Off to a Great Start in 2023!

How are we three months into 2023 already?! We’ve had a great and busy start to our year! We had a mild winter and are patiently waiting for consistent warmer temps to enjoy spring and summer. Here is a recap of our last 3 months.

January

The ONE Snow Day

We were prepared to have multiple snow days (aka – online learning days) this winter, because that is just what usually happens, but surprisingly, we only had ONE! The kids got their work done as quickly as they could so they could play outside.

The kids loved sledding and making snow angels, and Brody found a new obsession with digging up snow with his trucks and diggers!

Disney on Ice

We used to love going to Disney on Ice before Covid hit. And of course Brody never got to do it since he was born in 2020, so I was excited to take the kids this year!

Kinsie’s Redstepper Clinic

Kinsie had a really neat opportunity to go to a dance clinic with the Indiana University Redsteppers. She spent a few hours in the morning doing fun activities and learning a dance routine, then they got to perform the routine at the Men’s basketball game at halftime! She even had a few surprise visitors come to see her dance!

Random weather

Indiana weather is the most random thing. Sometimes it snows, and other times, it’s nice enough to have a picnic on campus, play outside and “sunbathe!”

Evie turned One!

Our sweet pup turned 1 year old this month! Kinsie made decorations, we bought her a few new toys and a new cozy bed, and we even made a cake for her! She LOVED it and the kids had a lot of fun celebrating with her!

February

Girl Scout Cookie Season

Kinsie had her first official season of selling Girl Scout cookies! She really enjoyed it and did so well!

IU Sweeps Purdue

It was an exciting and fun college basketball season this year! But the best part was that IU swept Purdue, and Ryan and I got to witness it! It was such a fun game!

Family Hike

We always love finding new parks and hiking areas, so we were excited to find a new place to hike in our town. The kids loved exploring nature and throwing rocks in the creek.

Monster Jam

Brody is OBSESSED with trucks of all kind – so we knew we had to take him to Monster Jam this year! We even bought tickets to the pit party before the show so we could walk around and see the monster trucks up close. Brody was in heaven!!

We brought our nephew Briggs to the actual show while Kinsie hung out with the girl cousins. The boys had a great time watching all the monster trucks do races and tricks and scoring them. It was a really cool experience that we will for sure do again!

OG Family Vacay

February is a rough time for me mentally – mainly with the weather. When my sister invited me to fly out to Florida with her to visit my parents who were there for the month, I was going to do everything I could make it work! Luckily I have the best mother-in-law in the world and she was able to make it work to come help with the kids since Ryan would still be working. I am SO glad I was able to go. It was so relaxing and refreshing and I absolutely loved getting to spend some quality time with my parents and my sister. This was the first time we took a vacation – just us 4 – in probably 20 years!

We even took a day to drive to Orlando and spend the day at Epcot. I had to ask for forgiveness from my kids for this, but it was such an amazing day. We rode a few rides (mainly Guardians of the Galaxy over and over!) but we mainly spent our time eating and drinking around the world. It was such a perfect day and a perfect quick getaway!

Valentine’s Day Activities

We had fun celebrating Valentine’s Day this year! The kids enjoyed seeing a new heart on their door every morning with a reason why we love them!

They also LOVED doing a scavenger hunt to find their gifts. Brody talked about this for days afterwards, and even asked Kinsie to make more scavenger hunts for him to find prizes!

March

Brody’s Guest Day

Brody was so excited that he got to bring a guest to school, and he picked his Yaya! He loved showing her around his classroom, making a craft, and going to chapel with her. And after school, I enjoyed some lunch and shopping with my Mama 🙂

SPRING BREAK

This was the first time we went on a spring break trip since 2019! We decided to drive down to Arkansas to visit our old home! We left in the late afternoon after Ryan slept off a night shift, and drove about halfway and stopped at St. Louis to spend the night. I knew Kinsie and Brax would do fine in the car, but I had lots of movies, snacks and activities ready for Brody. He did great on the drive!

We stopped in St. Louis and enjoyed seeing the Arch, having dinner, and hanging out in the hotel for the evening. In the morning we were back on the road to head to Northern Arkansas for some hiking!

Part 1 of Trip – Buffalo River National Park

We always wanted to go here when we lived in Arkansas, but never got around to it, so we were excited to spend some time here. We rented an awesome cabin to stay in during our visit. There were no restaurants or grocery stores nearby, so we stopped in the nearest town to get some groceries before we got to the cabin, and we made all our meals there.

