Blogging Miz Daisy

California Day 4 {July 31st - Ranch time and Ostrich farm}

2026-08-15T11:17:02.226-05:00

Woke up to the sweet sound of Mick Jaggar crowing at 4:30 am, lol but easily fell back asleep. Heard him again about 6:30. I think I laid in bed a little while longer then eventually woke for the day. The fog in the valley was so cool!

Went up to see the big chicken coop. There is a smaller coop by the AirBnB room with the rooster and 2 smaller hens that were getting picked on in this coop. This coop is up on the hill by the airstream.

Then I went for a run around their "3 miles loop" more like 4 miles, lol. Isaac and Kyle ran the longer 5 mile loop while Josh biked next to them.

Views on my run:

Flew my drone then got in the pool with the kids.

For a little fun activity, Josh took us to Ostrich land. It was quite the unique experience. The kids all got bowls of food to feed the ostriches and emus... Thomas dropped his right away due to their aggressive eating, but we got another so he could fully experience the attraction. :-)

It was hot!

We got back in the van and took a little drive out to see Michael Jackson's Neverland Ranch. There was a couple of other cars there taking pictures as well.

Took the kids back home and then Josh, Stephanie, Kyle and I went across the highway to a vineyard. There are TONS of vineyards in this area. We missed the tasting time, but just got a bottle and had an adult conversation.

That evening we had dinner at home, made some 'smores outside and watched a rocket take off.

We had talked about driving closer to see it (about a half hour drive) but they kept changing the time and it would have been late. So we decided to just watch from their house. It was the Starlink 17-52 satellite SpaceX launch.

Mary with Izzy one of the house dogs.

California Day 3 {July 30 - Santa Barbara, Santa Ynez, and Solvang}

2026-08-15T10:50:27.392-05:00

Hmm what day are we on? Oh Thursday. So Wednesday evening my brother rode his moto down, had it worked on at a nearby mechanic and met us for dinner at the hotel. Then he stayed on a boat of a friend in the nearby harbor. We walked to meet him for breakfast about halfway.

Breakfast was about a ten minute walk away and we arrived about 8:45... it was kind of a shit show upon arrival, a sign at the door directing you to wait outside and scan the QR code to get added to a list... the place was mostly empty... then up walks a waitress at 9:00 and then they magically seat everyone waiting. Should have just said they didn't open til 9, annoying. Anywho, don't really recommend Hollywood Beach Cafe. But glad we finally got to eat.

Then we walked over to the harbor to check out where my brother slept. Or attempted to sleep, he was reminded why although it seems like a great idea to sleep on a boat, it's really like camping and not much sleep happens in the end. Kids got to see the inside of a boat.

And I flew my drone.

Then we walked back to our hotel to get checked out and head up the coast.

Our first stop was just ten minutes north: The Channel Islands National Park (visitor center) The Channel Islands are secluded off shore are require a planned boat ride and days worth of food/hiking supplies before a return 5-8 hours later. We knew this and opted to just visit the visitor center instead of planning an entire day hike. It'd be fun, but not with 4 hangry children, lol. Maybe we'll come back and Kyle and I can explore it someday. The visitor center was great and we watched a short movie telling also about the local history.

Next stop was Santa Barbara downtown. We thought about going to the pier but did a drive by and decided Santa Monica pier a couple days ago met our pier seeing needs so followed josh and had a little driving tour of Santa Barbara before parking to walk along State Street and find some food.

Picture with Uncle Josh

Walk by City Hall and the a quick jaunt into the public library. I'm a big fan of the author Sue Grafton and was hoping maybe they had a little showcase of info about her. Turns out they do sometimes but it's only an exhibit that is displayed at certain times.

Back in/on our vehicles, we remembered the whole pressed penny thing (I have a big collection) and saw there was one at The Mission, so that made it worth a stop. Also kids were wanting water, but not water fountain, they did have bathrooms though.

Quick stop at Target for sunscreen (and snacks) before heading up over the mountain to Josh and Stephanie's place in Santa Ynez.

Their place is BEAUTIFUL! We got the tour and met ALL the animals.

We met Marmalade

and Magic.

Fed them both as well as the neighbors goats/sheep, haha.

Met their three goats: Tajin, Tamala, Tequila

and two dogs: Boots and Boogie

Then we hoped in the pool for a little swim before dinner.

For dinner we rode into the town of Solvang to a savage garden. Solvang is a random dutch community in the middle of nowhere really. It was so weird, but so cool.

Me, Mary, and Emma got 3 sausages to share and tried all three. Here's Mary's:

Group photo!

Came back home, said goodnight to the animals and settled into bed. Kyle, myself and the girls shacked up in the AirBnB room of the garage and the boys took the guest room inside the house. Stephanie's daughter is staying in the airstream I shared a picture of up above.

California Trip Day 2 {July 29 - Beach Day}

2026-08-11T20:02:17.261-05:00

Morning view from our balcony.

Kyle and I went for a run, then a walk along the beach.

Went back to our room, got the kids then walked to the far courtyard of the hotel for breakfast. This cute little place out of an airstream.

Then pool time!

Beachtime

and lunch time :-)

We drove a few minutes away to a place called The Strandwich, that is near Silver Strand Beach

These trees were anti-gravity trees. Norfolk Island Pine

Back to the beach, can't have enough photos of your four kids silhouette on the beach :-)

A little drone flying. Can you spot the kids playing in the water?

The waves were pretty big due to a hurricane taking place offshore.

My brother rode his motorcycle down from his place. He had some maintenance to get done on it nearby, then planned to stay on a friend's boat in the harbor. He met us at the hotel for dinner. We ate at the hotel's restaurant: Ox & Ocean, it was really good. Isaac and I shared the mussels I didn't get any photos.

Then a sunset walk to the beach before bed.

Full Moon.

California Trip Day 1 {July 28th Los Angeles}

2026-08-11T12:31:32.983-05:00

Early morning wake up to head to the airport. We dropped Oakley off at the boarding place, where we also park our van and they give us a ride to the airport. We forgot something at home.... so we headed to the airport, Kyle drove back to the house and then took an uber from the boarding place. Meeting us at the gate, plenty of time. We had a long direct flight to LAX.

Arrived and shuttled our way to the car rental place. Picked up the van then headed to our first sight seeing place. La Brea Tar Pits, we did a drive by, even though it wasn't even 11 am yet we were all really hungry (and hangry) we decided to NOT speak until we had food.

We stopped at The Grove and found this trendy little burger spot.

