Travel & Vacation: Dry Erase Board Notes
Karlie’s dry erase board note to Jake
In case you already haven’t noticed our family LOVES to travel. Occasionally when Jake travels for work the rest of us get to tag along with him. A lot of times his days are long and we don’t always get to see him throughout the day. On our last work trip I told the girls to bring their dry erase boards and markers so we could “leave Daddy a note” for the day. If he came back to the hotel room and we were not there he could see our notes, know what we were up to, and hopefully feel the love that we were sending his way. It is not always possible to know when he may have a moment to run back to the room and if we are across town we cannot make it back in time to say “hi” so this is a little way to let him know that we are thinking about him even though we couldn’t be there to give him a hug in person.
During this recent trip all of us were up with the sun at 6 am every morning and off in our separate ways shortly thereafter. Sometimes it would be midnight or later before we reconnected again. Several times Jake also left a note on the back of the dry erase boards for us which the girls loved. If he had a few minutes and knew that we would be getting back really late he would prep dinner for us so we could make it quickly while the girls were showering so they could eat, relax for a few minutes, and crash in bed.
We ate all but one breakfast and dinner in our hotel room. All our lunches we packed in our backpacks and would eat whenever we were exploring for that day. To help with the preparation and meal plan we brought a hot pot (yes, like the ones you use in college) to make our meals. We were able to make some good, quick, healthy, and inexpensive meals in our hotel room like sloppy joes, mac-n-cheese, chicken & rice, soup, and more! It was nice to relax together at the end of the day before hitting the bed.
Every time we left for the day each girl would get out their dry erase boards and leave a note for Jake. I would add an note to the bottom or side of each of their notes. They had a lot of fun doing this for him and looked forward to it every morning.
Brina’s note to Daddy
Karlie letting Daddy know we are going to check out the animals!
Brina’s note to Daddy with a variety of colors.
Karlie’s note that includes a “heart family” of all of us. Cute!
Brina’s note with hearts and letting him know to have “fun and do a good job”!
Brina’s note to Dad with my note to the love of my love.
Jake’s note letting us know he prepped the meal and all we had to do is add water and boil.
Sweet note from my Handsome man!
Note from Karlie with her and Daddy as heart people.
The girls love their Dad so very much. It is precious to see how they enjoy not only doing little things for him, but also how excited they get to spend some extra time with him. Thankful for a husband who works so hard to provide for our family. He takes good care of all of us and always makes each of us feel special. He is thoughtful, generous, and kind. Even though he works hard he always makes a point to spend time with us as a family. I am blessed in many ways.
If your spouse travels and you go along with them you can easily do this for your spouse as well. It was super simple, but made everyone feel more connected throughout the long days apart. I hope that it made Jake’s days a little bit brighter.
Creative Kids: Karlie’s Dry Erase Board Art
The other day I found this dry erase board on the ground after homework time. While going through review homework the girls are allowed to doodle as long as they are answering the review questions. Karlie’s doodle for this day turned out pretty well. She even put her “Karlie” card on her artwork. I love it when the girls get creative. Reminds me that the kids are growing up.
Karlie’s business card labeling her artwork!
A Sweet & Simple Note Can Melt a Moms Heart
Occasionally, Jake has to travel for work and there are times when he is gone random craziness happens at home. On this particular week Jake was gone it was busy with a lot of school activities, tutoring, animals getting out of their pen, doctor appointments, sick kids, and more. This particular day had a tough afternoon noon of school work, followed by chasing the goats back into their zone (multiple times), leftovers for dinner, a couple of not-so-cool Mommy moments, and running around trying to get the kids in bed on time.
By the time the girls were in bed I was exhausted and ready to relax, but lunches still needed to be put together, dishes washed, kitchen picked up, bills to be paid, and more regular household duties waiting for my attention. I decided to take 10 minutes and sit down, on the couch, and reflect on the events of the day. While sitting there I started thinking about everything I could have done better regarding my interactions with the girls in some of the sticky situations specifically regarding my actions, words, and attitude.
As I was thinking about the day I looked over at the dry erase board and saw a note from Karlie. Some days you don’t know if they realize how much we love them…..then they do something spontaneous and sweet like this simple note that melts my heart. And brings more tears! We are not perfect parents by a long shoot, but it does a Moms heart good to know that they really do feel loved and appreciated even in amidst those hurried, frustrating, and crazy days. I had no idea this note was on the dry erase board or when she put it there with everything going on that day, but it was the perfect encouragement boost I needed for that evening. Thankful for my kids and for their thoughtful ways of showing love.
She picked yellow so it’s a little harder to read, but it says:
I love Daddy.
I love Mommy.
I love Brina.
I love Oreo, Snowball, and Skipper.
