don't let the bad outweigh the good...

Does anyone else do this? You'll be having a great day and then one thing will go wrong and in your mind the day is ruined. I am so guilty of it and only noticed it recently. Why do we do this? it's ridiculous really. At the end of the day I want to look back and remember all the fun and great things that happened not the bad ones and in the grand scheme of things the bad things that happened were so minor that I need not waste my time on them. 

the reason I bring this up is because that's the kind of day I had. Insta-daddy has Wednesday mornings off and we have been trying to be more deliberate about spending quality time together when he is not at work. So we packed the kids up and went to the beach. it was beautiful! 

We found lots of sea creatures. Starfish are our favourite lately. Purple are the most common we find, orange are a special treat and we are yet to see a pink one! 

We could spend hours at the beach. I find it so relaxing and Rupert has an unending inspiration for play. Everything is something. a stick is not just a stick, it is a shovel, a pencil for drawing in the sand, and in this case a steering wheel on his "train" while he drives with his buddy Cason to a new beach in Nanaimo. 

this is friend crab. all creatures great and small that Rupertee finds lately are friends or Misters. ie. Mister snail, friend worm and friend crab. 

This is my favourite part of beaching. The sea glass, and it was plentiful today my friends! Anyways, it was a beautiful morning but a certain little lady who shall remain nameless, refused to nap and showed her discontentment, (again read: scream bloody murder) for the last half of the journey. Luckily I was unaware of it til we got back tot he car because Colin had graciously taken her to the car to try and get her to sleep. I felt so bad that he had to deal with her but with a genuine smile on his face he said, "it's ok, I had a really good morning with you guys." I thought about it and I know that would not have been my reaction had I been the one to have to deal with her. But really it should be. What would I gain by erasing all the choo choo riding, starfish discovering and sea glass finding and only remembering the screaming lil Olivia, oh right, she was supposed to remain nameless... oops. ;)

who me? am I the nameless one????

these are some moments that I want to remember at the end of the day!

{watching Octonauts with the kiddos}

{glad I had my phone to catch this moment!!!!!!! precious little hand holders}

{sometimes the just look so much alike to me!}

this little girl has been trying ever since we put her in this swing to get her bee! she finally got it today and just sat holding it for a good five minutes refusing to let go. so precious.

So this next set of pictures is an idea I got off of pinterest and it is what I am trying to remember after a very trying bedtime routine full of "I have to go to the bathroom..."'s and "mommy! mommy! MOMMY!!!!"'s and "I need a snack"'s.... oye! I hate saying goodnight to him when I'm frustrated. So for now I will remember the fun we had doing this craft this evening! 

{choose some beads, clear are best for a sun catcher but solid colors are fun too. Line a cake pan with a single layer of beads. Bake in a 400 degree oven for twenty minutes and it's done! Let cool and it pops right out!}

We tried two, the second has more clear beads in it! Catches the light much better!

So tonight when Colin and I replay our days I will choose to spend more time regaling our triumphs rather than focusing only on the struggles. night friends.