Lauren Rebecca

Day Dates 6/21/24

2024-07-28T18:14:00.002-04:00

Married June 21st 2013.

Here we are 11 years later...3 kids, 3 dogs, 3 states, 7 houses, 5 gyms and a partridge in a pear tree later.

Just taking a date day to relax and do nothing.

Happy 4th Of July!!!

2024-07-28T18:00:00.005-04:00

HAPPY 4th OF JULY!!!!

-2024-

Maxwell Loves Reptiles: He turned 9 & his FIRST pet!!

2024-07-28T17:23:00.004-04:00

Maxwell turned 9 this June and I cannot believe that this is his last year as a single digit child.

Currently, Maxwell is into video games, particularly Gorilla Tag. He loves reptiles, dinosaurs still and enjoys drawing and anything artistic. His favorite movie currently is Inside Out 1 and 2.

What started off as asking 1 friend to come visit for his birthday turned into a full-on party with a few friends, cake and even the one drink he's been asking to try for months...Prime. This is a no-go in my house of non-toxic food/drink. But I did let him get this for his party, as a special occasion. I think that may have been the highlight of the party. Ha ha.

We also decided that this would be the time to get Maxwell his first pet. With his love of reptiles, we embarked on the mission to find the easiest and friendliest lizard we could find. To which we were pointed to the Leopard Gecko. Now, I will say, I think that Tyler was almost more excited for this than Maxwell. While it was a surprise, Maxwell had been asking for a pet for a few years. It was that or a iphone and a cell phone was NOT gonna happen quite yet.

In typical Tyler fashion, he did a thorough investigation into everything that leopard geckos entail and ordered everything under the sun for this new pet. Boxes upon boxes kept arriving at the door and after the front door started looking more like a wall than a door, I finally questioned Ty as to what exactly he bought for this lizard. lol. Turns out that a simple lizard isn't so simple after all. An entire live ecosystem, 4 lights of different temps, a temp laser gun, large encasement with stand, numerous gadgets that I'm still not even sure what they are for, later...and we had everything we needed besides the actual gecko.

Tyler couldn't order from a pet store within driving distance. No, that would have been too simple. He ordered from a professional breeder in AZ and had it overnighted to us. I'm starting to think that Tyler is lot more like Clark Griswold than I ever realized. Even that shipment process was an escapade. While it was super hot in both AZ and TX, the breeder assured us that if she shipped at night and it arrived the next morning, it would be fine as it is sent with cooling box. When Ty arrived early the next morning at the pick up station, he was dismayed to find that the lizard was NOT in fact there. After calling the breeder and assessing, we found out it was delayed in Tennessee. So at this point we didn't even know if we were going to get this gecko here alive. We had not told Maxwell about his present yet, so that was the only positive aspect to the whole debacle.

On the next day, Ty showed up yet again at the pick up station and thankfully.....Ms Nelly aarrived and was alive!! We brought her back and set her all up in her new home. Ty spent the next 2 weeks fussing over her and making sure she had everything she could possibly need. When Maxwell got out of school that day, he was elated by his new little friend. He named her Nelly and she's been happy at home since. Although she is nocturnal and doesn't do too much, Maxwell finds having her to be a fun first and loves holding her and helping to feed her the mealworms.

Hello again. Beach Bums in FL.

2024-07-11T17:33:00.003-04:00

It's been a long while since I've put fingers to keys here. So much has gone on since I've posted here months ago. I am excited to catch you all up on where life has brought us over the last year. The blessings, hard moments and everything in between. Looking back over last year, it always surprises me how much can happen in 365 days. We are FINALLY breaking ground on our home build here. We have a teenager. We have added on more gyms. And so much more that I want to document. I have missed writing here. Not just posting photos, but authentically writing and journaling. Life never seems to slow down and I keep telling myself that I'll take time to get this going again.

Today is the day.

For now, leaving here my photos of our annual trip to Florida to visit family and get some salt air on our skin! Come back and visit soon! I promise I'll be posting more often :)

Maxwell's 8th Birthday: Lego Land & CA

2023-09-07T14:54:00.002-04:00

Carrying on the theme this year for birthday trips, we surprised Maxwell with a trip to LegoLand Ca for the big 8! He had no clue where we were going. All he knew was that we were taking a plane to get there. He kept asking for hints along the way. When we arrived, there was sheer excitement as he walked up to the Lego Castle! It carried on into the room decorated with birthday items for him and as they explored the fun castle- themed room!

I was really surprised by how much we loved staying here. I figured this was going to be a trip that we did for the kids and just lived through their enjoyment. But in all honesty, I had JUST as much fun as the kids. I loved watching them find the clues throughout the resort to open the gift lego box in our room. We had pool time and plenty of snacks and drinks were served. They had many activities going on all throughout the afternoons and into the evenings including interactive shows, movies and if they weren't about that, you could play of the awesome playground for kids. The park was also a good time. Maxwell was SUPER excited that he found Mr. Gold!! There are only 8 hidden throughout the park each day. They are with staff members and you have to go around asking for them. What are the odds....he found Mr. Gold on our first day! And traded it in for a super rare lego- a birthday moment he will remember.

Maxwell doesn't enjoy too many rides. He takes after his Dad in the fact that if he can't drive it or control it, he isn't sure he wants anything to do with it! lol. But there were a plethora of ride options both chill and thrill. His favorite ones were the driving cars and getting his "license" as well as the firetruck race. Ty was born for that ride. He was reliving his firefighter days and made sure they won that race! ;) Mini Land was super cool to see. Maxwell's love language is gifts. So we left with a couple bags more than I really wanted to buy him. Ha. But, you only turn 8 once!

After 2-3 days at LegoLand, we packed up and stayed the rest of the trip in La Jolla CA. This was partly to let the kids go explore the beach and somewhat also for a bit of relaxation for Ty and I. We rented an Airbnb with ocean views and lots of windows. The rest of the trip was just relaxing. We went to the beaches, I was surprised at how cool it was there in June. We booked some great restaurants to eat at. A fav was the views at George's at The Cove and Duke's which was Hawaiian food. Loved that one. We also did morning walks to get Maxwell's favorite treat, at Dodo Bird Donuts and explored the shops and cafes. Next year will be parties and I'm already missing these birthday trips! The best memories are made during these trips. :)

Zion with Kids: Under Canvas Location

2023-05-04T18:19:00.004-04:00

We just spent the 5 days in amazing Zion, Utah! I posted lots of clips on Instagram and the amount of messages that I got from y'all...I wanted to get this blog post out asap!

Why Zion?

Scarlett's birthday is this week and she has always been really into National Parks, nature and animals. I started looking for a place to go almost 5 months ago. There are a lot of National Parks that we are going to visit...but I fell upon a glamping site first, that caught my attention. First off, I love planning vacations. I love it ALMOST as much as the vacation itself. Ha ha. So I did some good research into all the state parks. I had my heart set on a National Park for Scarlett's 12th birthday because as mentioned, she has been really into them the last year or so. BUT. My ultimate decision came when I found Under Canvas, a glamping site that not only locations in Zion, but a bunch of other locations across the country. I made my decision on Zion based on the locations from the website, HERE. Zion looked magical and my eyes lit up at the very thought of it. Mind you, Under Canvas is fairly new, so I didn't find a ton of YouTube videos on it or other blog posts. Which is what I do when I find a place I want to go. I start reading a lot of blog posts on it, social media posts, reviews and watch YouTube posts about the location I'm going. Since there wasn't a ton of info on it, I decided to still take a chance- reviews were great! And we were NOT disappointed! Wow, is an understatement. It was an exceptionally cool place. So much info I want to share about Under Canvas and Zion!
All of my recommendations and tips are coming from a family with young children, age 3-11. So keep that in mind. Had I taken this trip with adults, I would still have stayed at Under Canvas, but our itinerary would have looked different.

