by Sarah | Feb 19, 2019 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Blogging Life, Redefining Perfect, Top Ten Tuesday
Continuing our countdown of my dream family vacations, we hit #7 on the list…
Yellowstone National Park
I got spared my kids beating me to this by the skin of my teeth. When they went most of the park was closed, so they stayed in one state (which is next on my list, the punks)…
I’ve always wanted to see Yellowstone. Not just Old Faithful (though that’s on the list)…but the beauty all round, from the mountains to the hot springs to the amazing wildlife. I could just go with my camera and get lost for hours on end.
I really think the kids would love the variety of things to see, and there’d never be a dull day. So much wonder and beauty wrapped up in this huge park.
I’d love to go with the kids…but it would be a great vacation for just the husband and I, too.
Overall, you can’t go wrong with the beauty of nature.
Have you ever been to Yellowstone? What was your favorite part?
by Sarah | Feb 18, 2019 | All About Erik, All About Family, All About Marriage, All About Me, All of Us, Redefining Perfect
Made lovingly.
Crafted thoughtfully.
Colors and design chosen to suit how we planned to decorate.
Hummingbirds embroidered to honor my wedding, and my grandfather.
The state stitched in.
Given as a wedding gift with the words…
“Do not hang or display this. I made it to be used.”
Over sixteen years later we have done as it was wished by my mother when she gave this to us for our wedding.
It has been used well.
Sat on, snuggled under, covered the back of the couch, used to cover the floor for sleepover movie nights, to build forts during sleepovers, laid on the end of our bed, slept on…
Used and loved.
It shows the wear of the years.
The handling.
The care.
Fabric has torn.
Batting lost.
Holes.
Tears.
Patches where no fabric remains.
A hummingbird flapping loose as if to fly away.
Today we removed it from where it’s sat most recently, on my husband’s recliner.
So that we might continue to hold onto this piece that has been part of the fabric of our lives for 16+ years.
Before it falls to shambles.
Because though we have done as asked, and used it well…I want to honor the gift for what it was and is…and the memories it symbolizes.
I’m sure it will still see use, but it will be with care to keep it alive for as long as we can.
by Sarah | Feb 13, 2019 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Me, All of Us, Redefining Perfect
Everyone warns you how tough the teen years are.
They were. They are. They sucked. They are just starting in the girls.
No one warned me about this nonsense.
I mean – they’re grown up, legal, and all of that…
But sooo not grown up.
Smart as can be.
Naïve about how the world works.
You can counsel, but you can’t discipline (not that they listen either way).
They still think they’re invincible.
But they have to call for help on some of the most basic tasks.
They still avoid talking about certain aspects of their life.
Then bombard you with inappropriate adult humor that you’re not prepared to hear from their mouths.
They impress us with his financial acuity and maturity.
Then they’re utterly careless with the maintenance and care of the vehicle still in our name – including it being impounded.
You still stress and worry over them daily.
They get so annoyed with your concern and see it as you not believing they’ll succeed.
You’re walking a fine line because technically they’re adults…
But they’re BABY adults…with their own minds and own passions and own beliefs….but still so oblivious to so many things.
No one warned me about this shit.
All I ever heard about was the terrible twos.
Terrible teens.
How much I’d miss them when I was gone.
To appreciate the now.
No one warned me that it would be a really weird place to be when they got into that ‘adult’ stage.
Some days I think it’s worse than those painfully awful teen years.
Some days, though…
No, most days…
Most days it’s infinitely more awesome.
by Sarah | Feb 12, 2019 | All About Denver, All About Erik, All About Family, All About Kennedy, All About Me, All About Molly, All of Us, Blogging Life, Redefining Perfect, Top Ten Tuesday
Continuing our weekly countdown of my top ten dream family vacations, we come to #8…
St. Louis, MO.
Unfortunately, to be honest, my kids beat me to this before I could even get back into blogging and complete this top 10 that I started ages ago (seriously, I started these probably a year ago originally, so plenty has happened)…this past fall, the near-adult took the teens on a road trip, and they started in St. Louis.
I’d like to make the trek again…this time with all of us together.
Erik and I went to St. Louis several years ago. We had a lot of fun when I wasn’t at my blogging conference, and there’s plenty of sights we didn’t get to see, and there’s sights my kids didn’t get to see last year.
There is so much to do in St. Louis beyond the arch. There’s so much FREE stuff to do in St. Louis…and not free stuff. We could really go for a week and not have time to see it all. From the Lemp Mansion for my ghost-hunting self, to the City Museum for the kids to have fun, to back to the brewery tour for my husband to have fun (again) and the girls to see the Clydesdales.
We live so close, relatively speaking, it’s a shame we haven’t day-tripped it once or twice. Maybe we can get a run in before we move.
