Tag: Friends

I have great friends

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Up North, annual #3

We took our third annual fall trip up to Eagle River last week, and it was another fun one. It didn’t seem quite as fun to me as the past 2, but looking back as a whole, I’m so glad we went again.

I’m not sure why the difference, but I think a lot of it had to do with the big 3 doing school up there. Lana and Morrison didn’t log onto their live meetings and Della was only on hers for 2 out of the 3 synchronous school days we were there, but they did still keep up with all their posted lessons on their own so they didn’t get behind. So that was a big chunk of their days. A prime example of the mobility of virtual school being both a blessing and a curse. 😉

Also, the pool at the resort was closed due to COVID-19 this year and they didn’t think the pool at the other resort that we used last year was quite up to standards, so we didn’t even bother taking swim suits. That was always a highlight of the time for the kids, so that was missing this year, too.

However, there were plenty of great times. Ryan took the big 3 on 2 cool hikes; I took the twins on walks around the resort grounds, which they loved; the deer friends were out in force this year, which we did miss last year; we had fires daily, which I loved; I played a number of fun games with our friends; and the wine was good and plenitful, a vacation must. We got a couple dustings of snow again, too, which make everything look and feel so festive.

So all in all, a successful trip #3 to Eagle River. We stayed in a different building than our previous visits that was right across from the playground and at the end of the little bay the resort is on, which was a setting I liked so much better than the other building we’ve stayed in.

Another big thank you to our friends who are our connection to this place – we’re already looking forward to trip #4 next year!

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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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Up Nort’, again

We spent most of last week up in Eagle River, in northeastern Wisconsin about 4 hours from home, and it was another great family vacation. One of our friend’s parents own a condo up there, and the resort ran a friends and family deal on renting out units for the whole week for a steal. So they invited us a few months ago, we had condos right next to each other, and we had a blast.

The kids loved the indoor swimming pool; playing with their new Squinkies; exploring the resort grounds with Ryan; watching movies; roasting s’mores; playing in the snow on our last full day there; watching all the animals out our patio door; and doing tons of coloring, drawing, and writing.

The twins ended up doing great in a new place after the first night, which was a no-sleep nightmare. The resort provided 2 pack n plays, so they were able to still have their own beds. We barricaded them in the living room during the days, and they spent their time playing with toys and exploring a new floor.

I enjoyed playing in the pool with the big 3, getting a snowy run in, working on this blog and pictures, reading, and relaxing. Ryan was our resident town explorer, making sure the fridge and liquor cabinet were well stocked and finding a good place for all 7 of us to go out for pizza one night.

I normally envision “up north” as a place for summer vacations, but this late fall getaway was really fun. Hopefully it can become more than a one-time trip!

 




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38

Yesterday was my 38th birthday, and although I’m not thrilled about the ever-looming age of 40, I will say that 38 is off to a great start.

The day wasn’t the warmest, but the sun was shining brightly and beautifully. I walked Della to school with the other 2 in the stroller, then went for a run when we got home. Then Lana helped me plant the flowers and plants we had picked up at Home Depot the day before – flowers for the pot I put on our front walk, flowers for their little playhouse window boxes, and raspberry and grapes plants for the back garden. Ryan and the kids got me a beautiful necklace that I wanted, and the kids all made me cards. Which I will of course save forever, since they are all going to be amazingly famous artists.

We walked back to school to pick up Della in the afternoon, enjoying the sunshine a little longer. I requested chicken marsala for my birthday dinner, and Chef Rau obliged. He also got me a brownie ice cream cake. It was all beyond delicious, as always! We all enjoyed the cake when Della got home from gymnastics, then watched The Voice, the girls’ and my favorite show. I had a couple glasses of dessert wine to toast to myself, and then we called it a night. It was a very good day.

This wonderful family of mine and and some great friends who know me well made this a fantastic, peaceful birthday, which is exactly what I wanted. Happy birthday to me!

I tried to find a comparison shot of me at 28, but we don’t have any pics from my birthday that year. So here’s a picture from our anniversary that year (the big #1!), which was a month before my 28th birthday. Ah, aging…

 




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Thankful, always

Thankful for a beautiful 6 year old whose kind heart and amazing mind inspire me and make me prouder every day.

Thankful for the most incredible 4 year old I’ve ever known. Her fairy spirit knows no bounds, and the inner workings of her mind are some of the most indescribably magnificent places humankind has ever experienced.

Thankful for an adorable little almost-18 month old whose smile lights a room, whose laughter brightens the darkest hours, and whose hugs make everything better.

Thankful for the man whom those 3 miracles call Daddy, without whom none of this would be possible.

Thankful for the time to be everything to our children, day and night.

Thankful for the health and strength to be everything to our children.

Thankful for family near and far, here and beyond. No matter how frequent or infrequent the contact, all are forever a part of us.

Thankful for friends old and new. Those friends who are always there, who know your secrets, who will keep you laughing until your sides ache and your cheeks hurt, and who make it seem like no time has passed at all when you meet again.