Where We Stayed:

Under Canvas Zion. They have many options for tents here. I was originally going to book the "Stargazer with Kids Tent". It has a main tent with king sized bed and then a teepee style tent next to it with 2 cots. I changed my mind the week before we left and switched to the "Suite" which is a bigger more luxurious tent. Why? Because the suite had a lounge area with a queen sleeper sofa and I could get a cot added in. The hardest part of the stay was knowing what the weather would be. (Which I talk about that below) but I knew it would be chilly nights and warm days. Each tent has a wood stove inside that keeps you warm- the teepees, did not. I knew my kids well enough to know if they got cold, they would come in our tent and we would have 3 kids in a King bed! So I changed to the "Suite" and I am glad I did. If it were summer when I went, I would have gone with the separate teepee tent for kiddos.

Under Canvas was amazing in so many ways. Staff was so helpful and friendly. Activities offered on and off site: Live music, yoga, fire pits and smores nightly, private hike guides, horseback riding, canyoneering etc. Luxury tents with posh West Elm decor, organic bath products, FULL bathrooms, fun kids activities and thee most comfortable beds! Even the kids said that the sofa sleeper was cozy and comfortable. I slept better here with the fresh air coming in the windows and the cozy linens than I do at home! And let's talk about that VIEW!! I cannot tell you what this place did for my soul. I think just about every tent had an amazing view. This location is about 35ish min from Zion National Park Visitor Center (where all the hiking occurs). So it is further away than some of the closer hotels, but I think that view was WELL worth it. Keep this in mind when making your plans.

When We Stayed:

I picked the last week of April solely based on the kid's school schedule and Scarlett's birthday. They had a 3 day weekend so they would miss less school and it was close to Scarlett's May 4th birthday. BUT...the locals told me that we hit the jackpot for weather because 2 weeks earlier it was snowing and they told us that not far into May, it gets into the 100's! So I would say that picking the time of year to go is highly important and I would suggest end of April or May if you don't want super cold or super hot. The tents have NO electricity. That means no AC and no heat. But the first night we were there was in the 40's at night and the stove got that tent nice and toasty warm! We actually had to turn it off. The rest of our stay was perfect and we didn't' really even need the stove.

There is NO wifi here and service is not good. Which, honestly, I LOVED. I took all the photos and video I wanted but was off the grid and it felt so good to do that. Life doesn't really allow for that. I will tell you that I picked my phone up about 30 times the first day to check emails, check in w/ staff, etc...but by the end of that day, I learned that my phone is now just my camera! :)

Food & Drink:

There is a chef/restaurant onsite with breakfast and dinner offered daily. Lunch is grab and go only since most people are out and about during this time. Their food surpassed my expectations! Lots of locally sourced and tasty options. Not a huge menu but it was all delicious. Kids options, too We ate here quite a few times and had something different each time. Coffee, tea and hot cocoa were complementary and served all day. They also had a gift shop and lots of snacks/treats. Smore's were offered at night at no cost.

Utah has the strangest alcohol laws. You can only order drinks WITH food and you cannot walk around too far with it. You must drink it at your eating area where you were served and the staff has to bring it to your table/chair. Wine was only sold by the bottle. Shucks. lol. But if you didn't finish it, they would cork it for you and magically, you could bring it back to your tent and drink it there. Not sure the logic but it is what it is! Just be aware if you think you may want drinks, that they have some really unique liquor laws in Utah. We couldn't just order a drink to sip on by the fire. We would have to order food with it. Even an appetizer will do.

When you arrive, they give you free spring waters that you can refill throughout the stay at their water station. We had brought some since I'm a water snob and wasn't sure what they would provide. But ended up drinking theirs as well since it was spring fed and tasty! Food is NOT allowed in your tent due to animals and bugs, which I completely understand. If you bring food, they are kind enough to provide coolers and ice for you to keep it in your car.
Also, if you drive to the neighboring areas: Hurricane or Springdale, which is closest to Zion National Park, there were a lot of cute restaurants and places to eat/drink. Some places that we were told were good or that we tried in Springdale were: Zion Brewery, Bit & Spur, Meme's Cafe, Spotted Dog Cafe, Park House Cafe, OutPost and for coffee: Feel Love Coffee. Staff will definitely give you recommendations as well.

What to Pack:

This was probably the most challenging part of planning. I had to keep checking the weather up until the day before but ultimately decided that layers were best. It could be brutal to not pack enough warm clothes or cool clothes here. Luckily we were only going to be lounging at camp or hiking so it was the lightest I've ever packed! I fit all 5 of us into 3 small suitcases. I was really proud of this as I'm a chronic overpacker in fear of not being prepared! Our musts: hiking shoes/sneakers, lightweight puffer jackets, sweatshirts, sweatpants, leggings, tees/tanks, short and lots of socks. The kids clothes came home red from all that red rock! haha. What you pack is going to depend on when you go. But know that if you do water hiking, they offer rental water shoes, hiking sticks etc for rent at the park. Here is the list of things we brought from my Amazon Storefront: HERE. And I bought these amazing hiking sneakers for myself HERE. Love them!

Hiking:

CHECK THE CONDITIONS OF THE STATE PARK BEFORE YOU GO and before you hike each day. I had my heart set on hiking the Narrows IN the water. It looked like a truly amazing experience. However, I was heartbroken that this part of the Narrows was closed due to flooding. I guess this can happen at any time and can be dangerous with flash floods. Had we done this, we would have rented water shoes, sticks and brought waterproof or water resistant pants/shorts ...but we weren't able to do the water hiking part. Still, we got to hike a good part of the narrows that are not in the water (Riverside hike). And it was JUST as beautiful. The park gives you a great map with all of the easy, moderate and difficult hikes along with the locations/stops. The cool thing about hiking here is that you can park and take a shuttle up and down to ALL of the hiking areas. And there are about 9. Some need permits, but nothing you will do with young kids will need this. Here are some that we had planned although there are more than this! Looking back, I would probably split the hike up into 2 trips to get the most out of the hikes. This is a recommendation only for families with small children. My younger two were tired after 2 hikes but this was about 4 hours time so I would say they did good. If your kids are older, they might do better.

The hikes that I would do with kids are:
The Narrows (if you get the chance to do the water part, do it!) if not, do the Riverside walk. You will walk alongside the river and also get to get close enough to touch it.
Lower Emerald Pools Trail- I have photos of that below w/ us walking under the waterfall.
Weeping Wall
Canyon Overlook

Big Bend

We made the mistake of not getting to the park early enough. We took our time. We should have gotten up at the crack of dawn and got to the Visitor Center because the parking fills up and if it does, the overfill parking is far away and takes longer to get back to the visitor center just to get a shuttle to the hiking areas! Luckily we found a spot but it was not easy! Get there early! Once you park, you have to take a shuttle to any of the hiking areas. The shuttle runs most of the year but check park site for info on this as well as the conditions HERE.
BRING SNACKS!! They do have 1 place to eat at stop 6 (which we did eat at for lunch) but I would highly suggest bringing protein or energy-providing snacks for the family. They will get hungry and of course, thirsty. So bring that water too. We brought this super cool recommendations that I got from another blogger. The PiggyBack HERE.