With food in our belly we were a little more kind. We walked The Grove for a minute, stopping at Dylan's Candy for some treats.

Then back to our driving tour to check out the Hollywood stars and see the Hollywood sign. Did a little jaunt up into the hills so the kids could see where people live, crazy steep and crazy narrow. And check out the gas prices! 5.55 was actually the least

From there we drove to Santa Monica Pier

Next was a little less than two hour drive to our hotel for the night. We were staying just south of Ventura at Zachari Dunes Hotel. Kids all got a little nap in during the car ride.

We got near our hotel but stopped first for an early dinner. Even though it was 4:30 pacific time it was late evening in our bodies. We ate near the harbor at a place called Waterside.

Our hotel was less than five minutes away, our room should have been ready at 4, we arrived at 6 but it was still not ready. We were tired... but explored the grounds while we waited for our room to open up.

6:30... 6:45... flew my drone to kill time.

FINALLY got into our room a little after 7. I think the kids did a quick trip to the pool, I took a shower and got ready for bed, Isaac also stayed back. They weren't gone but a half hour or so then we all crashed.

July Photo Dump!

2026-08-11T09:21:15.563-05:00

July 10-11 Emma had her final weekend of soccer tournaments. Her team made it to the Final Four! Won the first two games.

Kyle and I got a bike ride in on Sunday afternoon

Before heading to another HOT soccer game, the championship game and they WON!

Was a really fun season for Emma. Done with 12U now on to 13U next season (ha in a couple weeks for fall) She'll be on the bigger field next year and it'll be 11 vs 11.

I left the fam after the game and headed out west to a remove little spot to take a friend's sourdough class. It was SOOO hot but since I had been out in the sun all day it didn't feel so bad sitting in this green house, lol. It was so good to finally learn all the fluff about sourdough. Many people dove into it during covid but honestly I just didn't need one more thing to learn. And even before attending this class I wasn't sure I would take it up.... but of course I have. It's been fun experimenting and figuring out how it all works.

Doing my own at home.

Week of July 13th the girls both did a figure skating camp. It was a SUPER hot week so a perfect week to be inside at an ice rink! Mary is our figure skater and Emma joined in for funsies. They were in different groups but Emma had fun and even learned a few moves. She learned the first day not to wear hockey skates (which she prefers) so thankful for Mary's old pair of figure skates. You can only imagine how much sporting goods gear we have in a house of four athletes each of them with their own sport(s)!

Tuesday morning swim. So great to swim outside, it's sadly coming to a close. As I write this (on a Tuesday after swimming) there is only one more swim this week at this spot :-(

Kyle and I have been enjoying some walks down to the lake in the evening... this evening we discovered a SINKING canoe! These two gals were helping him, then we helped from shore. The dog threw off the balance and he started taking in water.

Thursday I woke up to swim and learned it was 465 AQI! From the wildfires up in the boundary waters. I couldn't believe it and looking back we REALLY shouldn't have swam (or even biked to swim)!

Not many swimming (smart) it was an easy go, no sprints - nothing that involved heaving breathing - easy easy swim). But me and crazy carol were there of course. I love this woman she is such an inspiration!

Of course I had to fly my drone to take a view at this crazy air!

Here's a comparison from the same spot of the normal view.

Thankfully the AQI improved throughout the day and crazy enough the next morning it was down to under 100!!! Jana and I prob spent an hour worth of texts back and forth trying to decide if we should run Friday morning or not because of the AQI and when we woke up to it being so low we knew it was okay.

Friday night, July 17th Kyle and I went to the Yacht Club Festival to see The Lumineers. Still HOT

Saturday July 18th

I had a bucket list of paddle boarding all three(four) chain of lakes. I did it in three segments. The longest was making it to South end of Bde Maka Ska... Kyle and I set out and felt like Kelsey Pfendler rowing across the Atlantic on the way back haha. The wind was not in our favor on the return and makes it clear why BMS is a great lake for sail boating. But after 2 hours we made it home, lol.

The week of July 20th was Camp GOTR (girls on the run) The girls were junior coaches with me!

Coach meeting before camp started.

New haircut mid week!

Thursday Isaac got his braces off! This was Wednesday evening at Mary's sand volleyball

Before and after! A few months into 7th grade then a month before 9th grade. Less than two years but it felt like five.

Super fun week at camp!

Finally made it to the long course pool (50 meter pool) on Saturday July 25th since I won't be swimming next week when we travel to California.

Thomas still has lots of baseball right up to the end. Tournament in Coon Rapids this weekend, going to miss the end of it for our vacation. But no worries cuz there is another tournament when we get home. July ball turning into August ball, UGH!

Sunday Isaac needed a workout for his summer wellness class, it was REALLY! hot and he wasn't used to it, had to stop. He says "you worried about me dying from jumping off the bridge but I'm about to die now and you're not worried" HAHA oops. Stop for water.

Ending this post on a sad note. I was heading out the door on Monday morning, July 27th and noticed Ragnar our colorful bird was DEAD! I didn't have time to think since I needed to go teach a class (life of a group fitness instructor). When I got home we buried him. I think the saddest part was that tomorrow is the 3 year death-iversary of my dad dying and this was his bird.

That's it for July, the rest of the month is our Cali trip which I'll break up into a few different posts.

Thomas's Birthday

2026-08-11T08:14:48.405-05:00

Thomas turned 9, in the midst of SO MUCH BASEBALL! lol.

The day before his birthday he got a fresh haircut and had a baseball game.

His last night of being eight.

His birthday was on a Tuesday, he was in the middle of an All Star team tournament and had a game that evening.

I brought home birthday donuts after my swim.

We did his cake that evening after his game.

His birthday party was the following Friday at the St Louis Park Aquatic Center.

4th of July America is 250

2026-07-05T16:38:23.184-05:00

We've had this tradition for the past few Fourth of July's. We are so grateful for some friends that live nearby that host a very fun and patriotic block party gathering on the fourth. This is the 3rd year we've attended (missed 2024 when we were in Vegas). They started this tradition in 2020 when the Edina Parade was cancelled due to covid and this gather has stuck ever since.

We gather, sing a verse of America the Beautiful, do a popcorn reading of the declaration of independence and MLKs Dream Speech. Then there is a guest speaker and a SURPRISE for the kids, then they do a parade around the block.

Thomas read a few lines, then it was time for the surprise reveal. A dunk tank! Where we DUNKED THE KING (aka the host's youngest son) but not before the kids answered 8 correct citizenship test questions.

Thomas even took a turn in the tank.

