Cities on the Water

How lucky are we.

More than two years ago, it was time to dream up a place for our next mother/daughter/granddaughter adventure and Nana decided to take this show on the water. So we polled friends and family and landed on Viking as our best option for a fuss-free, just-show-up-with-a-suitcase kind of trip, picking their Empires of the Mediterranean itinerary.

Someone pointed out later that most of the stops aren’t actually on the Mediterranean but we were willing to overlook it. The Adriatic, Ionian and Aegean Seas sounded pretty rad, too.

So on July 10, our group of six waved goodbye to our husbands and dads at the airport, then went with crossed fingers to the luggage counter to see if our bags would pass under the weight limit. Only my own got flagged. Absolutely not a surprise but with room to spare in my carry on, it all worked out.

Truthfully, there was a mix of emotions that day at the airport ranging from giddy to nervous to melancholy. We were missing Molly terribly but resolved to enjoy the heck out of this trip in her honor. She wouldn’t have wanted it any other way.

We planned to arrive a couple of days early in Venice. One, so we could be sure no travel delays kept us from catching our ship, and two, so we could have a full day to explore the city. With comfy clothes on and big plans to sleep all night before waking up in London for our short layover, we were ready to go.

Happily, our plane, train, and shuttle connections were smooth and all of our luggage arrived as planned.

We checked into the JW Marriott on a small island, Isola della Rosa, a short vaporetto ride from Venice. The hotel was once a convent as well as a hospital, but has since been beautifully renovated and the grounds include some very pretty gardens.

It was at this point on our trip we remembered how the European standard of air conditioning isn’t exactly the same as the American standard and we started mentally preparing for what the forecast had in store for the next 10 days. Nothing we couldn’t handle.

For our one full day in Venice, we headed first to the furthest point we picked to explore, then spent the day meandering our way toward St. Mark's Square where we would catch a late afternoon ride back to Isola della Rosa. 

It's hard to sit down and relax when there's so much to see along the way. 

First stop: Basilica S. Maria dei Frari. 

The original three-nave church was started on this site in 1250. It's home to some incredible pieces of art, including the Assumption of the Virgin by Titian and sculpture work by Donatello. I drooled a little.

After visiting the basilica and making our first of many, many stops for bottled water to replenish everything we were sweating away, we climbed into two gondolas for a bucket-list ride around the Rialto market area. Our only regret is that we didn't choose a longer ride; it was really peaceful on the water and a relaxing way to take in everything around us.  

The Rialto Bridge is the oldest of those spanning the Grand Canal, built partially with stone from an ancient Roman theater.

After a wonderful lunch where we were suckered into ordering twice as much food as we could eat (but man it was yummy), we found the Lella Bella yarn shop for Nana, stopped at the Piazza Contarini del Bovolo to see it's grand spiral staircase, and eventually made our way to St. Mark's Square. 

The inside of St. Mark's Basilica is covered in gold-ground mosaics that are truly breathtaking. Or maybe we felt breathless because it was at least 90 degrees inside.

No, it was definitely the beauty of the basilica. Could have been the steep climb up to the terrace level, though. Nope. Sticking with the gorgeous interior as my answer.

The Doge's Palace, adjacent to St. Mark's Basilica, was built in 1340 and has been a museum for the last 100 years. We admired it from the outside as we made our way to where we'd catch our ride back across the lagoon to cool off, rest up and dig into a pizza dinner back at the hotel. 

After dinner, we took a few photos out in the gardens then fell into bed. 

As the city of Venice is putting protections in place to reduce tourist overload, they have also limited how close ships can get to the city-island. So on the morning of our first cruise day, we took a ferry to Chioggia where the Viking Sea was docked. With a little spare time to spend, we wandered around the town then returned to our cabins to nest. 

Settled in, we were thrilled to find the ship would be a nicely air conditioned respite from all of the record temps we’d be facing. Phew. Thank you, Viking, for that and for the delicious gelato we had with every meal. So. Much. Gelato.

That evening, the anchor was raised and we headed to our first destination: Koper, Slovenia.

Home to the one and only Luka Dončić, Henry was pretty jealous so I made sure to pick out his souvenier from this stop.

In every city, we took an excursion organized by Viking but operated by local tour companies. For Slovenia, Ella and I chose to visit Predjama Castle and Postojna Cave while the rest of the gang, who weren't as excited about caves, chose to visit Lake Bled and Bled Castle. 

The Medieval Predjama Castle was first built in 1570, set inside a natural cave, and added on to over the centuries. It was famously home to Erazem Lueger, a 15th century robber-baron who was a Robin Hood-like character of his time. The castle has holes in the entrance tower for pouring boiling oil on intruders (yikes), an appropriately dingy dungeon (double yikes), a secret passageway, and in 1991, a 16th century chest full of treasure was discovered in the cellar. Neat-o.

After wandering through this room, I heard Gaston from Beauty and the Beast singing "I use antlers in all of my decorating" in my head for the rest of the day. 

A few miles from the castle, we ventured down into the Postojna Cave which was a de-light-ful and steady 50 degrees. This visit included a ride on a mini-train and it's where we learned all about the mini-dragons which are subterranean animals that look like axolotls. Their super-powers include being able to go a decade without food and living to 100 years old, and they have really cute ear-like things that remind me of adorable sea anemones. So much to love. 

Another fun fact, there are more than 10,000 registered caves in Slovenia. Who knew?

That evening, we left Slovenia for Croatia, waking up to coast into our docking in Zadar at 8 a.m. 

For this day, and the rest of the days, all six of us stuck together for our excursions. 

Krka National Park covers almost 27,000 acres and is known for it's many waterfalls. To get around, there are miles of wooden plank walkways with very few handrails which make it a little hard to take in the sights and walk without tripping at the same time. But good news, when you're looking down you won't miss all of the curious schools of fish. 

The main attraction, the Skradinski Buk waterfalls, was a wonderful pay-off for the three-mile hike and hundreds of stone steps.

From here, we ate lunch in a nearby small town, Skradin, and then went to see (hear?) the Sea Organ which was luckily right next to where our ship was docked in the port. It's a set of organ pipes built into a group of steps right on the water, where the ebb and flow of the sea make a constant melody.  

And we were off again, this time making our smallest hop to another town in Croatia: Dubrovnik. This stop would eventually be declared the place we'd all most like to return to and spend more time. 

Is there any seaside city with cuter boats than Dubrovnik?

Our morning began with a beautiful coastline drive to what the guidebook described a "Renaissance village," where we stepped inside a small church and then saw the Rector's Palace in Slano.

The palace was reconstructed in 2017, having burned in 1991 during the Serbian invasion of Croatia. Before that, this 14th century site was wrecked by the terrible earthquake of 1667 that leveled much of the region and, after that, another reconstruction was destroyed by the Montenegrins in 1806. 

Driving back toward the port, we stopped for this jaw-dropping view, then went on to the Trsteno Arboretum. Fans of Game of Thrones (and we had two of them with us!) would immediately recognize it's famous pavilion (below, left). After beginning the walk down from the road and realizing how steep the climb would be to return, I chose to sit it out in a pretty little park. My back was not cooperating and I wanted to save whatever it had left in the tank for visiting the Dubrovnik's old town in the afternoon. Nana also retreated to sit with me but the rest of the ladies thoroughly enjoyed the arboretum for us. 

Funny enough, as I caught up on the latest season of Vikings Valhalla on the flight home, I recognized the same pavilion was also one of their key shooting locations.

After a quick cool-off on the ship to grab lunch, we headed back out for an afternoon walking tour, starting at the Pile Gate. 

And wow. The hour and a half we had to explore this part of Dubrovnik was too little by at least two days. The heat was really getting to Ella, and then to Nana, so we took breaks, ducked into some shops, and—of course—got some gelato to help cool down (as if we needed that excuse). I feel like there are about a hundred things I'd like to see more of in and around this city and hope to return one day. 

Time to set sail and say goodbye to Croatia. 

Waking up in Kotor, Montenegro, we were surrounded by the striking Dinarc Alps.  

A view from our drive out to the Luštica Peninsula to visit a sixth generation family-owned olive farm. 

Arriving at the Moric Olive Farm, we were greeted by these two little cuties. 

It was interesting to learn all about how good olive oil is made and sample some of the local food at the farm before we headed back to town.

At this point in the trip, it was also very interesting to compare all of the different versions of the Yugoslavian war that each guide would tell on our bus rides. One thing was clear, every local we encountered was very proud of their country, welcoming to all of us, and open to sharing their personal stories which made for colorful, sometimes sobering, context to the sights and experiences we encountered. 

The fortress walls that surround Kotor's old town. 

Avoiding a major traffic jam meant a detour with many switchbacks which made some of our group feel less than amazing. Coupled with yet another absolutely scorching day—the air temp was 106 degrees in Kotor—I ended up being the only man standing to finish the walking tour into the old town. 

St. Tryphon's Cathedral, originally built in 1166, is an impressive Romanesque church. Like most buildings of the area, the cathedral was impacted by the earthquake of 1667 and went through several transformations over many centuries. Our tour was short as the ship would be pulling up anchor in the mid-afternoon, otherwise, I would have like to explore inside.

Another fun fact, Montenegro is well-known for its cats. They are considered symbols of good luck and protection from evil spirits, and based on what I saw, they are comfortably smug in the knowledge of their special status around town. 

Slowly navigating the winding channels away from Kotor gave us time to appreciate the coastline. 

Next up: Greece! The first of four Greek cities on our itineray, we started in Corfu. For anyone following along on the map at the top, we were now in the Ionian Sea.   

This day's excursion took us to Paleokastritsa, a seaside town known for it's sandy beach (clearly nothing secret about this gem) and a number of interesting nearby sites reachable by boat. One of those is apparently the Kolovri Rock, which legend says is Odysseus' boat turned to stone by Poseidon. If our captain pointed it out in his heavy accent and limited English, we all missed it, but he was quite possibly our favorite part of the day so we're not mad about it.

The coastline was dreamy, just like the guidebooks say. 

There are six grottos, or caves, all of which are accessible by boat. This one was called The Blue Eye and appeared in the James Bond movie, For Your Eyes Only.

Another was called the Nausica grotto, named after the daughter of the King of the Phaeacians. According to Homer, she found Odysseus and nursed him back to health. 

Captain Stavros was a hoot, chain-smoking his hand-rolled cigarettes and doing his best to get a 10 a.m. dance party started on his boat. 

Corfu's esplanade is one of Europe's largest public squares.

Our tour guide gave us an abbreviated talk along the Liston Promenade which I ducked out of, sneaking over to see this building, the Palace of St. Michael and St. George, also known as the Royal Palace. With the official tour over, our guide left us to seek lunch in the shade and then we wandered around town, hitting several of the shops. Eventually, we escaped back to the ship for cold showers and a little rest before dinner.

Another evening cruise, this time with a sailboat to race. 

Olympia. With the 2024 Summer Olympics just days away, it was especially timely to visit these landmarks and learn all about how the ancient games (776 B.C. to A.D. 393) worked, eventually giving birth into our modern games (1896 to today) so many centuries later. 

This column is a reconstruction showing the size and shape of those that once made up the Temple of Zeus, which can be seen in ruins all around. The entire site is believed to have been decimated by major earthquakes in A.D. 522 and 551, then eventually covered by mudslides from flooding of the Kladeous River or possibly even a tsunami. 

The ancient site was rediscovered in 1766 and this temple was excavated in 1829. Inside, the Statue of Zeus was housed—a 41-foot giant seated figure which is considered one of the Seven Wonders of the Ancient World.  

Here, Lavada is standing at the site where the Olympic flame is lit, months ahead of the games every four years—well, wait, now it's every two years—before it goes on its international relay trip. Just behind her is the Temple of Hera, the oldest temple at Olympia which is dedicated to the queen of the Greek gods. 

In the center photo, Ella is standing on the starting block inside the original stadium. The word stadium comes from the only competition that was held here at first, a foot race over 190 meters known as the stadion. There were no stands; up to 45,000 spectators would sit on the banked sides surrounding the hard-packed clay racing ground. 

After leaving the ancient site, we visited another olive farm. This one, the Magna Grecia Farm, was a much more commercial operation with entertainment and one olive tree believed to be more than a 1,000 years old (below) and still bearing fruit. 

