Join Me for WIP Wednesday's this summer!

I have a problem starting things and not finishing them.  But also, I really think that sometimes social media tricks us into thinking that we need to only show the end project. The one that looks perfectly styled or designed.  But, what about the labor intensive steps that brought you to the finished project?  That’s just as beautiful. . . Watching your idea take shape.  The mess up and having to use a seam ripper to pull apart fabric and then reset.  The mess.  Let’s celebrate that this summer! 

Join me over on instagram or facebook on Wednesdays!  Post your in progress project and tag me @jolieklassen and use the hashtag #ootrbwipwedsummer. Each Wednesday (that;s today!). 

Why you might ask?

Because it’s summer and things are slower and we should make things.  

But also, because we can create a community that cheers one another on as we try new things and grab old projects to finish them on.  

There’s got to be something you’ve started and haven’t finished yet . .  Or maybe you are really good at finishing things (kudos to you, that’s great!) And need a new project.  

It doesn’t have to be big.  Use Pinterest as a inspiration tool and actually pick something. . . Like a book mark or some coasters (so MANY different ideas and mediums!). 

Here's a couple of pins that would be fun and quick: 

:: a dandelion art to do with your kids 

:: Try a herringbone quilt block (not a whole quilt!)

::  Country Living has some super cute FREE cross stitch patterns

:: Make a fabric necklace (I've done this one!) 

:: Try painting with Acrylics

 or

Hit up your favorite craft store and grab an embroidery or cross stitch kit (start small. . . It’s easier to finish! Or even grab some scrapbooking stuff and finish that baby book you've been putting off! Or even sit down and write or make some sourdough bread. . . Try something.  Finish something.  

Join me and let's be each other's cheerleaders. 

embracing a summer of rest

 I loved summer as a kid.  Sleeping in, crazy amounts of screen time, bike rides, adventures.  But most of all, no school!  Growing up as a teacher’s kid, my mom had summers off along with us and somehow she always managed to make sure our summer was slow and quiet.  Occasionally, she would send us to my grandparents house in Wyoming while she taught summer school.  We lived our best lives watching Golden Girls reruns,eating instant oatmeal, and playing outside.  We also explored so much of the land between our home in hot, central California and my grandparent house is Wyoming.  We played in creek beds, climbed rocks at Vidavu (it's a real place. . .check it out!), went camping and devoured my grandma’s stash’s of Schwan’s pizzas and drumsticks (ice cream. . . not KFC. . . ha ha!).  We loved summer.

I don’t remember it being a season of busy.  It was slow and long and by the time school began again, we were ready to take on the next school year.  Fast Forward to life now and I honestly don’t remember being so busy during the school year. . . I probably was because I did it all.  I do, however, believe that expectations have changed on what we expect from the youth of our future than when we were kids and we will probably pay the consequences for it when they become adults (but that’s a thought for another day).  Maybe it was the quiet of the Pandemic that really opened my eyes for the need to slow down our kids or maybe it’s always just been in the back of my mind.  This most recent school year was wonderful in so many ways.  Our junior higher started a new school and just did amazing and our 11 year old adjusted back into the swing of elementary school.  We were back and in person.  Sports were back, clubs were back and we just jumped right in!  It was exciting and it felt amazing to be back making new mom friends.  By the time school let out for the year, it was very clear to us all: We were pooped!  We were 100 percent exhausted.

There were conversations.  Our kids were included.  We needed some time to slow down and just be. We made the decision together to say no to some things.

A few weeks before school let out, this big, shiny book was sent home with our 5^th grader listing all theses amazing camps he could do this summer for free.  From robotics to sports, he could have an amazing summer.  Another mom friend asked me what camps I was signing up my 7^th grader and I was like “None.” I know I probably got some looks, but I didn’t care.  We even made some hard decisions to say no to our church summer camp.  We were tired and looking for a break.  

This summer (as with most of ours, because the truth of the matter is we try to embrace this every summer. . . It’s just more noticeable this year than others) we are slowing down.  We are binge watching Once Upon a Time, playing video games, and reading books.  We are soaking in family time and enjoying not having to wake up and be someplace each day (except for the occasional orthodontist appointment, of course!). I am soaking every minute with these two boys because they are growing up quicker than I would like to admit and life is busy.  

Rest is important. Let's be honest and admit that sometimes it's hard to let go of the busy.  We don't want to miss out on those things.  But also, let's recognize that not all busy is bad.  Ethan said yes to serving at our church VBS and I said yes to leading a Bible Study and a book club.  We also said yes to vacation. . . because I'm an enneagram 7 raising at least one enneagram 7 and adventure and traveling brings us joy and life.  And after reading my words, don't feel guilty for saying yes to camp or the things that bring you joy.  This is my story.  You have yours.  