Itinerary:

Wednesday: We flew into Harry Read Airport in Las Vegas because there were no San Antonio flights into the closer, smaller airport. The time change was 2 hours from SA. We took a shuttle to the Car Rental place and then grabbed some lunch at Carson's Kitchen which was an A La Carte restaurant that we loved. Not super kid-friendly unless your kids are adventurous eaters, which 2 out of 3 of mine are. The other had a burger ;) Then we drove the 3 hours into Zion to check into Under Canvas which is another hour time difference. The drive is long but you won't mind because it's so beautiful!
We checked in and immediately the kids were greeted with activities! They painted rocks while we they ran us through all the camp information. Then we got settled into our tent. Scarlett found out that her surprise was going to be a private horseback ride through Zion!! They thoughtfully left us a card with a note for her on the bed. The kids wanted to stay at the tent and play but we went back to the headquarters to grab dinner. After, the kids had smore's around the campfire. We were pretty tired from the long travel and time change so we got into cozy clothes and hung out in the tent by lantern light before bedtime.

Thursday: We got up early and ate breakfast on site. Then we made ur way to Zion National Park Visitor Center and parked. We took the shuttle all the way to stop 9 first: The Narrows/ Temple of Sinawava. This was the ONE place that I wanted to make sure we hiked and since I didn't know how long the kids would last, we went here first and made our way back down. This one was about an hour but it took us longer because we stopped to snack, drink, take pics or just admire. I'd say plan for 1.5 hours if going with little ones unless you are going to do the water part of this. Then you will likely be longer. After this, the kids were STARVING...lol so we stopped at stop 6, The Grotto and ate at the park restaurant, which was not too bad for a small place. It did the trick of feeding us so we didn't have to leave the park. AND....they had organic salad! ;)

Then we continued on to Lower Emerald Pools which was conveniently at this stop as well. This walk had steep sides and little kids could easily fall off so be mindful of this. Parts of it made me nervous with Vera so I had her go on the piggyback. Easy hike but watch for those drop offs! The end hear the waterfall is spectacular! I'm glad we got to see this one and take some photos. You can go further here but we decided to turn around because the kids were getting tired. We came back to camp and everyone napped while I finished my bottle of wine from the night before. Scarlett and I went up to camp headquarters to play some games and eat some food together = mommy/daughter time. Live music was playing this night and so that added to our experience. Ty and kids joined us later and then the kids played cornhole, tetherball and of course, smore's again. We met lots of people this night since it seemed everyone was checking in on Thursday. The kids met some dog friends, too! This place is also dog friendly. Then we went back to our tent, told scary stories and just relaxed together before falling asleep. Sometimes the smaller moments were the best!

Friday: Scarlett woke up super early excited about the horse ride that was happening! Everyone else was sleeping so we decided to throw on our sweatshirts and go grab coffee/hot cocoas together. Then we sat and watched the sun come up. Scarlett really enjoyed our small one on one times during this trip. We looked for the cows that roamed the site every morning. We brought all the drinks back and got ready for the day. We had breakfast on site again since our ride was at 10am. The horse ride was so cool! Warning- it was expensive! Like really $$$$ but they did have horseback riding less expensive offered at the state as well. For our ride, they came right to the site which was really convenient. We each had our own horse except for Vera who could ride with me either in front or behind me in a buddy seat. This was the highlight of the trip for the kids! They were so excited about this! Especially Maxwell, who was terrified at first but conquered his fear and didn't want to get off at the end. After that, we decided to head into Springdale to eat some lunch and explore. We gave the kids the option to hike one more hike but they opted for souvenirs and ice cream instead ;) Not surprised. Luckily it's all in the same area so we ate ice cream while we took in the view of the mountains and cliffs. Lunch, walked around, shopped and ice cream . Then we came back to camp, showered and the kids played with their new toys on the porch while Ty and I enjoyed some coffees/tea. We ate dinner onsite again because we truly wanted to relax and just take in the off-grid moments that we rarely get. The kids did their nightly games and smores.

Saturday: We woke up late this day. Well, the family did. I got up early and did my morning walk and went a little off the track to a huge boulder. I got to see the most beautiful views from that rock and also got to scare myself to death by random large lizards scurrying by! On my way back I grabbed hot beverages and woke up Ty wo we could sit on the front porch and watch that glorious sunrise one last time! It didn't get old. We turned on some music and had a slow morning as we packed up.

The kids had to hug all of the staff good-bye. They were so sad to leave! That is how awesome all of the staff here were. You felt like family, honestly. One girl bonded with Scarlett and she had to hug her about 5 times before we left! :)

Then we headed up the mountain since we heard the road was closed from a snow avalanche. The ride up had SO many great spots to stop and take in the views or play in streams. The ride up was a tad scary with crazy drop-offs, but it was worth it! Don't do this in the winter!!! After we found the snow and played in it, put our feet in the river and took some pics, we grabbed lunch in Hurricane and then headed back to Las Vegas to swim at our hotel there and catch an early morning flight.

Now are you ready for photo dump??? I apologize in advance because this was without a doubt one of our favorite trips to date...so these are for the memory books!

Lately...

2023-03-30T20:31:00.001-04:00

Be Mine...

2023-03-30T19:23:00.003-04:00

took a little trip to Austin for a weekend alone...no kids. this does wonders for the soul. a little reset.

I highly suggest more trips. more travel. more staycations. more fun. life is short...do the fun things.

VERA turned 3. (2023)

2023-03-05T17:50:00.006-05:00

Each year we rotate birthday parties and birthday experiences. This year, we are giving all of the kids experiences instead of a party as we did last year. Vera loves flamingos and giraffes so Ty thought that the zoo would be a perfect day for her. And IT was!! She got to feed flamingos AND giraffes so it was a perfect day in her eyes. We did have a small gathering also just because she was requesting balloons and cupcakes with a candle. Ha ha. So we invited our friends here in SA over for some snacks and play. Her gift this year was a playground. Since it wouldn't be set up on time (we slacked on ordering the install), they sent a puzzle that she put together and once completed, it showed her what she would be getting in just a few days!

She was VERY excited. At three, all of the small things are so big in her eyes. I love her at this age. She is by far my most advanced babe. Spoke sentences at 1, potty trained in record time, spells, counts, knows some spanish, witty, sense of humor is on point, ready to learn every day!

She is complete opposite of Scarlett at this age. Scarlett was all about animals and not very "girly". Vera is all about babies, everything girly, dress-up and princesses. The girl LOVES shoes and shopping as much as I do! She will be my shopping buddy for sure! She loves to put on "her make-up" with me the am and work-out with me whenever she sees me in my workout room. She started preschool this week and has been LOVING it. Not one tear shed, only excitement! She is so much fun right now and I am enjoying all of the toddler stages of Vera Solveig <3

Big Sur, Monterey & Carmel

2023-01-29T21:41:00.002-05:00

January began stressful. It was one of those seemingly never-ending months that just kept shooting darts at me left and right. Coincidence or not, on exactly the same day that Mercury dipped into Retrograde, it was like a switch flipped and each deep breath I took, each positive adjustment made inside my mind, was greeted with another blow. As if the universe was saying, 'Oh you can handle it, huh?....How about this, then!'

