Last month my handsome husband was invited to teach medicine in San Diego to a group of 300 doctors from all around the world. He’s an incredible doc, but he’s also an incredible teacher. He really is! Pete has been teaching a course called CALS (Comprehensive Advance Life Support) to medical professionals all over Minnesota for a few years. Not only was he asked to teach at this conference in San Diego, but a few months before that he was also selected as the capstone speaker at the annual CALS conference. Am I proud of him? Gushingly so. Will you ever hear about any of this from him? Not a word. So, good thing I can tell you about it here, right?! He’s my favorite.
Following Pete’s week of teaching in San Diego, we took the opportunity to spend a weekend away together. At the time, he was still working long stretches at a few hospitals in New Mexico, and we weren’t getting much time together, so we jumped at the chance to hit the beach without the kids. I flew out the afternoon the conference ended and we drove up the coast to a little surfing town where I had found a small studio vacation rental away from the noise of the city. I really knew I was on vacation when I woke our first morning to the sounds of Pete making me coffee. A man who doesn’t drink coffee making an early-morning cup for the wifey? Big points in my book. (Side note: It wasn’t actually early morning. It was 10am. Vacationing without kids!)
We spent a lot of time exploring local towns and checking out some very cool beaches. Of course we had to eat plenty of Mexican food being that close to the border. So, so good!
La Jolla, where we found lots of (really stinky but cute) sea lions!
A sunset hike at Torrey Pines State Reserve
To the beach!
All day at Pacific Beach in the glorious sunshine.
There’s just something very cool about a real surfing scene.
While at the beach, I got to start this amazing book, The Capture, written by the very talented Tom Isbell. Tom was one of my acting teachers in college. I have been inspired by his acting, directing, and playwriting for years. Now I add fiction novel writing to the list. This is the second book in his young adult series The Prey, released in January. If you like YA dystopian books like The Hunger Games or Maze Runner, this is a must read. Or listen! The audio version is very well done. I can’t wait for book three! (Disclaimer: I was not given anything at all for writing all this goodness. I just honestly really, really like the book.)
Sunset at the beach. It was a very cool, unexpected experience. Just about everyone along the beach and the boardwalk stopped for a good ten or fifteen minutes to watch the sun until it dipped beyond the horizon. A rare time when it seemed we all wanted to soak in the beauty of it. No one was too busy to sit. And as soon as the sun was gone, all movement picked up again. Just a still moment in time together.
We had three glorious days together at the beach. We ate good food and read good books, stood with our toes in the chilly ocean and watched the sun set each night. It felt like we got to stop time for those three days and remember who we are, me with my Pete. Some days and weeks and, yes, the last few months, have been hard, but when we get to take just a little time to escape and reconnect, everything feels manageable again. We can pick up and head back into life. And the coolest part? It always feels like God ends up speaking big things to our hearts during those times together. So not only do we get to move back into life, but we get to move back in with new dreams and motivation. I could not be more thankful for time away together.
When we packed our bags for Florida last month, we had swim suits, sunglasses, and sandals, with no intentions of leaving the beach. After a few days on the coast, however, Pete and I had an idea. A very exciting idea. One that even surprised us! We decided to take our dear Ella to Disney World.
Most families I know plan a Disney trip months in advance. We had three days. But we were in Florida with a six-year-old who is magically in love with princesses. And Sam, who might have a hard time making it through a whole day in the Disney crowd, could spend the day at the beach with Hannah & Luke. So we booked a room at one of the budget hotels on the Disney grounds and purchased our one-day park passes. Oh, and we kept it all a secret from Ella! (Side note: Did you know there are budget-priced Disney hotels?! $100 a night! Not crazy fancy like the other Disney hotels, but fully decorated with Mickey and Donald, so it still felt super special.)
We woke bright and early and took the shuttle to the Magic Kingdom for the 8am park opening show.
Ella was mesmerized seeing her first characters in the opening show. (Okay, I admit. I was a little teary. It was all so magical from the very beginning!)