The following morning we sailed to Santorini where our ship was one of eight (!) anchoring there for the day. We stopped offshore and took large tender boats to the island for our excursion. 

We learned that the entire island, or set of islands, are the top portions of a massive volcano that erupted about 3,600 years ago leaving a caldera in the center. The landscapes are rocky and windy and there is very little vegetation or rainfall here. The gorgeous white-washed towns exist in several clusters and are unfortunately completely inundated with tourists during the busy season. Our guide mentioned that the new government will be limiting cruise ships to no more than two a day starting next year.

Looking out across this view, I made a mental note we should visit again—but maybe in April or October next time. 

The nonstop flow of thousands of tourists from the bus yard to and from the picturesque town of Oia was really something. 

Lunch was at a restaurant in Pyrgos called Taste & Feelings where we threw plates for the Greek dancers and tourists to stomp on. Opa! Then we headed to the Santos Winery for a self-guided tasting. 

Just before boarding our bus to head back to the tender boat, I noticed these purple thistles. Molly was saying "hello." 

Not for the first time, I regretted only having a short lens with me on the trip when I saw this moonrise over the water. 

Athens was our fourth stop in Greece and our final stop of the cruise. While the city itself was like any other big, busy metropolis, we were really looking forward to exploring the Acropolis. 

Acropolis comes from the Greek words meaning "highest point" and "city." It was hard for me to wrap my head around the fact there has been one civilization or another occupying this hilltop for over 5,000 years. The first fortification wall dates to the 13th century B.C. but the majority of buildings seen there today were started in the 5th century B.C. by Pericles. 

This view from the Acropolis looks over Athens and across to the Philopappos Monument on Muses Hill, a mausoleum and monument built for the prince of the same name who died in A.D. 116. That's, like, 1,900 years ago. [insert mind blown emoji here]

Walking through the Propylaea, or gate, to the Acropolis, makes a girl feel small. The structures were incredibly impressive as we climbed higher and higher to the top of the hill with them looming over us. 

The building I enjoyed seeing the most was this one, the Erechtheion, or the Temple of Athena. 

The most famous building of the Acropolis, the Parthenon, was also dedicated to the goddess Athena and built in thanks for the Hellenic victory over the Persian empire. Def 10/10.

Passing back through the gate to make our climb down, we were rewarded with this view of the Temple of Athena Nike, built in 425 B.C. 

And that was a wrap! For the first and final nights of our cruise, we enjoyed dinner at The Chef's Table and both times it was absolutely delicious. Made it even harder to go back to our rooms and pack up our things to make the long trip home the next day. 

But of course there's no place like home, and we were very ready to hug our people and pet our furbabies and, oh my gosh, wash all of that incredibly stinky laundry we were toting back home with us. 

We'll look back on these memories, tell these stories and never stop feeling grateful for all of the experiences we had on this trip. I can't imagine a cruise line doing a better job with every aspect of our experience, from the ship itself to the warm and helpful staff, the dining, the excursions and everything in between. Twenty-four hours a day, the whole operation ran smoothly and allowed us to relax and truly enjoy ourselves. Something tells me this won't be our last Viking adventure. 

The Emerald Isle

When we moved to Texas nearly 10 years ago, we had a debate standing in the front yard of the 14th house we saw on our one and only day of hunting.

“The lot is perfect. But if the inside matches the outside, we’re in trouble.”

“And the address is Emerald Drive. That’s embarrassing.”

“But the lot is perfect. We can get over the Emerald thing, right? And whatever we don’t like inside we can demo.”

Eventually we went in, didn’t pay nearly enough attention to the hot mess inside, and fell further in love with the backyard. That night, we made an offer. And after surviving the home renovation that wouldn’t stop, getting to know some of the finest neighbors in Texas, and making nearly a decade of memories on Emerald Drive, I’m still embarrassed by the address.

But hey, now I’ll think of Ireland when I turn onto our street in Jewel Estates [blech], now that I know what it looks like close up.

Day one, we landed in Dublin and headed straight for a nice little Italian restaurant for lunch.

Tired but determined to stay up until a “reasonable hour” on Dublin time, we did the Hop On/Hop Off bus tour thing for a little while and lucked out with the funniest driver/tour host we’d have the whole trip.

Taking advantage of our Hop Off privileges, we stopped at Christ Church Cathedral to take a look around.

Dating back to 1030, founded by Vikings, the church has a famous sculpture of a sleeping, homeless Jesus which I didn’t read about until after taking this photo.

Opting not to Hop (back) On, we grabbed an Uber to our hotel, nested for a little bit, then walked down the street past this gorgeous old hospital building to dinner.

The first of many times we practiced saying Slainte! If I had known this was the one and only place we found where I could enjoy a Guinness 0 on tap, I would have had two.

The morning of day two, we met up with our walking tour guide for a stroll around Dublin. Like nearly everyone we would meet, he was friendly, passionate about Irish culture, and could recall facts and dates with incredible speed. Or he was just a good storyteller who made stuff up. Either way, he was good at it.

After many centuries, Ireland finally won its independence in 1922. I couldn’t stop thinking about how that really wasn’t very long ago.

The Temple Bar area of town…

…where places stay open late.

After checking out what a boxty was all about for lunch, we went to Kilmmainham Gaol, which housed many of the leaders of the 1916 Easter Rising, 14 of whom were executed here. Interestingly, there wasn’t a lot of public support for that particular rising, but the execution of its leaders turned them into martyrs and led to worldwide sympathy for the cause. In 1921 the Anglo-Irish Treaty established the Irish Free State that was in full effect by 1922.

The jail is now a popular tourist stop that’s regularly used for film production.

Here’s a full Irish Breakfast, with white and black pudding. This is not on the Lite Bites section of the menu.

Heading out on day three, we visited the Rock of Cashel, which turned out to be my favorite ABC [Another Bloody Castle] stop we made together.

Eventually we made our way to Mount Juliet Estate near Kilkenny (haha, Kill Kenny) where we stayed for one short night.

The manor house wasn’t too shabby.

While wandering around, looking for the walled garden (because you gotta have a walled garden if you have a manor house), Ella found the playground.

Buzz buzz.

Day four, we went to Lyrath Estate to try out their Falconry School which was easily the coolest thing we got to do.

That’s an owl. It was nice to start off with a slightly kinder, gentler, fluffier bird of prey before getting up close with the hawks and falcons.

We made Ella go first. Sixteen year-olds have no fear that the hawk might take out an eyeball instead of landing where they’ve been trained to go.

After we took turns allowing the falcon to land on the gauntlet-glove-like things we wore, John, who runs the school, showed us how she would hunt and strike prey. We learned that peregrine falcons are the fastest animals on the planet, reaching nearly 200 mph while diving.

It was a sight to see (from a safe distance!)

Leaving Kilkenny, we drove toward Killarney, taking a short hike to Torc Falls before arriving at our hotel for the night. Ella and I learned that hiking to the very top doesn’t improve the view of the falls, but we got in our steps for the day. Nana and Molly were much smarter and stayed down below.

On day five, we took a jaunting car ride through part of Killarney National Park, which was nearly ruined by the tour guide who told more bad jokes than Disney’s Jungle Cruise, but we just tuned him out after awhile.

The scenery was stunning as advertised.

The one stop we made was to walk around Ross Castle.

You can’t go inside the castle’s keep, but there was a little snack stand with postcards and a bored teenager.

After the carriage ride, we Ubered over to the Muckross Estate.

If I were a bagillionaire, I’d be making an immediate offer on Muckross House. It sits on the most beautiful plot of lakeside land and the basement kitchen made me drool a little. Molly and I both took a few illegal photos so I can beg Wes to build something like it for us one day.

Back in Killarney proper, we went out in search of dinner and ice cream, looking in the shop windows as we went.

In Ireland, it’s TK Maxx.

The carnies were in town, too.

Home base for this part of the trip was The Great Southern Killarney.

The morning of day six, we headed out to drive the Dingle Peninsula.

Along the way, we paid a few Euro each to walk through some nice gentleman’s backyard so we could check out the ancient beehive houses. Across the water, you could also see Skellig Michael in the distance. It’s most famous in recent years as the filming location for Luke Skywalker’s secret hideaway in a couple of the Star Wars movies.

The sheep were not as impressed as we were by the scenery.

This view, from Slea Head Drive (yes, at the tip of the Dingle Peninsula), was breathtaking.

In just about every souvenir shop, you can find jewelry of some description in the shape of these curious bleeding heart blooms.

Still along the day’s drive, we visited the Gallarus Oratory…

…as well as this beautiful 12th century Kilmaldedar Church and graveyard.

Finally we found the cute little down of Dingle.

Then motored back “home” for the night.

Day seven, we were back on the road, this time with a surprise first stop for Nana to the Kerry Woollen Mills.

Yes, they shipped.

The owner gave us a tour of the whole process, from shearing to final textiles.

He also had a super awesome Golden Retriever named Millie. (Get it? Millie?)

Next stop: The Cliffs of Moher.

First by land.

(Where it was down right blustery and we had exactly 15 minutes to look around before rushing on.)

Then by sea.

It was a long day and way past lunchtime. We weren’t sure Ella was going to make it, but there was a delicious burger truck in the ferry parking lot that sold some insanely good fries.

Or chips. Not chips like crisps, but chips like fries. Irish food can be confusing for Americans.

Revived by the yummy chips, we finished driving to Dromoland Castle.

I mean, you gotta stay somewhere.

Day eight, we took another ferry — with this adorable sweetie pie — to Inis Oirr, the smallest of the Aran Islands.

Moo.

Learning about the shipwrecked M.V. Plassy and the dramatic rescue of her crew was a point of pride of the locals. The elements have done a number on it and it’s beginning to collapse over the limestone burren.

Our guide told us this church, Cill Ghobnait, a religious site believed to be used since the 6th century, was discovered in modern times when islanders were digging a grave.

Day nine! We got to see horses and also this little guy.

Neigh-neigh.

Safety first. Can’t risk getting creepy crawlies in or from the riding helmets.

Irish sheep are very calm from what we could see.

After patting all of the horsey noses goodbye, we drove back to Dublin where we spent our two last nights before flying home.

Day ten, we made time to shop-shop, first visiting This Is Knit in Powerscourt Townhouse, which was something of a knitting mecca we gathered.

We also wandered around Grafton Street and Ella bought some new kicks, which she hasn’t shared with me yet. Guess I might need to buy my own.

Not to worry, that’s my Heineken 0.0 Ella grabbed before posing for this pic.

One of the tastiest dinners we had was at Lincoln’s Inn, where author James Joyce met his eventual wife Nora Barnacle who was a chambermaid at Finn’s Hotel. Ironically, we had no idea about the building’s history when Molly spied it as good place to stop. We were surprised to learn all about it on the following day’s walking tour.

Which brings us to the morning of day eleven, when we went to Trinity College where they have the Book of Kells, a 9th century manuscript with unbelievably intricate illustrations. Each week, a different set of pages is on exhibit. Unfortunately for us, there were some interior pages with little illustration on display that day but there’s a well done museum to walk through which gives you the full experience.

Moving on to the university’s library, we all stopped and gapped as we looked around. This space is said to be the inspiration J.K. Rowling drew on when dreaming up Hogwarts. Whether that’s true or not, the room does make you feel that similar kind of reverence and smallness you feel stepping into an ornate cathedral, where the devotion to religion is replaced with devotion to knowledge and learning.

Evidence of the gaping. ;)

Here is one of the original posters from the 1916 Easter Rising which is much like our Declaration of Independence.

Also on exhibit in the library is the Brian Boru Harp. This instrument is the stuff of legends in Ireland; for centuries it was part of the papal collection in the Vatican, it was once stolen in 1969, and you might recognize it from the Guinness logo, trademarked to sell suds in 1876. It was also adopted as the official symbol of Ireland in 1922 after they officially won their independence. Super cool.

More of the Trinity College campus.

The walking tour took us back through Grafton Street…

…past the pretty flower stalls…

…and some back-alley shortcuts.

We also stopped and learned all about this important place that I can’t remember a thing about.

We gathered that for Dubliners, Leo Burdocks is to fish and chips as Popeyes is to red beans and rice in New Orleans.

Our final tour stop was St. Patrick’s Cathedral.

Brilliant merchandising move to put the gift shop two feet away from the stone that once marked St. Patrick’s legendary well.