Hike 1 – Hawksbill Crag

The big kids were absolute champs during the hikes. Brody, on the other hand, was good, but wanted to be carried everywhere! He wouldn’t get in the hiking backpack or the Ergo carrier, but just wanted Ryan to carry him. But he still really enjoyed the hikes!

The end result of this hike was an awesome overhang view! We spent some time enjoying the view, eating a snack and taking a breather. This was probably the hardest hike of the trip, but the kids did great! Afterwards, we headed back to the cabin to relax for a little while and eat lunch.

Hike 2 – King’s River Falls

After lunch, we did another hike. This ended up being the kids’ favorite hike, mainly because there was a creek all along the path. Brody was obsessed with throwing rocks in the water, so wherever there was water, he was happy!

Once we got to the falls, we hung out here for a while and played, enjoyed the view, relaxed, and threw rocks. We had a great day of hiking!

Hike 3 – Lost Valley Trail

The next day, we headed out for another hike. This hike had some waterfalls, caves, and more creeks to throw rocks in! Oh and I forgot to mention that Kinsie did handstands and cartwheels at every location as well. At one point, Brax walked on a slippery spot and fell right into the water. He sweatshirt and pants got all wet (and it was chilly!) but he carried on and still made the most of it and enjoyed the rest of the hike!

Hike 4 – Pam’s Grotto Falls

This was a really cool hidden gem. It took somewhat of a crazy path through the woods, but it brought us to a really cool waterfall area. The rock formations here were amazing and we all enjoyed exploring this neat area for a while. Our time in Buffalo National River was a lot of fun…we are so glad we did it. The kids really enjoyed it as well. The next day, we drove a couple more hours down to Little Rock for the next leg of the trip.

Part 2 of Visit – Little Rock

When we moved from Arkansas to Indiana, Covid had just hit so the world was shut down. We didn’t get to visit our favorite places or our friends before we left, so our time there ended somewhat abruptly, and with me being stuck in the hospital with Brody for the first week of his life, we just didn’t have the best memories of our last few weeks there, so it was a breath of fresh air to see our old home again!

We loved driving by our old house and the kids’ old schools, and visiting our favorite parks. We always loved downtown Little Rock, so we enjoyed visiting the “Rock Park” the nature center and the Junction Bridge.

Visit with Friends

We loved getting to spend an evening with some old friends from residency. The kids all played so well together and had a great time while Ryan and I loved catching up with our friends too.

Little Rock Zoo

We used to go to this zoo ALL the time, so we knew we wanted to revisit! It was a chilly morning, but it wasn’t crowded and the animals were very active!

St. Patrick’s Day

And of course we had to get a pic of the kids with their St. Patrick’s Day shirts!

Re-enactment Photos

While we revisited some of our old favorite places, we loved re-enacting some old pictures! Brody obviously wasn’t around during the first photos, so he threw himself in some of the new pictures this time around 🙂

We had a fantastic trip and we are so glad we were able to do it! The kids loved remembering old memories about our time there and making lots of new ones!

And that’s a wrap for January, February and March. We are anticipating a VERY busy spring and summer with lots of sports and activities, and hopefully some beautiful weather! Happy spring!

All the Love in Arizona

I went to Arizona about 9 years ago with my parents for baseball spring training when I was in college. It is such an amazing and unique place. I love the mountains, the cacti, and the climate. My family goes every year, and it never worked out for us to go before, until this year. We love when Ryan gets time off from work, and spending it in a beautiful place like Arizona is even better!

The kids have become good little travelers. They are used to driving 10+ hours in the car, so flying with them really isn’t a problem. The hardest part is all the extra luggage…suitcases, a pack-n-play, car seats, etc. Luckily, they enjoy helping as much as they can! We made it there in one piece, and it took some time to adjust to the 2 hour time difference, but we were excited for some fun adventures.

Day 1 – Chicago White Sox Spring Training Game

Baseball spring training is how the yearly Arizona tradition all began. My mom loves her Chicago White Sox, so my parents would always try to come out to see them play. This was the first time that all of us got to come, and that we had all 5 of the cousins together with Yaya in her happiest happy place! To be honest, my kids didn’t pay attention at all to the game. They were more interested in the hot dogs, popcorn and churros. But nonetheless, they had fun with the snacks and their cousins!