Being at the Magic Kingdom the first week of January meant we got to see the giant Christmas tree and hear Christmas songs playing throughout the park. Even more magical!
We made our first walk through Cinderella’s castle as soon as we entered the park. We were on a mission to beat the crowds to a few very important places.
Our first stop: to meet this Frozen queen.
And her sweet sister. Ella and Anna had a cute moment together.
We went straight from Anna & Elsa to Ariel’s grotto. Ella had her Ariel doll along for the occasion.
Ella adored meeting her favorite princess before going on Ariel’s Under the Sea journey.
We took a short break for breakfast at Gaston’s Tavern.
A magical view from our table outside Gaston’s.
Who other than Gaston himself made an appearance while we were eating! We only observed from afar so we could continue to the next attraction on our list.
It’s a Small World. I’m sure it hasn’t changed in years and years, but it is so sweet and full of joy.
At the end of the ride are these colorful signs. We loved seeing kwaheri, Swahili for goodbye.
I remember the Jungle Cruise from when I first visited Disney World when I was six. The same age as Ella!
Swiss Family Tree House! We watched The Swiss Family Robinson with Ella a few months before visiting Disney, so she thought this was pretty great. I kinda want to live in it for a while. Maybe without the Disney crowds, though.
By the time we made our Disney plans, all character meals were full except for lunch with the crew from The Hundred Acre Wood. They aren’t currently Ella’s favorite, but we knew it would still be fun. And it was! Ella was in a little parade around the room with the characters and then hopped around with Tigger. Afterward, each visited our table for a personal hello. Ella seemed to have a new love for these guys once we finished our meal.
Ella was beyond excited to see the characters she hadn’t already met in the afternoon parade. As a life-long lover of parades, I was in heaven!
We had a full afternoon of rides and shows and treats! Pirates of the Caribbean, MonstersInc Laugh Floor, the Disney Railroad, Goofy’s Barnstormer, Tomorrowland’s People Mover. Just after it got dark, Ella and I hopped in line for the Dumbo ride. Pete doesn’t like anything that spins in circles, so just the two of us took on Dumbo, Prince Charming’s Carrousel, and the spinning tea cups.
Later in the evening, we had the sweet pleasure of meeting Rapunzel, who happened to match Ella!
How adorable is this Cinderella?!
She’s probably my favorite Disney Princess, so I was just as excited as Ella to meet her. Only I acted very adult to avoid an awkward encounter. I’m so mature. 😉
As we emerged from meeting Rapunzel and Cinderella, we heard the pop pop pop of fireworks!
Ella danced as we watched them near Cinderella’s castle, draped in frosty lights.
Just before park closing, when lines were very short, we experienced Enchanted Tales with Belle, a retelling of Beauty and the Beast. We began in Belle’s house but were soon transported through a magical mirror into the Beast’s castle! There, a few little actors in our group were selected to help tell the story. Ella was over the moon when, after a pretty ferocious roar, she was chosen to play the Beast!
She was instructed to walk into the library and frighten Belle with her powerful roar.
Belle was not happy with The Beast.
Later, The Beast returned to dance with Belle.
Our little actress took her role very seriously. We were so proud of her!
I think this photo pretty much sums up our entire Disney experience.
Our day at Disney World was a truly magical experience. I had no idea I would love it so much as an adult! It was quite possibly one of my favorite days as a parent, watching Ella soak everything in. Someday, we’ll return with Sam. Can you even imagine?!
Have you been to Disney World? Disneyland? Did you stay for multiple days? I think that would be amazing. Perhaps next time we’ll be able to visit more than The Magic Kingdom!
