Raleigh, NC: My next trip is in early October! Some girlfriends and I are heading to Raleigh, North Carolina to see Post Malone which happens to be around my 38th birthday so it's the perfect excuse to celebrate. I will fly back on the 7th and on the 8th will get back on a plane to California for work. I will also be seeing Posty in Austin on October 26th because we jumped the gun and thought he wasn't touring in Texas...oh well, I get to see him twice! 

New Braunfels: Our next family trip will be a weekend in New Braunfels to attend Wurstfest and to visit a fun new-to-us property, Stay Fernweh. The last time I attended this festival I was pregnant with my twins, Turner was 3 years old and we had a German host daughter. We took her because we wanted her to experience a little bit of home! I'm most excited for the German food and polka music. 

Red River, NM: We'll be driving to Red River, New Mexico the day after Christmas to ski for a week with friends. If you know me you know I LOATHE road trips with kids, but I'm planning on breaking up the 13 hour drive with a hotel stay somewhere along the way. Our last ski trip was in 2022 when we visited Red Lodge, Montana (travel guide here). We've also skied Breckenridge, Angel Fire, and this will be our 2nd time to Red River.  It's a great family-friendly and affordable ski town! 

Maine: I've already got the week picked out when my kids will be going to overnight summer camp so during that week Alex and I plan on going on a trip. Our kidless vacation to Utah this past summer was everything I imagined (read my travel guide here)! I love the east coast but have only explored Boston/Cape Cod so I'm really excited to visit Maine. I have no idea where to stay but I know we want to spend some time at Acadia National Park. The perfect couples trip for me = good food, adventure and relaxation. If you have any recommendations please send them my way!

I've got 3 1/2 months left of my 24 in 24 shopping challenge and I've already hit 20 items. That leaves me with just 4 items to buy in 2024 and fall is my kryptonite! The jackets, the vests, the boots...I want ALL the things! It also doesn't help we are taking family photos in November, I'm attending 3 concerts, and holiday parties are approaching. 

Here's what I've bought recently:

Embroidered Maxi Dress (from a local boutique for family photos)

I've got my eyes on a few things from Sezane, and I'm loving sherpa vests and leopard jeans/skirts. 

I have SO much to say here but overall our family unit is doing wonderful! We obviously have our stressful days like any family, but overall I'm filled with gratefulness for our health and this fun time in our lives. It's really everything I've dreamed of. 

Turner is loving middle school, and is living for his athletic and karate classes.  Every day I feel like there is a life lesson to work through, and he's still at the age where he wants to listen to me and soaks up any information and stories I share. Middle school is such an important time in a child's life, and I'm grateful to share what I've learned via my Christian faith and emotional health work to positively impact Turner. I took him and some friends to a middle school football game and he wanted to hold my hand. I'm savoring those moments because I know soon he will be embarrassed by his old mom who loves to dance and sing in front of his friends. 

He is playing rec soccer and playing up with 7th and 8th graders. It's hilarious to watch him on the field with his teammates and opponents because he's at least a foot or more shorter than everyone. He hasn't played in a year but that didn't stop him from scoring 5 goals in his first game. The only downside is his practices are from 7:30-9pm which makes for longer nights, but I do enjoy walking during that time and listening to music or podcasts. In the spring he will likely play lacrosse. He doesn't have a cell phone, and honestly the lessons he's learned from not having have been wonderful. Yes, it can make coordination a bit harder, but the pros of not having one FAR outweighs the cons. What I'm seeing the most is the drama that ensues around group texts. Turner has made multiple comments about how he loves not having to be involved in it because he doesn't have a phone. My goal is to hold off until 7th but ideally 8th grade to get him a dumb phone that has no internet browser, no camera, just call and text functions. He never asks for one so that is very helpful. I have a feeling that will be different with my daughter, but I'm trying to combat that by talking often about our family values and why Turner doesn't have one. I may be strict when it comes to technology but I give my children lots of freedom in the outside world! 

Whitney and Walt are in separate 3rd grade classes this year by accident, but it ended up working out perfectly with their teacher pairings and personalities. Whitney takes a tumbling class once a week, and Walt will be starting jiu jitsu very soon! I intentionally didn't sign either one of them up for soccer or any team sports that had weekend games because I simply wanted a slower season of life. Now on the weekends our only obligation is Turner's ONE soccer game, and I don't feel spread thin trying to go from game to game. Another reason we chose rec soccer vs. select soccer is because I didn't want to have tournament play. 

We had such a fun summer but towards the end it was getting very difficult with my little one with ADHD. I thought putting my kids in different camps every week would be fun, because they have complained about the local rec summer camp being too boring. My plan backfired and my child spiraled. They needed consistency and without it their mood and behavior was dramatically affected and it was impacting the entire family unit. I cried so many tears desperate for answers, and also worrying about their future. In that desperation I decided to take them off their current medication. I noticed mood was the biggest issue, and I will say they have been much happier since starting school. Thankfully they have been doing good in class, and outside of home we've seen a difference so at this point we are continuing the natural supplement route and still meet with our psychologist. They also started equine therapy once a week, and I'm so thankful for the opportunity! It's not cheap but it's worth it. 

I listened to this podcast a month or so ago and I CAN'T stop thinking about it! Politics aside because the host is controversial, the podcast topic and speakers, Dr. Casey Mean and Calley Means are worth the listen. Because of what I've learned and continue to research I'm trying to make drastic changes to my family's diet. Because of ADHD I've always been weary of giving my kids any artificial dyes, but now I'm drastically trying to limit the amount of enriched flour, seed oils and types of sugar they consume. It can feel very overwhelming, but my advice is to start small. I've made lots of healthy switches in the home, and I think my kids are finally getting used to the new food. I try my hardest to not buy packaged food for snacks, and load up on fruit and vegetable options at the grocery store. We're trying to cook at home more and avoid fast food. I also try to remove all artificial fragrances from my home. No scented anything including candles, shampoos, hand soaps, markers, makeup, etc. I love following Branch Basics to learn about alternative options. Her story alone is worth a listen as well!  

If you've followed me for a while you know I have struggled with chronic lower back pain for almost 2 years. After spending thousands on physical therapy, massage therapy, ortho appointments, MRIs and more I'm finally not in pain. This summer I took an unwanted break from working out due to my kid's schedules, but it was what my body needed to heal. I also stopped stretching every night. For the first time I started rolling out of bed and wasn't in pain. It's life changing, and I'm very thankful. I have started Orange Theory back up again (I only do the strength training classes now), and I'm going to see how my body does. I try to take a long morning walk a few times a week, and then I lift weights in my family room.