After proclaiming to the world that life is beautiful last week... I took off in the car with a couple suitcases and the kids to grammy's. The 8 hour drive was much more scenic than my previous Iowa to Kentucky route, only the kids didn't seem to be feeling it. And the DS, DVDs, and ipod were boring by the 4th hour. Must be rough being a kid in 2012. So, they took to tormenting each other until my 10 1/2 yr old decided to bite her 12 1/2 year old sibling. This is definitely not in the mom handbook...
And as if my drive sans hubs with naughty children wasn't enough, since our arrival we discovered a new outbreak of lice (I thought the first one last year was going to be the death of me), my parents both contracted nasty cases of poison ivy, little man was stung on the bottom of his foot by a wasp, and I woke to an allergy induced, goopy pink eye... I think if this is a test, I may be failing. Needless to say, I've not been sleeping well and I am far from my best self.
But in the midst of all the chaos that seems to accompany any Barnes family gathering, we headed to King's Island. Although I don't necessitate an adrenaline rush, I decided to try the Diamondback on a whim. It has an 85 mph vertical drop. And gotta tell ya, although I nearly wet myself and lost my dinner... it was a blast. It reminded me that life is like a roller coaster. And we do have a choice. And although life throws ya some less than pleasant doses of reality from time to time, we can kick and scream or try to enjoy the ride.
So, as I spend my last days here in Kentucky with my family I'm gonna try my best to put on a smile.
Before I close, I wanted to draw your attention to my current giveaway.
Rebecca, of Simple as That, has generously offered one of my Project Alicia readers a copy of Real. Life. Photography as well as a set of Addy Lane's Simple Fixes Actions. Whether you're a pro photog, novice, or mom... you'll love these! The giveaway will be open through Friday at midnight. Just click on the image and leave a comment to enter.Also, don't forget you are welcome to join Kristi of Live and Love out Loud, Rebecca of Bumbles & Light, and me for our Summer Daze Photo Party every Friday thru July 20th. No prompts. Any camera works. And if you are in need of a little inspiration, we have a FREE Bucket List.
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This is Wordless Wednesday, but as you can see Wordful and Not So Wordless Posts are always welcome here. Just grab a photo and link up below! And if you'd like to connect with other WW participants, click HERE or one of the thumbnails below.
God bless you, love! Not a great way to start the Summer vacation off but maybe you are getting all that out of the way to enjoy the rest of your Summer goopy eyed, lice and biting tweens free.
ReplyDeletexo,
Allison
Hope the ride home goes better. Maybe you should play the alphabet game. Keeps everyone looking around for something that begins with that letter. Maybe that will help. About another hour and you would have been in my neck of the woods (Dayton,Ohio). Have a safe drive back :)Love the photos
ReplyDeleteSaun
Aren't road trips with kids great?! Sounds like my kids - I wanted to go off screaming into the night at certain points of our weekend away, hahaha!
ReplyDeleteJo-Anna
You are brave, woman!! lol
ReplyDeleteTammi
My Organized Chaos
Kinda sounds like the week before our vacation a few weeks back. Wishing you nothing but blue skies from here on out! Love that second roller coaster...
ReplyDeletegreat shots!!! happy ww :)
ReplyDeleteWow! That's a lot of trials. Your attitude is inspiring. I hope you do enjoy your last days in KY. Love the angle of the coaster shot BTW.
ReplyDeleteOh wow, what a crazy bout of bad luck, it almost sounds like my own life, ha! I love the photo though, your edits are always so great!
ReplyDeleteSounds rough, girl! But love the perspective! Beautiful pictures as always!
ReplyDeleteThat is one of my favorite quotes!!
ReplyDeleteGreat photos. Sorry for the roughness!!
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that mine aren't the only children who don't do well on long car trips...but a little scared that they won't have grown out of it by 12 haha!
ReplyDeleteLove your roller coaster shots! I had a similar ride experience recently, I got dragged on one of those horrible straight up and down rides, where your body feels like it's being blasted to the moon the ripped back down to the centre of the earth, lol. I screamed my head of but I was buzzing for hours afterwards :D
Hope your trip home is better x
Love these pics, especially the quote. :) Hope things begin to look up for you soon. I know you've had it rough lately. :(
ReplyDeleteOh my goodness! Your trip sounded like our week!!! LOL, I'm so sorry! One boy got stomach flu, then both boys got hand foot and mouth disease, then my husband got a painful skin infection, it also was his birthday, then our insurance company dropped us and our youngest has to see the heart doctor! It's so much going on, you don't know whether to cry or laugh. But that's life, one big adventure! ;) Hold on for the ride!
ReplyDeleteOh dear!
ReplyDeleteNope, no handbook. It isn't fair, right? Lol.
Love your pics and your "Life is a roller-coaster" message along with it.
A great attitude to have :-)
Vix @ http://ttoria.blogspot.com
Just popping by to say hi! Thanks for the Wordless Wednesday linky!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Char
http://1epicmom.com/2012/06/26/play-date-fashion-and-fun/
I'm sorry about all of your life set backs. Makes it hard to enjoy the ride, doesn't it? As for roller coasters, I've never understood the concept of these torture devices being "fun."
