Yesterday, we took Ella to Atlanta to have her special alone time with Auntie Nina. We won't see her until Thanksgiving, so this is a big deal.Ella got some new shoes for the trip and took a picture of them on the way to Atlanta.
Auntie Nina is John's sister. She loves the kids so much and is so good to them. She started a tradition where she takes all of the kids, by themselves, to Atlanta for a very special trip. She takes them to the aquarium, out to a fancy dinner, stays in a fancy hotel, etc. So it's Ella's turn, and she is so happy!
We met Nina in Atlanta at the Center for Puppetry Arts and left all four kids with her to watch the puppet show while John and I did some pantry stocking at the Natural Foods Warehouse.
After the puppet show, Nina took the kids to Centennial Olympic Park for some ice skating.
When John and I arrived, the kids were having the time of their lives. Not only were they loving the ice skating, but they were having so much fun together. They had all banded together to make Ella feel safe amongst all the people. This was the first time Sophie, Max, and Ella had ever been ice skating, and they all helped each other out. Alex and Max worked on some fancy dance/skating moves. Sophie spent the first hour helping Ella around the edge of the rink. When one of them fell, there was always a sibling lending a hand. It's hard for me to describe the overwhelming sense of joy I felt watching my kids be there for each other.John joined the kids on the ice and showed off his wicked skating moves.
I miss Ella, but am so happy for her to spend this time with someone who loves her so much. When I talked to her this morning, she told me she missed us all but was really enjoying the luxury!
2 comments:
Auntie Nina sounds pretty amazing. We should all be so lucky to have someone that special in our lives. There's something about teaching children that they are special in their own personal spaces that breeds the same kind of giving. My kids had it with my Dad and I can see the older two starting to treat smaller children the same way.
She is pretty amazing...another thing on my grateful list for the upcoming season. She is also probably the only family member who actually gets what we're doing regarding our unschooling lives. She's truly a gift and I'm so glad my kids have her.
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