Have you been to St. Louis? What was your favorite part? Better yet, do you live there? What’s an insider tip we have to know?
by Sarah | Feb 7, 2019 | All About Family, All of Us, Blogging Life, Disney, DisneyTips, Redefining Perfect, Universal
I haven’t been to Disney hundreds of times (yet. Give me a couple years), but I’ve been my fair share.
I’ve done it with crazy intensity, and in a casual jaunt.
I’ve done Disneyland (finally), and Disney World.
I’ve picked up a few tips along the way. And while there re blogs across the web, I wanted to hand out my own Disney advice I’ve learned along the way, and tips I’ll be learning as I begin to go more frequently.
This months tip is one I picked up thanks to a coworker.
It’s only prevalent if you’re only planning to go for one day.
Go to an event – an after-hours event or one of the parties!!
Did you know that Disney offers such things as Disney After Hours at Magic Kingdom (and Hollywood Studios and now a new one at Animal Kingdom)??
These special ticketed events give you access to the park after hours when the crowds are gone – but as a special bonus, you can actually enter the park as early as 7PM before the park closes! Not as many rides/shows will be open for the after hours events – but the crowds will be lighter and it’s a great way to hit rides that usually have large lines…and do it at around the same price as a one day ticket! Also, they have treats available for free! This includes, popcorn, ice cream treats (the ever popular Mickey Bar is included!) and certain beverages.
You can start your day in Disney Springs (which is free to enter and wander around. Has great stores and restaurants, plus the opportunity to ride the car-boats!), and then head to the parks at 7PM to get your Disney on!
When it comes to the parties, Disney always does it right. From September through right before Christmas every year Disney runs their two big parties. The Not-So-Scary-Halloween Party starts in September and turns into the Very Merry Christmas Party at the beginning of November until December 21st(ish). These parties start earlier in the evening, and with your purchased tickets you can usually enter the park around 4PM to get your ears on before the party officially starts (you’ll be given a special wrist band to show you belong). Once again, this is a special ticketed event and though they are generally a lot more crowded than the after hours parties – most people are rushing around to trick or treat or see the special parades so the rides aren’t as busy. With fewer crowds taking up the lines you can get more rides ridden all while seeing the park decorated for the holidays.
If you’ve got a whole long vacation in Florida planned, but only ONE day for Disney – I have to say I think this is the RIGHT way to do it. My coworker/friend did this last year during the NSSHP and raved over how it went. She and her friends hung out in Disney Springs during the day, then headed over the park and had so much fun. They were able to get in a lot of rides and loved seeing the park decorated for Halloween.
Honestly, if you’re going for multiple days, this doesn’t make as much sense cost-wise because you’re paying extra for a ticket instead of folding it into your multi-day discounts…but if you only have ONE DAY…do it right. Pick up a party or an after hours even night and get more done!!
*~*~*~*~*
For more reference on what’s involved in an after hours Party, here’s a couple of posts from some of my favorite Disney Blogs about the After Hours Parties:
Animal Kingdom After Hours via Disney Tourist Blog
Hollywood Studios After Hours via KennythePirate.com
Magic Kingdom After Hours via wdwinfo,com
by Sarah | Feb 5, 2019 | All About Family, All of Us, Blogging Life, Redefining Perfect, Top Ten Tuesday
Continuing our countdown of Dream Family Vacations, we hit #9 on my list.
New York City
Oh, New York…it’s been a favorite of mine for a while.
Honestly, growing up I had no desire to ever go. I’d heard horrible things about the crime and homeless and living in Western New York it was just “eh” to me. Never mind that I loved musicals and dance and all things theater…just eh.
Then we lived in Maryland for a couple of years and I took a road trip to NYC to see Cats on Broadway.
And I was never the same again.
I loved every minute of every little road trip I took to NYC (and there were quite a few). Even the time I locked my keys in the trunk and had to pay almost $300 for a middle of the night weekend call and they pretty much destroyed the lock, so then I had to have it replaced. (It was an expensive weekend).
Surprisingly, for all my trips there, I’ve not done a lot of the touristy stuff. I did see the Smithsonian, FAO Schwartz, Central Park and Times Square. No Empire State Building, no Statue of Liberty – and this was pre-9/11 so no memorial, clearly. I pretty much saw Broadway, a few shows (Cats many times) and a handful of restaurants.
I’d really like to go back again, take my girls and really dive into the city that never sleeps. Take them to a show, see the Statue, the memorial…all of the touristy things I’ve never seen…and some of the non-touristy stuff I’ve been curious about. There is just so much there…I want to see more of it.
What’s your favorite part of NYC? Have you been? Did you see a show? Did you go touristy? What’s your biggest city secret?
Continuing our countdown of my dream family vacations, we hit #7 on the list…
