Category: Good times

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#summervacation2020

Despite living during a pandemic, we managed to have a really great summer vacation. Screw you, COVID-19!

We started things off with a family trip over to Paw Paw, MI, for a nice 4-day weekend with my mom and stepdad. We’d never been to their cabin there before, and it was wonderful. (P.S. All of these trips will have their own gallery since we take millions of pictures, so please click on each pic to enlarge it if you’d like a better view.)

Two weeks later, my dad came up for the weekend to celebrate Morrison’s birthday, so it was fun having Grandpa in town for a few days. (Please see Morrison’s 5-year post for those pictures!) We were home for a few weeks after that, then I took the kids down to my mom’s for a week after the 4th of July. My sister and her kids drove back to spend that time, too, so we all had a great visit and got to celebrate my niece and stepdad’s birthdays. We hadn’t seem them for exactly a year, which is crazy!

A quick half week later, and we went on another family vacation. That never happens twice in a summer, so it was awesome. Our great friends found a last-minute rental opportunity about 3.5 hours north of here in Crandon, WI, so I said count us in! We definitely did not regret it. It was an incredible place with a perfect property and lake for the kids, and we all had so much fun.

A couple weeks after that, I took the kids back down to my mom’s for another week of Grandma and Grandpa days. We were the only visitors this time, and we celebrated Della’s birthday. Another round of relaxation and fun – just what we needed!

  • I’m in love with these clutch purses and mini pouches I’ve discovered how to make!

We also sprinkled in a couple treat days around here – Bookworm Gardens, hunting for sea glass, donuts and the playground at school, backyard fun (we finally have grass!), the zoo, and I transformed our front porch into a perfect little sitting spot that I love.

  • He pulled tooth #2 by himself already!
  • New glasses!
  • His first pair of glasses!
  • Glasses brigade
  • Can’t be left out!

So now we prepare for the start to our strangest school year ever. We’ve chosen to have the big 3 attend school fully virtually for the first quarter, because I can’t bring myself to make them the guinea pigs in all this. Our other option was a blended model where students go in person 2 days a week and virtual the other 3, but I’ll see how that works before sending ours in. If everyone stays healthy and school stays open the whole time, we’ll all be happy to send them back to the classrooms with their teachers and friends. But I’m just not convinced it will all work so smoothly right away. I want them back as much as they want to be back, but I also don’t need to take any unnecessary risks. Plus we don’t have an extra room for quarantining!

So, another summer break in the books. And an excellent one at that, even with masks, social distancing, and basically nothing operating like a usual summer. Who knows what these upcoming seasons will bring on all fronts, so I will cherish these last couple days like nobody’s business. Cheers!

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#thankful

The kids and I spent another wonderful Thanksgiving break with my family in Illinois this year, and every day I remembered exactly how thankful I am for what we have.

The week started out less than stellar with 2 heads full of lice (uggghhh!!!!) on Monday, $500 unexpectedly spent in treatment for that, then getting rear ended on the highway Tuesday night on the way down to my mom’s house to begin our trip (thankfully no damage or injury!), but fortunately that was the worst of it. Each day after that was great.

I have always known how important family is. You only get one, whether you like it or not. And I am very thankful for the one I have. It was so much fun watching my kids play and have fun with my family just as I did when I was their age. The circle of life!

#familyiseverything #thankful

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Up Nort’, annual #2

Last month we took our second annual trip up to Eagle River with friends, just like last November. In fact, I just reread that post (click right here!), and this trip was much the same. I’ll highlight 2 main differences: This year we saw hardly any deer – quite the switch from last year, where we had to drive well under highway speeds for about the last hour of the 4-hour drive up so we didn’t slam into one, and where they came up to the patio door of our condo daily. Secondly, the pool at our place was closed for repairs during our stay this time, so thankfully they paid the fee for us to use the pool at another hotel about 10 miles away. That saved the vacation for the kids, ha!

Once again, it was a fun 4 days with good friends, good food, good wine, a fireplace, and some good family relaxing time. I might even check into the availability up there for next summer. The rates are much higher, but we’re familiar with the place now, we know that it’ll hold all of us (for now!), and their summer activities sound great. We shall see. Either way, a happy Fall tradition has begun. Hopefully it continues for many years!

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#summervacation2019 ~ Fin

We finally got our car back mid-August, and then I packed what we would have been doing all summer into about a week. It was jam-packed, but it was so much fun!

We explored the Urban Ecology Center, went out for donuts then to the zoo, picnicked at a park we’d never been to before, saw a field of 500,000+ sunflowers, spent a day in Madison with one of my dearest friends and her children, went up to Bookworm Gardens, and of course, kept walking. (watch out, LOTS of pictures coming here!)

  • Happy to be back in our car!
  • Human sun dials
  • Super cool Lego dinosaur exhibit at the zoo

Even without a car for most of it, this was a great summer home with all the kids again, and I am sad to see it go. But all 3 big kids are excited for school this year, which always makes me so happy. Until next year, summer!

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#summervacation2019

I’ve been using that hashtag on all my summer pictures thus far, so I’ll fill this post with a lot of them. Our summer vacation adventures began immediately this year, literally on the last day of school.

To start off, I took the kids down to my mom’s house on the first afternoon of summer vacation. The girls had a half day for their last day of school, we walked home, had lunch, then loaded up and drove to Palos. We spent the night there, then headed down to Peoria the following morning for what has become an annual Miller family weekend. It was so much fun, and I’m really glad we made it down this summer after bailing at the last minute last year.

