I finally finished up their Advent Calendar (only 5 days late!) this morning - - hard to do when you're on the road - - and tonight I knew that we had some free time and it would be the perfect opportunity to cruise around town looking at Christmas lights.
Right after we finished our Chinese delivery dinner... (heck yes, delivery because it was -11 degrees when we ordered dinner - - BURR!), we bundled up and heated up our new ride. (Have I told you that we got a new vehicle about 12 hours before we left MT!!? and we LOVE IT!)
Anyhoo, we bundled up, grabbed some hot caramel steamers to go, and made our way through West Boulevard. I will say that Joel and I were highly disappointed with the lack of Christmas lights up. It's been many years since I had been up there but when we were little, that street would GLOW like Clark Griswold's house. It was such a big thing for me to do while in Rapid City, that I absolutely wanted to take the girls up there to see the beautiful sight. But tonight just wasn't the night. Maybe 5 houses had lights up. So sad.
But our adventure didn't stop there. We drove up some big hill streets and saw some beautiful homes with lights. Then we drove past the hospital and showed the girls where they were born. Since we were on the right side of town, we did a drive by of our two homes in the city.
Oh my.... The house on Ivy brought back memories of Joel and I first learning about each other and living together for the first time. Many nights partying there. Many nights just snuggling on the couch getting to know each other. Many nights of tears there too when we experienced our first pregnancy as a loss. We parked out front and shared so many memories with the girls. It was surreal.
Then the apartments just down the street. That was Arly's first home. All the way until she was 16 months old before we moved across the state. I'll never forget climbing up the three flights of stairs with a baby and then sweet toddler while carrying groceries. She had her many firsts in that apartment and that is where we started our family. Two bedrooms, barely enough room for a dining table, and community laundry. Ah memories.
I loved tonight. I wish I had some photos to share with you but my phone battery was sucked dry. Which is nice to be unplugged and have the chance relax but not having photos to remember this memory really stinks.
That brings me to another point. So you know that I have been fasting from social media since October. I have found that because I'm not on Instagram, I'm not taking nearly as many photos of the girls or just documenting our every day moments.
I actually had a few of my favorite people (grandma, sister, aunties!) question me about my social media fast this past week and kind of beg me to come back... just for the photos of the girls. I totally understand where they are coming from but I'm not ready to come back to Facebook at all yet. But I do want our family and friends to have photos of us. And I do want a reason to remember to take the photos throughout the day. But I'm struggling how I'm going to make that happen or whether I'm ready to go back at all. I've enjoyed the break. A lot.
Instagram would be the place I would return first. Honestly, it's what I miss the most. Just photos. I could even link it to my Facebook feed for those who aren't on IG.
Hmmmm....
Decisions, decisions. Lots of prayer and rules will be needed.
One more note:
Saturday is Avin's 1st birthday and we did a little shopping at downtown's square. Look how much fun the little Bear was having. Time to prepare for the party!
XO.
Jari
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