We got home then the girls and I changed and loaded up the paddle boards to meet a friend at the beach. Not our close beach but the one across the lake. So we pulled the boards to hidden beach, then road them across to point beach to play and visit.

CRAZY busy hidden beach!

Very sunny 4th of July. We talked about going to see fireworks but then a huge storm came through about 7:30pm so we opted to just head to bed about 9:30 instead of staying up to see fireworks once it stopped raining.

June 29 - July 3rd

2026-07-05T16:29:30.034-05:00

Monday June 29th we got new windows put in the office, Tuesday they came and finished up the framing/trim. I also had a raining swim that morning.

When miracles happen I have to document, all four kids were playing four square in the backyard. This did last only about 5 minutes before it ends in tears, yelling, and the start of a sibling war.

That evening Kyle and I went for a walk to the lake while the kids were being couch potatoes. We take for granted where we live and this week we were reminded of the beauty that surrounds us. We just have to get out and enjoy it! We walked to the dock that is a quarter mile from our back door. It was a beautiful night. The resident muskrat made his way over then we saw a family of raccoons peeking out for their evening adventure. A mama and three littles.

Wednesday I worked, then Kyle and I went for a heated early evening run. Phew it was HOT! We made it 4.5 or so miles, Oakley was with and he was so hot too.

Boys had baseball practice, I showered and convinced the girls to come to the lake to see if we could see the raccoon family again. They had come out at 8:37pm the night before. 8:40 rolled around and no raccoons but I did see the same two muskrats.

Made another walk to the lake Thursday evening.

Friday morning I met up with a friend to run 6 miles around Lake Harriet. Started off as a rainy run, but it was delightful.

Friday afternoon we went to the Edina Aquatic Park for a couple hours, enjoying summer!

Weekend in Duluth (June 26-28)

2026-06-30T12:30:08.551-05:00

Friday, June 26th we drove up to Duluth for Emma's soccer tournament that weekend. They have been really good this season and this tournament was planned a few months prior. We learned last week they've played so well they qualified for the final four which will be our final tournament next weekend.

We treated this like a mini-vacay and the whole family was in tow. We almost had to bring Oakley because I forgot to board him, but after he was on the waitlist for a few days a spot opened up and I was able to drop him off Friday. Also I had only one room reserved at the team's hotel... which was a king bed and a sofa bed... not going to work for the six of us. They were all sold out so we had to get the second room just down the road at another hotel. So the plan was for me and the girls to stay at the team's hotel and Kyle and the boys to stay at the other one. THIS was the sofa 'bed'! I even called downstairs to ask if there was some sort of topper to go on the bed... nope, it opens up to a HARD platform. The girls of course fought over who would be sleeping on it, but in the end they each took one night.

We had dinner at OMC Smokehouse, then met up with the team at Bent Paddle Brewery and played some games while Emma hung with her team.

Then we all went over to Canal park for some ice cream.

Back at the hotel the girls got their swag bags us mom's put together. One of the items was a room sign, super cool! It was fun having them all up and down the hallways. We weren't all together but at least 4 on each floor.

Saturday we knew we had two games, it was a bracket tournament. Well we knew we'd have three games but wasn't sure on the times until we played the first. The area was literally taken over by soccer players! Our hotel was full of various teams. We had breakfast in the hotel then Mary wanted to walk on the treadmill for a bit.

First game was at 9:30 at anytime the ball was hit past the goal it would run off into this swamp area. It was a full search squad of parents and siblings to recover the balls.

Pics from first game by Joe:

They won that one! Which meant we moved up and played at noon. Quick run to Target then lunch, and a new hairstyle for Emma's next game.

(Pics of Oakley having fun at the boarding place)

Second game was at an adjacent field so we didn't have to worry about the balls getting lost. They ended in a tie and had to do a penalty kick off.

Which we WON! We have a great goalie!

Joe's photos of the second game:

Coach didn't want them to swim in-between games so they wouldn't be tired. So they were all excited to swim after the second game (The next game was the championship game and wasn't until 1:00 on Sunday)

After they swam a lot of the girls went to watch two of their team mates stand in as subs for the older girls game. We didn't make our family attend ANOTHER soccer game so Emma went with her team and we hung out. Mary and I went to Fleet Farm for some shopping and saw the baby chicks.

We met up for dinner with most of the team when the 6:00 U14 game was over.

Sunday Kyle and I got a run in. He got a run in around the hotel and then for me I wanted to do a leg of the Ragnar run I'd be doing in August since we were really close to it. It was a 5.5 stretch and I had the map of it. So he dropped me off at the start which was a school, then picked me up at the finish which was another school and just so happen to have a soccer game going on, of course. They were using all the fields they could for this huge tournament.

Anyway, it was a great run and took some of the anxiety out of the unknown, although when I do this at the end of Ragnar it will be my third leg and probably after little to no sleep... but at least I know what to expect.

This was suppose to be a 'sidewalk' HA!

lots of hills!

The finish (of my leg)

Kyle picked me up, I showered in the hotel then it was time to check out. We went to Texas Roadhouse for lunch then it was time for Emma's game. Here's a pre-game photo:

It was a pretty INTENSE game, they were playing great but just couldn't get a shot in. Instead of penalty kicks they went into overtime with two 5 minutes halves. We scored a goal in the second 5 minutes which gave us the WIN! WOO HOO!! They got winning shirts instead of medals which I thought was super cool and way more useful.

Great weekend and lots of fun! Excited they took home the win.

Fourth week of June

2026-06-29T15:36:07.113-05:00

Saturday was an early one for Isaac. Since it was just me this weekend he caught a ride with our neighbor for his 8am game (one of THREE that day in Apple Valley which is about 30-45 minutes away)

Photos thanks to Bill!

Thomas got to sleep in. Then I dropped him off at his game for warmups, went to get Starbucks for me and Oakley :-) before coming back to run game changer for his game. (Kyle was in Missouri with the girls)

Oakley was our mascot. I felt back he was going to be home all day alone, but then realized he could come with to the first game and then we'd drop him off at home before heading to Apple Valley for Isaac's other two games.

We had lunch and stopped in for an open house to look at this house we'd happen to hear about.

Then made it to AV for Isaac's second game.

After his second game we had some time to kill, but not really enough to drive all the way home and back. So we went to Mall of America so the boys could have their beloved sushi burrito. And left with bubble tea :-) Isaac seems SO tall, I thought it was probably that I was in flip-flops and he was in cleats... but ya he's just tall and surpassed 6 foot this week officially!

We'd had enough sun from the first game, so we stayed in the outfield in the shade. Thomas is pretty proud of his pinecone throwing which stuck in the fence.