For New Year's, I wrote about how I wanted to re-adjust and re-align things in the new year. I am a firm believer that if you are feeling stuck, unhappy or just run down...then likely it's one of your most basic needs that is not being met. It's a call for adjustment. Looking back, this, and any other time in the past for that matter, was absolutely the case. My need for control on our businesses had me working too much in the wrong ways. I didn't have enough time for the things that were the MOST important to me. That often is a trend in my life...I'm working on it!

I tried to get this idea down into a plan and start action on it...but I've found in life, we are not as in control as we might think. It wasn't going to happen in the instant I wanted it to. The frustration mounted. I began to slowly and almost unnoticeably sink into one of those life ruts. No matter what I seemed to do, nothing wanted to go smoothly or in the direction I knew it needed to go.

For Christmas, I had given Ty a trip away- just him and I. We had planned to go in March. With all of the circumstances and the bad mojo that filled the air in the beginning of 2023, it was clear that Ty (and by Ty, I mean me, lol) - that we needed to go NOW. I have always been onboard with spur of the moment plans. I actually thrive on excitement of that nature and let's face it, as an adult, that doesn't happen nearly as often as it should. Or maybe that's just my opinion.

...And so we did. We picked a last minute flight to someplace I've been wanting to go for awhile. I hopped on the computer and picked a few resorts that I liked. I handed the computer to Ty and asked him to do the final selection of resorts and rooms to stay. He did a good job.

The funniest thing...we almost didn't go because of the flooding that was blasting that area of CA. We were seeing horrible photos of mudslides and washed away roads. The week leading up was nothing but rain nonstop and I thought, well, why wouldn't that be the case this month! But when Mercury exited Retrograde on the 16th...the sun came back out in California and everything just lined right up for us, like the universe was finally on board with allowing me a bit of ease. I have never been one to believe in all that voodoo, but man...as I pay more attention to full moons and alignments of the universe, there is 100% an effect in some ways.

Anyhow, our trip to Big Sur, Monterey and Carmel was short but magnificent! in more than one way.

Oh did I fall in love with the Pacific Coast! I have had a handful of people in the past ask me if I'm from CA or tell me that I belong there. I was never really sure what that meant but after visiting...there was this part of my heart that said, "Wow, I'd love to live here". Everything from the food, to the scenery, down to the subtle organic, textured decor resonated with me. The mountains combined with the ferocious waves crashing against the rocks, the giant redwoods and winding tiny roads along the coast all gave me such inspiration.
So much so that I went home with photos that were exactly what I needed for our upcoming design meeting for our new house. I am very much the type of person that loves to take experiences and places that I love and recreate them in my home. The Pacific Coast is definitely some of the inspiration I didn't know I was looking for in designing our new home. In fact, the entire backside of our home already aligned with some similarities. It will be large windows overlooking the view, similar to all of the homes cliffside on the coast. I wanted lots of the same textures and feel that I found in our trip there. So yesterday, as I head out to a design meeting, I brought with me the photos I took.

Although we didn't stay long, I thought I'd share what we did experience and our favorite places/things that we did. We flew into the tiniest little airport in Monterey. The first time that I've gotten out of the plane and onto the actual runway. We headed into the heart of Monterey and had lunch overlooking the ocean and seals at Schooners. Great food and the view is perfect! Exactly what my soul needed just off that plane. When they say watching nature or gazing at the ocean has a calming effect, they ain't kidding.

Our first stay was at Sanctuary Beach Resort, not far north from Monterey. Our suite opened up to the ocean front and for the price...I don't think you can get a better view. We got the "Oceanfront Panoramic Suite". Fireplace and sitting area, cozy room overlooking the majestic ocean, and fruit with wine upon arrival- all details of the stay. Listening to the waves all night was heaven. In the evenings, they had bonfires right on the ocean and we spent most of our time there, just taking in the salty air and gorgeous sunset. We did dip in the hot tub and ate at the restaurant on site. But here, it was truly all about the ocean views. We ended our night cuddled up in the room w/ fireplace roaring and ocean setting the mood for a romantic and relaxing night.

We got some rest before getting up at the crack of dawn. We were up at about 5am every morning from jetlag. This entire area stays pretty quiet until about 9-10 am so we only had a few choices that early in the am. Before starting our day, we went back into Monterey to grab breakfast. We found the sweetest little breakfast place called, Wave Street Cafe, which was located right on Cannery Row in Monterey. Of course it sat overlooking the ocean but it was particularly chilly that morning and so we opted to sit inside. Typically it's 60-70 year round there but we got chilly mornings and evenings. You could tell that the business was family owned and run. Service and food, was delicious! Even the basic breakfast items were better than your average breakfast place. After filling our stomachs with good food, we headed out to travel down route 1.

Big Sur. How you captured my heart! Just listening to good music, breathing in the ever-so-clean air and looking cliffside as we drove along the beautiful Pacific Coastline. There were so many stops along this drive. I believe you can walk most of the coast as well. We opted to stop, walk and then drive more so we could make it in time for lunch reservations. We stopped and bought some fun gifts at Nepenthe gift shop. They also serve food and the view is pretty amazing there! We had already made reservations for Sierra Mar at The Post Ranch Inn, so that was our destination. This is a deposit reservation restaurant, but for good reason. It was absolutely worth the cost and the view...unreal. You are basically sitting cliffside, over the water. I purchased a couple things from their shop there, including a coffee table book to add to my collection at home. Mostly for inspo but it doubled as a decorative piece.

We stopped at the infamous Bixby Bridge on the way back. She was magnificent and everything I thought she would be! We took some time to take her in of course. I'm such a music lover so I like to turn on some good music when I'm exploring. Then, whenever I hear those songs, I think of that day I was here or there. It becomes embedded in my memory.

From there we headed to Carmel Valley, which is where our second stay was located. Bernardus Lodge & Spa to be exact. This ranch estate was anything but what you would think of when the name "lodge" comes to mind. Fireplace, 2 person soaking tubs, spa, an amazing restaurant and old world sophistication was packed into these suites and grounds on 28 acres of vineyards in Carmel Valley. I thought it was perfect. We spent the night eating well and listening to the "piano man". Later we dipped into the adults only infinity hot tub. I wished we had been here long enough to do this during the day as I was told by the San Fran couple that we met by the fire pit one night, that the view was beautiful during the day! We didn't get to see much view at night. The second night stay there we took advantage of the 2-person tub in our room. IMO, the bathroom was almost better than the hot tub/pool. We had heated floors, the most romantic soaking tub and lighting....and did I mention they gave us a plethora of drinks and foods upon arrival? We stayed in the Luxury Santa Lucia suite.

Truth be told, there were 40 different restaurants that I wanted to try but you can only eat so much in a few days haha. We ate as much as we could ;) One places that really resonated with me, was one in Carmel By the Sea...which is where we went on our last day. This place was quaint and all of the little "Hobbit-style" buildings were charming. I've been told that Monterey is more for families and Carmel is more for romance and couples but I could see our family loving BOTH areas. We had breakfast at Katy's Place which had a small-town feel to it. Labeled mugs, Cash Only signs and tables that all sat close together were what you got here. You could tell it was family-owned and run as well. That was one thing I loved about this entire area, was all of the privately owned businesses. None of that 'franchises everywhere' that we get here in SA. The food was good! As was ALL the food while we were here. La Bicyclette was where we grabbed lunch. A small European cuisine restaurant with all the small European details that pulled at my heart-strings. The detailed and meaningful note that they gave to us from the owners....so thoughtful! That, my friends is what small businesses are all about. I took a photo of this, as it called to me. The intent and the attention to detail was impeccabile. Not to mention, the best cheese board pearing I've ever had! And I mean that. Pizza alone, was scrumptious.