We were tiiiired. While our exuberant tour guide stepped away for a few minutes, we conspired to call an early end to the day and asked him to lead us on to a good place for lunch.

Nearly back to the hotel, we made one final spin around a shop that looked inviting.

The Davenport Hotel, once known as Merrion Hall, formerly a Plymouth Brethren house of worship and the largest gospel hall of its time, had it’s interior almost entirely destroyed by fire in 1990. It was then reimagined as a hotel and we enjoyed the comfy beds.

It was a wonderful trip but there’s no place like home. We were all ready to hop on that bus with wings and fly east.

Lovebirds

Today, I get to celebrate a birthday because 50 years and 18 days ago, two lovebirds decided to throw caution and common sense to the wind and married entirely too young. xoxo

Sweet, hopeful puppies. They didn’t get any cake but they got lots of attention.

Summer 2020: Break out!

This summer’s beach trip was a long time coming. It was two years ago the last time we sunk our toes in sand, and it was over a year ago that we last saw the Foldens. After months spent largely at home, I was kind of giddy as we pulled out of the driveway on an actual road trip.

That lasted at least two minutes until the kids started arguing about something.

Eight hours later, we pulled into New Orleans and checked into our hotel. The kids made themselves at home within minutes.

I can’t remember 100%, but I’m pretty sure I paid for this photo with an extra snack of some kind.

Henry loved his little pull-out bed and made sure Knit Bear fit okay and was comfortable, too.

Wes decided to break a toe the day before we left and somehow managed to walk blocks and blocks as we explored the city.

Nearly everything was shut down but walking tours were still an option so we signed up for a 5-in-1 ghosts, vampires, legends, something and something else tour after dinner. We enjoyed the first half and skipped the second, being the crazy night owls we are.

Ella thought she was really clever, putting her paper fan in front of her face while she took some fresh breaths without her mask on.

We’ve never seen NOLA so empty.

For our only full day in the city, we hit up Cafe du Monde for breakfast (a bit of a fail with the kids, but Wes and I loved it, plus it was the only place we got to hear some live Jazz) and then we rode the St. Charles trolley car line through the Garden District.

First, Henry got a little talking to. He was having some trouble keeping his (social) distance from others while hop-scotching around the town.

The St. Charles line is the oldest continuously operating street railway in the world. And it runs by some really pretty homes.

Maxing out at 25% capacity, we wandered around The National WWII Museum and enjoyed their air conditioning. It’s an incredibly well-done museum—highly recommend it!

On the far right…one of my proudest moments as a mom. Our children took a seat in front of a few sections of artillery-blasted concrete walls that the Germans built on the beaches of Normandy. Aren’t they in awe? Henry’s admiring the LEGO set he had to have, Ella is catching up on Snapchat, and Michael is snacking.

I guess this is the carefree childhood that was so bravely fought for our children to experience.

That night, we headed to dinner outside of the French Quarter and had the most amazing meal at Copper Vine.

Five stars. No, six. Eight.

Ella was very brave and tried an olive. I don’t believe she liked it.

Saturday morning, we headed over to Gulf Shores.

On the way, we blindly trusted Waze and were thankful for its advice which routed us through Bayou Le Batre, Alabama (“Hey Bubba!”) and onto the ferry to Fort Morgan. We cut out miles and miles of gridlocked traffic on I-10 and enjoyed a new view on the final stretch to the beach.

Sitting in our car, floating across part of the Gulf (weird sensation!), the kids got an education on oil rigs and where much of the gas comes from that we put in our cars each week. No doubt, it was the highlight of their day.

After an epic arrival-day grocery run, Ella and I joined everyone down at the beach where Henry was busy pouring water into the ocean.

And where Miss Jen found a feather and showed me her silly and serious faces.

So many crabs to catch. So few nights to get ‘em.

Time to go tuck in for the night.

In the morning, I learned that packing a bucket with sand is serious business. No time for Aunt Anne to take pictures.

It’s a joy to see Joshua in his happy place.

Mornings at the beach.

When the waves were calm, there was a lot of Frisbee going on.

Jake!—the sleeper star of the week—a two-year old Basset Hound that stole all of our hearts, especially Josh’s.

Jennifer has a superpower. She’s literally the only person in the world who can wear Michael out.

These three shared a room for the week and I had to keep poking my head in to see what all of the giggling was about.

Family picture night was a race against the setting sun but we did it. Check, check!

This little girl used to fit a little easier in my arms but she still let me swing her around.

Adorable goofballs.

The week always passes by too quickly. xoxo

The longest summer.

As of today, “summer break” started in early March and is scheduled to go through September. Probably longer, if we’re being honest with ourselves.

We’ve been lucky to escape to the lake a couple of times and just returned from our one vacation for the summer. But after realizing how far behind I am on posting photos, that trip will have to wait for the next post.

Catch up time.

The big news from early spring: We brought Georgia (aka, Nugget, Princess, Sis, Lil’ Miss, Stink Butt, Lil’ Bit, G’Dawg…we could keep going) home.

In retrospect, we were so over the moon that she was finally home with us—and maybe because it had been so long since we had a puppy—we missed recognizing how sick she was. She was underweight, her coat was thin, and her belly wasn’t happy. At the time, our vet was inundated with new patients, fielding 50-75 calls a week for new COVID pets, and so it was a full week before she had her first check up.

Long story short, baby girl had some problems. After several weeks of high-powered antibiotics and other medicines, an enriched diet and tons of snuggles, she got healthy. Most importantly, she outgrew a troublesome heart murmur.

Guess we’re truly stuck with her now.

Brisket is mostly happy about the new arrangements with his new full-time playmate and snugglemate.

Sometime in June, I took some pictures that didn’t include Georgia. :D

Henry loves diving for treasure (quarters).

Oh, back to the puppy.

Then Father’s Day came. After much debate and discussion, we all agreed to break quarantine and gather at the farm for Father’s Day afternoon. I must have been so glad and distracted to be around family again that the only photo I took was of my measly appetizer contribution.

Kind of a disappointment. I mean, it was yummy, but far from the best part of the day.

For the 4th, we headed out to the lake with Nana and Rocket.

SPARKLERS! FIREWORKS! (All safe and socially distanced. And only two minor fires were started in the grass.)

Vacation photos post coming soon!

7 Mannings went to the lake, 6 came home

Looking for an uplifting blog post during these trying times? This might not be the one for you.

Kidding, it’s not that bad. Really. Everything was going great there for a while so we’ll focus on those parts.

Last weekend, in a somewhat premature attempt to break up the time we’re all going to be spending at home together, we packed up the kids and animals and headed to the lake. (2 parents, 3 kids, 1 dog, 1 hamster)

Friday afternoon, Wes played catch with Henry in the front yard. Well, there wasn’t a lot of catching on Henry’s end but it looked like he had fun.

That night after dinner, we played our new favorite game, 25 Outlaws.

No, that’s not Ella’s glass of wine.

Before everyone headed to bed, we busted June out of her cage and let her run around and get some love.

Nana, I promise that dish towel went right into the wash!

June + Baby Carrot = Love

Our mornings looked a lot like this.

Sleepy eyes, shaggy hair, playing HeyDay together—their newest obsession.

And our afternoons looked a lot like this.

Wes and Michael battling it out, playing ping-pong. Henry practicing his soccer ball-handling skills. Ella having a snack and Brisket hopefully sniffing around for any goodies that might drop.

On Saturday night’s sunset cruise, the boys pinky swore they’d both try jumping in the cold lake. I don’t understand boys.

This child just Tik Toks all day, probably in her sleep, too. I don’t understand girls.

Hunka hunka.

Someone had the idea to play hide-and-seek on the boat. We figured this would only last a minute or two.

We were wrong. This kept the kids laughing long after we thought they’d get bored of the game.

Ella won, hands down. While the boys were hiding their eyes, she borrowed her dad’s sunglasses and visor and took his spot in the captain’s chair. Michael walked by her TWICE before noticing her camoflauge.

She was very (very) proud of herself.

Sunday, the fisher-people got some bites after a long string of getting skunked by the smart fishes of Possum Kingdom.

“Bye fishy, back to the lake you go."

That night, we celebrated 17 years of wedded bliss with a cookie cake from the Graham Wal-Mart.

I’ve never skipped make-up on an anniversary and I may never go back to my old ways.

Monday morning, the kids were lounging with their screens when I reminded Ella she needed to clean out June’s cage before we hit the road later that afternoon. Sadly, June never woke up that day.

We found an AC-Del Co oil filter box in the garage, filled it with comfy hamster bedding, and buried her in a short, quiet ceremony on the lake side of the house.

The boys took June’s passing a little harder than we would have thought, but they’ve bounced back just fine and everyone is glad we were able to have such a good time playing with her and taking photos to remember her by, just before she left us.

R.I.P. June, we loved you!

Orlando in February

Every November, Santa starts to panic a little. The last thing these kids need is more stuff and until Santa figures out how to “gift” the kids things like the monthly dues for volleyball and free-running (we missed an opportunity earlier in parenting…), he’s looking for experiences to plan.

His first bright idea was to head down to Orlando the week after Christmas, since the kids didn’t need to be back to school until Jan. 8. But then he took a closer look at the crowd calendars and moved the trip out to early February. Brilliant. The school attendance office might not agree, but the lighter crowds and still-cool weather was totally worth pushing the trip out a few weeks.

Every family trip starts with breakfast at the DFW Friday’s next to E17. Henry was excited to whip out the library books he brought in his backpack before the orange juice hit the table.

With rainy weather in Atlanta, we had a little extra time to take in the airport experience on our way.

Finally, we made it.

After a quick stop at Walgreens for the essentials (water, snacks, beer), we checked in to the Hard Rock Hotel and walked over to CityWalk. Having missed our dinner reservations, we wandered around during the hour wait for a table at The CowFish. It made for a late night but, on the flip side, the kids went to sleep pretty easily that first night.

They woke up to room service breakfast (first and last time ever; we told them to enjoy it) and immediately began wrestling each other which would become a major theme for the trip.

Waiting for Dad to pull around the rented, White Dodge Caravan, the kids ran around the hotel lawn and fountain.

So. Much. Energy.

Friday was our only Disney day and we went to Hollywood Studios where we were absolutely blown away by the new Star Wars Land. The crowds were higher than expected so we waited in pretty long lines the most this day and fought keeping everyone together as we wandered the park.

Who waits 25 minutes in line to get their photo taken with an animatronic BB-8? We do.

Star Wars Smugglers Run was incredible! During our hour wait, we geeked out over the all of the insane detail that was built into every part of the experience. The ride is a simulator for six passengers, flying the Millennium Falcon with two pilots, two gunners and two engineers. There being five of us, another dad joined our crew. He was probably cool with it until the ride started up, Henry began freaking out, and I spent the ride stretching over to hold his hand while he cried and I assured him everything was fake and it was all going to be okay, over and over.

Note for next time, we needed to better prepare Henry for what was coming up on the rides and it would have been nice of us to slip that other dad $10 so he could buy himself a beer as compensation for being paired up with the Mannings.

After wandering around Star Wars Land, we headed over to the newly expanded Toy Story Land for lunch and hopped in line for Slinky Dog Dash. Michael had never been on a “real” roller coaster and was really excited. The posted wait was 90 minutes, which we were assured would be more like 70.

Fast-forward an hour and a nice lady came on the loudspeaker to tell us the ride would be down indefinitely while they fixed an issue. After hanging around for another 15 minutes, we bailed and headed over to the Astro-something-or-rather ride that would be right up Henry’s alley.

Waiting in line, the kids took a cue from some groups waiting around started playing Heads Up! which turned out to be a life-saver to keep them entertained.

Score! Henry loved the ride. And as soon as we got off, we got back in the line for Slinky Dog Dash which was now up and running again.

Just one more hour in line, and Michael got his dream wish — a ride on a real coaster. He loved it! Wes was a little underwhelmed considering how long we spent waiting in that line all afternoon, but really, it was a good time.

For the rest of the day, we had snacks, treats, more snacks, saw the Frozen Sing-A-Long show (wait, that was in the morning) and Star Wars: A Galaxy Far, Far Away. We didn’t get to see the Jedi Training but we checked everything else important off our list despite the big crowds and had a great day.