Sunday morning run with Oakley

Kyle and the girls came home that evening.

Monday morning run along the Mississippi River with a gal I just met who I'll be doing the Ragnar with in August.

Thomas got to say goodbye to his retainer on Monday, he has a wire that will keep the space we made as his big teeth come in.

Tuesday morning ride to swimming, the door is in on the office, Isaac reaches 6 feet tall, Emma made her kiwi crate mechanical hand, and Mary and I fixed one of the patio screen doors!

Fixed the second side on Wednesday

Wednesday evening Mary had her sand volleyball and I brought my drone this time to capture the river and city!

Thursday swim in the rain

Because of the rain Tuesday, which pushed Thomas's tournament game from Wednesday to Thursday. Thursday was filled with 3 baseball games and 1 soccer game. Since it was Thomas's championship game, Emma got a ride to her soccer game and I saw the first hit of Thomas's game before taking Isaac to HIS game, then coming back to watch Thomas.

It is double elimination and since Thomas's team hadn't lost any, when they lost the first game they played the same team again, same night. I couldn't stay because I needed to get get Emma and Isaac.

But Thomas's team won the second game and took home first place for the season!

Emma's game that night - photos thanks to Joe!

Friday we were heading up to Duluth for Emma's soccer tournament. Oakley and I got in a sweaty hill sprint run, 10 rounds of up hills! He'll rest well at the boarding place.

Oh and trying to 3D print him a new food scoop bowl that is the right size. He eats 3/4 cup of food three times a day and I want a cup the size. The first one (black) broke already.

Working on a ragnar gift for my team mates... trying to get it just right, stay tuned.

Third week of June ALL THE SPORTS

2026-06-29T15:07:57.807-05:00

Saturday June 13th

Isaac had a baseball tournament, while Emma had a soccer tournament that weekend an hour away. On Saturday I had baseball duty while Kyle did soccer.

Isaac had two games one at noon (above) and one at 2:30 (below).

Thanks to Bill for the amazing photos.

Emma had a game at 1:30 and then another at 6:30.

Photos from the earlier game, thanks to one of the girls' dads, Joe sharing his amazing photos from the game!

Isaac and I met up with the rest of the fam to watch Emma's 6:30 game. She scored a goal as soon as we arrived!

More of Joe's photos:

Sunday was much of the same but Kyle and I swapped. Kyle took Isaac to his 8am game and I took Emma to her noon soccer game. My one photo and Joe's much better captures:

Thomas had a game at 2:00 (Kyle coaches)

Emma qualified for the championship game, so back out west for a 4:00 game. They didn't win this one, but still great to come in second!

Tuesday morning swim followed by the girls getting their nails done (I got a pedicure)

Wednesday Mary had her first sand volleyball game. It had rained all morning so we'd wondered if it was going to get cancelled

She's playing at a park right by the Mississippi River.

Thursday morning swim for me

Thomas had a game Thursday evening.

Friday morning run with my friend Jana, saw lots of wildlife.

This is the turtle pond Mary fell in when she was about 3 years old. Used to just have ropes as the edge of the bridge, more secure now.

No sports Friday evening. Kyle and the girls headed to Missouri for a funeral while I stayed back with the boys who had baseball games on Saturday and I was subbing a yoga class on Friday evening. I've started to sub our classic hot yoga class at the studio I teach barre.

Start of Summer: First two weeks of June

2026-06-19T15:29:15.728-05:00

June 1st morning humid run but I was so excited to see all the trees they'd planted on the trail. This used to be a gorgeous wooded trail, but they blazed down all the trees the year we left Minnesota (2019) as they prepared to construct the light rail. 7 years later the trail is finally back open (light rail not yet). They are attempting to restore the forest. In the deer photo, those stakes with pink ends are all the planned trees they're adding back.

Tuesday we took a bike ride to sSebastian Joes. This is the start of Isaac being gone all the time, he's been going to friends nonstop.

Emma had a home game that evening.

With the start of summer comes a change in routine and BOY the kids were pretty irritated with each other. Non stop squabbles which was quickly wearing me down! Mary, Oakley, and I going for a walk Wednesday evening.

Thursday morning first OUTDOOR swim for me WOOHOO! Ducks were trying to claim the pool as their own. Also football practice has started and with High School football Isaac has to sell 16 of these cards, oofdah

Mary had been asking to make homemade ice cream again, last time we did this was in Wichita and we still had the box with the machine in the garage. We purchased supplies the few days before and decided to do it. As anything utter disaster, kids bitching at each other, Emma crying after getting hurt falling out of the hammock, oh ya know just a normal jolly-o'time. And then get this, out of that MASSIVE tub of ice cream, some how mom got a measly 1/4 cup because when I went to have more a few days later the entire tub was EMPTY!

That evening we got taco's for dinner (look at the size of this burrito!) then went to Thomas's baseball game.

Outdoor swimming on Saturday morning again.

Isaac had an early tournament game in Apple Valley (30 minutes away) Thankful for the live streaming video so we could just watch while we ate breakfast.

Arguing continues so we decided to run some errands then meet Isaac and Kyle for lunch... searching for Mary an ice skate backpack so she can bike to lessons this summer we passed this random free petting zoo!

Had lunch then came back home, just in time for the pencil sharpening across the lake. I had forgotten about it but we could hear the bumpin' music from our house. I quickly got my drone out (which had all dead batteries) but managed to fly it over there to take a peek at the tail end as the crowd was breaking up.

Girls went to a neighbor's birthday party that afternoon and Thomas met a friend at the water park. Once we got everyone home Kyle and I went on a date night, riding the ebike and escooter over to a restaurant on the lake. Felt great to get away.

I worked at the hospital on Sunday so not much excitement then.

Monday Isaac started his summer school class. He's taking personal wellness over the summer - they have four in person meet ups then just assignments to turn in the rest of the summer. Homework being four workouts a week. I'm teaching my 45 minutes barre class on Monday's and Thursdays. The kids do well at home while I'm gone for just two hours. On this day they were diving into playdoh as I headed out to class. And surprisingly enough they cleaned it up before I got home.

Gorgeous flowers at the yoga studio:

Tuesday morning swimming 6am (I'll be swimming Tuesday/Thursday mornings outside this summer with some Saturdays when I can) It's straight down the new trail so quicker to ride my ebike. I decided to be a nice mom and bring home doughnuts to my sassholes.