Day 2 – Pinnacle Peak

Pinnacle Peak was a great starter hike. It was kid-friendly and we just got to take our time and enjoy the scenery. We loved seeing mountains in every direction, and the kids especially loved looking for critters!

Day 3 – Lookout Mountain

The next day, we took just the big kids on a harder hike. They’ve all hiked Pinnacle Mountain in Little Rock before, so we knew what they were capable of. We chose Lookout Mountain, which was perfect. It was definitely tougher for them, but they pushed through and made it to the top. They were very proud of themselves and enjoyed the beautiful view!

Day 4 – Piestewa Peak

This was the “adult hike.” We knew we wanted to do a more strenuous hike, so Grandma Bev and Yaya watched the fab 5 while we hiked up Piestewa Peak. It was definitely a tough hike, but it was amazing. All of us are pretty physically fit, so this hike was perfect for us. We got an amazing workout in, closed our Activity rings on our Apple Watches before noon, and saw some beautiful views!

Later that evening, we drove to Arizona State University to walk around campus and eat dinner. The highlight for the kids, however, was the rainbow chair!

Day 5 – Out of Africa Wildlife Park

This was probably our favorite day of the week. Almost everywhere we travel, we like to try out the different zoos. My aunt recommended this particular wildlife park to us, which was like a zoo, but much more interactive. It was an incredible place with wonderful experiences!

The park had multiple shows throughout the day, including 2 different tiger shows, and a giant snake show. All 5 of the kids were brave enough to pet the snake!

The tigers were a major hit. The trainers at this park are unbelievably close to animals, and love them like their own pets. They run around inside to fences with them, play with them, and hug them. We enjoyed watching the tigers swim in the pool, play games, and we even got to feed them!

Most of the adults and the bigger 3 kids got to ride on the “SuperMog,” which was basically a safari to get up close with the animals and feed many of them. Kibo, the giraffe was our favorite! We all got to feed him, and my crazy husband fed him from his own mouth! Luckily, the babies didn’t miss out too much. We walked around the park later and got to feed Kibo again. We made a new best friend!

Our day at this park was something we’ll never forget, and we will definitely want to experience it again someday!

Day 6 – Camelback Mountain

This was another somewhat leisurely hike that we did as a whole crew. The higher you went up, the harder it got, so everyone could go as far as they wanted and then turn back. Brax was going on 6 days of much less sleep than usual (thanks to the time change and few naps), so he was a bit “off” that day if I want to put it nicely. Luckily, we had quite a bit of backup to help us handle his meltdowns, so we were still able to somewhat enjoy our last hike!

Day 7 – Outlet Mall and Hole in the Rock

Our last day in Arizona, we spent some time at the outlet mall because…why not? This particular outlet mall had a small train that traveled around the mall. All 5 kids hopped in the caboose and had a blast!

Before we headed to the airport, we got in one last mini-hike up to the Hole in the Rock. It was a neat little area where the kids could climb around inside a rock. It was a great way to end our trip.

Every day is a pool day!

After our hikes and adventures almost every day, we ended up back at the pool at our resort. This was probably the kids’ favorite part of the trip (except for maybe feeding the giraffes!) They had some fun water slides, and a great kids’ area. The kids were so easy to entertain out there and they loved every minute of it!

What an amazing trip with such amazing memories. We are especially lucky that we had parts of both of our families there with us. Spending time with family is always good for our souls, and this was even more so being in such a beautiful place. We loved our time in Arizona, and we can’t wait for another visit!

Thankful for November

November was a good month. We had a few fun trips, and lots of quality time with family! Here is how our November went down…

Trip to Bloomington

Ryan will graduate from residency in June 2020, and believe it or not, he is on the job search for when that happens! We recently had the opportunity to travel back to the town of our Alma Mater for a job interview trip. Bloomington is one of our favorite towns. There is so much natural beauty, culture, and memories from when we went to school there. We made it a family trip and met up with family at our favorite restaurant, Mother Bears (where Kinsie proudly added her name to their famous graffiti walls). Then Grandma Bev took the kids for a few days so Ryan and I could explore on our own and attend interview events. We loved walking around campus and hitting up some of our favorite spots. We went at the perfect time of year…cooler fall temps and amazing leaves. Ryan’s interview went great and we will hear more next spring about job availability.