I could post so many reasons why rest is important, but I will let you in on a secret that most of world knows but us in America.  Rest needs to be valued.  Take that vacation time, spend time with your family.  So something that brings you joy.  Binge watch that show.  Read that book.  Open the Bible.  Play Uno and catch fireflies (I am living on the wrong side of the US for that!).  

However you spend your summer months, I do want to encourage you to try taking a week to slow down and embrace rest.  Don't worry as much about screen time or what you are missing out on, bust take time to savour the moment where not much is going on.  There are some sweet treasures in the quiet of the slow down.  

 

Let's Go on an Adventure: Washington D.C wrap up

 Welp, the Klassen family is officially on summer mode and soaking in every minute of it! We are currently embracing rest and dreaming of our next adventure, but let's finish up Washington D.C. first.

 Our last day in D.C. started off slow and sweet.  In fact, there were really no real plans on our agenda. We slept in and new there were a few things we wanted to check off our bucket list before going to a soccer game in the evening.  We decided to walk to a really neat place called La Pain Quotidien (which we found on in Glendale last spring!). The food was great, the coffees were huge and the morning was lovely!  

From there we hailed an Uber and jetted over to the Bureau of Printing and Engraving to see if we could manage to get a ticket.  It was definitely one of those, if we get one, we get one. . . if we don't, we don't.  We managed to get one for later in the day before heading to the game.  We had most of the day to figure out what we could do, so we headed to the Holocaust Museum.  Because the Holocaust images and displays are not exactly small kid friendly, we skipped the main part of the museum on this trip.  We do really think it's important for the kids to learn about this and are thankful for this museum for making some incredibly kid friendly exhibits to walk through.  We watched a movie about Anne Frank and walked through an exhibit about a boy who survived the Holocaust.  We were really impressed!  (these things also didn't require a timed ticket. . . WIN-Win!)

Next, we headed to see if the Paddle Boats were open.  This was one thing I really wanted to do and they weren't open the day we walked the Mall because of rain and choppy waters.  They were open and there wasn't a long line!  The views of the monuments from the Potomac were 100 percent worth it!  Weston got a little nauseous, so we didn't end up spending the whole hour. . . plus, it was a lot more work because the waters were not so smooth that day.  It was definitely worth it though!  

I mentioned earlier that this day was pretty light in our plans, so we headed back to our hotel and grabbed some food and headed back to chill for a bit in our hotel room.  Jon and Ethan grabbed pizza from a joint across from our hotel and I got salad from Chopt and we got some hummus and pita bread from Roti (both amazing and I wish they had them here in California!).  I think Jon might have closed his eyes for a bit and the kids zoned out.  It was nice!  Then we went back to the BPE for our tour.  

The tour was quick and interesting.  It definitely wasn't our most favorite experience of the trip, but the kids learned a lot and got to see money made.  So, yeah, it was worth it if you have time.  If you don't. . . I'd say it's worth a skip.  

From there, we ubered over to Audi Field for a D.C. United game!  We were super excited (probably more than the baseball game, because let's face it. . . we love soccer!).  That was fun and completely worth it!  

We ended up taking an Uber to the monuments and walked them at night.  yes, It was like 10:00pm.  We were NOT the only ones out!  It was so much fun!  We just did The Lincoln Monument to the Washington Monument(ish) and then back to our hotel to pack up and get ready for the next leg of our adventure.  Weston got to stick his feet in the one of the fountains (it's allowed!).  This was definitely a big highlight to our trip. . . and totally spontaneous. . . just the way I like it! 

And that's a wrap for the Washington D.C. leg of the trip!  It's also the biggest and most exhausting part, but it was so much fun!  Ethan is already finding new things to do when he goes back some day!   Stay tuned for next week, when he travel to Baltimore and Philadelphia!

Let's go on an Adventure: Washington DC part 3 {Musuems, White House, and delicious eats}

 Welcome back to Adventure Time with Jolie.  ha ha!  Some of you may be on an adventure and others of you, might be sitting back itching to go on an adventure but your kids are in school (totally raising my hand here!).  If you are new here, I am posting an adventure post once a week through the summer (or until I run out of adventures to go on. . . ha ha!). Currently we are hanging out in Washington D.C. and enjoying humidity and thunderstorms.  Of course, this trip took place 3 years ago, but I still remember it like it was last week!  So many amazing memories were made on this trip! 

Let's recap what we've done so far on this trip:  We've visited Ford's Theater, the National Archives, a Nationals Game, The National Zoo, Cathedral, Georgetown, walked the Monument Mall, visited the American History Museum (my favorite!), Mount Vernon, Arlington National Cemetery, and old town Alexandria.   It has been a lot and we aren't even finished yet!  Weston's favorite (and most anticipated thing is coming up and oh, man. . . It's a lot of fun!  