That afternoon we went to the water park (same one I swim at) We had planned to just stay til 2:30, which was when Isaac's friends were showing up because Mary had a babysitting gig at 3:00. Thomas and Emma wanted to stay so I ran Mary home to babysit, made sandwiches and brought snacks back then we stayed at the park until Kyle brought Mary back about 5 and picked up Thomas for baseball. Lots of fun in the sun. We wanted to squeeze this visit in because the rest of the local schools were getting out the next day and I knew it wouldn't be as crowded with two big area schools still in session.

Isaac's group of friends, being so nice to let Thomas hang with them.

Mary and Emma had fun playing after Mary re-joined.

Long day outside, but great for me so I could rest and not have kids bickering at each other.

Oh and an update of the office, they got the floor in!

Friday morning hill run! Phew!

And an evening out with the gals.

Mayhem Part 4 - it's never ending (May 26th-31st)

2026-06-16T16:51:28.468-05:00

Kyle took a longer weekend, needing a break from work. So he got out in the kayak to fish Tuesday morning, then the two of us had a lunch picnic together.

Isaac had his 8th grade graduation on Thursday May 28th

(half of the class of 2030)

Crazy we're going to have a high schooler!

Isaac has made a great group of friends!

They spend the afternoon biking around and then ending up at a friend's pool. I got to see him at the park because he came out of the restaurant to a flat tire. Mom to the rescue to change his inner tube and get him mobile again.

That evening both boys had baseball games

Friday May 29th was the last day of school!

For the last day of school Isaac went to Valley Fair with school and the girls had a Sumer fest party at school I volunteered at. Emma wanted to do the Photo Booth with me :-)

Saturday May 30th was the final 5K for Girls on the Run (GOTR)

Fun to see friends along the way.

That afternoon we got the paddle boards out again, the kids and Kyle walked to Cedar lake, while I took the paddle board through the channel to meet them at the beach.

The girls got on the board together

Sunday Thomas had a rainy baseball game. Isaac and I watched from sitting in the van. Then Isaac had a joint graduation party with his group of guy friends. It was fun to visit with the other parents.

Most of the boys are the oldest kid and they have younger sisters all the same age, I didn't get them all together but here was a handful :-)

Mayhem part 3.5 Memorial Day weekend - Washed Ashore Art

2026-06-16T16:33:25.808-05:00

I'd been having hip issues for a couple years now... well since Wichita so 4 years it comes and goes. But it'd been getting bad again and I wanted to be able to do yoga without pain so I went back to my physical therapist mid May. (it's mid June now and it's helped a TON) but here I am on Friday May 22nd attempted to do my moved but getting interrupted with a dog needing attention.

Things have been hard lately with Kyle and I just not getting to see each other and frankly being burnt out with the whole parenting gig, May is exhausting. We went on a run together Saturday morning and it was so good to chat and talk through all the feels. :-) Running is free marriage therapy. But not really free cuz marriage is always work.

Memorial Day weekend AHHHHH no tournaments and finally a weekend of nothing on the calendar (a little calm before the final week push of May)

Sunday was warm and we put the work in to get over to the beach. Aired up both paddle boards which took fooorrreeevvveer. Me and Mary went out on them first.

Paddled over to Brownie Lake through the tunnel.

Mary had an assignment in social studies with an option to cook something from her heritage... which she took the British route of our ancestry and wanted to make Yorkshire Parkin... I have NO clue what this is but she was set on making it, lol. It's like a gingerbread coffee cake. It wasn't that bad.

Monday was Memorial Day, I taught my morning barre class then we loaded the kids up for some forced family fun (they all complained) and went to Como Zoo. They had trash art on display and it was the same exhibit we saw in Wichita the year we moved. (ironically almost exactly 4 years ago) WashedAShore

Mayhem part 3! (May 13th -21st)

2026-06-16T16:18:16.815-05:00

Demo work of the office started May 11th, this was the 12th our old hardwood floor that was under the carpet was all ripped out. I'll make a separate office remodel post with all the details.

May 14th started wit ha track meet, Thomas had a baseball game, Emma had a soccer game, Isaac had a baseball game he missed because he also had a band concert. Busy night!

Mary had a Chinese class field trip

Isaac had a baseball tournament over the weekend, photos from Friday night's game; thanks Bill!:

Saturday Emma also had a tournament in Apple Valley (about 30 minutes south of us)

Another player's dad took these photos: Emma was the only one to score a goal in the first game

Lunch and a change of jersey's for game two of the day

Emma got the GOAT award!

And a nap on the way home.

Sunday more soccer, but I got a bike ride in first

They won all three tournament games and made it to the championship game, lost in the tie breaker kick off.

Monday May 18th was the last morning track practice for these two:

Tuesday I got a haircut, woohoo! Then GOTR

Followed by a track meet, baseball, ice skating, and soccer. However Kyle was traveling again so we only did track and Thomas's last ice skating lesson that evening. Emma was sad to miss soccer but we (I) can only do so much and this was an evening we needed to say no to some things.

Our evenings are so insane, it's why I wake up at 5 am to swim. And get to see these amazing sunrises in April and May.

Thursday May 21st our GOTR group did their community impact project, they made cat scratches for the humane society. Isn't the fun!?!

That evening Mary joined me and Emma on a 45 minutes drive south for another soccer game, And a turn of weather made it a cold one!

Mayhem part 2 (May 8th-12th) Birthday weekend!

2026-06-16T12:00:18.429-05:00

May 8th sunrise on my way to a Friday morning swim

Walk to the dog wash and back with a loon spotting.

Friday night date night just Thomas and I. Isaac was at a baseball game and the girls were at a school event: Springfest.

May 9th - Saturday morning bike ride and a random spot for a bike ride rack over where the light rail goes down into a tunnel.

The girls had a skate party for their birthday on Saturday the 9th.

While we were partying at Skateville, Isaac had two baseball tournament games. Thanks again to Bill for great photos. Really I wouldn't see any of Isaac playing baseball without them.

Sunday morning was Mother's Day and well as the girls'birthday. Started with a run, then church and brunch.

Last bit of work cleaning the office walls in prep for them to start on the project the following day.

Thomas wanted to read near the lake so he biked over and laid on a blanket.

Finished off the rest of the ice cream cake left over from the party.

We didn't do candles on Sunday so made sure to get it in on Monday.

Tuesday morning annual check ups for the girls. No shots this year.

Springtime!

Mayhem! Week 1 (May 1st -7th)

2026-06-15T18:54:53.602-05:00

Friday, May 1st

Sneaking in some yoga before a crazy weekend!