Oh, dear friends, what a month this has been! Since the last time I posted, we have been busy, busy, busy. Most of it has been good busyness, but honestly, I’m so glad to be beyond it all. January started with a family vacation to Florida where we all got to spend a week simply being together. (That was so, so good.) The week after we came arrived back in Minnesota was The Mango Gala where we celebrated with friends at Greysolon Ballroom and shared our vision for our ministry in Kenya. (A beautiful event following lots of work.) The very next day, we packed up the condo and moved three miles down the road to our new apartment! (Is any move easy?) We then battled sickness while unpacking. (To be expected in the middle of winter.) And then I tackled Perspectives, the online missions course we’ve been taking since October. (Just one more week, though the class has been pretty amazing.) As I sit on our new, overstuffed sofa in our cozy, little apartment, I am so very thankful to have entered a month that looks much different than the last. I’m letting out a sigh of relief and thanking Jesus for the little moments of peace he provided in the days we’ve experienced since the start of the new year.
First, thank you so much for your prayers after our last post! We knew moving out of the condo would only make sense if someone came in to rent it right away. The DAY AFTER we moved out, the condo was shown to not one but TWO interested parties! A family moved in on February 1. Yet again, God has provided for our needs. We are incredibly thankful!!
With all that we’ve experienced in the last month, there is so much I want to share. So, let’s start at the very beginning. A very good place to start. (Sound of Music, anyone? Go back and sing those lines, then you can keep them in your head the rest of the day. You’re welcome.)
Florida! We had such a wonderful time away as a family when we visited Florida a year ago, we thought it would be fun to escape to the warmth again. This year, we chose the opposite coast and rented a beach house on Cocoa Beach. (Do you ever use VRBO while vacationing? The best! We’ve used it many times to find cute vacation rentals for the same price as local hotels.) Again this year our dear friends Luke & Hannah joined us on our trip. They are like family to us and the kids adore them. We all have a great time together! The first few days were hot, which were perfect for the beach. Then it cooled of slightly, though really, it was still quite warm for us northern Minnesotans!
This was the backyard of our beach house. Just beyond those palm trees was a quiet stretch a few blocks north of Cocoa Beach Pier.
Of course the kids’ favorite part of vacation is the beach.
Sam! Showing a little leg!
Our rental shared a small pool with the neighboring rental, which thrilled Ella. Such a little fish.
Though she also plays a convincing turtle.
Unfortunately, our little buddy got sick on New Year’s Eve. He laid low for a few days at the house.
While Sam was resting, Daddy and Ella had an adventurous date together with the gators!
Daddy introduced her to clams, which are now her favorite food. This girl will try anything!
Apparently, wee alligators like hot dogs?? That’s what Ella told me, anyway. She strung them on the end of her pole.
On a cooler afternoon, Ella and I walked down to the beach for a little picnic.
One afternoon while it rained, I drove the kids to Orlando where we met up with my sweet friend, Ashleigh, and her boys.
Ella taught Sam the proper technique for digging for fossils.
Sam joined the boys on a shaky bridge to get the feel of an earthquake. I was proud of him for keeping his balance so well!
Sam made a friend in the giant tree play structure. He’s usually very gentle with new friends. At least until he feels they’re ready for wrestling. Then he takes them down, laughing the entire time.
The kids could have played here for hours and hours! It was a perfect way to spend a rainy afternoon.
Sweet mama Ashleigh. We met at a conference a couple years ago and have tried getting together multiple times since then. We finally did it! And how adorable is she? That’s baby boy #4, making an appearance soon!
We spent one morning at Ron Jon Surf Shop, something that’s been on my list since I was in 7th grade. Why, you ask? Let me tell you. When I was in 7th grade, my family took a road trip to Florida. On that trip, we spent a day at Cocoa Beach. At one point in the afternoon, my mom, brothers, and sister walked to the surf shop to rent boogie boards. I stayed with my dad at the beach. For years and years, I’ve regretted that choice. Every time I’ve seen a Ron Jon’s sticker in a car window, I’ve remembered that day as a 7th grader and the grand opportunity I missed. So when we decided to stay at Cocoa Beach this year, I knew my visit would finally happen. And it surely did. (Why was it so important for me to visit all those years ago? I have absolutely no idea. F some reason, it just stuck with me.)
By the time we visited the surf shop, this little guy was feeling much better. We ate at a nearby cafe where we had the privilege of meeting a young man from the area with Down syndrome. We sure do love meeting other amazing people wherever we go!