While we had a few days to ourselves, the kids were having a blast with family. They played outside, went to Kid’s Planet, and played with cousins.

Trip to Fayetteville

This is the first year that Indiana University played University of Arkansas in basketball. The game was in Fayetteville, which is where Arkansas’s campus is. We’ve always heard that this town is beautiful, so it has been on our list of places to go since we moved here. We took this opportunity, plus the fact that Thanksgiving was the following week, to have my family travel to visit us, spend the weekend in Fayetteville, and go to the game. We loved walking around campus, and going on an awesome hike at Devil’s Den State Park. IU barely lost a tough game, but it was still such a fun experience. Kinsie and Kerigan dressed up in my sister and I’s old IU cheerleading uniforms, and they loved their first IU game!

Family Week

Cousin Play Dates

After our trip to Fayetteville, my family spent the week of Thanksgiving with us. We showed them around some of our favorite play date places, like the Wonder Place and the trampoline park. The kids loved every moment together!

Thanksgiving

Before the kids had a week off of school for Thanksgiving break, Kinsie’s class had a Thanksgiving feast. She and her classmates got to wear turkey hats and do a square dance! Brax was also in school this day, and the feast was only for the older classes, so I got to have some quality time with my girl!

On Thanksgiving Day, we all chipped in on making an amazing dinner. Since it was a beautiful fall day, we took the big kids to the park while the babies napped.

Dinner was a huge success, my dad worked hard all day on the turkey, and it did not disappoint! The kids loved their cousin table complete with a coloring tablecloth, crayons, and lots of chocolate pie.

Pinnacle Mountain

The day after Thanksgiving, we took the family on one of our favorite hikes, Pinnacle Mountain. It was a little cold that day, so we bundled them all up and headed up the mountain. The kids were absolute champs. As you hike up the mountain, there are markers from 1-10 to show you how close you are to the top. The kids loved finding the markers and taking a picture with each one. They were so proud when they got to 10!

We all loved the view from the top. This is the 3rd time Ryan and I have done this hike, and it is just as amazing each time!

Decorating for Christmas

This is always one of our favorite things to do. Since we spend Christmas in Indiana, we always decorate early so we can enjoy it longer. No joke, Kinsie put most of the ornaments on the tree. The kids have already loved having their Christmas decorations up, playing with their Christmas toys, and watching Christmas movies!

Like I said, it was a good month. We were really hoping our nephew would make his grand entrance into the world this month, but he’s holding out to share a birthday month with his mommy and Uncle Ryan. It will be any day now, and we all can’t wait to meet this precious boy!

Enjoy our November 1 Second Everyday video (can you believe I’ve almost done this for an entire year!?!)

March Madness

No, this post isn’t about the NCAA basketball tournament…just the chaos and crazy, or “madness” if you will, of our ever day lives…and I wouldn’t have it any other way! March went by way too fast because we stayed busy! Here were our favorite moments of March.

Spring has arrived!

The warm weather in Arkansas is pretty much here to stay! While it may be chilly in the mornings and evenings, most days it gets up to the high 60s or low 70s. The kids have been LOVING it. We’ve played in the yard a lot, had picnics, and explored some new parks.

Colorado Vacation

I already posted about our Colorado vacation, but this was definitely a major highlight of our month. We had the best vacation with Ryan’s whole family in Colorado Springs in mid-March. We did so many fun activities and always had an amazing view of the mountains. We definitely want to make it back to Colorado again someday.

Random Sweet Moments

My kids definitely like to explore and go places every so often, but overall they are homebodies like me, and love to just play at home. Ryan was on his OB rotation this month, so he worked long hours at night, so the kids and I had a lot of quality time just the 3 of us. I always try to document the random little moments where the kids do something sweet or unique…especially when the kids are getting along so well without me coordinating it. Kinsie will “read” books to Brax, or Brax will line up all his cards to make a long “choo-choo,” or the kids will snuggle extra close to me when they are scared of a thunderstorm. I try to savor these moments because I know they won’t last forever!

Pinnacle Mountain

Ryan and I hiked Pinnacle Mountain when we came to visit Arkansas before he made his rank list last year. It was a great hike with a beautiful view, and we’ve been wanting to take the kids ever since. We finally got the opportunity, and we had a great time! Kinsie was an absolute CHAMP and hiked the whole thing by herself. Brax rode in the hiking backpack and was not happy about it at first…he wanted to do it himself too! He eventually gave up and just had fun riding in the backpack with his Daddy. The kids loved the view and they didn’t want to leave the top of the mountain!