Mary had three ice shows (and only 2 minutes of skate time in the whole thing but it was fun to watch). Friday night was the first show, I was volunteering so got to hang out at the rink.

Saturday morning run before back at the rink for the day. Got in some wall cleaning before Mary's 2:00 show.

Fun to experience an ice show for the first time, but we were all tired!

Sunday right into baseball for Thomas

Monday night Isaac had a game (More pictures by Bill)

Will all the running we do of kids here to there, I don't REALLY get to watch much... so it's so nice Bill shared these photos. Kyle is coaching Thomas so he is always at his games, and I usually only get to see an inning or two at a time in-between running someone else to their sports.

Preparing for the girls to get a new bed for their birthday! They had fun on the floor for a few nights.

3D printing party favors for their upcoming skating party.

Track has started as well! First meet Tuesday, May 5th

Isaac at the hurdles.

Isaac hurdles video:

Emma at the 100m sprint

Isaac 100m:

One bed made - Emma's loft bed, nice and tall. We had issues finding bunk beds tall enough to not hit the lights on the walls. This is an XL twin size.

Prepping for the GOTR practice 5K :-)

Mary was awarded the spirit of South View award, I am SOOOOO proud of her. Each teacher nominates ONE student so it's a pretty big deal, top 10% of the large school.

We got to attend a little breakfast celebration the morning of May 7th.

GOTR 5K! YAH!

Birthday beds complete!

Mary's is a queen on the bottom with plenty of headspace to sit up in bed. (she hated bonking her head on the top bunk)

Second Half of April '26 - skating, traveling, baseball and more

2026-06-15T18:13:26.143-05:00

Morning run view

Kyle went to China for a work trip, Saturday April 18th for six days

Mary had her first FS1 test (Free Style 1) In private skating lessons in order to level up you perform a routine as your test. She had her FS1 on April 18th and passed! Now she'll work on FS2 skills and do a test mid-to late summer.

Funny story with this video, we came to watch but thought she was just warming up. We thought there weren't going to be any one else on the ice. But there were a lot of people for this time slot so this 'practice' run was actually the real deal.

Mary has taking a liking to baking.

Woke to SNOW on April 19th, what!?!?!

Since Kyle was gone for the week that left me to do ALLLL the running. Emma had early morning soccer practice on Sunday morning so I got a run in around her location while she practiced.

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Blessed to get free tickets to the twins game from GOTR. Great way to pass the time away with Kyle being gone. It was chilly!

Trying to warm up in the sun.

After the game it was a trip to dicks sporting goods to buy ALL THE SHOES! Thankfully we had a 20% coupon!

Monday morning, pre swim view:

Isaac had his first baseball game - April 20th. One of the dad's captured these great photos!

Oakley being a good boy sitting on the porch with us. Finally good weather! Spring was a long time coming.

Morning run:

Friday evening Kyle got home to be with Thomas just after we had left for the middle school play. The girls and Isaac knew a lot of people in the play. It was so good!

April 25th

April 26th

Thomas playing on one field, Isaac ump-ing on the other

So glad to be heading up GOTR again.

Mary's sewing project for school

Sunrise so gorgeous on my way to swim

Finished April with the annual GOTR luncheon fundraiser.

And an evening of ice skating, baseball, baseball and soccer!

Mary had her dress rehearsal for the skate show that weekend I didn't get a photo but did record her group's number:

Glimpse at the life we live... This was only the start May through mid-June is worse.

More great photos by Bill (a parent's dad)

First half of April 2026 - running, Easter, skating, and signs of Spring

2026-06-15T14:05:32.542-05:00

Isaac and I have been running together we are running the Goldy 10K in one week. Kyle also has been running, he's training for the 10 mile. Trying to cram lots of runs in because we both took too much time off around spring break.

Coloring eggs the day before Easter

Easter morning.

Attempt at the resurrection rolls... but with really old yeast they were kinda a flop.

Easter Day run

Hunting for eggs around the house and a tired pup.

Muscrat spotting on a morning run

Mary had her dress rehearsal for the upcoming ice show and Thomas started a skating skills class to prepare to learn how to play hockey.

Kids helping to clean the wallpaper glue goo off the office walls in preparation for our office remodel... I'll make a big separate post all about this. But in an effort to save $4000 we're removing the wall paper ourselves.

Sunday April 12th the Goldy Run

Up early, parked over near our church and rode the light rail over to campus

Isaac and I finished the 10K, realized we should have trained more and practice running some hills.

Here comes Kyle finishing up his 10 miles.

And guess what!?! It's GOTR time (Girls on the Run) I started a team at my son's school. Fun to be back in the same community where my kids go to school and get to know my youngest's peers.

Springtime blooming trees:

And beautiful sun rises on my drive to swim in the morning.

End of March 2026

2026-06-15T13:50:58.186-05:00

Looks like I have some catching up to do, my last post was spring break. So here is the rest of March.

Thomas said "mom look at my hair"lol. He's been wanting to grow it a little longer

Morning run March 27th

Emma participated in a polar plunge at school to benefit Special Olympics

Enjoying some sunshine

Technically April 3rd, but washing Oakley up at the self wash station.

3D Printing

2026-06-15T09:56:29.148-05:00

Enough here this was probably December through June 2026 prints.

Snowman earrings

On Christmas break I made these little holders for our Catan game Isaac got for Christmas.

Two attempts, but was able to make little trays for one of our board games.

Stand for Alexa

Got a go pro for our spring break trip, now printing off accessories for it :-)

This should be useful, it's a stick grip and opens to a tripod:

For the girls' birthday party we made all their guests their own name keychain

I also made my girls on the run coaches these keychains but they say GOTR. Didn't get a photo of that one.

And Emma's soccer team has an away tournament in Duluth and the moms are putting together little swag bags so I made a batch for her soccer team. PVU is the name of her soccer club. Park Valley United.

Spring Break 2026 ~ Puerto Vallarta Day 4 & 5 {Resort time and Departure Day}

2026-03-27T12:42:00.004-05:00

Saturday was our final full day. The girls and I dressed appropriate and went to the 'fancier' restaurant for breakfast... we weren't impressed and preferred the other one that had a basic breakfast buffet. But they got their Nutella pancakes and were happy.

Back to the pool when it opened then the kids made bracelets at the kids club

Emma had lost her goggles in the ocean on Thursday, I checked the store at the resort and they had some for sale. Got her a new pair... which she hated. They were pretty crapy after all, but hey they worked. Luckily she has a very kind brother who let her take over his pair.

peacocks at the store

Some basketball playing that morning, not much cuz the court was kinda crappy. And of course pool time. Kyle, Isaac, and I played some cards poolside.