Thankful for friends, neighbors, and good people who believe in and value the same things. The importance of knowing you are there for our children, too, cannot be put into words.

Thankful for this house that becomes more and more our home every day. Our children came home here, are growing up here, and are learning life here. It is ours and they are safe here.

Thankful that our children are already realizing this is what’s important in life; that not everyone has what we do even when so many have so much more; and to be thankful and grateful, not greedy and selfish.

So very thankful, always.

Happy Thanksgiving!

 




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Summer vacation!

School’s out, school’s out! The night before the last day of K5…

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Della has been out of school for a week and a half now, and it has been so great! I absolutely adore having all 3 of these munchkins with me all day again, and it’s so much fun to see especially how Della entertains herself all day. I got her a summer workbook for kids going from K5 to 1st grade and she loves it. She’s also already made her K5 teacher, Mrs. Murphy, a card and a couple pictures that we mailed her last week. Seeing how much she grew and thrived this past school year was incredible, and I’m so excited to watch her passion for learning continue in the years ahead. Can you even believe how big she’s getting??

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We started off this summer vacation with a bang, too. On the very first day off last week we went for a run (Della’s first one joining us on her bike this season), went to the library to sign all 3 up for the summer reading program (yes, even morrison gets to participate in the read-to-me part and get a free book at the end), walked over to check out and throw wish pennies into the fountain, and the girls had a picnic lunch in the backyard.

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Since then, we’ve been to the zoo, Bookworm Gardens, playing in the sprinkler, and generally enjoying days without too many schedules.

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The summer weather is in full swing, so the kids are always outside playing with their friends. And the parents are out together having a glass of wine or a beer, so it’s a win-win. I love summer and am thoroughly embracing every single day of this one!

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The races are over!

Last Saturday was my final race of this running season, the Brewers Mini-Marathon and 10k. Thank heavens I chose correctly for once and did the 10k, because there’s no way I could have done another half marathon.

It started and ended at Miller Park, and the course was surprisingly much harder than I anticipated. Since when does Milwaukee, and specifically the Miller Valley, have hills? There were spots where I honestly thought I was going to have to walk or just give up the race all together.

But I pushed on, just slowing down when I felt the urge to stop. I refused to look at either the mile marker signs or my watch, because I didn’t want to know how much misery I had left. Somewhere in the last mile I actually grabbed a cup at the water station to rinse out my mouth, and of course it was Gatorade, not water. Talk about a terrible surprise! I about choked on it, which only added to the full-body pain I was feeling by that time.

I have no idea why that run was so hard, either. 6.2 miles is not a long distance for me anymore, especially after the 12-mile training runs I had to do earlier this spring. I don’t know if it’s the additional 4 miles I walk daily taking Della to and from school now or what. But from somewhere in the very first mile until the end, every single step was a nightmare.

The only time my spirits lifted was when we ran around the warning track inside the stadium. There were 2 reasons for this – I saw friends cheering for me who I had no idea were going to be in there (in all fairness they were there cheering for someone else, but they rooted me on as i ran by. still felt good to hear my name, though), and I knew those ending flags were almost in sight.

After practically limping across the finish line, I finally checked my watch. And I about fainted.

From shock, not pain.

49:33! (my official time ended up being 49:32)

I absolutely could not believe it. I had kind of a tiered goal time going into this race – I definitely wanted to break 54:00, which would be roughly 9:00/mile pace; I really, really wanted to break 52:00; and in my deepest heart of hearts I would be ecstatic to break 50:00.

So to see 49-anything as my finishing time just blew me away. I killed it.

I was so happy! And I was done! And I needed to get some water immediately before I died! And I needed to keep walking so my distressed legs didn’t completely cramp up on me and render me a giant heap in the finishers’ chute! And I needed to get to the beer tent!

I ran this race with a group of friends, and that part was so much fun. Actually having others to watch for, cheer on, and meet up with was a blast. All the racers got a couple free Miller Lites afterwards, and I said that beer has never tasted so good.

Thankfully I was smart enough to bring a full change of clothes this time, so I was able to enjoy my beverages relatively sweat free. The forecast that morning had called for rain and thunderstorms, so I was anticipating being totally drenched with water, not just sweat. Either way, the spare clothes I had in my gear bag added to my post-race glee.

So, my friends, my D&L stroller training team paid off in spades this summer. I was beyond thrilled with all 3 of my race times, and all for varying distances, too, which was a first for me – a 23:00 5k, a 1:57 half marathon, and a 49:00 10k. Success!

Now I can just kick back and run for pure enjoyment and exercise. I took this whole week off from running, and it felt wonderful. Like I said, I walk so much now to school and back twice, I almost feel like that’s enough. But I should definitely get a little more pavement pounding in before the frigid air traps me inside this winter. At least I can just stick to my preferred 5k route now, not worrying about getting any specific distances in.

And here is what it looks like to happily close out a very productive running season:

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