Once a friend of mine said she had a Leadership Retreat over the weekend, and I laughed when I heard that she meant her husband and she had a weekend away. But I have thought about that and used it since, when Jim and I have a date night (“leadership meeting”) or sit down to talk finances (“team budget planning”). And really, it sounds so important when it’s work but if our family is our priority, shouldn’t we treat it with even more value?
So with that, we had a team retreat this weekend. All four of us. 🙂
We picked the kids up from school early on Friday to hit the road early. That was the first time either of them had ever been called to the office over the intercom. Very exciting stuff. We had snacks in North Bend, dinner in Moses Lake, ice cream in Spokane, and a late arrival in Spirit Lake.
In the morning, the kids spent time exploring the cabin and all the fun gadgets around the house.
After breakfast, the kids and I went on a hike while Jim started his day-o-football.
My two little mountain goats just kept going UP. It was pretty amazing to watch them go straight up the side of the hill behind the cabin. The views were amazing!
In the afternoon, Jim took a lunch break from football. We walked down to the water so the kids could see the cabin from the lake.
We also continued our Monopoly game that we started that morning.
And we cheered for Alabama, of course, and UW – both great wins.
Then we had a family hike on a trail nearby, just a short walk from the cabin.
Saturday evening, JT made dinner just like usual. He made chicken pesto, green beans, and grapes. He had a sneaky plan before we left home to make chocolate chip cookies for dessert, so he did that too!
On Sunday, we started with family church in the living room, and then the kids relaxed while we got ready for another hike. We also skipped rocks in the water and found some animal bones!
When we got back, Jim built a fire outside and the kids played while I read by the fire. It was so relaxing! JT read beside me for awhile while Haley and Jim played iSpy and worked on a bracelet.
We woke up on Monday sad to leave. It was a sunny day, and we promised to enjoy the ride home. We listened to audio books, sang, talked, and stopped for lunch. We were home in time for Grandpa Cole’s birthday dinner!
The Keene Family 