We did some wine tastings and visited shop after shop. Hitting up some of the best boutiques and shops. I was taken right away by Hudson, the shop Goldendoodle of that greeted us out of the 1/2 door shop of Eco Carmel. The owner, was there and greeted us. We exchanged stories on our doodles and she gave us detail on all of the fun but eco-friendly items in her store. We ended up leaving with some amazing cooking salts from Big Sur Salts. To which we have already used. We picked up some trinkets and goodies for the kids and continued exploring Carmel By the Sea. We ventured into small little halls that looked like they went nowhere but opened up into wine tasting rooms, book stores or coffee shops. It really is a cool place to explore.

The beach there was equally as beautiful! We made sure to walk down and sit awhile. We watched people playing volleyball at the seaside volleyball course. Some surfers were attempting the giant waves. We sat in the sand observing the details and the locals. We spent a good chunk of the day there before returning back to Bernardus. On the way back we stopped at Folktale Winery where I fell in love with some wine glasses from Monterey Glass Works and got some shipped home. I have come to love making our home meaningful with pieces that we collect from various places. It feels more like a home with things in it that have meaning and not just decorative purpose.

Back at the resort, we grabbed some drinks and sat by the fire pit for awhile where we met a couple from San Fran that we talked to for quite some time before we realized we were late for dinner reservations! We ended our night with salmon, filet and wine at Lucia, farm to table exquisite restaurant. I didn't want to leave. I wanted to spend another week there so that I could extract every ounce of adventure and beauty from that coastline. But the trip did it's job. We came home refreshed and renewed. I think it's safe to say I'll be back.

Christmas 2022 w/ Family

2023-01-23T20:54:00.068-05:00

Family came in the week before Christmas. Thank God because they were all flying Southwest and we all know how that went this week. Yikes! We started doing Christmas a week early because it was cheaper for travel for everyone and then we get to stay home on actual Christmas with the kids. Years prior we travel for Christmas and the kids disliked being away from home for actual Christmas. Plus, I truly LOVE being home on Christmas. Watching the kiddos come downstairs in the morning with wide-eyes! Watching Christmas movies while Ty cooks his traditional biscuits and gravy. Sipping coffee and just relishing in joy. This year in SA we got COLD WEATHER!! Like 17 degrees kinda cold! It really made it feel a lot more like Christmas. My dad sadly couldn't make it from MA since he wasn't' feeling well. But the rest of the gang made it!

I planned a fun filled week for family in Texas this year! We impatiently waited for them all to arrive. When we they pulled up, I felt like yelling, "Folks! Folks! Merry Christmas"! in my best Clark Griswold voice. LOL..... Once they got here, it was non-stop all week long! We did IT ALL. My sister brought supplies to make vintage Christmas ornaments. That was a blast and even my brother in law, Sean, got REALLY into the festive spirit while making his. Haha. We went Christmas caroling down the San Antonio Riverwalk in a caroling boat!! How cool is that!? They gave us hot toddies and hot cocoa as we sang to music under the holiday lights all along the river. Definitely a highlight of the trip! We made gingerbread houses and Christmas cookies- all of our favorites! Played games and made all the festive drinks! Of course we watched a few movies, too. We did our annual Christmas "Eve" party and had so much food that we ate it for days afterwards! We went to Gruene to do some shop hunting and take in some music and old town vibes. We also went into Boerne on the weekend to their Holiday Market. We watched Scarlett at horse lessons and then did brunch at Dienger Trading Co. Before leaving Boerne, we stopped and saw Santa!! Vera was NOT impressed. Ha ha. We did an adults night out to the Rustic to hear live music. Another day, we did some Christmas shopping with just the girls. Grabbed lunch together before heading home to the boys knee deep in whiskey. Those simple moments were just as good as the bigger activities. Since we moved to Texas, it's been a big transition to get use to not knowing anyone- not having family close. In New York, we somehow recruited family to all come move there too, so it was not lonely. Plus, Ty's father lived there. For some reason I made friends easier and we knew a lot more people. Here....5 years into living here, I still miss just having a family member close to call up and ask to come over to watch a movie or maybe do something with. We don't know too many people. It was truly enjoyable to simply just have them, here.

Once they left, I got the blues a bit. I mean, don't get me wrong, it was a houseful! Ha! Some days I felt like the McAllister house....But I still loved it even with all of the chaos. And then I got sick for Christmas. Merry Christmas!!

ALL of the kids got sick right before family coming. Maxwell and Vera were on the tale end of their sickness when family arrived. I was thankful for that because they were pretty sick for a day or two there before family came. Then, of course I got whatever Vera had. Which I knew would happen when she sneezed in my face one day lol....Thankfully I didn't get sick until close to when family was leaving. By Christmas I felt better so I was able to fully enjoy the day.

Now I'm sitting here in my house with my kids making all the messes with all the new toys that Santa swore he wouldn't bring...;) I'm sadly putting away my santa mugs while I play a sad Hallmark movie in the background. Getting the bins together to take down the 7 trees in my house. I'm sure Ty can't wait to help me with that. There is nothing more depressing than Dec 27th. All the joy that comes with Christmas seems to slip away. I do look forward to a fresh clean house and this New Year, I have a much different outlook than past years. I'll write more on that later this week. For now.... I'll leave you with all of my memories from Christmas this year.

Heading Into the Holidays

2022-11-25T18:02:00.005-05:00

November was a good month. A little slower than the normal hustle we have going on. Ya know, work, school, work, etc...We did a lot of early Christmas decorating. Yes, I am the one who is setting up Christmas decor November 1st. I just love how it makes me feel. So why not? We did some fun things this month and got some cold weather in. GIVE ME ALL THE COOL WEATHER. You will never hear me complain that it is too cold here. It just doesn't happen here. Ty had some Fall exotic car meets that we went to. One was a really fun outdoor one that went into the evening and we got to sit fireside w/ drinks and snacks and meet some new people. We did some brunches and lots of movie nights with the kiddos and dogs.

We didn't get to see any family this Thanksgiving but we invited some friends over to share some turkey and pie. Had a laid-back kinda day. I made my home-made organic apple pies that I did NOT take a photo of... Ty did the rest. Haha. He's just so good at it.

I'm getting the itch to travel...so my Black Friday Shopping consisted of planning some trips instead of buying "things". I love to be home now and again, but I am an adventurer at heart. I am happiest when I have a good amount of balance in my life. Not too much time in the house. Not too much time away. I guess I get bored easily. We have a tradition that we swap off birthday parties and adventures every other year. This year, the kids all get destination presents. I planned some fun trips for Scarlett's Birthday and Maxwell's Birthday. Vera's birthday is end of January but I have yet to plan hers. January is a cold month just about everywhere so thinking of maybe embracing the cold in the mountains! Wherever we go, I'm making sure it's to places we haven't been to before!! xo

Halloween 2022: Welcome to Hawkins

2022-11-25T17:24:00.002-05:00

Each year we pick a family costume to do together. I was having some doubts that we could do better than our Addams Family costumes last year...but I think our Stranger Things family costume came out okay...

Don't you?? I really had my heart set on Maxwell being Dustin but he had other plans to be ademogorgan.

He won.

