• Fun - Marriage - Throwback

    How We Met

    December 22, 2020 - By 

    The boring version is that Chris and I met at work in Arizona, in the early months of 2006, dated for about three years and then got married. The more interesting version is that a guy I barely knew from work randomly asked me to fly out to Iowa with him as his date for his 10-year high school reunion. And I’d meet my future-mother-in-law when I stayed at her house for an extended weekend, where I’d also meet all of his siblings and attend his brother’s college graduation. And the first time I’d meet my future father-in-law it would…

  • Family - Fun - Marriage

    Who am I?

    October 28, 2020 - By 

    If you’ve been reading this blog at all, you might have an idea. I mean, it spans over a decade of my life, and I’d like to think I share a balanced view of the highs and lows that life gives me. But here’s the current TL;DR in case you want to be my friend. Because I like friends. But I’m socially awkward. So here we are. A random list of things about me: I love this life I’ve built. I’m a born introvert. A shy book nerd who was bullied in school for being “too nice.” I’m an overthinker…

  • Fun

    New Home Decor

    October 20, 2020 - By 

    My previous cat Maia used to relax very strangely on chairs. Visit this post to see the pictures then pop on back here: Home Decor I thought this was weird. But apparently, all cats are weird? Or maybe just mine. Because Phoebe does the exact same thing: Forget the cat beds or fancy cat houses, give her a people chair and she’s all set. (If you look closely at the image above, you’ll see the china dishes – the ones that survived the bowling ball incident – safely stowed away.

  • Family - Fun

    Treehouse

    July 25, 2020 - By 

    The boys are getting a treehouse, and since the goats did some of the preliminary work, now we’ve got to finish clearing a nice spot for their treehouse. So we spent a good portion of the weekend after the goats were gone cleaning up: trimming tree branches, moving logs, picking up sticks, and raking the ground. That following week, the tree house got built. I’m not too old to hang out in a treehouse, right?!

  • Family - Fun

    Unplugged

    May 27, 2019 - By 

    Chris and I haven’t been camping since before the kids. (I mean, assuming you don’t count the two times we set up the tent in our backyard so our oldest could have a night under the stars with dad while I stayed inside with the baby). I’ve always loved camping, especially tent camping. But with little ones it seemed like it would be a lot of work. It’s probably not, but like anything can be intimidating until you’ve gotten the routine down. This Memorial weekend we pulled the trigger. Even though our version of camping was setting up our tent…

  • Family - Food - Fun

    The Marshmallow-Only Club

    May 24, 2019 - By 

    As I have mentioned in a previous post, the boys love Lucky Charms cereal. They don’t get to have it all the time — mostly because they are notorious for picking around the cereal bits and eating only the marshmallows. And I like to at least cling to some pretense that they are consuming a breakfast-food, not a bowl full of dehydrated sugar soaked in milk. But a few months ago, as I was wandering the aisles of the grocery store, I noticed the promotional box of lucky charms featuring unicorn marshmallows. Connor loves unicorns. They both love Lucky Charms.…

  • Family - Fun - Travel

    The Drum Circle

    January 27, 2019 - By 

    Our vacation on Siesta Key wouldn’t be complete without a mention of the Drum Circle. Held every Sunday, one hour before sunset, the internets told me it was a fantastic (and free) family event, filled with brightly-colored dancers and jugglers, performed on the pristine white beach of Siesta Key, where performers encouraged visitors old and young alike to hula-hoop and children danced happily to the beat of the drums. Even the ladies sitting next to me on the plane said they had been, and sang its praises. So we went. EXPECTATION REALITY One more time, for fun… EXPECTATION REALITY It…

  • Family - Fun - Travel

    Siesta Key Vacation

    January 26, 2019 - By 

    This past week we took a family vacation to Siesta Key. The four of us, along with many members of Chris’s extended family. His mom (who initiated this trip and generously provided the rental accommodations as part of her Christmas gift to us), his sister and her family, his other sister and her husband, and his cousin. In total, eight adults and four kids ages 5 and under. At least our adult-to-child ratio had the kids outnumbered 2 to 1. Our rental was amazing and beautiful and had this gorgeous upper deck perfect for watching the full lunar eclipse on…

  • Fun - Travel

    Maybe you shouldn’t be in charge of the sailboat

    January 21, 2019 - By 

    As soon as we were settled in the rental house, we made the two-block walk to the beach. It was cold, but that didn’t stop us. The beach was everything we could have ever wanted. Pristine, white sand. Turquoise waters. Gorgeous sunset. However, if you look at the two photos above, you will notice something missing from our pictures the rest of the trip. It’s this guy and his boat. He had clearly run aground. A crowd gathered to watch. Beach patrol and emergency responders arrived. The guy refused rescue, saying he wanted to remain on his boat. Eventually, the…

  • Fun - Travel

    Cats and Chickens

    December 12, 2018 - By 

    I went to Key West and I mostly took photos of cats and chickens. No, seriously. If you’ve ever been to the southernmost point of the United States, then you’re aware that chickens – both hens, roosters, and their offspring – freely roam the streets. These so-called “gypsy chickens” are super cute if you’re a tourist, and – I would imagine – super annoying if you’re a resident. I was a tourist and therefore, I delighted in taking photos of these wild fowl. And since you see them everywhere… well, I ended up with lots of photos of chickens doing…