One of my favorite days in Florida was New Years Eve. Pete and I have spent a majority of our time apart the last few months, ever since his job in New Mexico began in September. Because of that, we wanted to do something really memorable to celebrate the new year. Luke & Hannah stayed at the beach house with the kids while Pete & I ventured into Orlando to spend the day at Universal Studios! It was amazing! My heart gets excited even now when I think about the fun we had that day. Just the two of us.
We walked all over, went on rides, saw shows, and ate really tasty treats. The weather was perfect!
Then we made our way beyond the brick wall into Diagon Alley in The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was like stepping into the books! I have listened to the first four audio books in the Harry Potter series, so I was so looking forward to seeing how the park brought it to life. Pete, on the other hand, didn’t know much at all about Harry Potter. That was fine with me, because it meant I got to tell him all about it. Our first stop was at a cart for pumpkin juice. Mmm.
Really, I would probably be equally thrilled to step into a park designed after any number of books or movies. It’s definitely my theatrical side that adores the idea of being inside something so imaginative. Every nook and cranny was intricately designed to match the books and every park employee played the part.
For lunch we stayed in Diagon Alley and ate at The Leaky Cauldron. We liked it so much, we went back for dinner!
This was where we had our first taste of Butter Beer.
And it did not disappoint. It’s a creamy butterscotch-flavored non-alcoholic drink that comes straight from the books. I lost count of how many glasses we shared!
After dark, we watched the Macy’s Holiday Parade, which included many of the gigantic balloons in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. I am such a fan of parades, and I’ve always wanted to see the Macy’s Parade, so this was fantastic!
At midnight, we stood on the edge of a fountain in front of Diagon Alley and watched an incredible fireworks display over the park. It was every bit as exciting as I hoped it would be! A very, very memorable New Year’s Eve with my Pete.
So many photos, but this is not the conclusion of our Florida adventure. I’ll share some very special memories in my very next post!
One month later we’ve got pictures! We had a wonderful trip to Florida over new years, but we’ve been so busy I haven’t had enough time to post photos. Alas! Here they are! These are the photos from my phone. The photos on my big camera will come very soon.
Little man is pretty much a pro when it comes to flying now. He ended up across Daddy’s lap and they both napped the entire flight. Ella sat in the row ahead of us with our dear friend and date night babysitter, Hannah, and her fiance Luke. We traveled with our babysitter? Oh yes, we did. Pete’s idea. Absolutely dreamy to have them along. The kids adore them, we were able to go on dates, and I had a beautiful friend to hang out with while shopping and at the salon. Luke & Hannah are far more than babysitters to our family. They have become dear friends. (And we’re trying to convince them they need to go to Kenya with us, so if you know them, tell them they belong in east Africa.)
We flew into Tampa where one of my longest Instagram friends lives with her husband and two adorable kids. Ella & Brynn danced their way through lunch together. Two new friends!
We rented a house we found on Vacation Rental By Owner, a website we’ve used to find rentals in Maine, Florida, and Virginia. We’ve loved every place!
New Years Eve on the beach. Far different than any I’ve ever experienced.
After the kids were in bed, Hannah & Luke celebrated at the house while Pete & I headed to downtown Naples. We found a pretty chic restaurant to ring in the new year. About 15 minutes before midnight we noticed everyone was leaving, which we hadn’t expected. Fortunately, we followed them out to discover the streets were filled! It hadn’t occurred to us that people would be outside, but when the weather is in the 70s it makes sense! A few moments before twelve, the lights went dim and everyone began to count down to 2015. Our first activity of the year? Well, after the kiss, of course. Ice cream! We shared a giant cone of Naples Mud Pie, sat on a bench along the buzzing main street, and watched people celebrate for nearly an hour. We loved it.
The next morning, Ella stood for quite a while in the front yard, waving to every person who passed, yelling, “Happy New Year!”
We didn’t go to Florida to meet any Disney princesses this time (perhaps in a few years). Our main goal was to spend as much time at the beach as possible. We did a pretty good job of it.