Scarlett made the perfect Max Mayfield. Ty was a no brainer that he would be Vekna. Which left Vera and I. She got whatever they had in size 3T lol...and then I took the last character left that we couldn't leave out. I always let me kids pick another costume for actual Halloween and they can be whatever they want. So Scarlett was some anime character that I have no idea about...Ha. Vera wanted Elsa. Of course. And Maxwell actually stuck w/ Stranger Things since his bestie was Dustin. Our neighborhood rocks Halloween. This year I ditched most of the toxic candy dyes and opted to give out Halloween toys instead. Ty said I would be the house everyone disliked...but our neighbor was giving out water, so I told him, I doubt I'll be that house...Haha... Surprisingly, the kids were super thrilled about the water house because it was a warm Halloween. ;)

Another fun Halloween.

Spooky, Scary Skeletons.

2022-10-21T10:46:00.000-04:00

When Fall Finally hits in Texas.

2022-10-16T20:35:00.002-04:00

Man, I feel like it's been 100 degrees forever now. Waiting for that cool down... is like waiting for winter to end in the north. But, it's here!! Finally some cool mornings with a high of 85 during the day and yes, that is Fall in Texas, ha ha. We are all ready for October! The mums and pumpkins, fall charcuterie boards, Hocus Pocus 2 party, breakfast on the porch and we can go hiking without dying again!

It's funny to me that I used to dislike Halloween. And what exactly made me pull a 180 on that? I think maybe kids? Not sure, but somewhere in between my early 20's and now, I started to love the simplicity of Fall and the spookiness of Halloween. It brings me good memories each year.

We always do a family costume each year. So we had to think long and hard on what to be this year. The kids are at the stage where they want to be what they want to be. This year was hard to pick what we were going to be... Here's a look back on some prior years:

Game of Thrones & Moana

Frozen Family

101 Dalmations

My all time favorite!!! The Addams Family

Back to School 2022. 6th Grade & 2nd Grade

2022-09-21T13:19:00.000-04:00

Scarlett is now in MIDDLE SCHOOL!!!! It took a bit to process that. She score high on her initial start of the year tests (As she always does). She wants to try Volleyball and Gymnastics this year. Horse lessons still are front and center in her world. We may find some new stables to try out some new ways of riding. Scarlett adjusted well to the new HUGE middle school and not knowing anyone in any of her classes. She is of course, making friends quickly. Loves reading and wants to travel so she can vlog about it. Ha ha.

Maxwell started 2nd grade. He spent the summer with his tutor learning to read as he was a bit "behind" according... to the state apparently. Lol. I took it with a grain of salt since he's the youngest in his class and the first year of school for him was a joke with the pandemic. But still I wanted to make sure he got the support he needed. He ended up loving his tutor, Trevor, and so we kept him around into the new school year! He made reading fun for Maxwell. They wrote comic books together and had his super hero toys take turns reading to see who could read the best. Maxwell instantly bonded with his tutor and he's doing really well already in the first month of 2nd grade. Strong in Math and STEM. Getting better at his reading. Maxwell is my little homebody who likes to stay home and build all sorts of cool houses on the computer.

New York, Chatham & Plymouth- More of our Summer Trip Back North.

2022-09-18T10:59:00.003-04:00

We spent a week or so in upstate New York at our Lake House and then we headed back to our home state of Massachusetts where we visited with family in Chatham and did a little historical visit to the places we did field trips to as kids. I got to meet back up with my old work team. They invited us to their Track event at the Saratoga Race Course. The kids always love meeting up and I got to catch up with some of my favorite old team members! A quick downpour brought in the best rainbow and it was indeed a fun visit.

We headed to Ty's sister's house after that. We got to play with their baby cousin Monty, who wasn't quite able to play much the last time they saw him 6 months prior. We spent a long weekend at the in-laws in Chatham. The weather was just AMAZING! 70-80 and cool breezes. It doesn't get better than New England summer weather. The best hospitality always goes down when we visit and our kiddos get spoiled each time. Scarlett immediately starts bonding with the dogs. They got up at the crack of dawn to go clamming at the ocean. Scarlett took painting lessons. We did a few beach days. We sat outside by the fire at night enjoying the cool weather. The kids went paddle boarding. We saw seals eat off the fish boats. We shopped a bit for some Cape Cod souvenirs. We had lots of seafood and made sure to stop and indulge in the New England food at a few restaurants along the way. How charming Massachusetts is. I would say I never really appreciated it as much when I lived there. Isn't that always how it is?

We also brought the kiddos to Plymouth Plantation and to see the Mayflower along with Plymouth Rock! My childhood memories came back. They were all about it! So many questions and a little underwhelmed by "the rock". Ha ha. All in all, we truly had a great little trip back. Until next year...

Chapter 38: In New York Part I

2022-09-07T18:26:00.002-04:00

It was a strange thing to turn 38 this year. Inevitable but baffling how the years go by so quickly. Somehow I ended up spending the last 2 birthdays in New York. We really had a great time back in the northeast. It was some work and some pleasure as we also tend to yearly Airbnb/rental things when we go back periodically. Most of our visit was fun and enjoyment. We got to visit with my dad and step mother, which was a blessing. We don't see them often.

I was thinking back to where I was just 2 years ago...or 5 years ago. It's just crazy to me how much can be accomplished if you really just DO it. I posted recently on my social media about how 2 years ago life was extremely hard. One of the hardest years that I recall in a very long time. It was "the year" that I always talk about- Ha. But if you are new around here...it was the one where Ty was living across the country and I was raising the 3 kiddos (Vera an infant who didn't sleep) while homeschooling/virtual teaching them during a pandemic, working full time for real estate AND opening the new gym. It was without a doubt the job of 5 people and I was doing it with a smile, albeit a fake one. There were many days crying in the closet after the kids went to bed. I'm not really a person who cries much. My emotions come out in other ways. That year, I cried. A few times at that.

It was rough on our marriage, our parenting, our health...you name it. Why am I talking about 36 when this post is about 38? Because 36 built me. 36 brought me to 38. You never really know how strong you are. Here is my post from when I turned 36: here. I feel that I was quite modest in my writing on how things truly were in that moment. I hate to come off as a complainer or a negative person, so often I just try and make it out to be okay, even if it isn't.

But here we are now at 38. Just 2 short years later. Wow.

I am now in a completely different place. I've already written about that on a past post as well. So I won't bore all with the "I'm in such a great place" now details, lol, but I will say: I earned this. I truly and utterly earned every single happy day that I wake up and get the freedom to run our own business and have the free time to work out or spend with the kids doing shopping trips or lunch dates. I earned the fact that we can take 3 weeks vacation a couple times a year and not blink an eye. Or that I can have the beautiful in-between of "working mom" and still sometimes, "at home" mom. I just FEEL healthier and happier. I feel the best I've felt...well, ever, if I'm being honest.

Now, please don't read this and think that everything is always perfect over here. That will never be a reality. Life will continue to have it's ups and downs, it's good moments and it's hard ones. I'm talking more about the progression of where I've been, where I came from...to where I am now.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, put in some hard work for a 1-2 years. Be consistent with what you do. You will be amazed at where you can be in a year or two. Now, granted I love that I am in a better place than the bottom lol, and I probably wouldn't want to ever do it again. But I'm NOT anywhere close to being done. I'm already working on the next thing. I'm already planning more. I don't often talk too too much about the details of things until they are here but that is what my focus and energy is on these days. Keeping the things I do have healthy and happy, while building new ways to be more efficient so I can take on more and build bigger. Still working on that but I am determined!