Family for Easter

We haven’t seen my sister’s family since Christmas, so we were all counting down the days until they were going to visit us for Easter weekend. My parents were coming too, so we were excited to see everyone. We had the best weekend with everyone! The kids had fun together no matter what they were doing. We played outside, went to the zoo, went to my church’s Easter egg hunt, and much more. These pictures show the joy and fun these 5 had together more than I can really explain…

Trip to the zoo

 

Kinsie’s fan club at her soccer game

Wagon rides, playing at the rock park, dressing up as princesses…cousin time doesn’t get much better than that!

Lots of fun at the church Easter egg hunt

We loved getting to spend time with both of our families this month. It always fills our buckets when we get to see family. We have adjusted to living here, and finally are starting to feel more established, but being away from family is still by far the hardest part, and I don’t know if I’ll ever completely get used to it. That’s why we savor our moments we do have with them. Still, we are really enjoying living here, and when I see pictures and videos of my kids, I truly feel that they are happy, and that’s what matters most.

Here is our “One Second Everyday” video for March…enjoy!

 

Take me to the Mountains

We had such a wonderful trip with Ryan’s family in Colorado Springs, Colorado. It had been years since we went on a trip with them where ALL of us could go together. Everyone is in such different phases of life, so it is always hard to get everyone’s schedules lined up. Megan’s husband, Tim was going to be in Colorado for work in March, so we all decided that he would stay once he was done and we would all come meet him there. We had never been to Colorado, so we were excited to see it. The weather was perfect for hiking and it was so beautiful there. No matter where you go, you are surrounded by mountains. I hadn’t seen the mountains in years, and I forgot how beautiful they are. The view never got old. We packed a lot of activities into one week, and it was one amazing week! Here are some of the highlights from our trip…

Garden of the Gods

We visited Garden of the Gods twice during the week, and went on a few different trails. These were pretty quick and easy hikes with absolutely amazing views. Kinsie loved taking pictures and looking through her binoculars, and Brax loved hiking by himself and collecting rocks!

Pike’s Peak

We drove most of the way up Pike’s Peak, which is one of the highest summits of the Rocky Mountains (elevation 14,000 ft). We stopped several times along the way to look at the view and take pictures. We especially loved one of the lakes (which was frozen and beautiful), and an area called the Devil’s Playground. It got colder and the air got thinner the higher up the mountain we went, so we had to bundle up and take deep breaths, but it was all worth it!

On top of the world…or at least the Devil’s Playground

 

Cheyenne Mountain Zoo

We spent a day at the only zoo built in the mountains, and it did not disappoint! We were very impressed with this zoo…especially how many interactive exhibits there were. My personal favorite was the giraffe exhibit, where you can feed the giraffes up close. The kids (and the adults) LOVED everything about this zoo. The birds, elephants, meerkats, apes, and petting zoo were some favorite stops too. After the zoo, we drove up the mountain to see the Will Rogers Shrine. The kids loved climbing up the tower and we all loved the amazing view!

 

The Royal Gorge Bridge and Park

This was one of my favorite things we did. We had to drive almost 2 hours, but it was incredible. We walked along the bridge which surprisingly, ran over the Arkansas River! We enjoyed the view while the kids ran around in circles and played red light green light. Once we were across the bridge, there was a playground and a carousel that the kids loved. We took a gondola to get back across the bridge, which, I’ll admit was a little terrifying, but amazing! Then we ate lunch on the patio while overlooking the gorge and watching the gondolas and the zip-liners. It was an awesome experience!

Playing at the park across the bridge

 

Riding the gondola

Helen Hunt Falls

On one of our last days, we took a quick hike around a small waterfall, which the kids loved! Brax could have watched that waterfall all day! We hiked around the waterfall and ended up getting to see more more beautiful views. The kids did great, but eventually took a little break and hitched a ride!

Spending time with Family

This vacation was so special to us, mainly because it’s so rare that all of us get to be together. Whether we were hiking and seeing a beautiful mountain scenery, or hanging out in the amazing house we rented, or driving in the 15 passenger van together, we just enjoyed each other’s company. I cannot even believe how blessed I am to have married into this amazing family, and I am so grateful for them!