Ski Season

Ski season is officially upon us. With an impending move sometime this summer, it is max time on the slopes while they’re still close. Dear friends of ours invited us up to Mammoth Lakes for the MLK weekend and the kids (and dad) got to strap the planks on for a few days. Absolutely perfect…

Gobble, Gobble

It seems strangely misleading to say we had a calm and relaxing Thanksgiving this year but we really did. Sure we flew 2000+ miles to DCA and then spent the next ten days driving another 700+ miles as we visited family and friends but really, it was just awesome and relaxing! After arriving in DC,…

Eight is great

As I hit publish on this, I’m a few years behind on birthday posts but hopefully before Sophia turns nine I’ll get everything updated. Just like this little website is our family’s journal of sorts, these birthday posts are a look back and an opportunity to reflect on how much the kids have grown and…

London calling

Not that I need an excuse to travel, but it always sweetens the deal if it involves visiting friends or family. Shortly after we moved to Virginia our good friends received orders to England. I knew a trip to England had to happen while they were there. Despite Phil and I having traveled through much…

Spring Break 2k18!

Spring Break! Time to go wild! Road trips, beaches, cold beverages, and good food. Those are our destinations! After some uncertainty on our departure window (thanks for being so reliable dad), we hit the road on April Fools Day. After a quick vehicle swap (rental Explorer for rental Armada), we made it to our first…

A Reunion at the Ranch

Ever since Phil first visited Ox Ranch back in 2015, he’s been trying to find a way to go back. I didn’t need much convincing since this meant a reunion with some of our favorite people. After our brief stop in Austin, we pressed on for the ranch. Phil had built the ranch up a…

St. Augustine & Amelia Adventures

When your husband tells you to plan a vacation, you plan a vacation! Jessica and I met up for a long weekend along the Northern coast of Florida. Just south of Georgia, St. Augustine and Amelia Island were two parts of Florida I hadn’t seen before and they seemed like the perfect quaint towns for…

Ringing in 2017

What better way to ring in the new year than to slap a tux on, ditch the kids, and spend a week in San Diego, right? Okay, while yes, that is technically what we did, it would be a bit disingenuous to skip the background story. After planning the perfect Christmas vacation back to Minnesota,…

Dog days of summer

July is when the temps pick up around here and when that’s the case, we seem to find ourselves chasing the usual American escapes. A little road trip here, a little bike trip there, and as much pool time as we can find. Of course there are near-daily ice cream for the kids (and mom)…

Looking back on a jovial June

Well, another June has come and gone! Looking back, it’s easy to fall into the trap of saying we didn’t do much during the month. After some travel in May, we stayed local-ish. There were a few weekend road trips to visit nearby family and friends but nothing out of what might be called “ordinary”…