Last year, Chapter 37 was about learning to adjust to a different style of life and slowly figuring out that this lull and anxiety that came about, was actually just free time lol...I could breathe for the first time in a long time. I enjoyed my baby, Vera, growing and I learned a lot about the fitness industry. Man, hiring in this day in age was so treacherous. Each failure truly taught me something- and continues to. Whether it be about people or myself. So I am loving these new moments that give me knowledge and growth. Sometimes they definitely suck. But once you get over that hill, you see it all so much clearer and suddenly it's been a blessing in mysterious ways. We are over that hill in so many aspects and yet have much more to overcome. In both work and life.

One of my favorite sayings, "I've come a long way, but I'm not done". I feel ready to take on "next". And while my next goal is to keep on going in the direction we are, I also want to do something bigger. I want to help others. However I can. Whether it's knowledge or experience, or something bigger. I want to help someone other than us. I feel like we are always in a position to help others with kindness....but when you are struggling to stay afloat yourself, it's a lot harder to help anyone else in more significant ways. But I'm ready to help others now. So that is my next goal for chapter 38. By 39, I want to have added 2 more businesses (which half of that already happened here 2 months after I turned 38- Gym #2 is here!!) and help some people along the way. I want to have built our dream home and taken 2 long-awaited and postponed vacations. I also want to feel that I spent the last 2 years really living and enjoying each small moment. Dipping into the fibers of what makes life, life. For me, it's those small moments that you just catch yourself in....

Watching the kids laugh and play. Creating a fun dinner spread, letting the kids help to set the table. The smell of a freshly mowed lawn. Opening the windows to let the breeze in for the first time since the summer heat wave stopped. The way the house feels when it's clean and a good candle burns alongside you. Planning out vacation details. Sitting down to plan everything holiday related! Sitting in a tub with a glass of wine. Getting to workout and feel my body improve and build. Sitting outside at night writing some words in the dark. Just glancing over at Ty and catching that feeling you had when you I first met him. Early morning walks paying attention to all the sounds and smells. Sitting on the front steps watching Ty wash the cars with the kiddos, sipping something good. Driving in the car down a back road with the top down and some good tunes playing. Playing some silly board games on a weekend "family night". Packing the kiddos lunches with special touches to make them smile. Sitting in bed on a Tuesday night watching the one show that Ty and I both like to watch together, ha ha. Seeing members at the gym take the first step towards a healthy life. Coffee on the back porch in silence before the kids wake up. Organizing my house for no particular reason other than the fact that I love organization. Oh the list goes on!

It's those things that make it all worth being here. 37....you were good to me. Here comes the pages for Chapter 38.

Summer 2022 has been sweet...

2022-08-17T16:42:00.005-04:00

I have so many fun memories this past summer. As I prepare to get these kiddos off to school again, I looked back on all the great photos that I captured and they hold good times within them. Scarlett did a few summer camps including, horse camp, Gymnastics Camp and Seaworld Camp. Maxwell got his much needed "down time". He's my homebody and he needs that extra time to just do simple things that make him happy. Vera spent the summer with me also, and now she starts spending more days with our Nanny. We also added a doggie to our family. Mr. Benny joined us and is now towering over the other 2 mini/moyen goldendoodles. He's a standard. These pics are from just a short couple months ago!

This is the first summer that I felt like I got to spend time doing things with the kids. Planning some fun things and I actually HAD the time to spend with them. I remember being so sad as a full time working mom, summer would come and I knew that just meant more time in daycare for them. So thankful for the freedom to do more with them this year. Such a huge difference from years prior and it's well-deserved!! We also got to spend 3 glorious weeks back in the Northeast at our Lakehouse and visiting family/friends. I have an entire post on that coming shortly. This will become a yearly ritual for us each summer. By July I am ready to leave the heat for a bit and get back to some cool weather so it seems perfect that we make this a tradition. I also may make a couple trips back solo before next summer, by myself ;)

Now as I prepare to get back into routines with the kiddos, we are doing back to school shopping, getting all the cool new food-making gadgets, meeting the teachers and helping them pick out new clothes and shoes. I really enjoy this time of year! It also means Fall is on the way!!!! But for now, I'm going to leave this post of some of our summer memories. Just a little spot to remember summer 2022 and how much fun we had!!

Spring Break: Seaworld San Antonio

2022-08-17T16:13:00.003-04:00

Florida Trip Part 2: Scarlett's Birthday & Relaxation

2022-07-15T09:27:00.003-04:00

The second part of our trip to Florida was celebrating Scarlett turning 11 and just spending time with family. Walks in some state parks, farmer's markets, swimming, drinks on the beach, good food and ice cream of course. My family lives in the Sarasota/Siesta Key area and so we usually rent an airbnb around that vicinity. Hopefully soon we will have our own rental home there. The kids always get excited to venture through our airbnb and spend their days with family and cousins. Scarlett was really looking forward to celebrating her birthday with family since that doesn't happen often. And it did not disappoint. She had the best day splashing around in the water and dancing with Nuna. Another great trip down.

Florida Trip to Visit Family Part 1: Disney Parks

2022-07-15T08:57:00.005-04:00

It was photo overload as always so I broke this trip up into 2 different parts. This post features Epcot and Animal Kingdom. We had a blast of a time drinking around the world during Flower & Garden Festival! I was so happy to have most of us together again for a family vacation. Only a couple missing. One of my favorite parks is Epcot. We only went to 2 parks this time so I chose Epcot and we let the kids choose the other. They decided Animal Kingdom. I have so many posts on Disney that if you are looking for tips or recommendations, just search Disney on my search bar in this blog. I'll post part 2 of our Florida trip in which we celebrated Scarlett's 11th birthday!

Scarlett Graduates 5th Grade.

2022-07-02T21:05:00.001-04:00

And just like that...our first born graduated 5th grade and goes on to Middle School!!

Now I get to brag because she received medals for honors in Reading and Science!! I could not have wished for a more thoughtful, kind, loving, smart and beautiful daughter. I often am hard on myself for things I should or shouldn't have done in my parenting. But when I look at this girl....all of that dissipates. She is proof that we did our best and God blessed us with such a great spirited human. She is going to do great things in this world. I just know it.

Maxwell 's 7th Reptile Birthday Party

2022-06-26T20:33:00.003-04:00

We had the best time celebrating our fun boy turning 7!! It was all about the reptiles this year. I always have fun planning parties. We like to change it up. Some years we do parties and some years we do travel/experiences. Maxwell had been asking for a friend party so we decided to throw him something special. As you can see by the photos... they all had an amazing time. Thankful for all the friends who came by and helped us celebrate!!

How Life Has Changed in the last couple of years...

2022-06-16T20:02:00.001-04:00

I decided to come on here and write for a change. These days it's so easy to communicate through social media in much less time, but I felt like this warranted some real writing. I have to say that this season in my life feels really good. To preface, life never really gets "easy" or stress-free completely. I know it's all temporary. I've learned that it's simply how life is and a lot of times, your outlook and reaction to things is what makes the difference. BUT....I can say without a doubt that lately, things have felt different. I think this is due to a few different things. For one, I have come to learn that I need to incorporate essential elements into my life. I cannot go about life being Superwoman and overworking myself into the ground! I can remember back two years ago when my life was chaotic and stressful- an understatement indeed. It was probably one of the most unhappy chapters in my book. I will say that a year or so of hard work, sacrifice and hustle most definitely contributed to where we are now, but...it was not something that I would ever want to do again, in the way that we did it.

