothed grin. 

Climber of the tallest stairs...fearless and fiendish!

Brooklyn was sweet to share the pics she was taking with her little brother. 

She is SUCH a good big sister.

Caught in the act! Of what, I'm not sure.

Rain, rain, go away....

so we can go back to the beach and play.

This one turned into a genuine thunderstorm, "terrifying" the children!

Beach storms make for beautiful sunsets.

Game Night!

Couch pillow train!

Notice Dorien has his own caboose.

The view along my running route. Not too shabby.

Napping Wyeth...his hair has that lovely sunscreen crunch going on.

A gorgeously lit tree near Doc Holliday's restaurant.

Daddy playing Scrabble with the kids (which means basically playing four different parts yourself and serving as Chief Mediator).

Reading time before bed. Brooklyn and August slept in the daybed/trundle bed, even though there were two twin beds downstairs. Some nights, August and Dorien slept downstairs...it was hit or miss.

All good things must, sadly, come to an end. 

What better way to end than with a bang?

Quite literally.

As in, the sidewall of your tire.

As in...you get to buy a brand new tire before you leave Florida!

Buh-Bye! Come again soon!

This little gem was propped up in the bathroom of a hotel we stayed at on our way back. You know you're not in just the best part of town when leaving this type of note is necessary.

And as hard as it was to refrain, we decided not to steal the comforter or coffee maker. 

In spite of their popularity.