The football game was all about my boys, the light festival was for all of us, but the Desert Botanical Garden was my Christmas gift. Although as it turned out, we all loved it. Our Botanical Garden has a reciprocal agreement with this garden, so we only had to pay admission for one of us….
Category: family
Christmas in the Desert
This was the view from the plane over Arizona — a trip that was our family Christmas gift. It was last-minute, very brief and it’s a long story, but what an amazing time! Here is the reason we chose Phoenix: my oldest son is a Rams fan; my youngest fan is a Cardinals fan and…
Memories on display
I put up the tree this year. This sounds like such a routine holiday accomplishment, but it was a big hurdle for me. Last year, I couldn’t manage to pull it off. It was my first Christmas season without my kids at home and I was struggling with the transition. I couldn’t figure out the…
Urban Bourbon (and More)
“We will sing one song for the old Kentucky home, for the old Kentucky home far away.” I’ve been a little slow getting things posted lately, but I had a few wonderful weekends in October that I wanted to share. First up: a Kentucky adventure with my oldest son. Always my gracious running buddy, he…
Catching Up
Just now posting some photos from a couple of weekends ago from when my sister and I visited the National Churchill Memorial and a little art fair in downtown Fulton. This huge random pumpkin cracked me up on the way to the art fair. Looked like he was keeping an eye on the Farmers Market….
That Was Quick.
How much fun was that?! I had my youngest home this weekend. I took Friday off and we hit the ground running. But just like that, it’s over. Highlights included “Sunken Cities: Egypt’s Lost Worlds” and a bit of wandering around at the art museum… And our fourth time seeing U2 together (first time here…
Cup of Gratitude
“When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty, my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup.” Now that both of my kids are living in different states and have obligations there, the holidays just became a little more complicated. My youngest couldn’t make it home due to his work and…
Return Tickets
“We take photos as a return ticket to a moment otherwise gone.” I’d posted a few days ago about the half marathon Drew and I completed in Savannah last weekend, but I didn’t post the other scenes from my Southern adventure. If photos are indeed a return ticket to past adventures, I’m sure glad to…
Boom
“No matter how slow you go, you’re still lapping everyone on the couch.” This weekend brought an adventure to see my older son in his new home state of Georgia. A few months ago, he had the idea of running the Savannah Rock and Roll half marathon together. Er, well, we would participate in the same…
Big Birthday
“If I didn’t have you as my mom, I’d choose you as my friend.” Earlier this week, I got to spend a day with my mom to celebrate her birthday. Perfect weather, favorite foods and places, and the best company. Totally fitting for a big birthday. Here are a few photos from time spent at…
Oregon Adventure – Part I
“…and I think to myself what a wonderful world.” – Bob Thiele In two weeks, I’ve slept in three time zones, seen mountains, rivers, desert, volcanoes, ocean, fields of lava, and painted hills. Truth be told, I’m having a tough time condensing it into a blog post. I’ve decided to split it up, but I’m…
Oregon Adventure, Part II
And the reflections on our Oregon Adventure continue. Smith Rock State Park Welcome to the birthplace of American sport climbing — and apparently one of my greatest fears. Yes, we trekked to the top of this thing. This gives you an idea of where we started. And here’s where we ended up. Suffice it to…
Oregon Adventure, Part III
I thought this spot deserved a solo post. Painted Hills – John Day Fossil Beds National Monument “When you travel to the Painted Hills, you can see millions of years of history revealed in the layers of mountains of earth, one color at a time. The hills get their name from the delicately colored stratifications…
A New Adventure
“One way to make the most out of life is to look upon it as an adventure.” At the close of our Oregon trip, we put Tanner on a plane back to his new graduate assistant position in Texas and went home for a day. Then we packed up the car and headed to Drew’s…
Garden of Glass at Night
For the first time since Christmas, I have my family together. We spent our first full evening at the Botanical Garden with Tanner’s girlfriend and my Little Sister for the Garden of Glass at Night. Before checking out the glass, however, we wandered around the Garden grounds as the sun went down. I’d somehow forgotten…
Change is Good
This weekend brought the GO! St. Louis Marathon Weekend to our house. And if I could describe it in one word, it would be…different. Not bad different. Just different. For starters, and most obviously, the start and finish points physically changed from the Union Station area on Market Street to directly under the Arch. It…
I Saw That.
To the mom in the grocery store produce section with the toddlers in nuclear meltdown mode: I saw the look you gave me. The anxiousness. The embarrassment. The fear that I was annoyed or judging you, your children, or the impressive volume and endurance of their shrieking. To you, I say…not a chance. Oh, mom, I…
Big Apple Birthday
“One belongs to New York instantly. One belongs to it as much in five minutes as in five years.” – Thomas Wolfe Today I recovered from celebrating my birthday in New York City. I only took photos with my iPhone, so I didn’t have as many pictures to comb through. What I loved most about this trip,…
Let Your Heart Be Light
Our annual trip to the Way of Lights at Our Lady of the Snows looked and felt a little different this year. Our car was a little more crowded with some new faces. But that’s the great thing about love — the more we give, the more we have. The circle can always be expanded. New…
Somewhere Between Darn Good and Dumpster Fire
“For last year’s words belong to last year’s language, and next year’s words await another voice.” – T.S. Eliot I’m currently sitting in the hospital waiting room for my youngest’s marathon MRI session to end. Rather than stew for hours in fear and anxiety, I’m opting to put together my annual year-end review post. Honestly,…
Pictures of My Loved Ones…Revisited
When my aunt passed away earlier this year, I’d posted a few times about going through boxes upon boxes of old family photos. It was a fascinating, emotional journey. This image of my grampa’s photo envelope still pulls at my heart. But something interesting happened when I posted these two portraits on Facebook on National Grandparents…
Tree Skirts and Santa Shirts
When I glanced at our Christmas tree this morning, I noticed that our new tree skirt appeared to be in a ball under the branches. Upon closer inspection, I realized our Violet was that “ball” and our skirt was just fine. It was just hard to tell where the skirt ended and the cat began….
My Little Chapel
“Maybe Christmas doesn’t come from a store. Maybe Christmas perhaps, means a little bit more.” – The Grinch I don’t have our tree up yet, but I do have our newest little decoration up in the house. And no, it didn’t come from a store. And it means a whole lot more. Isn’t it the…
Center for Advanced Gratitude
“Let go or be dragged.” – Zen Proverb Recently I read a column by Judy Woodruff that knocked me on my rear. It was called “I was my husband’s caregiver as he was dying of cancer. It was the best seven months of my life.” The title alone was a hook. Those were the best months…
Music and Memory
Yesterday during my run, I heard notes from a saxophone lift above the usual whistles, hollering, and grunting of the high school football field. At first I wondered if the band was rehearsing on the track. But as I passed by, I noticed this young musician practicing on his saxophone on the bleachers. Surprised, I…
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