Then lunch. They sat us at about the same spot every time since there are six of us.

And back in the pool of course, lol. Looks like Mary got the crappy goggles in this photo.

Afternoon snack at the crepe station.

Then dinner as the sun went down.

Progression of sun setting.

Slowly walking back to the room after the sun set and enjoying a few more the resort has to offer: ping pong and rocking horses.

We had popcorn back in the room and began packing our bags. Not a super early flight but we planned to eat breakfast then get a ride to the airport. We had a noon flight but didn't want to be rushed. Grand finale as we left was Mr. Peacock shaking his tail feathers! Adios!

Third and final highlight video:

Pretty early at the airport, bags checked and hung out for a bit. Wishing we could have snuck in on the 11am direct flight to Minneapolis, but had to wait on a connector which was also full and they were taking volunteers to stay back. We boarded the loooonnnngggg flight to Detroit.

Once in Detroit we had to go through customs, getting our checked bags, checking them again and waiting in the security line. Not much time before our connecting flight but was able to grab food to eat on the plane. Long day of traveling on Sunday.

Arrived about 10pm, kids were super helpful getting the bags, now this we could get used to :-)

The pet boarding place picked us up and shuttled us to the facility where we retrieved our van and Oakley who was HAPPY to see us. Here are some photos of his time while we were away.

Looks like he made friends.

Spring Break 2026 ~ Puerto Vallarta Day 3 {Excursion to Las Calatas Beach and Adventure Park}

2026-03-27T12:23:00.003-05:00

Friday came and it was excursion day. We booked a boat trip to a private beach called Las Caletas. I think it's owned by this travel company; it's only accessible by boat. It was super fun and I highly recommend it! At first we felt rushed like we wouldn't have time to do EVERYTHING. But in the end we had plenty of time and the hour and a half after lunch we didn't realize we'd have was spent relaxing and playing in the sand... so yes plenty of time to do it all (well mostly - we didn't do many of the group things like the cooking class or mezcal tasting, nor the scuba diving lesson or banana boat ride. But all that we wanted to do with did)

First up was the port arrival. A quick 15 minute taxi ride from our hotel we arrived, got this photo taken, paid the port fair and got checked in for our boat. Oh and I bought this floatable GoPro attachment! Perfect for the day ahead.

First in line to load. We saw a family we knew from Edina in the security line to get through to the port! Small world.

Sat up top one the way there to see the views.

The ride to the beach was 45 minutes or maybe a little longer as the captain drove closer to the shoreline and talked about the town.

Mary started to get a little sea sick at the end of the ride. Isaac took a little nap.

As we approached the beach they had demonstrations of the adventure park options (zip line, blob, banana boat, etc) I was on the lower deck with Mary to get a barf bag (wasn't used) but Kyle said they had parrots flying over head as they docked.

First order of business was breakfast and why I think Mary wasn't feeling well. The kids all ate some cereal in the room before we left but it wasn't enough for her belly to handle the boat ride.

There was a little bit of a line for breakfast so I made a quick walk to the bathroom. Beautiful trails. Super yummy tacos for breakfast and pineapple juice. All inclusive with the trip.

After breakfast we walked over to the beach, the waiter gave us a tip to take a short cut through the restaurant seating instead of going up the hill through the trails. Lots of crabs on the rocks!

This was great except the tide was up and the beach path meant wading in waves, lol. But we made it through. Later that day we were back in this spot and there was plenty of beach space to cross in front of these rocks.

We were all interested in snorkeling so that was our priory. I went up to retrieve the gear.

Mary did some paddle boarding in the mean time then we got our stuff on. And at some point I messed up a setting on my GoPro so these next few photos are wonky. I mainly used my go pro on this trip so check out the video at the end of this blog post for the better highlight.

View of the activities beach.

Fun in the sun. Girls each got to hold a bird.

Next order of business was to check out the adventure park which was on the other side of the bluff.

Turns out you have to be 9 to do the big kid adventure park. There was a kid park, but we had to make a reservation on the boat and at the time Thomas did not want to do it. So while the other four went off and did the zip line, dunk tank, rattle snake water slide, and tree stepping stones Thomas and I found our own fun.

He wanted to explore this adventure gym.

Then we went back down to the beach and snorkeled. I had returned 4 of the 6 pieces of gearing thinking we might want to go again. We snorkeled out to this hammock island.

Parrots flying overhead.

Sun bathing

Snorkeled over to this little floating pad thing.

This second round of snorkeling I found much better fish! That was probably my favorite part. Loving my new GoPro and its ability to capture underwater. Can you spot the eel in the second photo?

I didn't get any photos of Mary paddle boarding earlier (there's video) but Thomas and I did a little circle on the kayak.

Back at the beach the other's returned from their adventure, we had a little bit of time in the water. Girls borrowed life jackets to float out to the hammocks. Then it was time for lunch - 1:30.

We were thinking we'd have to load the boat right after lunch but turns out we didn't load the boat til 3:30, so plenty of time to do whatever else we wanted.

We ended up hanging out at the small beach and the kids played in the sand and swam.

Back on the boat they were passing out the drinks and provide entertainment on the boat deck.

Kids are loving the all inclusive life of smoothies, Shirley temples and drinks galore.

Zoomed in view of our resort! You can see how lushious and green it is. They do have amazing foliage.

After a big walk around the port to finally find the exit to the taxis, we were able to get in a bigger van with another family.

Sun kissed and happy, we're back at the resort. Thomas got a LOT of sun. He also was a stinker when I tried to get sun screen on him that morning, now he knows why we wear it.

You'd think we'd had enough, but nope Mary and Thomas went straight to the pools. Emma followed shortly after. I'm sitting at the pool looking up at our room:

Cleaned up for dinner and caught the sunset on another wonderful day.

Look at that moon.

Oh almost forgot the highlight video:

Spring Break 2026 ~ Puerto Vallarta Day 2 {Walk through town}

2026-03-27T10:09:00.003-05:00

Thursday morning Mary and I were up bright and early and got to watch the sunrise. We played a game on the balcony and waited for the restaurant to open at 7:30am so we could go get breakfast.

The resort had two restaurants and they changed the focus each evening. The breakfast and lunch menu stayed the same but dinner would rotate. There was the restaurant by the beach and then the other one had a dress code and you needed evening reservations. We stuck with the first one so that we could go straight to the pool after eating.

Again lots of pool time, we claimed some chairs for our touch down spot.