We spent one morning at the Naples Farmers Market. It was refreshing to see baskets of fresh veggies and rows of blooming flowers.
After the market, we drove south into Everglades National Park.
After an afternoon out on the water near the Everglades, we drove back to Naples to watch the sunset on the beach.
We also drove all over town to find what we had been told was the best key lime pie in the area. It was fairly amazing, especially eating it right along the water.
One morning the guys went fishing while Hannah & I took the kids to the beach.
This is a very happy place. I’m sitting at a picnic table while Pete builds a fire, Sam rests in the camper, and Ella cuts grass with her child-size scissors, which she’s very enthusiastic about. The smell of campfire is one of my absolutely favorite scents. I wish I could trap it in a bottle and open it in my house while I wrap up on a chilly day with a cup of coffee and an enticing book. I know they have candles that attempt to replicate the scent, but we all know it’s just not the same. And I don’t have a wood burning fire place. Instead, I’ll store away the memory of it right now and save it for late fall. Mmmm.
Tuesday we made the short, 45-minute drive to join my parents at one of their favorite state parks. We set up camp and then sat back to relax in the warm, fresh air.
Sam is just the right size to sit in one of Grandpa & Grandpa’s camping chairs. Ella was bursting to share all her newest stories with a captive audience.
We went on a couple hikes, which this guy loves.
Becky and her girls joined us on Wednesday morning and we took a hike out to the lake.
We’ve had campfire meals, hot chocolate, more smores than we can count, and two bee stings. Fortunately they were on me, not the kids. I discovered a hive while playing Frisbee last night. I’m not allergic, so all was okay. This morning we woke to sunny skies and big appetites.
We’re about to pack up and head home. We always wish we could stay longer. We have a date planned tonight before Pete heads into a pretty intense week of work. We’re looking ahead to plan our next camping adventure!
Remember our beloved Beatrice? We introduced her last fall on our previous blog in this post. We had such beautiful dreams for her…remodeling the inside and decorating with vintage Lake Superior decor, painting her exterior powder blue, and pulling her to picturesque camping locations throughout the north. It was something I had dreamed of doing for years, and I was thrilled when we found her for dirt cheap on craigslist.
Alas, our lovely Beatrice was not to be. She sat in storage throughout the long winter and her work was to began in mid-spring. However, when the RV experts had a good look at her, they came back with two options. The first was to rebuild the roof and multiple other parts, with a price take of many thousands of dollars. The other option? Let her rest. In the end, we found a nice home for her with a gentleman who will be using her as a hunting shack. It took me a while to part with the idea of remodeling her. I had pretty fantastic plans and imagined us pulling into a campground and being the talk of the place. We’d roll out our stripped awning and set out our chairs under a string of bare lights. Honestly, letting go of her hurt.
Even with the change of plans, we didn’t want to give up the idea of camping altogether, so we searched craigslist again, and found a perfect little pop-up camper in Minneapolis that fits us beautifully. And guess what? She doesn’t need any work. We immediately brought her home, set her up in the driveway, and camped our first night in her. A week later, we tried her out for real at a wooded, quiet campground only about 30 minutes from home. This little guy has decided he likes camping!
Ella has loved camping, too, introducing herself to every person around us. This girl is all about new adventures.
Camping food always tastes amazing. We did all our cooking on our stove that can be inside or outside. We opted for outside. Maybe that’s what makes it taste so good.
Ella is really into games since turning five, which is a lovely fit for camping. High Ho Cherry-O, anyone?
Her daddy is already teaching her the ways of fire. Look out.
Did I mention that Ella insisted on naming this camper Beatrice as well? She was quite disappointed about not getting to paint this camper, as we had told her we would do with the first Beatrice. After listening to her sadness, I gently asked if she would like to keep the name for the new camper. That somehow made everything okay. And now, after taking Beatrice and Ella on an in-the-woods camping trip, the two have bonded beautifully.
We’ll be out with Beatrice again next week, and this time, we’ll be camping alongside Grandma & Grandpa Scott! We can’t wait!