We got home from that trip on Monday, then turned right around and went on our own Wisconsin family vacation that same Wednesday. This, too, has become an annual trip, and we’re trying to find the perfect cabin/lake setup to go to each year. Ideally we want it within about 2 hours of home and on the water so the kids can swim and play daily. A clean, sandy beach is perfect for them, but we’re still looking for our “permanent” spot. This year’s place was definitely not it – dirty and cramped “hotel” room, not the best company for fellow patrons; last year’s place was awesome except for lots of ants in the cabin, but it was too far away at 6 hours. So we’ll just keep trying places until we get it right and enjoying memories together along the way.

We came home from that vacation on Saturday, and our car was stolen that afternoon. Super awesome, and certainly not a highlight of this summer vacation, but worth mentioning anyway as we’ve been dealing with that ever since. We were home from our lake trip for about 2 and a half weeks, Morrison took a session of swim lessons, I got the big 3 signed up for the library summer reading program, the kids had a couple fun backyard shower sprinkler days, we celebrated the 4th of July with friends and neighbors as usual, then I flew out to Colorado with the kids for a week-long visit. Thankfully Arianne flew back to help us fly out, flew home with us as well, then flew back to Colorado, because there is NO WAY I could’ve made those flights with all 5 alone. Simply getting on the plane would have been next to impossible once the twins were out of the stroller.

That was a really fun trip, too. The kids all love spending time with their cousins, my mom flew out as well so we all got to spend the week together, and I finally got to see Marissa’s “new” house. We took the kids swimming, to a tiny town with a little train they could ride, made pizzas and s’mores in their pizza oven, even had a Christmas in July dinner. It was a great time. Hopefully they didn’t regret inviting us all out with all the noise and Nat’s screaming!

So now we’ve stopped traveling and get to enjoy the rest of the summer at home. Ahhh… The kids have a number of fun activities coming up – swim lessons for the girls, a drawing camp for the girls, zoo day camps, and Della even gets to spend a couple days at Grandma and Grandpa’s house by herself for her birthday. Lucky duck! We have a bunch of projects in the house and yards that I’m looking forward to finishing up, so it should be a fulfilling next couple months. Maybe we’ll even get our car back one of these days…

I love summer vacation!

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All by myself

Last month I went to Florida for my good friend Rachel’s 40th birthday girls’ trip. By myself. It was pretty awesome.

I was gone for 5 days, and nobody came with me. Zero children. Zero traveling partners. A couple of the girls flew on the same flight, but then the rest of us all just met down there. We went to Anna Maria Island, so most of us flew into Sarasota then took an Uber to the island.

It was the first time I’ve traveled alone since any of the kids were born. Actually, I think it’s the first time I’ve traveled alone since I lived out east. Almost 16 years ago. Crazy.

It was really fun. There were 10 of us in the house we rented, which was right on a little lagoon. It had its own private pool, which was all I was looking forward to. It was a shared townhouse, but we never heard the family on the other side at all. They had their own pool, too, and it was on the opposite side of the house from ours.

We stayed just blocks from the beach, so we walked over there each night to watch the sunset and grab a cocktail. Unfortunately there was really only one beachfront restaurant near us, but we found some other fun places for dinners. We grabbed coffee and breakfast each morning at a little local place, then we either walked to other close-by sandwich or burrito shops for lunches or just snacked by the pool.

I got some sun. I got some sleep. I made new friends. I read 1 entire book! And, surprisingly, I missed everyone back here terribly. I couldn’t help but think the whole time how perfect the place we stayed would be for a family vacation with Ryan and the kids, because it really was.

I couldn’t believe I actually made a solo vacation work! It was a great time with some fantastic people, and I’m so glad I went. It’ll probably happen again in about 20 years. 😀

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That’s a wrap!

We are in the final hours of 2018, and it has truly been a magnificent year. Some of you might be thinking, how in the world is that possible?? You have 5 kids!! But that’s just it. They make my life magical and give me the most important purpose there is. I’m their Mama.

Let’s review, shall we?

  • We had twins.
  • I’m not usually one to brag, but I think I’m doing a pretty great job with 5 kids.
  • I figured out the logistics of getting us all to/from school all year, whether it was walking, driving, or carpooling.
  • Summer vacation was awesome with everyone home. Lots of playing with friends on the block (kids and parents!), walks and runs, library visits, collecting sea glass.
  • We learned what a vacation as a family of 7 is when we went up to Iron River this summer. It’s doable, and it was fun!
  • We got to watch a Brewers playoff game from a suite. It’s kinda nice when your cousin is the manager. 😉
  • We bought a second house.
  • The twins went on their first flight out to Tucson to meet their great-grandparents, which was so very, very important. The logistics of that one were a little torturous, but the family time spent together was priceless and worth every single second.
  • We took another family vacation up north to Eagle River. It gets easier and better every time.
  • We’ve been enjoying our first holiday season with 5 children. That does not sound normal to me – we have 5 children. Maybe someday it will, but still not yet. Both of my parents are 1 of 4 children, and I always thought man, that’s a lot of kids. Ha, silly me. The universe heard that and remembered it.
  • Ryan got a big and extremely well-deserved promotion at work.
  • I finished my sea turtles tattoo for the kids. Very important, I know!
  • We watched all our children grow every day, and my heart gets more and more full by the second with all of them. It was a year full of firsts for the twins, and it’s so amazing to get to experience all these baby firsts over again in double. Each day is something new and wondrous for them.

And now here we are, the very end of 2018. I think the sign of a good year isn’t completely dependent upon what you’ve accomplished, what you’ve done, where you’ve gone, but how you feel at the end of it. And just like the title of one of my favorite Christmas movies, it’s a wonderful life. I’m happier than I’ve ever been, our family is complete, and we are heading into the new year on a high note.

Cheers, 2018, and thank you so much for everything you gave us. Here we come, 2019, all 7 of us!