The girls loved the lazy river that connected the front pool and back pool. It was pretty warm, too warm for my liking.

They also had a kids club, Thomas checked it out this day and attended the noon video game session. Lunch doesn't open til 12:30, so we retrieved Thomas when it was time to eat lunch. (iguana in the tree)

I think we changed before lunch so we were dry and after lunch we caught a taxi and had it drop us off in the town so we could walk the Malecon (sidewalk that runs along the ocean) The el Centro is the middle of a town in Mexico. They were doing some construction near the start, but we made our way over to the beach sidewalk. It was pretty warm, hottest part of the day.

They had lots of sculptures along the way.

We made it to the sign and turned back in land to walk back on the road next over. Had we known we should have walked a bit further and we would have seen the famous pier. But we were getting tired, cranky, and hot.

Anytime I mentioned we were in Puerto Vallarta everyone asks "did you feel safe?" and the answer is YES! Of course we did! PV is a very touristy town, even Isaac said "I'm surprised how many signs are in English" They thrive on tourism. But a few week prior there was a big uproar with the cartel, their head guy was killed and they had an uprising and PV was a hot spot. They had burned busses and vehicles as well as many of the Oxxo's. Oxxo is their chain convenient store, kind of like a seven eleven. We saw them a lot on our Mexico Moto trip two months ago. Anyway, the only thing we saw was the aftermath of that... which when we were looking for a bathroom for Emma thinking we could run into an oxxo but as we neared they were all burned and empty. We were wondering why they targeted the Oxxo and my brother had asked his friend that lives here... he wasn't sure either but thought maybe it's because they wanted to make a statement but didn't want to harm local businesses and since Oxxos are chains or perhaps ran by the government?? who knows But that was all we saw, we felt safe the entire time.

Here is what AI has to say about it: Cartels burned Oxxo convenience stores primarily as a retaliatory tactic to create chaos, protest the arrest of high-level bosses, and disrupt military operations. By targeting these ubiquitous, lightly secured, and widely recognized, the groups, specifically the Jalisco New Generation Cartel (CJNG), aim to create panic and force the government to cease security actions against them.

We did find a bathroom in Starbucks thankfully.

Made it back to our hotel. They had a crepe station in the lobby which was delicious. We sat and watched the staff trying to shoo the peacocks out of the lobby, lol.

Kids wanted to hit the beach then pool. Attempt at a family photo inside... not good, let's try that again :-) These were taken with the GoPro.

Little bit of beach time, then the pool.

Then back to the room to clean up for dinner. We had reservations at the other restaurant: Auora and needed to dress nice. It's mainly for the boys, collared shirt, close toed shoes. Girls need to be in dresses, skirts, or something nice. My girls don't like dresses but they do love jumpers

Isaac hates dressing up most of all. He's wearing Kyle's shoes... which are too small and was walking like a duck by the end of the night. lol.

But we all looked nice.

Greeted at the entrance.

Honestly wasn't took impressed with the food here.

But an end to another beautiful day. Excited for our excursion tomorrow.

Spring Break 2026 ~ Puerto Vallarta Day 1 {Travel day}

2026-03-27T09:42:00.000-05:00

Spring Break didn't start as we had hoped... when we picked up the kids from school on Friday we learned that our Sunday flight had been cancelled due to a forecasted HUGE snow storm. We were surprised they cancelled based on forecast alone, the storm hadn't even started yet and here are thousands of people's travel plans getting disrupted. We were out to eat and while Kyle was on hold with Delta, I was also searching for alternative flights. We had empty dreams of maybe catching a Saturday flight before the storm hit... but in the end the earliest we could book was Wednesday morning as flights were getting filled and sold out by the minute. So I secured Wednesday while Kyle was still on hold and he was able to have the lady extend our return flight from Friday to Sunday; which unfortunately meant a late home arrival and no down time before everyone is back at it on Monday morning, but at least our trip was only shorted one day in the end. But with that we also had to rebook our resort which the one we had planned to stay at could not accommodate our change, which was a blessing because we found a better place. And we had to rebook Oakley's stay, they didn't have room but thankfully made it work for us for him to stay through the weekend. Oh and domino effect we rebooked our Tuesday excursion to Friday at no charge.

So Wednesday FINALLY arrived we were all kinda bummed Sunday... Monday... Tuesday... thinking "ugh we could be in Mexico right now". At least there actually WAS a snow storm, not quite as epic as they predicted but we did get 18 inches and it put a damper on everyone's travels.

We had a 7am flight so up at 3:45am Kyle got the shoveling done because of course the big snow was Saturday night into Sunday with another couple inches Tuesday evening. Got the kids up about 4:10am, our shuttle from the pet boarding place was set for 5am. There was lots of talk about airport wait times due to TSA not getting paid and homeland security shutdown so we were hopeful it wasn't going to be too big a wait. I had TSA precheck and was able to get the kids through security faster with me, Kyle went through the long line himself but still only took about 20 or so minutes. Made it to our gate, grabbed some breakfast then got on the plane.

Everyone, and I mean every ONE was seated and ready to go when we get the announcement that the plane had something wrong and we all needed to get off, go across the terminal to another gate where a plane would be waiting for us, so an hour or so delay...

Finally made it in the air! Thankful for a direct flight.

Yah we arrived!

Left 20°F and arrived to 80°F

We walked across the bridge at the airport to take a taxi to our resort. They way overprice taxis if you get one FROM the airport (we learned this via the numerous YouTube videos we watched). Price from the airport was $755 pesos and just by walking out of the airport, up a ramp to a bridge across the highway and back down we were able to get a taxi for $300 pesos. Our hotel was only about a mile from the airport so a nice quick ride. Thomas was concerned about our luggage which was on top of the vehicle but it made it fine.

We were early for our room check in but they said it'd be ready soon. We got our resort bracelets and walked the grounds to explore. Beautiful!

They had peacocks, iguanas, lots of birds, and koi fish.

Walk up to our room on the 7th floor. View from the hallway outside our room door.

Wasn't sure what this place was in the distance but it looks fun.

Just looked it up and looks like it is this place Vidanta World which is the Cirque de soli resort and is not open yet.

Time to get swim suits on and go to lunch

Lunch by the ocean.

Then some beach time

We picked up a GoPro a couple days before we left when I realized my waterproof camera bit the dust on our Hawaii trip. So I spent some time playing around with it. It's much better for videos and underwater, but I took a few photos with it. It was fun to make some highlight videos and showcases our trip a little better.

Followed by pool time into the evening.

Great first day! So glad we finally made it.