Saturday morning, we headed over to Loew’s Royal Pacfic for breakfast with Gru and his crew. This was mostly for Henry and he was all smiles. The big kids loved the buffet with donuts and Ella got an unexpected bear hug from Gru himself. Not a bad way to start the day.

With breakfast under our belts, literally, we headed to Universal Studios where we explored Dr. Suess’ carousel, Woody Woodpecker’s kiddie coaster, E.T.’s ride on a bicycle and Curious George’s playground.

See the pink ball Ella is launching toward my camera? She teaches the boys all kinds of bad habits.

Next we hit Simpson’s Krustyland for more rides and carnival games.

Wes and the big kids hit The Simpsons Ride, we bought a ginormous donut from Lard’s, had our photo taken with Homer, Bart and Lisa, Wes got a Duff Beer, and we did a little shopping at Kwik-E-Mart.

It wasn’t even lunchtime yet.

After exploring the rest of Krustyland, we shot some aliens on the Men In Black ride and went to grab a seafood lunch at Lombard’s over in San Francisco.

This pic is actually from the next day when we were back in the Dr. Suess land to ride The High In the Sky Trolley Ride (so proud of Henry for being game for the ride!). In the background, you can see the Hulk roller coaster which Ella would ride later that afternoon. Another first of many big, brave firsts.

With lunch in our bellies, we walked over to Diagon Alley in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. After going around an unassuming brick wall, our jaws all dropped. Michael started wandering around in a daze and shouting out all of the things he recognized from the Harry Potter books and movies and we eventually made our way to Harry Potter’s Escape from Gringott’s.

Just like the day before at Hollywood Studios, we were bowled over at the incredible level of production at Universal. It’s crazy to imagine what went into conceiving and building these experiences.

At this point on Day Two, my back started to go out (grr) so there’s a little gap in my photos but we rode the Hogwart’s Express train over to Universal’s Islands of Adventure, spent some more time wandering around Hogsmeade with our mouths hanging open and grabbed dinner at The Three Broomsticks.

Leaving dinner to check out more rides, we lucked into queuing up right as the Nighttime Lights at Hogwart’s Castle show began.

With crowds dying down, we rode the Flight of the Hippogriffs and Harry Potter’s Forbidden Journey before calling it a night.

Sunday! We started at Universal’s Islands of Adventure. There was more riding of rides, many that Henry wasn’t up for so I was suckered into buying him a $55 magic wand so he could perform spells in the Wizarding World lands.

Lunch was at Mythos, easily the best meal we had while on our trip. The inside of the restaurant resembled something like Antelope Canyon.

We found that lines for Hagrid’s ride died down a little at lunch time, down to about an hour. I honestly would have waited three hours for that ride. It’s THAT good. I want to gush some more about it, but don’t want to spoil it either. The surprises are…surprising. LOL

Taking advantage of Child Swap since Henry didn’t want to ride, Wes rode with the big kids first. When it was my turn, we got stalled in a few spots and we were allowed to get right back on after exiting. So Ella got to ride three times in a row! She could have gone for a fourth after we got stalled again right at the end of the third ride, but we agreed we needed to go rescue Dad and Henry who had been waiting on us.

After so much excitement, we cut the afternoon a little short to squeeze in time at the hotel’s pool.

Ahhhh, toes in the sand.

Then back to the parks before dinner for the Mardi Gras Parade. Which was excellent.

But maybe twice as long as it needed to be? Could be that Mom and Dad were ready to sit down to dinner with some cold drinks…

The kids collected a couple of beads.

Monday was another full day, split between the two Universal parks.

We went back to Hogsmeade to re-ride Hagrid’s, hit up HoneyDukes sweet shop, and cast some more spells.

By Monday, Ella was full-on obsessed with the bigger coasters and was working to get Michael to ride them, too. We managed to find a lot of fun stuff for Henry along the way, too.

Worst idea of the trip: That’s Ella and Michael getting completely soaked. Well, they thought it was a good idea up until that part happened. Wes and I watched and laughed from the bridge while Henry ran around Popeye’s playship, The Olive.

Henry insisted I take the photo on the right to share with his teacher, Mrs. Marquez. He was missing his teacher and his friends, but was pretty happy he was in Florida having fun with us.

Our last full day at the parks was finally done so we cleaned up at the hotel and headed back over to CityWalk for dinner at the NBC Sportsbar where our dinner table was also a Foosball table. So fun.

Side note: Wes takes Foosball really seriously. Watch out.

His kids might have caught his bug.

And because our day hadn’t been quite long enough, we went to see Blue Man Group after dinner. While Ella and I hit the potties, the boys got our seats upgraded to the rows that require wearing ponchos. Thankfully they weren’t super necessary — and the show was FANTASTIC and hilarious. Just right for our kiddos’ (and our?) maturity levels.

On our last morning, we had about three hours to spend in the parks before hitting the road to the airport. It was full of roller coasters — including the Rip Ride Rocket pictured above, right, which even Michael rode and loved! — and more carnival games.

Because the kids needed more stuffed junk to bring home.

Henry insisted we go back to the Despicable Me ride for the third time but we didn’t complain too much. All morning we just walked up to every attraction we wanted to ride.

It was hard to leave but we were also ready to get home to Brisket and our own beds. With walls and doors in-between all of them. :)

I’ll call this one Pensive Teenager in a Pocket of Airport Light to close out this post.

All in all, it was an exhausting, exhilarating, much-needed family break for us all. Wes and I are so proud that each of the kids pushed themselves to try new and scary things and had such a great time together. That, and we didn’t get kicked out of any rides or restaurants.

They agree this was the best vacation we’ve ever had and already want to go back. Us old people might need a minute to recover before that sounds like a good idea, but we did love our time in Orlando.

Night-night!

Christmas is Coming

In less than three weeks, we’ll have a 14-year old. And four short days after that, it’ll be Christmas. This is nuts!

Here’s what we’ve been up to for the past couple of (blurry, fun) months.

Ever have a week full of Mondays? June understands.

Yay cake and cookies!

Yay pumpkin guts!

The highlight of every Halloween night: The Candy Inventory & Exchange.

This was Henry’s end-of-the-game expression after coach asked him where he’d learned to play like that. (And why didn’t he play like that all of the time?)

Ella has decided to take a break from soccer to focus on volleyball. We wish we had known her last game was going to be her last game so we could properly mourn our identities as Soccer Parents!

Nana had a big birthday! I think we surprised her pretty well.

November was time to cash in on Michael’s birthday present trip to Austin to see some F1 racing and Imagine Dragons in concert.

Eat pizza or plug ears? Eat pizza or plug ears? GAH!

We ate that weekend. A LOT.

It’s a good thing Michael has nothing to compare his first concert experience to — it was pretty awful! My event planning brain exploded multiple times that evening but the show itself (at least, what we were able to see) was pretty good. Imagine Dragons knows their audience.

Saturday morning, we “hiked” around Mt. Bonnell and saw the Colorado River.

Then we ate some more.

Saturday evening, we took a river cruise to see Austin’s 1.5 million (!) Mexican Free-Tailed bats take off from under the Congress Avenue bridge to hunt for the night.

Sunday morning, I dragged the family to the State Capitol.

They secretly loved it but just didn’t want me to know.

As it turns out, the boys’ attention span for touring the Capitol was about 2.6 minutes long. They spent most of their time rolling this green toy around on the floor.

Right after I took this shot, Michael accidentally let it roll under the brass railing and under a desk. The guy standing behind Henry, hadn’t noticed the boys playing but turned around when he saw the strangely shaped, glowing thing moving across the floor. His eyes got really wide and he looked around in a panic like the room was about to blow up!

He was pretty relieved to see Michael crawling after it, saying “Sorry Mom! Sorry!”

Drew turned 17 and Henry turned 8 in the same week.

Yay for more cake!

Thanksgiving at the Farm is always one of the best days of the year.

Friday morning after Thanksgiving, we drove out to PK lake with all of the grandparents.

Possum Hollow always goes over the top for Christmas — this year, we happened to be there the same night as Santa. (One more Christmas to-do list item checked off! Ha!)

Henry made Santa a drawing and dutifully asked him for a surprise this year, after some coaching from Ella.

Michael was just there for the candy cane.

And the girls couldn’t let this selfie opportunity pass by!

HELLO Fall

Finally. It’s not 98 degrees outside and the kids are getting excited about Halloween coming up around the corner.

Time to say Bye! to summer.

Night fishing capped off our last summer trip to the lake.

Michael played in his first Drive, Chip, Putt competition and he’s just signed up for a fall Jr. PGA league. He’s officially caught the golf bug.

The first day of school came out of nowhere. Second grade for this one.

Eighth grade for this one. The real smile took a little prodding…

And fifth grade for this one.

I couldn’t get one decent photo of all three together so…

Labor Day was our last chance to enjoy the lake.

The big kids cleaned out the canoe and took off on a clean-up expedition along the shore.

Our final sunset cruise!

Hank was tiiiiiired. Too much lake fun.

She was saying something like, “Oh Mom, STAHP it already with your camera.”

Gigi and Poppa came in town over my birthday weekend and we took a drive down to Fossil Rim in Glen Rose, Texas.

I got a T-shirt. (Not pictured.)

Brisket was a little jealous that everyone was paying more attention to photo albums than to him so he pinned Wes down to remind him who’s the boss.

For Michael’s 11th birthday, he wanted to go to Top Golf which made everyone happy.

Aside from being a little embarrassed by how his little brother swings a club, Michael had a great time.

It’s Year 3 for the Candy Cake.

There’s Brisket again, making sure everyone knows he’s Top Dog.

In a couple of weeks, we’re heading to Austin to see an F-1 practice day and catch an Imagine Dragons concert. It was hard to tell if Michael was more excited about the weekend trip or the Purple pillow he wanted so badly.

The U14 Rockets are back at it for the fall season, playing other U14 teams as well as U15 and U16. The beginning of the season was rough but they are really hitting their stride the last couple of games. Love to watch them play!

Henry now envisions a future as a basketball star.

We have very high hopes for his eventual career.

It was a 97-degree day in October, but we enjoyed the chance to watch #4 round the bases for the Grapevine team.

Rocket's First Birthday

Last November, Rocket finished his 70th trip around the sun, which is something pretty wonderful to celebrate. However, back then, he was deep into the middle miles of his journey back to health after his bone marrow transplant and wasn’t up for a lot of hoopla. So we put some candles in an apple pie for him on Thanksgiving Day and kept the fuss to a minimum.

Eight months have passed and those rough middle miles have smoothed out in incredible ways. As of the one-year anniversary of his transplant, he has been declared cancer-free! He feels better than he has in years and the classic car resale economy is happily on the rebound after his time out of the game.

In the transplant world, anniversaries are celebrated as new birthdays, not only for the recipient but also in appreciation for the donors who make medical miracles like this possible and the tireless, compassionate medical professionals who fight alongside their patients.

Naturally, we used this as an excuse to throw a 1st birthday party that would be a little unlike other 1st birthday parties. There would be live music! And no whining or crying! No diapers to change, naps to schedule around (well….), and no one would smear cake in their hair. With just a little arm-pulling, Dad was on board and we got to work lining things up.

Credit to Molly for the fun invitations!

We invited everyone to Hart Hall on Main in downtown Coppell, which is a great little venue you can rent through Beyond the Box Catering, a company I will definitely call again if I ever have another need for catering.

With some help from Aunt Molly on the ‘cigar wrappers,’ Ella baked and decorated chocolate cupcakes for the birthday boy. She was a little over-protective of them on the ride over to the venue, but I think she purposely let one roll onto it’s side so she’d have to eat it instead of putting it on display…

In Your Face Cakes came through with an outstanding three-tiered cake that tasted even better than it looked. I mean, usually a cake looks great or tastes great, but not both.

This one was both.

And I’m not sure when I grew to be bigger than my brother, but here you go. Photos don’t lie, LOL.

One downside to a cake that’s not propped up with Styrofoam and 2 inch-thick fondant is that it will wilt a little in 100-degree heat. We noticed it was taking a slow dive to the left and decided it was time for candles. Quick!

Really, I did a terrible job of taking photos. By the time I picked up my camera again, the majority of the party-goers had said good night and driven off with full bellies.

Lucky for those of us who lingered after the sun set, the breeze kept up and we all hung out comfortably on the patio.

