Tag: vacation

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Day 1 in STL – 2022

This morning, Shecklet #4 and I went on a walk in search of decent coffee. Hotel coffee leaves much to be desired. I never thought of my self as a coffee snob, but the longer I drink it, the more particular I become. Perhaps that’s because I don’t like strong coffee and I miss my daily cup from the Keurig.

Our journey took us down the “Historic Main Street” of St. Charles, MO. The temps were pleasant (much nicer than back home) and it was a bit muggy from having rained overnight. After several blocks, we found a cute coffee shop where I ordered a vanilla latte and then we headed back to our hotel.

Our friend, (Shecklet #3’s Godfather) who is in STL for the Christmas season, met us at Immaculata Catholic Church and said Mass for our family and our friends, who were also in STL for the week. The church was beautiful. (Photo credit below goes to Shecklet #2 who asked to take photos of it after Mass.)

After Mass, we gathered in the rectory for lunch. Msgr. Gardin was kind enough to open his kitchen and dining room to our group. Fr. J. and Jake grilled steaks and burgers and Fr. J. prepared sea bass and sides. It was wonderful to get to share a meal with this great group! Sometimes God does show you why things don’t work out like you originally planned.

After lunch, Jake took the teenagers and tweens to the mall to see a movie – Avatar 2 in 3D. I went with our friends to the other side of the river (Troy, IL,) for a few hours. Before returning to MO, we drove down the highly-decorated street of our friend’s brother. The houses in the cul-de-sac go all-out and even have lights choreographed to music on a radio station. It is quite the sight!

After the movie ended, our group went to The Hill in search of a restaurant. We ended up at an authentic pizza place. Shecklet #2 said the pizza was some of the best he’s ever had. For dessert, we crossed the street and had gelato. Yum!

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December 2022 road trip revived!

We loaded up the suburban this morning and pointed it south, with a final destination of STL programmed into the GPS.

The roads in southern MN and northern IA were particularly crummy and we considered turning around when we stopped for lunch in Clear Lake. However, we decided to give it until Cedar Rapids before we turned around. Jake said there were a few slick spots on overpasses, but overall the roads were mostly clear and we were able to drive at posted speeds.

We made a stop in Cedar Rapids for gas and to get shoes for the girls. We discovered about an hour or so into the trip that they only brought their crocs. This wouldn’t have been a huge issue if we weren’t planning some activities that require more secure footwear. Thankfully Target had what we needed.

We have a hotel booked in St. Charles for the duration of our stay.

The girls went for a quick swim before the pool closed for the night. I know I haven’t done much, just sat shotgun the whole day, but I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep. 😴

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Christmas 2022

Our plans for Christmas break changed from road trip to homebound thanks to snow, sub-zero wind chills, and poor road conditions.

We had originally planned on traveling to STL on 12/23 to visit Shecklet #3’s godfather, then on to GA to visit family, and finally to FL to visit friends. On 12/21, the house was minimally decorated for Christmas, I was caught up on laundry, and we had minimal items left in the fridge.

If you’re wondering why there is an “M” on the tree on the right, Shecklet #4 asked if we could get an ornament for the baby we lost between Shecklet #2 and Shecklet #3. (I had a very early miscarriage in August of 2009.) We never named the baby until #4 started referring to him as the “microscopic baby.” That turned into the formal name, Mike. So the “M” on the tree is in honor of our other little saint in heaven, Mike.

School ended up being cancelled for Shecklet #2 on 12/22, so we we considered getting on the road a day early. However, IA looked like this:

We made the adult decision to stay safe and not risk the stress or potential car trouble while in a “towing not recommended” zone. Our cancelled plans meant we were able to play games as a family, decorate sugar cookies, and shovel lots of snow.

We were also able to attend Christmas Eve Mass at our parish.

Jake shopped for heavy appetizers earlier in the day for our after-mass Christmas Eve meal.

Christmas morning we opened gifts and relaxed for a few hours. Shecklet #1 assembled his LEGO set, we hung Shecklet #4’s new cork board, and Shecklet #3 got to work figuring out classic rock melodies on her guitar. Shecklet #2 had to wait to try his new goggles.

We headed to Jake’s parents house around 3pm for dinner and opening gifts. The Shecklets enjoyed getting to see their cousins.

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DSW fashion

My friend J has an amazingly fun style – and my kids know it. The girls found these heeled boots during our trip to DSW today and immediately thought of J. They had me take a photo of them and text it to her. She approved 🙂

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Ping pong in the house

Jake and I have been talking about updating the basement space so the kids have more age-appropriate options for passing the time. Not that nerf wars and building random forts aren’t fun, but we recognize that if we want our kids to enjoy spending time at home (and welcome their friends,) we need to create an environment that supports those things.

We asked our friends if we could borrow their pickup truck and off we went to purchase a ping pong table. The boys had a hunch something was going on when we left, so since they were wide awake when we got back home, they were put to work with helping haul in the parts and assemble the table. We’re looking forward to lots of friendly competition over Christmas break!

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Tahoe trip 2021

Shecklet #2 had the trip of the summer thanks to his grandparents, uncle & aunt. This kid got to experience everything from flying high (literally) to getting down and dirty. His aunt wrote an amazing recap of his week with them on her blog. I’m so grateful she took the time to document the things that they did. She provided us with WAY more detail than our 13 year old! Bri included numerous photos of their adventures on her post, but here are a few of them as well.

Before he left for his trip, he needed a pair of shoes that would grip, not slip. These fit the bill.

The travelers had an early morning flight. I dropped them off before 4am.

The kitties made sure to warm up the bed for Shecklet #2. First day they hit the bike trails.

Day 2. The first 4 miles of this bike ride were up hill. But they made it!

Always the jokester!

They had clear skies to start the trip, but the fires eventually impacted the views.

Ride stats:

Parasailing with his aunt and grandma. Shecklet #2 got to go twice!

Camping with Uncle Jason and Grandpa.

Hiking with Jason and Bri. The views are amazing!

This terrain area was inspiration for making a track back home at Grandma and Grandpa’s house. The picture of Shecklet #2 launching off the jump is one of my favorites from the week.

Check out the size of those pine cones!

Heading out for another ride. It’s awesome to have an uncle that can tire a teenager out!

Per the stats: Lunch Walk

Off road drive with Jason and Grandma.

Like I said, Shecklet #2 had an amazing summer adventure! He’s already talking about going back during the winter to experience the ski runs with snow. We are incredibly grateful for the generosity of family for giving this kid a vacation to remember!

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Christmas Eve 2020 🎄

It was a snowy, chilly Christmas Eve. We finally received a substantial amount of snow yesterday along with strong winds. Today the whiteout conditions subsided enough for us to have one of Jake’s sisters join us for the second half of the day. We went to 5pm mass and then came back to the house for pizza soup (Grandma Fran’s recipe,) garlic bread, cookies, and a movie – Elf. (The church was almost empty so we took the opportunity to take a few pictures – masked and non-masked.)

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On the slopes ⛷ 🏂

Shecklet #2 went skiing for the third time in two weeks. Today, Shecklet #3 joined him and Jake, but instad of skiing, she chose to give snowboarding a try. She loved it! And unsurprisingly, made a friend while practicing on the bunny hill after her lesson.