ReplyDeletehttp://joycelansky.blogspot.com/2012/06/wordless-wednesday-potato-salad-men.html
I am like Joyce above, done understand the roller coasters either. Does not sound like the trip was quit what you expected, however, you did preserver and pulled through, glad all are safe. Thank you for the linky today, I am #56 above.
ReplyDeleteAwesome post! Love the pictures and the quote :)
ReplyDeleteI have lived a few hours from Kings Island most of my life, yet have not been yet. I don't think your description of the roller coaster ride is selling me on going any time soon :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful pictures!
Oh goodness, when it rains it pours. Just remain calm because it can only get better from there!
ReplyDeletePaula
lifeasweknowitbypaula.blogspot.com
I am not one for roller coasters. Except photographing them. ANd you did that beautifully!!
ReplyDeleteMan, those drives can be long. We'll probably be taking that drive this summer. No finger biting! lol Beautiful roller coaster pics!
ReplyDeleteI hear ya about the kids not getting along. My oldest wanted to lay down on the ground, but he didn't have a blanket. He used his brother instead. Then when his 4 year old brother wacked him he went to tell on him. We all have moments like that. I remember fighting clear into high school with my sisters.
ReplyDeleteI hope you all feel better soon, very soon!
Roller Coasters and me do not mix. I'm not one for rides like that. My husband is. Sometimes I go, just to be a part of it all.
It certainly does sound like things have been challenging. I hope you have a chance to relax, feel better and enjoy the ride!
ReplyDeleteI know just what you mean! Sometimes you just have to say "oh!" and let it go.
ReplyDeleteHope your week gets better!
When it rains it really does pour. Thankfully you had a moment to capture something you can look back on and smile about!
ReplyDeleteAh you are so much braver than me taking on that ride. I hate roller coasters and anything like them. My husband loves them. He plans on making sure our two boys are big fans. Glad you got a release though. Sometimes it really is necessary when life is just throwing one thing and another your way.
ReplyDeleteoh no! so sorry to hear about all your hiccups this week. Here's hoping next week looks much better for you, love your photos though (as usual) and so happy to see Rebecca having a giveaway here! Yay, love her :)
ReplyDeleteSorry that you had a rough week! But love your roller coaster shots!! And life really is like a roller coaster ride. I find this especially true with children!
ReplyDeleteLovely photos Alicia, sorry that you've had such a trying time though. Hopefully you'll find some peace soon :)
ReplyDeleteI haven't been on a rollercoaster in years!
Love that you were real enough to share the highs and lows of your holiday. Life is most certainly a rollercoaster - great quote!
ReplyDeleteNot the most encouraging start to a summer vacation. Hope everyone is feeling better and recovering. Hope the rest of your trip is more enjoyable.
ReplyDeleteBeautiful photos. What a trip! Hope everyone is doing better now.
ReplyDeleteLove the quote, it is so perfect! Fabulous captures and processing as always :) Happy WW!
ReplyDeleteOH MY!! O_o
ReplyDeleteHope everyone is feeling better soon!!
wow now that's adventure! think of it as making memories
ReplyDeleteOh my word, you poor thing. That sounds very...uh....memorable. Good for you, for finding the positive though and thank you, again, for a lovely place to link up and meet new friends.
ReplyDeletewow........
ReplyDeletei thought i was the only one that had things go like that for me...
hope all is getting better now....
Oh my - to hear you describe all that reminds me of some summers my hubs told me about from when he was a kid. Some years it's just one thing after another it seems. I love the quote- it's so so so fitting for my life these days. Hope things improve- HUGS!
ReplyDeleteI really hope you are feeling better now! In a few days we will be driving with our car to the North Sea. I am not really looking forward to our 8 hour drive with three kids. Hopefully they will sleep for at least an hour. ;)
ReplyDeleteHug´s,
Verena
Love the quote and the pictures!
ReplyDeleteHang in there, Alicia! Unpredictability is the spice of life.
ReplyDeleteThe first shot and quote are awesome and just what I needed to see.
Hope everyone starts to feel better soon. Maybe the kids will sleep most of the way home.
You are so brave, you can't get me on a roller coaster. I hope your trip back it much better!
ReplyDeleteWOW Amazng pictures!
ReplyDeleteOh my...haha, sounds like quite a trip! Hang in there! :)
ReplyDeleteBeautiful ligh in your photos!
ReplyDeleteSo glad I could join in today. Love your work♥
ReplyDeleteI love the quote, Alicia. Very wise indeed-- we can't control what happens to us, but we can control our reaction to it. I need to do a little less screaming myself these days. =)Glad you're having some fun in spite of the roadblocks!
ReplyDeleteI haven't been on a rollercoaster in AGES! It's been years since I visited an amusement park, sounds fun! Happy Wordless Wednesday!
ReplyDeleteHope you'll visit when you get a chance: http://www.ascendingbutterfly.com/2012/06/not-so-wordless-wednesday-see-how.html
Great photos...i love the tone. Happy WW!!!
ReplyDeleteBrenda
Bouncing on Words
Life Less Ordinary
From my Points of View
Life can resemble a rollercoaster at times! Something I'm trying to live by is... we can't choose many of the experiences we live with BUT we can choose how we repond :)
ReplyDelete