I’d say we lucked out finding Luqman Rashada to play for us. It was a last-minute booking but he really came through — adjusted his playlist to Rocket’s tastes, learned a couple of new songs for him and generally pleased the whole crowd. If it hadn’t been so dang hot that day, I think more of us would have hung outside with him for the whole party but, well, it’s July in Texas!

On August 1, these two lovebirds will celebrate 49 years of marriage.

(Sounds to me like we have an excuse for another party next summer.)

The words ‘thank you’ don’t feel big enough to convey our appreciation for all of the love, laughs and kindness everyone has thrown our way over the past many months. Our prayers for Rocket have been answered and we will do our best to hold on to this gratitude.

xoxoxo, Annie

12 Days, 39 Feet of Fabulous RV, and 2,100 Miles of America's Southwest*

*Not Pictured: 27 gift shops and 284 souvenirs collected.

First, I’d like to thank Presidents Roosevelt and Hoover and the combined talents of Trent Reznor, Lil Nas X and Billy Ray Cyrus for making this trip possible. The former for having the foresight to save so much our of country’s land as National Parks and the latter for contributing to the hit song Old Town Road, which entertained Henry, literally for hours, while he watched the scenery go by on our trip. He’s also into The Devil Went Down to Georgia which helped break things up.

“There is nothing so American as our national parks. The scenery and the wildlife are native. The fundamental idea behind the parks is native. It is, in brief, that the country belongs to the people, that it is in process of making for the enrichment of the lives of all of us. The parks stand as the outward symbol of the great human principle.”

— Franklin D. Roosevelt

Below is a sort of/kind of map of the route we took. I would update it based on our actual stops but a membership to Roadtrippers now costs $29.99 and we spent the last of our money on gas, arrowhead necklaces and bags of Sour Patch Kids.

Substitute Albuquerque for Santa Fe, add a stop at White Sands National Monument before Carlsbad Caverns, and squint your eyes a little. That’s pretty dang close.

We picked up Big Betsy on a Saturday and immediately things started to go wrong. It took Wes a full hour to level the RV on our slanted street, we couldn’t get enough power to run the AC from our house, the kids unfolded one of the banquet seats and we couldn’t get it back into the upright position, and the two largest storage drawers wouldn’t latch shut (not a problem when parked; a very annoying problem when rolling down the highway).

We figured, this is good!

We’re getting the “well something has to go wrong” part of the trip out of the way and we hadn’t even left home. So we spent the rest of the afternoon unloading all of the stuff from the RV that qualified it as “fully stocked” (we probably paid extra for all of it) and then loading in our own stuff. In went a week’s worth of groceries, bedding for five, flashlights, bug spray, maps, 18 device chargers, and hopefully enough clothing to last all of us until our first laundry stop which was seven days away.

DAY ONE

Sunday morning was Father’s Day. It was also the final day of the US Open. Wes earned some major brownie points as we pulled out of the neighborhood, headed for Palo Duro Canyon in the Texas panhandle. Waze said it was 360 miles away so we were figuring on a relaxing 6-7 hour drive. It was time to put the 20 minutes of drive training he received the day before to the test.

The kids were immediately big fans. No seat belts! Go potty whenever you want! Full access to an entire pantry of snacks whenever you want them!

I figured out how to make ham sandwich lunches while the mayo bounced around on the countertop and the plates slid around without warning. Henry found the best spot for a nap was on the floor right behind the driver’s seat and not on one of the three available beds or the cushy couch. The freezer drawer had no latch and flew open every time we took a right turn (“Freezer turn!” became their cue to either brace their feet against it or slam it shut for us), Wes started making friends with other truck drivers on the road, and we eventually pulled into our first stop.

The only things we officially forgot to pack were the boys’ toothbrushes. I’m calling that a success.

Leveling Big Betsy and hooking her up to water and power for the first time went marginally more smoothly than the day before. The views from the Sagebrush Campsite were gorgeous and none of our new neighbors looked too suspect.

We were officially "roughing it.”

Right after entering the park, we made a stop at the visitor’s center and took in a great view of the canyon. It was carved by the Red River and, we’re told, it’s the largest canyon in the States outside of the Grand Canyon.

While Wes dealt with Big Betsy, the kids and I went out to find how we would walk from the campsite to the Pioneer Amphitheater, where we had tickets to see TEXAS the Musical later that night. With time to burn, we decided to check out the Pioneer Nature Trail, too. The map I had promised it was only 1/2-mile long and suitable for beginners. That’s us.

The bugs were plentiful but we saw wildlife tracks, wild watermelon vines and some beautiful wildflowers on the floor of the canyon.

If you run, the bugs can’t get you.

After our “hike,” we walked to the amphitheater where you can buy tickets to a chuck wagon dinner before the show. The online reviews were mixed which probably brought my expectations down a bit, but honestly, it was pretty good.

Michael approved, anyway.

Photography is not allowed during the show itself but I snapped a quick one of the stage as everyone was finding their seats.

The backdrop was impressive! The show, sadly, was not. Maybe it was because we’d had a long day, but by intermission, we weren’t interested in waiting it out another hour+ in order to see the fireworks show at the end. We found our flashlights and started the walk back to Sagebrush. For once, it didn’t take long to get the kids to bed.

DAY TWO

We packed up Big Betsy and rolled her about a mile down the road to Old West Stables which thankfully had a large parking lot.

We’re already pretty neat people at home but living all together in such a small space dialed up our collective OCD to a whole new level. Not making our bed or leaving a pair of shoes on the floor was suddenly a major offense. It didn’t take long to whip our morning pick-up/pack-up routine into something quick. There were horses to go see!

Disclaimer: Photos on this post will often be a little out of order so that I could include iPhone shots. :)

For months, I had been working on Henry, talking up our trail ride, showing him photos of the (kind, gentle) horses and how safe everything would be. Eventually his “Heck no!” comments turned around and he was tentatively excited about the chance to ride a horse.

Unfortunately, the when the moment arrived for him to sit on top of the actual horse, he changed his mind and would have nothing to do with Dusty the 22-year old Palomino who literally looked like he couldn’t hurt a fly. Wes took one for the team and gave up his spot to take Henry back to the RV while the big kids and I hit the trail.

Once again, the bugs were fierce! Like, bite-you-through-your-jeans fierce. But the views more than made up for the annoyance. The butte on the right is called Sad Monkey Face Rock which we we all thought was funny.

Leaving Palo Duro State Park, we drove through Amarillo and made a stop at Cadillac Ranch.

It was…interesting. Walking around, it felt like we were visiting something between a junkyard and a toxic waste dump, where you needed to watch your step or risk losing a shoe in the mud or rolling an ankle, slipping on a discarded spray paint can. But the kids loved it. Wes and I were hoarse from constantly “redirecting” the kids while they ran around spraying the cars, and then the dirt, until their cans ran out.

Back on the road, with the environmental disaster behind us, we spent the afternoon driving to Taos, New Mexico.

The trip was young. But y’all…at night, the boys were sleeping in bunk beds that had doors which closed them in. While we were on the road, they would hang out in there, shoes off, and listen to audio books, watch movies or play games.

It was about this point in the trip when I opened one of the doors to let the kids know lunch was ready and I was completely knocked on my butt from the overwhelming boy stench. We tried airing it out. We tried stuffing dryer sheets in every corner. We begged the boys to wear socks with their shoes each day. But it was a struggle we never quite conquered. After a few more days, I was resigned to leave the doors shut and let the boys stew in their own smell. They didn’t seem to mind. Why did I?

The legs of our trip on the way to Taos and through Mesa Verde, Colorado had the most gorgeous scenery. When not glued to a screen, the kids were glued to the windows. Sometimes both at the same time.

One of the great RV mysteries for newbies: How often do you have to dump your gray and black water? Answer, if you’ve got a family of five? Every dang day. And make sure to dump the black water first. And pack disposable gloves. And don’t watch RV, featuring Robin Williams, right before your first trip no matter how many people recommend it to you.

DAY THREE

Each of the kiddos found a special connection in Taos. For starters, our RV site was named “Henry,” where we had a lazy morning with pancakes, eggs and berries.

And for our first lunch, our taxi driver sent us to Michael’s Kitchen.

After lunch, we walked downtown to meet Anita with Turquoise Tours for a three-hour driving tour of Taos highlights.

First stop: Taos Pueblo.

The Puebloan people now live in homes on the reservation surrounding this UNESCO site, but it comes alive during the day as the dwellings have been converted into artisan shops which help support the community.

We joined a short guided tour and learned a lot about the sacredness of the location and how the people lived and thrived in this valley for centuries. Our guide was born and raised on this land and was a wonderful storyteller. One story, in particular, stuck with me.

In retaliation against the typically peaceful Puebloan people for their part in the bloody Taos Revolt in 1847 during the Mexican-American War, their church was destroyed by canon fire. At the time, it was filled with their people — who practice both their Ancient faith and Catholicism — seeking sanctuary. Legend says a young girl, maybe 8 or 9 years old, carried a statue of Madonna out of the church before succumbing to her injuries. The place where she died is where they built their new church, pictured a few photos above, where the Madonna is currently displayed over the altar.

I brought home a silver cuff made by this man, Art Lujuan, who also goes by the name Beautiful Aspen. He was kind enough to let me take his photo and spent time explaining the significance of all of the symbols on the bracelet.

From the Pueblo, we went to the Rio Grande Gorge Bridge. The kids and I enjoyed our 1/4-mile stroll with sweeping views of the gorge. Wes, who has a slight fear of heights and is likely just smarter than the rest of us, did not.

Our third and final stop was to see the Earthships, which are the brainchild of architect Michael Reynolds. Built largely out of recycled materials and fully self-sufficient in terms of energy and providing basic needs like water, it was pretty fascinating to see these homes.

Anita dropped us off at Enterprise for Attempt #2 at picking up a car (they can take a reservation…they just can’t hold a reservation) and we wandered back to the old part of town for dinner at Doc Martin’s at the Taos Inn.

No, not that Dr. Marten or that Doc Martin. This Doc Martin.

After dinner, we met up with our guide for a ghost tour of the old town. Wes’ face in the photo above pretty much sums up our initial impression of her, long gray duster and all. She was straight out of central casting.

In Taos, if it’s not Open, it’s Shut.

We finished up our (hilarious, campy) ghost tour near the historic Hotel La Fonda and called it a night.

DAY FOUR

For this leg, we drove both the RV and the rental car to Mesa Verde, Colorado. If I hadn’t been behind the wheel, I would have been hanging out of a window with my camera the entire drive. On the way, I saw signs for Chimney Rock and Wes agreed to make an unscheduled stop. Unfortunately, we weren’t able to tour the site but there is major construction happening around this monument and good things are coming in 2022.

Next time.

The iPhone photos below were all taken around this time in our trip.

Henry discovered the RV’s (ridiculous) fireplace actually put out a little heat; Ella found her personal connection to Taos; the kids cuddled up together in the back of the rental car and enjoyed killing some time at the Mesa Verde RV park pool. Henry’s super power to make instant friends at any public pool or playground came in handy.

I also got busted by Wes for taking one photo while driving the rental car (everything was so dang pretty!!!) and by the morning of Day Five, we were winding our way up to Balcony House where we were scheduled for a 9:30 a.m. park ranger tour of the famous cliff dwellings.

Also not pictured: a couple of epic movie nights in the rig. We introduced the kids to both Napoleon Dynamite and Titanic on this trip. It’s a toss up to say which was the bigger hit.

By this time, a few more things had broken on Big Betsy. Two of the foot locker drawers no longer latched which led to a lot of ankle bruises; an after-market steering assist stabilizer bar (say that five times fast) came unhinged and had to be unbolted from the front axle; and a small crack was slowly crawling the full length of the front windshield.

On the far left below is Eagle Nest Lake near Cimarron, New Mexico. Mental bookmark, we should come back to this place.

DAY FIVE

On the winding, climbing road through Mesa Verde National Park we stopped at a few scenic overlooks.

Hearing Ella freak out inside of a park bathroom that had no flushing toilets or running water was worth the cost of admission for the day. This photo was taken before that very traumatic experience.

Following the advice of Wise Internet People, I went to book tickets for a ranger-guided tour of Mesa Verde’s cliff dwellings the night before our visit. We only had the morning to spend at the park and we were left with one option, despite my pre-planning: Tour Balcony House at 9:30 which requires the most strenuous climb to reach the dwellings.

I decided to buy the tickets and keep the details to myself.