I used to take on way more than I could realistically handle. I didn't put up boundaries for my own mental health. I multi-tasked every single day for over a year, maybe 2. Not one day went by that I didn't feel like I was failing to get it all completed yet doing something ALL. DAY. LONG. NON. STOP. I sacrificed a lot. It was a very messy time and dark clouds start to creep in just thinking about it. But things are not like that now. Why does it feel different?

Well....I have a long post all written and waiting to go live on how I went through a real "rock bottom" moment in 2021. But haven't pushed post yet and I will soon....but in the meantime, I will tell you how I came out of it. It was not an overnight fix. I had to acknowledge things were not healthy before I could change them. In order to change them, I needed to evaluate, prioritize and let go of many things.

I am one of those people that will take on everything for a couple of reasons. 1. Fear of missing out, and 2. I love to be busy and productive...or so I thought. After realizing that I was doing WAY too much and acknowledging that I was very unhappy, I realized that I was the only one that could improve matters for myself. And so I did. I made a literal written list of the things that were "crucially important" to me. I made another list of the things that were "somewhat important" and then a list of "the rest". According to that list, I was able to pinpoint what needed to be eliminated. They consisted of things that I needed to let go of, even though I didn't necessarily want to. I shed a few things that I had outgrown or that just weren't in line with what I truly wanted in that phase of life. This wasn't an easy task. It was actually quite a process. I had to say goodbye to some things that I loved or had become part of my life. But it was necessary for my growth...for my mental health. From there, I had to change my daily habits. And I also had to get smarter about how I approached things. I needed to make the most of every second of my life.

(I wrote this back a month ago so of course summer looks a bit different but to show you an example of how life looks now)

Today, I wake up and make some lemon water to drink with Ty. We both tackle lunches and breakfasts before Ty leaves for work I get the kiddos off to school. Not always a fun task at 5:30am but it's one that I've started to look at as a privilege. Grateful that I have kids to make lunches for, and the means to make healthy lunches. Thankful for a husband that helps...a lot. Then I sit out on the back deck to get some morning sun (which by the way is so important for you to get that morning light-helps aid in better sleep, among other things). I usually I drink something warm, decaf or tea, (sometimes smoothies if it's hot) and check some emails or tackle morning work. Once Vera wakes up, I make us a healthy breakfast, we eat together and just hang out for a bit. I talk to her about the healthy foods we are eating and what each food does for the body. I get to watch all the funny things she does and says. 2-3 days a week I will go work at the gym for staff development or meetings. The other days I work from home on gym things or some of the other project we are currently working on. Another thing I love to do, build things from nothing to something! I save 30-60 min, 4-5 days a week, to workout. This time is SO important to me and I protect this time block fiercely. Lots of times I do a workout in the workout room while Vera naps and other times I go for a walk with Vera, sometimes both. The kids will walk home and get snacks and do homework if they have any. I try to be present in things they tell me and really listen. Then they go play. I'm a huge advocate for no homework and more free-play. We do dinner fairly early. Ty will go do his workout while I get the kids ready for bed if he didn't do it that morning: Baths, PJ's and prepare for the next day. Some of this I used to dread because I was exhausted but now I love getting that time with them. I look forward to those moments. Then Ty and I divide and conquer. We take turns putting Vera to sleep and whoever doesn't put her to bed will put the older two to sleep. On days that I put Vera to sleep, we read books and then rock for as long as she wants until she tells me "I want my crib" lol. On nights that I put the other two to sleep, we read books or just snuggle for a few minutes. Scarlett loves when we lay in her bed and read a chapter of her book together. Maxwell likes when I watch some silly YouTube show with him. Then Ty and I get to relax a bit. Tea in bed, watch a bit of a movie- or at least attempt to because we usually pass out way before it even gets 30 min in. But regardless, we are there with each other.

2 years ago, I was working morning, day and night to get everything accomplished and still not succeeding at it. Now, I work about 4-5 hours a day on days when I work from home. Some days that I go into the gym might be longer but it doesn't feel like work because I love what I do there. I love that I'm working on something that is ours. Of course we have busy weeks but we also get slow weeks to recoup. New projects are so exciting to me and I finally have time for them!

2 years ago I barely took time to prioritize me. Now, I don't have to miss a workout ever <3 I go for meditation walks and just take in everything that I am seeing, hearing and smelling. I come home relaxed and refreshed.

2 years ago Ty was working from across the country and I was alone with the kids -no family. There was a lot of resentment and stress. Now, he's right here with me. Making memories with us and making up for lost time. We get to spend time together and focus on things that we want to focus on. We are able to be a couple again- laugh together again.

2 Years ago I was constantly guilty for missing out on moments with my kids. Now, I get to spend so much more time with them! It's truly great to be able to take their school breaks and do whatever with them. This is the first summer that I will be able to actually do planned things with them more than 1 week all summer!! I can now do day dates with my kiddos independently and not be thinking about the 200 other things that I have to do.

2 years ago, I would forget to eat. I didn't have time to plan meals and felt guilty for feeding the kids frozen nuggets more times than I'd like to admit. Now, I am intentional with how we eat. I take time to prep and plan our meals. I understand that food plays a more important role than we ever knew.

2 years ago I didn't have time to do anything that I enjoyed. It was work, kids, work and briefly sleep. Now, I notice the beauty in being slow and intentional in everything I do. I am grateful and take notice of all the small things we take for granted. I appreciate being able to have the time to organize my home and decorate it when I please. Watering the plants in the morning as the birds sing. Packing a thoughtful lunch with fun touches that I know will make the kids smile. Eating breakfast with Vera on the porch knowing that not everyone gets to do that with their toddlers each morning. Sipping hot tea and writing this! Just all of the small things that most people miss on a daily basis....I soak them all up now! I feel like my spirit has matured over the last few years. I can find the joy and beauty in small things in a way that I didn't , or mostly couldn't before. I've always been grateful, but now it feels stronger. I can find this good stuff even when things are rocky. I used to always keep myself busy and take on more than I had time for. I thought I loved it. Now, I understand the importance of having down time. I am more productive when I am healthier- both mentally and physically. That requires me to not put so much on my plate. Which goes back to the list making and shedding anything that isn't going to bring me closer to my goals, family and growth. This also requires me to put up boundaries that not everyone understands, but that is ok. It's not meant to hurt anyone, it's meant to protect me and what's mine. I am fierce when it comes to protecting anything.

Each step along the way has a purpose. I couldn't be where I am today if it wasn't for all the steps I took, we took. For the people that cheered for me or cheered us on. Those who just listened. I am thankful for all of them. And there are a lot of things that I let go of, that I miss. That is part of growth.

Most of us were raised to think that we had to do things in a step by step process and X, Y, Z was the only way to be successful. But I understand now that this isn't true. Success means different things to different people. To me, it's the freedom to spend more time doing what I love and with the ones I love. That freedom comes from having money. So while money does not bring happiness, it certainly does bring me freedom. I don't need to be a billionaire... that was never my goal. Although I didn't always know what my goal was, I now know that my goal and my success, is freedom, while bringing joy or help to others along the way.

Lots of changes came about this year. Good changes. Hard changes. I'm very excited to keep moving forward in this grand chapter of life even if it doesn't all make sense to me at the surface. I am right where I need to be.