One of the cool things about D.C. is that while it is pricey (but 100 percent worth it) to stay in the city, most of the museums are completely free!  This is great because if you don't do the whole museum and only do a few exhibits, you don't have to feel bad about it! 

Our 5th day in D.C. started out at the Air and Space Museum (which as of me typing this is currently closed but opening something this summer!).  This was super fun and did a great job making it friendly for all ages of kids.  Both Weston and Ethan had fun!  We found Amelia Earhart's plane, walked through a space shuttle, and explored so many different exhibits, many of them hands on (best part of a museum if you want kids to be engaged!). 

 

Ethan even found a astrolabe and a sextant, which Ethan had studied about in his 4th grade class. I love watching them realize that the things they learned about in their history books were actual things and not just stories!  It's so much fun to watch that fascination take place! 

 Our next stop was The National Gallery of Art. . . which was one of my top memories of this trip.  The kids and I had been studying artists in the weeks leading up to our trip and it was really exciting to get to see the actual pieces of the artists they learned about, in our lessons or in their school lessons.

We didn't get through all the Gallery. . . that may have taken all day.  We did get to see some Rembrandt, Rapheal, Giotto, Van Gogh, Picasso, Caulder, and Kandinsky. . . plus a bunch of others!  

Outside the gallery, they have some pretty great sculptures and we found an Alexander Caulder (I love him. . . and we seem to always happen upon his sculptures on our adventures.  Side Note:  There's one in my own town and I just realized it a few months ago!  My heart was so happy!). 

Next up was the Natural History Museum.  This place was absolutely breathtaking!  It's worth it just to walk in and look up!  It was built with such intention on beauty! We saw exhibits of animals dinosaurs, and gemstones (including the Hope Diamond!). 

After this, we were ready for a relaxing evening, but we also learned that laundry in our hotel was out of order after trodding around in the rain and humidty our clothes were wet and sweaty and not really drying.  So, we headed to a gap and found some clothes to hold us over til we got home.  We also hit up a Panera on the way back to our hotel for some quick food, before heading back to our hotel for showers and some tv watching. 

The next morning, was the day that Weston had been looking forward to all week!  He was so fascinated with the White House that he even made us buy a What Was the White House earlier in the week when we visited the National Archives (they had the best gift shop!).  Our tour was the first tour of the day (7:30am!!!), so we had to be up before 6, to walk over.  Weston decided that he would wake up every couple of hours to see if it was time to go. . . he was not going to miss this adventure!  Our tour was fabulous and wasn't horribly long.  We soaked in the stories of laundry in the ballroom and other funny things that happened while presidents and their families lived there.  From there, we headed across the street to the official National Park visitor's center so Weston could work on his book and get his badge to add to his collection.  By then, we were hungry! So we found a local coffee shop, called Zeke's, and we went in for coffee and pastries.  It was wonderful!

As we walked back to our hotel, it was starting to rain!  We didn't mind and soaked it all in.  We headed back to our hotel and chilled for a bit.  Then we took an Uber (we used them a lot!) over to the Capitol area.  We found another Good Stuff Eatery, which we ate at in Georgetown.  It was a great burger place. . .so fresh and so good!  Then headed over to our senator's office so we could take our tour of the Capitol.  

The Capitol was so interesting!  We loved the details and the beauty of it, but also the history of the building.  The interns did such a great job sharing stories that even the boys were intrigued the whole time! From there, we headed to the Superior Court building. 

We didn't spend a ton of time here.  We just walked up all those steps and went in and saw some of the courtrooms and took advantage of the bathrooms.  I still can't get over how little we are compared to the enormity of these buildings!  

After that, we walked next door the the Library of Congress.  This place was amazing. . . even though we couldn't walk around the stacks. . . ha ha!  The museum part was so fun!  From old maps to the Guttenberg Bible, Jefferson's personal library and a fun exhibit of baseball history. . . including the women A League of Their Own was based off of!  

 We were hungry and tired, so we headed over to the Wharf to explore and find food.  There were several options, but we couldn't find someplace that was super kid friendly (they were more on the fancy side).  I tried some blue crab (which was on my bucket list!) and it started to pour!  We had really wanted to try the S'more place, but they were closed because. . . weather!  We grabbed donuts at D.C. donuts for our breakfast in the morning and found an Uber and headed "home."  We doordashed food, but the doordasher decided to keep it for himself. . . so dinner took awhile.  We were so hungry when we finally got our food (Jon ended up going to get more and just walked over there!).

Only one more day in Washington D.C. and then we hit up Baltimore and head to Philly.  Let me know if you have any questions down in the comments!  I'd love to hear them! You can also find more over on my Instagram highlights!