On the way to Balcony House, we stopped to catch a view of Cliff Palace.

This stop was the most highly anticipated by the kids. It was incredible to imagine the Ancient Puebloans who found a way to survive in these cliffs. They farmed on the tops of the mesas, and built their homes inside natural caves caused by seep springs that eat away at the rock.

After living through the most laborious talk on safety and respect we’ve ever heard, we climbed down into the canyon and gathered at the bottom of a 32-foot wooden ladder. Where we got to hear the safety and respect talk reprise. :) Now, I’m not too proud to admit it, after Henry totally backed out on the horse riding adventure, I made a plan to bribe the heck out of our cautious kid to climb this ladder.

$20 to spend at the gift shop and a Roblox account saved the day.

Here’s Ella, just chillin’ in an ancient dwelling built into the side of a sandstone cliff.

The large round structures are kivas, which archeologists say were used for everything from cooking to political meetings to housing the sipapu, which represented their place of emergence from the underworld.

So, pretty multi-functional.

As far as I can tell, the Ancient Puebloans were incredible parents. How did they keep their children from falling off the face of the cliff as soon as they learned to crawl? We struggled and we were only there for 20 minutes max. It might have been longer, and we might have learned a little more about this civilization, but our ranger was a little long-winded on the front end with the Welcome schpeel. Luck of the draw!

From Mesa Verde, we headed Southwest to Williams, Arizona, driving through the Canyons of the Ancients along the way.

…STILL DAY FIVE…

Our original plan was to stop at the Petrified Forest National Park on the way. As it turns out, the Painted Desert is slightly closer to Highway I-40 and we were looking to shave a few minutes off of our route. We did check out some petrified wood in the souvenir shop so we didn’t feel like complete failures.

After buying some wood rocks, we saw Painted Desert Inn which was one of the original highlights along historic Route 66.

And then we got to see the actual Painted Desert which was a lot more colorful in real life than this photo. (Still true even if they all say that.)

The rest of Day Five went a little downhill. I-40 was shut down for about 40 miles around Flagstaff so we added an hour and a half of driving to an already very long day. But we made it. And there was a brewery across the street from the Grand Canyon Railway Hotel and RV Park. While the wait was 30 minutes for a table at 8 p.m., they had an indoor pond where the kids could make wishes and a shuffle board table.

DAY SIX

Grand Canyon Day! Three of us were happy to smile for a couple of photos before boarding the 100-year old train from Williams, Arizona to the South Rim.

One was not. It was a theme for the day, actually.

On the way to there, we splurged for seats in the domed car where you can see panoramic views of the very exciting pine trees and cattle ranches. They also have singing cowboys. We were such fans of D.B. Rouse we bought his $5 demo CD so we could listen to his original tune, Pug with Opposable Thumbs, whenever we like.

All kidding aside, our first views of the canyon were breathtaking as promised.

Henry still wasn’t interested in having his photo taken, but he came around a little later in the afternoon.

“The really wonderful moments of joy in this world are not the moments of self-satisfaction, but self-forgetfulness. Standing on the edge of the Grand Canyon and contemplating your own greatness is pathological. At such moments we are made for a magnificent joy that comes from outside ourselves.”

— John Piper

With three hours to spend before our return train ride, we decided to hike a portion of the Bright Angel Trail.

Of course, what goes down…

…comes back out of the canyon a sweaty, thirsty, elated mess.

And then we headed to the Hopi House which I thoroughly enjoyed.

DAY SEVEN

We planned a lazy day in Williams. Grocery, laundry and just generally laying low. We also ended up dealing with some more RV problems…the hot water heater went competely kaput, along with the master bedroom toilet.

So we called the owners who called around and sent Rex the RV Repairman to see us. He had a big truck full of stuff, but not the relay switch the hot water heater needed.

Good news: He set us up with a temporary solution that would last until we got home.

Bad news: Rex had earned his points and had no interest in fixing the toilet.

More bad news: Rex’s temporary fix lasted long enough for Ella to take a brief hot shower and then water began spewing out the side of Big Betsy.

So we called the owners who called around again. Rex could return in the morning. And Danny the Other RV Repairman came to look at the toilet. Which he couldn’t repair. But he promised to come back the next day to try again and, on his way out, declared there was no way Rex could fix the hot water.

Thanks for the attitude, Danny.

DAY EIGHT

We reworked our schedule and Rex came and (hooray!) fixed the hot water for good. Before he left, he declared there was no way Danny could fix the toilet. These guys were a hoot.

While there was no help for Wes being tied to the RV waiting on repairs, I could see the future and trying to entertain three kids in a parking lot for a full day was not going to work. So I found a taxi driver that could drive me to Flagstaff where I rented another car.

Thirty-five minutes and $132 later, I was delivered to Enterprise where a 24-hour rental cost me less than $60. Whatever, it was worth it.

The kids and I planned a Wildlife Day. First up: Bearizona, where we drove through several large animal exhibits, saw a Birds of Prey show and finished with the petting zoo.

Henry wasn’t feeling like taking a photo on the way into the walk-through zoo part of the park, but he wanted a do-over on the way out.

Genius idea: After the Birds of Prey show, you could line up to feed money to a Raven, who collected donations for the park.

Just one wildlife experience wouldn’t do! So we also stopped by the Grand Canyon Deer Farm eight miles up the road. It was crazy! The kids got to hand feed literally dozens of deer and see lots of other animals along the way.

Ella smooched Gracie the camel!

In the end, Danny never showed and Wes missed the Deer Farm for nothign. We are not fans of Danny.

But Rex assured us there was a fairly good chance the second toilet would hold out for the second half of our trip so the next morning, we crossed our fingers and hit the road to Albuquerque.

DAY NINE

Reassuringly, the RV’s generator started to cut out randomly while we were on the road through a portion of country highway with zero cell service. No problem. We could pull over, take the cover off the generator and manually restart it. Problem solved! (Sometimes for 15 minutes, sometimes for an hour. It added to the travel excitement.)

Some people might wonder…why Albuquerque? We’re not totally sure. But we’re big fans of Breaking Bad and our original plans including taking the tram to the top of Sandia Peak. With our delays in Williams, we didn’t have time for that but we did hop on a trolley tour of the city.

Breaking Bad Pop Quiz Question: Who’s house is this?

Better Call Saul Pop Quiz Question: Who’s house is this?

The motel and the Simms Building pictured below were also popular film locations for Breaking Bad.

The rest of our trolley tour wasn’t much to write home about but we did get to see some more of historic Route 66 and we had the best dinner of our entire trip at High Noon Restaurant and Saloon in Old Town.

It was about this time that we went to leave the RV during a gas stop and the exterior stairs suddenly stopped working. We weren’t surprised. The kids found it entertaining to jump the three feet in and out of the RV all day long and Wes and I just added it to the list of reasons we were grateful we didn’t own Big Betsy.

DAY TEN

Detour! On our way to Carlsbad Caverns, we worked in a stop to White Sands National Monument.

Wow. If you made me pick, this was my favorite stop on our trip. The sand is powdered white gypsum, the dunes rising out of seemingly nowhere as you drive down the highway through the Tularosa Basin. Because the gypsum is good at holding what little water falls in this area, the dunes don’t completely blow away and some plant life is able to put down roots.

Walking around here felt like showing up to school still dressed in your pajamas. You were at the beach but something important was wrong…you couldn’t quite put your finger on the missing ocean waves. Were you in a dream?

For a cool $16 a piece you can buy plastic saucers in the gift shop and then slide down the dunes. Bonus, the next time we get a big snow in Texas, we’re all set.

Pro Tip: Going down is super fun. But save some energy for the climb back to the top.

After slip-sliding the afternoon away, we drove to Carlsbad where all of the flies live. We made dinner while the boys played GaGa ball with some new RV park friends. Then we hit the KOA Gettin’ Store for some s’mores supplies and had some post-shower chill time by the fire pit.

DAY ELEVEN

Carlsbad Caverns! We left one of the best stops for last. Of course, we underestimated the time it would take to get from the KOA to the park itself — note for next time, 36 winding miles in an RV will take always take a full hour — and we nearly missed getting to join our ranger-guided tour of King’s Palace and a few other caves which aren’t open to the public. Thankfully, Henry helped us charm our way in and the sights were spectacular.

Our ranger guide, Aubrey, was pretty awesome. She told elaborate stories that likened the formations in the caves to historical places and legendary characters, like the Hanging Gardens of Babylon and Native American stories. She really entertained the kids and wove in a bit of local history along the way. Michael’s favorite part was when she turned off all of the lights in the Queen’s Room, leaving us to appreciate the cave in absolute darkness. Henry had a different opinion of that part.

The formation below on the right is called the Bashful Elephant. Do you see it?

Visiting here was truly like being in another world. We won’t forget it.

We also won’t forget the climb back out of the caverns. When our tour ended, we had the choice to hang a right (toward the elevator we took down originally) or take a left. Without much thought, we followed the kids to the left. They thought a little climb sounded better than an elevator ride.

As it turns out, it was a 1.25-mile climb with an elevation change equal to 84 stories. About 1/3rd of the way up, my back started to spasm, like it tends to do at the worst times, and Wes and the kids were pretty far ahead of me. It was during one of my ‘old lady’ rests that I figured out we were heading away from the main attraction — the Big Room — and there was no way I was going to catch up to stop everyone.

So I got to take a more leisurely walk, snapping photos along the way, and we saw the Bat Cave near the natural entrance which I thought we were going to have to miss. Of course, thousands and thousands of bats = thousands and thousands of bat guano droppings but if you hold your nose and keep on walking, it’s really cool.

And now we have a reason to return some day. I’d make a second trip in a heartbeat.

Leaving Carlsbad Caverns, we decided to split up the drive home with a rest stop in Abilene.

Happily on DAY TWELVE, we were home by lunchtime, spent a couple of hours unloading and cleaning out the RV and returned it to it’s owners a day early. Handing over the keys of that maintenance nightmare was a real highlight.

Sitting at dinner at Pappadeaux’s that night, Wes and I toasted each other, giddy that we made it.

Because this post hasn’t included enough photos, here are just a few more that I don’t want to forget, years from now, when I’m re-reading and remembering this incredible trip.

I’m already noodling on the next adventure. It’s going to involve some National Parks up north…Yosemite, Grand Teton, Glacier, Crater Lake…Wes needs a little more time to recuperate from all of that driving and get excited with me, but I know it won’t take long.

March April May

So in March, I took a grand total of 3 photos.

April, I didn’t do much better. 53.

But I stepped it up in May with 283! The good news for everyone who feels obligated to read these posts is that this one will be pretty short for a three-month round up. The bad news is that we’re hitting the road for a two-week family trip in June so I’ll make up for this one with an embarrassingly long one in early July. :)

This incredible team is reason No. 1 there are hardly any photos in March. We are too busy putting on the Greatest Hardware Show on Earth to mess around. #bestworkfamilyever

After the show, Wes and I took off to Deer Valley for a long weekend. We celebrated 16 years of marriage with lots of spills on the bunny slope (for me) and checking out every art and gift shop in Park City (for Wes…just kidding, that was for me, too.)

Henry finished up what might be his last baseball season. He’s excited to try basketball in the fall.

And Ella was inducted into the National Junior Honor Society.

About the same time, Ella earned a spot on her middle school soccer team. They finished the season undefeated as Zone and District champs. #gowolves

The night before Easter Sunday, we lost power for several hours and ended up dying Easter eggs by candlelight. This might become a new tradition.

Easter morning, the power was back on and we headed to the Farm.

Ella hosted her Bible study group and led the night’s discussion with one of her friends.

She also kicked some butt on the soccer field with her rec team.

Henry let me tag along on his 1st grade field trip to Fort Worth’s Museum of Science and Nature.

And we took the kids to a Rangers game before the triple-digit heat sets in.

With fingers crossed, Rocket asked for and got permission from his transplant doctor to take a short flight from DFW to Fort Wayne to see our family up north.

Here’s Nana, looking tickled that I wanted to take her photo in some pretty light.

We made a stop to visit Grammer and Gramper, aka Bob and Bea.

I wish our kids had the chance to know them. The anchor pants, the Ruby Red nail polish in the door of the fridge, endless cantaloupe, and a half-stick of gum whenever we wanted some. They let us build haunted houses in their basement and carve animals out of bars of soap on their front stoop. Ella got to hear a lot of stories about our summer trips to Indiana when Matt, Molly and I were kids. Lucky girl.

