Have you ever kept a travel journal?

This past week, my family and I visited my husband's parents at their beach house.  It's amazing what a change of scenery can do for the imagination!  I took advantage of many helping hands with the kiddos and decided to be a kid myself and use a small watercolor paint set and cold press spiral notebook to keep my own painted travel journal of sorts.  My inspirations were: a nearby marshy pond that was dotted with purple flowers and backed by lanky evergreens,  the silhouettes of my husband and 2nd daughter along a sunny shoreline, my chunky baby in a bathing suit, a beautiful hydrangea, and last but not least, my oldest daughter inspecting some new jewelry in her swim suit.  Sometimes in a new setting, you see your family in a new light, and that was certainly true of this trip.  I'm so grateful to have these images as a memory of this year's beach vacation!