George Washington Slept Here. ;)

It was so wonderful to see Granny, aka Ella Lue, for the weekend. Her sharp wit is still turned up to 11, she doesn’t suffer fools, and she isn’t afraid to share her opinions (which are always spot-on). She also kicked my and Aunt Jan’s tails at Euchre, closing out the second game with a 5-trick loner.

It was really good to see these two together again.

Mmm, breaded pork tenderloin sammiches.

Nana might be second-guessing making a quick stop to her favorite yarn store in Ft. Wayne. (I know I am, ha!)

Ella fell in love with a heavy-weight 100% Alpaca yarn and, before we knew it, I was buying 16 skeins and Nana was signed up to knit a full-sized blanket. I told Ella she’s going to have to share it with me.

One thing I miss dearly in Texas, dogwood trees.

Ella made fast friends with Libby.

Memorial Day weekend, we headed to Possum Kingdom. We’ve been going there for, what, eight years now? I have never seen the wildflowers in bloom like they were after all of the heavy rains we’ve had this spring.

Ella brought a friend for the weekend and we let the kids try out our new tube.

They did not follow the rules.

And then Kate graduated from high school. And we all cried a little.

She heads to TCU’s Nursing School in the fall. Maybe she can get us an invite to a real kegger?? It’s been too long. (Just kidding, Matt!)

Last weekend in May! We headed to Atlanta/Athens to see our much-missed Georgia family and to celebrate Poppa and Gigi’s 50th wedding anniversary.

We are in awe of this milestone. 50 years of being lovingly committed, building a life together and sharing that love with their own children and grandchildren. We are blessed to have such strong role models and hope to celebrate our own 50th anniversary one day.

(2053 is just around the corner, Wes, when you think about it! xoxo)

The luncheon was a big surprise for Gigi.

Jen-Jen was extremely well supervised for the weekend. I kept joking that her feet never hit the ground the whole time her cousins were around.

The bride and groom were good sports and reenacted their wedding photo for us!

After lunch, we took the kids on a short walk around North Campus and downtown. Here they are, standing right where Wes asked me to be Abby’s real mom 17 years ago.

Summer is officially here, the kids are out of school and we’re going to do our best to squeeze in lots of family time while we can. Prayers welcome that the kids don’t come to blows before school starts up again! ;)

Hello 40! in St. Lucia

Our group of friends decided a few years ago that if you’re going to have to turn 40, you should celebrate that milestone surrounded by ocean air, cold cocktails and people you love who share your delusion that you’re still college-aged. And thanks to the extreme Type-A personalities among our crew, we put this plan in place a long time ago, giving us the ability to find the time and gather the resources (and bribe the husbands and children) to make it happen.

Side Note: If you’re in the market for a travel agent, we can’t recommend Ansley Bentley with ProTravel International enough. Her recommendations were spot-on, she was super organized, very responsive and got us great deals. As much as I love travel planning, I think I might be a convert to working with a professional.

When I count my blessings, these ladies — and the other rare gems who round out our group but couldn’t make the trip this time! — are always on the list. Life is so much sweeter when you can share it with people who forgive all of your faults, laugh at your jokes, and give you honest advice when you need it most but still swear they hardly notice the gray in your hair.

I’d love to start this post at the beginning of the trip, but Delta left me stranded for a day in Atlanta. Whoopsies.

Picture me with a sad face, watching our plane pull away after racing over from my delayed connecting flight.

Plan B came together pretty quickly, though! There were no other options for getting to St. Lucia on Wednesday so I asked for someone find my bag in the bowels of Hartsfield and the Velmers graciously took me in for the night.

Well, the Velmer boys took me in. Micki was safely aboard the plane, texting instructions on where to find the good wine. Lord bless her.

All in all, not a bad day! After all of our years of frequenting Brick Store Pub, I finally got to sit at the bar like a real grown up and I got to hang out with these two cuties with their matching smiles and matching jammies.

Meanwhile, the girls sent me photos and videos from Cap Maison.

It looked really awful.

I couldn’t wait to get there.

Thursday brought Take 2!

Delta got me to the island and the hotel sent a race car driver to take me the 90-minute route to the hotel. I made it with enough time to drop my bags, change into a dress and we were off to the sunset cruise which was included with our booking.

That’s Captain Bebe at the helm.

Friday morning, Kristen, Ash and Amy took off in a rented car for the other side of the island to hike Gros Piton while Micki, Viv and I headed for the beach.

First morning for me = much relaxing and very little documenting. We had lunch at The Naked Fisherman right on the beach and generally had a very lazy day.

After enjoying some cocktails at lunch, Vivian and I thought it would be a great idea to try paddle boarding in the ocean. Which was hilarious. And not like paddle boarding in a lake whatsoever.

We entertained everyone on the beach with our frequent spills into the salt water but we avoided major injury on the rocks just below the surface and eventually we got the hang of it.

Late in the afternoon, Vivian went off to join Micki at the Cap Maison spa and I went for a walk around the property with my little Fuji.

Around dinnertime, the hikers returned! They were exhausted, stinky and absolutely beaming from ear to ear with accomplishment. From what they told us, their experience was much closer to “scaling a mountain” than “hiking a trail.”

These ladies are kicking 40’s ass.

Feeling more rested, we beach bums signed up to take a shuttle from the hotel to a local street party. Apparently there are two towns on the island that make this a tradition every Friday night and we were excited to experience more of the local culture.

Dinner was at Duke’s Place — a fairly small open-air building housed the bar, colorful picnic tables and lots of stray cats and dogs filled the yard, and hungry party-goers waited in line to grab whatever was hot off the charcoal grills when their turn came.

For us, it was a big filet of Marlin, rice with some sort of onion-y slurry/salsa and a couple of cold Piton lagers.

So good.

Saturday morning, it was the hikers’ turn to be lazy at the beach and we went off on a full-day excursion to Soufriere, the first town to be settled on the island in 1746, organized by the hotel.

We started with a quick shuttle to the marina at The Landing, where we set off on a 90-minute cruise around the island to the Port of Soufriere.

After leaving the boat, we headed through the town to the Toraille Waterfall.

Our guide for the day, Chaka, was a pro at timing our stops to avoid the large crowds of tourists coming from the bigger resorts like Sandals which was nearby.

Cold!

Next we headed to the Sulfur Springs.

St. Lucia is a volcanic island and warm, black, sulfur-rich water flows to these pools where you can soak, basically curing any ailment from bug bites to insanity. After a short swim, you paint yourself with white mud, decorate with black mud, pose for campy photos, then head back into the black pools to wash off.

Like Micki said, “If this place isn’t legit, how hysterical is all of this to the locals running the place?”

After our sulfur and mud bath, we went to see the source of the springs, at the Caribbean’s only Drive-In Volcano site. Word on the street is that it used to be the only one in the world before the park rangers at Yosemite stole their idea.

It was pretty smelly, but very cool to see the bubbling pools all along the rock face. Up until about 1990, tourists could walk right up to the hot spots and cook a potato (I’m envisioning them roasting on long sticks over the insanely hot vents in the rocks like S’mores). But then a guide slipped in while jumping up and down on some rock, demonstrating that it wasn’t totally stable (Here’s Your Sign) and they built some fences and changed the rules. The guide was able to escape serious injury and works in the Soufriere marina these days.

That mountain behind us in the photo on the right and below in the harbor shot?

That’s Gros Piton which the girls hiked. #rockstars

After a local lunch, we headed back to the boat and cruised about halfway back where we stopped to swim and snorkel. I don’t have a lot of experience snorkeling but it was so peaceful and incredible to see the reef and all of the sea life.

I might have been the only one who felt that way, though, being the first in the water and the last one to get out.

Sunday morning, we met for breakfast and then Amy and I went down to the beach for one last hour before showering and packing up. We squeezed in a little paddle boarding and made it to the return shuttle to the airport just in time.

I think this little guy was sad to see us go.

We spent the rest of Mother’s Day together, traveling back home to our babies and husbands, shaking off some nausea from the ride to the airport, and mentally getting back to Work and Mom mode.

But what an amazing time it was.

Here’s to many more girls’ trips in the years to come! I love you guys! xoxo

P.S. Scroll past the rest of the photos I couldn’t leave out — many not taken by me! — for our Girls’ Trip Superlative Awards.

The Annual Girls’ Trip Superlative Awards (in alpha order)

AMY

• Most Likely to Start a Rapping Career, Known as Lil’ Dirty Feet

• Most Likely to Charm the Locals, Working “Y’All” Into Every Conversation

• Biggest Champ on the Winding Drive to the Airport

ANNE

• Most Likely to Drain Your Aperitif for You

• Most Likely to Be Carried Away By St. Lucian Mosquitoes

• Best Janet Jackson Wardrobe Malfunction Impersonation

ASHLEE

• Most Likely to Recreate A Real Housewives Moment

• Best Post-Champagne/Pre-Dinner Costume Change

• Most Likely to Open a St. Lucian Animal Resort for Furry Friends

KRISTEN

• Most Comfortable Bosom for Snuggles

• Most Likely to Lead an Expedition to Mars and/or Drive a Taxi in London

• Best Floatie Flair and All-Around Zen Mama

MICKI

• Most Likely to Surprise Herself with Her Own Friendliness Toward Strangers

• Best Late-Night Mac n’ Cheese Chef

• Best Damn Wing-Woman During Travel Snafus

VIVIAN

• Villa DJ in Chief: Reggae All Day

• Most Improved Paddle Boarder and Over-comer of Wildlife Fears

• Best Honesty Bar Customer (When She Has a Pen)

Jan. 'n Feb.

Hello 2019!

So far, Ella finished up basketball season.

Miss Kate turned 18.

Michael fake-played his way through the 4th grade recorder concert.

The flu hit.

Ella baked.

We visited the 6th Floor Museum.

Henry’s been hitting the books. We’ve got high hopes he’ll be caught up before second grade starts in August.

Kate performed in her final high school musical, Newsies.

We made cake for the winter birthday girls.

And the only good sense Matt showed while teasing his wife for being older than him, was the fact he did it from a safe distance.

Track and Field season kicked off with a frigidly cold meet.

And Brisket continues to live the good life.

I Was Kidnapped By Aliens?

I honestly couldn’t tell you how it happened, but it’s Christmas in a few days.

What have we been up to since Labor Day weekend?

Ella started 7th grade athletics, beginning with volleyball (her favorite non-soccer sport so far).

Michael hit double-digits.

Henry logged another season of baseball.

And Ella played her first season with the Rockets.

That was September.

October brought more volleyball.

And our annual pumpkin carving mess, I mean, afternoon.

Ella the Elephant

Plus a pretend pirate and a knight who didn’t want to wear any part of his costume except for the tunic. Based on the candy haul, the night was a success.

Next up: Henry’s birthday month.

After an 11-month wait, we hit the road for Galveston to catch our Very Merrytime Disney cruise to Cozumel. Henry was pretty excited about the McDonald’s pancakes.

Checking out the Port of Galveston before we set sail.

Mmm, breakfast buffet.

So many activities!! (Joke for two.) Despite the fact the kids weren’t interested in any of the Disney Clubs, we were entertained all day every day.

We made pretty good use of the Concierge Lounge and it’s juice, hot chocolate, fancy little snack plates that the kids wanted to taste but not actually eat, and all of the coffee.

The shows! This was my favorite part of each day. Henry was on the edge of his seat for this one.

We woke up and found we were in Cozumel.

But we had some time to kill before we were allowed to disembark.

Cue: Shuffleboard

We made it! Swim with Dolphins Day!

Back to the boat.

By the last day, Henry was happy to chill in the room with some Frosted Flakes. All of those trips to the souvenir shop to decide how to spend his allowance must have really worn him out.

Note to self: Save $200 and skip the Disney photo pass next time around.

Back home, we gathered with family to celebrate Henry’s 007 birthday.

Our nearly 13-year old has been stricken with a familiar problem. She can’t eat a s’more without taking a photo of it first.

Thanksgiving at the Farm! Where Mom has a 5-gallon bowl ready for mixing the oyster dressing.

Gigi and Poppa came to visit!

Here are a couple of outtakes from our last-minute Christmas card photo shoot.

Drew’s birthday falls right between Henry’s and Rocket’s.

When you’re sixteen, nearly all of your presents fit inside envelopes. Time flies!

Rocket’s 70th birthday fell on Thanksgiving Day this year. xo

It’s been a tough year, but that makes us all the more grateful to be #TeamRocket and celebrate our favorite man with a mustache!

Moo.

Let the holiday season begin! Gigi and Poppa helped us deck the house and put some yummy decorative touches on gingerbread houses.

On to what’s left of December!

Merry Christmas Y’all.

Lake Time, Horse Rubs, School Days, and Mountain Views

Knowing we'd miss Labor Day weekend at the lake, the five of us sneaked over to PK in August for one last summer splash.

We've just about mastered anchoring at Hell's Gate.

Our captain for the last summer sunset cruise was suspect.

The big kids took lessons this summer and were a little sad to say goodbye to their barnyard friends right before school started. When I asked Henry if he wanted to take lessons next year he quickly replied, "NOPE." He does like hanging with Buttons the donkey, though. 

Cash

Josie

Buck

Speaking of school starting...

For Labor Day Weekend, Wes and I took Ella up to Colorado while the boys enjoyed a sister-free weekend.

We wandered around downtown Denver on the first afternoon.

16th Street Mall

While Wes watched the rest of the Georgia game at the hotel, Ella and I struck out at the Unsinkable Molly Brown Museum, so we walked down to the Denver Museum of Art for a quick visit before dinner.

Dinner on Larimer Square...we highly recommend Osteria Marco!

Sunday, the Frays were nice enough to invite us out to their home in Boulder. What gorgeous views and wonderful company!

Baby Judah

And Miss Aubrey

That afternoon, we headed to visit Justin and Cindi in Bailey. Another heavenly spot on a mountain! (Ella is already researching universities in Colorado so she can live there in a few years.)

Monday morning, the Pritchards were brave enough to take us three city slickers out to Arapahoe State Park to hike.

Trail mix!

The morning was cool and overcast; I couldn't help but feel like we were somewhere in the UK.

In the distance is Mount Bierstadt, a fourteener. Ella was pretty excited to see snow blowing up at the top. I think it might have been even more exciting than the trail mix.

Vegan Jerky?

Monday evening, we headed to Red Rocks with tickets to see Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit.

Not a bad place to see a show. :) I think we'll be back.

Summer Vacation 2018

This summer's family vacation started the same way many do.

With a tearful "see you soon" to Brisket and a speeding ticket in Louisiana.

The last 200 miles took about 6 hours so the kids burned off some energy as soon as we put the car in Park. (Fat lotta help they were with the luggage.)

Us grownups were happy to just sit.

Beach!

Jennifer figured me out this time around. She wanted nothing to do to with E-E (Aunt Anne) and her annoying camera so no Jen-Jen smiles from this trip, but lots of curious looks. Next time I'll win her back over.

Every good beach trip needs some good downtime to balance out the sand and sun.

Jen-Jen sure loves her Poppa.

And her Gigi! <3

Aunt Kristi turned the big 4-0 during our time together -- and she has great taste in cake! Among many other things.

We wish her the happiest year ahead!

Joshua wasn't up for family photos this night -- but we got a couple of him a few days later!

Jen-Jen called both Michael and Henry "Baby" on the first day we were together. To tell them apart, Michael became "Baby Mi-Mi" and he quickly became one of her favorites.

Kristi and I took time out one morning to take the kiddos to The Factory while the boys played golf.

Girl enough to want to wear mascara. Tomboy enough to not give a crap when it's smeared on her face.

One of Jennifer's MOs is to find anyone who will walk with her the direction she wants to go.

Uncle Wes was a very willing sucker. (So was I, not pictured.)

A little early this year, the jellyfish came to swim along Gulf Shores. They didn't know what accomplished jellyfish hunters would be there to greet them though.

The ocean is Joshua's happy place.

Jellyfish hunters in action.

Family picture day, take two!

I want to go this way. No, I want to go this way.

Who's in charge here?

Bye-byes to the beach! We can't wait to see everyone again.

We decided to break up the drive home so Saturday morning, we got up early to be among the first aboard the USS Alabama in Mobile.

It was a hot day, but we were so grateful to have the ship nearly to ourselves for the first hour. Between the machine guns, giant chains, cannons, narrow passageways and getting a glimpse into what life would have been like on a real battleship during wartime, it was hard for us to decide what we enjoyed learning about the most.

After visiting the airplane hangar (and the gift shop), we hit the road toward New Orleans.

Dropping our bags with the hotel, we walked over to Royal House for the first of two great NOLA meals.

After a failed attempt to tour St. Louis Cemetery No. 1 in the blistering heat, we defaulted to Jackson Square where we found the nicest caricature artist ever.

Then we hopped on a horse (mule)-drawn carriage ride around the French Quarter...

...with Bob and Big Freida, the mule.

After a short respite at the hotel, we took our sweaty, under-dressed kids to one of the nicest restaurants in the Quarter. They didn't get us kicked out, which was great.

To really wear the kids out, we bought seats for the 8 p.m. show at Preservation Hall. It was authentic, crowded, steamy hot and completely amazing. We were inches away from the eight-piece accomplished jazz band but were not allowed to take photos of the performance.

Somehow, Henry conked out in my lap and I carried him back to our hotel through the revelers on Bourbon Street in the rain. I was pretty grateful for everyone aiming their bodily fluids away from the kid, and I'm pretty sure they were confused about why kids were there in the first place.

NOLA, we can't wait to go back.

Awesome Possum Kingdom

It always takes so long to get here, and always goes by in a blink. The Cowgirls' annual Possum Kingdom lake weekend, was by all accounts, a bit more successful than last year's. 

1. I didn't wreck the boat into the dock.
2. I didn't run the boat over a dock cable that got sucked up into the prop requiring substantial repairs.
3. I didn't fling the girls out of the tube so quickly that one gave another a big bruise on her forehead.
4. I put worms on hooks. And removed the remains of worms that the fish turned down.
5. I took a crappie off the hook and only screamed a little while he flopped around. 
6. I learned what a kill switch is and why it's required for boat operation.

This list is beginning to feel like it's all about me.

But it's really all about these girls. They mean the world to me and I am so grateful we can find this time to spend together each summer -- relaxing, cooking, inventing cocktails, floating on the boat or off the dock, looking up at the stars together and solving all of the world's problems. We never seem to run out of conversation, laughs, hugs or good-natured eye rolls. I think it's rare to find such a group of friends that are always supportive, never judgemental, and ever-willing to tell it like it is when that's what you need to hear.

Aside from all being really awesome people, I'd also like to point out how great these ladies are when it comes to serving up a beautiful meal, paired with just the right bubbly.

I'm pretty sure that when Jill was dreaming up her wish list of places to have a Baby Sprinkle, Possum Hollow was at the TOP. She was a wonderful sport and made everyone's night at the local dive.

We made a gametime decision to bench the tube and pull out the kneeboard for this summer's watersport adventure. Solid decision!

Without further ado, and in alphabetical order....

The 2018 Awesome Possum Kingdom Superlative Awards!

Ashlee** -- Most Likely To Kiss a (Stuffed) Possum's Bottom for the Sake of a Photo

Elizabeth -- Least Likely to Eat a Doritos Salad at Any Gathering

Jill** -- Most Likely to Soldier Through a Weekend with Inebriated Friends Like a Saint

Megan -- Most Likely to Spend the Night with the Rubber Dockie

Micki -- Most Likely to Discover Jewelry In Her Swimsuit

Vivian -- Most Likely To Haul @ss Out of the Lake After a Snake Sighting

**Runners Up for Most Likely to Win a Charcuterie and Cheese Spread Competition

xoxo

It's a new day.

**CORRECTION**

Ella read this post and was incensed that I called the baby goats baby lambs. I am so so so sorry. She will be proofing all future posts.

***

New year, new goals! When I first started these posts, Ella was a toddler and they went up every week, or sometimes every two. This year, my goal is to get four posts completed. Which would be better than zero.

Hanging in there. That's my personal theme for 2018. :)

Like they say at Llama Productions: Trying Hard Every Day to Suck Less.

Kate turned 17.

I can't. We can't. None of us can.

Ella played indoor soccer this winter. Under horrible lighting conditions.

And when Ella got sick (unrelated to poor indoor soccer lighting), the boys set up target practice as close to where she was trying to watch a movie as possible.

Brothers are the best.

The Cuestas came for a visit, and we took them to see cows, and chickens, and lambs (in leotards), and questionably constructed carnival rides.

Ella loved the Ferris Wheel; Michael was undecided.

But the day was redeemed when everyone got to hold a baby lamb.

And then we went to our favorite lunch spot beside the Trinity River.

The next day, we went to see cows at the farm.

Valentine's Day came and went, with the usual classroom party shenanigans.

Michael couldn't resist sneaking a (not very sneaky) video of his sister and a friend playing Just Dance!

Baseball is back in season and Henry is in hog heaven. Sometimes though, he gets a little distracted in the outfield.

But coach is pretty good about getting him back on task.

There's always one that has to be different.

Outdoor soccer is also back in season. Go Hurricanes!

Again, sometimes Henry is super engaged and ready to play.

Other times, the dirt is more interesting and we're just waiting for him to get smacked in the head with a ball. Thank goodness for protective gear.

Easter egg hunt!

This year's Easter family photo involved one less broken toe, but the photographer still needs to work on her Self Timer skills. At least this is a patient group.

Batter up!

Wrapping Up 2017

Time flies when you're...well, whatever, time just flies.  Here we are in mid-January and I thought it might be a good time to finish up posting some of our favorites from October, November and December. So I can start stressing about keeping up on 2018 posts, of course.  ;)

No. 16 always has a loud cheering section.

This fall, Henry got to try out playing catcher a couple of times.  He didn't catch a whole lot, but the extra accessories were a hit.

Happy birthday, Dad. 

Oh here we go. Time for the annual family photo shoot. 

Happy Halloween!  From our mime, her friend the Frappucino, Indiana Jones and his friend the Grim Reaper, and of course, Iron Man (who decided he didn't like the light-up mask and gloves he HAD to have.)

Brisket-Bear

Supporting Kate at the Annual JDRF Fundraising Walk

Wes had a short-lived, but fun to watch, soccer coaching job for the Hurricanes.  With a 1-1-0 record, he declared he's officially ready to retire.

Henry turned SIX! It was his turn for a party with friends, so we headed to Main Event for some arcade-time, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle cake and pizza.  Smiles all around. 

They're young enough to think raking is fun.  Well, it probably is when you get to jump in them and throw them in the air instead of stuffing them into lawn bags. 

Gigi and Poppa came for a visit!  Good sport that he is and much to the boys' delight, Poppa got more than one lesson on Wii games.

That same weekend we celebrated Hank's birthday, along with the rest of our winter birthday family peeps.

Drew is 15! Fif-teen...*sigh*

Ella insisted on lighting the candles for our six special winter birthday honorees.

Claire-Bear

The leaf pile got bigger!

Favorite meal of the year. Hands down.

I'm working on how to convince Nana to do this bi-annually. Quarter-annually. Monthly? There must be a way. 

Lake! It's a short weekend after Thanksgiving, but we wouldn't miss the chance to escape the city. 

Back home after the lake, we ran happily into full-on Christmas-mode.  This year, we took a carriage ride around Town Square after the kids put in their top requests to the man with the beard.  (New soccer cleats, a blue elephant and Wonder Woman. Check!)

There's no more magical place to fall asleep than in front of the Christmas tree.

Ella turned 12! And had a couple of friends over for a sleepover.  With the Pie Face game.  Which, of course, the boys had to try out, too.

Brisket lives for 8 p.m. every night.

Christmas morning dance!

After exploring the stockings that Santa stuffed, the kids got to open one joint present.  Which led to a bit of a scavenger hunt. 

Twelve clues later (thank you Internet!), the kids got their golden tickets to a Disney cruise.  (Which we'll take in a super short 11 months. LOL.)

The 2017 edition of Christmas Pickles may be a real collector's prize. I'm thinking we'll change things up for 2018.

The week after Christmas was filled with fishing, poker, more birthday cake, fires, cuddles and maybe a few work emails (not pictured).

When the air is a heck of a lot colder than the lake water. 

Happy New Year!!!  Goodbye 2017, Hello 2018!!