Fun-loving, free-spirited mama, wife, and friend with coffee on her shirt and a camera in her hand.

Family Retreat 2020

Road Tripping & Quarantining in Minnesota

It would have been a fantastic family reunion, but instead was a small gathering of close family. The C19 has shut down yet another event in our lives…but the few that came made the most of the bonding time!

We had the KC compound as we were surrounded by socially distanced family from Minnesota and Wisconsin. We represented well.

The Cabin

Then we drove North on I-35 to a small Minnesota town less than 2 hours from the Canadian Border. Isolated. Rustic. Beautiful. A town that is home to about 500 people. It has so much charm and the people are welcoming. We spent 5 days in a family hunting cabin with a bunk house–and an outhouse. It filled up fast but gave us great bonding time. We rode Quads and we took a little dip in the pond. We read books, played games, ran, and we laughed. It was a fantastic retreat.

The North Shore

We spent a day driving up the scenic North Shore. We started out just north of Duluth and traveled as far as the Tettegouche State Park. We stopped along the way to see the Palisade Head (gorgeous views), the Black beach, Split Rock Light House & Gooseberry Falls State Park. This is a fantastic way to spend a day. We got back to camp just in time to put steaks on the grill.

Duluth / Superior WI

We drove into Duluth, and across the border to Superior, WI to get cheese curds! One of my favorite stops. In Duluth we ate lunch on the roof of Grandma’s Saloon & Grill in Canal Park with great views of the bridge. Then walked through Canal Park to shop and watch glass blowing.

We drove across the Aerial Lift Bridge across the Bay to drive Minnesota Avenue as far as we could go, stopping at Park Point Beach for a little fun.

You can’t spend any better time than when you are with family.

I guess the part that means the most to me is still being able to find ways to be together and make memories that will last a lifetime. That means so much now. At the end of this week, the oldest headed back to school and moved into a house she has leased with roommates. It feels like the start of a new chapter. I want to make it my favorite chapter yet.

Adapting to 2020

Every year I look forward to the back-to-school adventures of clothes and supply shopping, sports physicals, dance tryouts and all those enrollment lines..

While I didn’t always love the process I was very happy when that back-to-school day came..we took back to school pictures, we made sack lunches and we hugged goodbye. It has been a ritual for 20 years now.

2018 – Back to school shopping with ALL the kiddos for the last time – in the same car anyway

But this year we are doing things differently.

Because of the COVID shutdown we feel like we need to slow down and let our family come first.

We are enrolling in online K-12 school. Quite a change from the smallish Catholic high school education they have been surrounded by, but this year is altogether different so we are going to roll with it. The oldest is far enough along in her degree program she is living on campus whether classes are virtual or online. The college freshman is probably going to take on-line classes this year–as I have a feeling everyone is going to end up online so we will just bypass all that madness.

This year I just want good enough. I will throw out all my preconceived notions about a new school year, my expectations for them and their grades and just hope that there is forward progress. I don’t expect any awards or certificates. Its 2020. That ship has sailed. Lets just make it through this and hope next year is kinder.

The plan is – TRAVEL USA 2020 QUARANTINE STYLE

learn about our country’s history
LIVE our history
explore our national parks and small towns
see ghost towns
visit churches
climb mountains
drive coastal roads
sleep under the trees
science experiments
family cook-offs
field days
campouts and campfires

Geography ▫️ History ▫️ English ▫️ Social studies ▫️ Math ▫️ Economics ▫️ drama ▫️ astronomy

🔹hopefully we get in a little architecture, marine biology, astronomy & Music therapy🔹

I have enjoyed having the kids home over the last few months so much that I’m not ready to let that go. This may be my way of keeping them close but its also a way to forge a little normalcy into a really chaotic year…and if that means hiking new hills, scouring riverbeds, or eating popcorn and watching Ferris Beuller’s Day Off at 10pm after quizzes and tests then that that’s ok with me.

“Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around once in awhile, you could miss it.” – Ferris Bueller (1986)

To start with I want to spend the first quarter of our school year discovering our local region-its geography and culture mostly. I have spent the last 40 years of my life in this state and I don’t feel like I have seen enough of it. A little research has turned up a lot of fun things we can do in a day. What a great way to start our adventure!

>> https://www.atlasobscura.com/things-to-do/kansas

>> http://www.kansastravel.org/kansaswaterfalls.htm

>> https://ksoutdoors.com/State-Parks

>> https://www.onlyinyourstate.com/kansas/kansas-ghost-towns/

>> https://www.ghosttowns.com/states/ks/ks.html

underground salt museum
Oz Museum
Monument Rocks (a little mini Stonehenge right in our backyard!)
Lindsborg, KS. A Swedish town that we must see.
State parks
Waterfalls
Plains, fields & farms

Are you doing anything different this year? Are you making any changes in your routines or daily lives to accommodate this different normal we have?

Destination Music

Viva Las Vegas 🎲🎭🎶

I love music. Any music. All music.

Music feeds my soul, changes my attitude and takes me to another place altogether.

Music has always taken me places — now I like to follow it to where I really want to go.

Destination concerts! Not only do I get to hear my favorite music from my favorite artists but I get to do it in some pretty cool places. Living in the heartland, every artist doesn’t stop in our city so over the years I’ve gone to them. Some in residence – Like Elton John – and some on their tours throughout the US.

First stop on this tour, it was 2016, and Sir Elton had residency in Las Vegas. We were celebrating 20 years of marriage and who doesn’t want to visit Sin City at least once?! 20 years sure seemed like a good reason.

We stayed a couple extra days to explore the area. We were able to catch a fun cirque du soleil show. We rented a car and drove down to Hoover Dam and the Grand Canyon. Even if you don’t gamble (I never even sat at a table) there is plenty to do.

A few tips on picking out the best city or region to visit:

🔸Attractability. Pick a locale that has something to offer when you are not at the show. Maybe family live nearby, or you can spend the rest of a long weekend relaxing on the beach or exploring the city. Maybe you want to tuck away in the back of the city library with a good book, or do a little shopping at a local outlet mall. My favorite attraction-are there wineries close by?

🔸Affordability. Before you buy tickets to anything make sure you are up for a few days in this city. Hotels and meals are a big part of the cost, but what about side tours-look at trip advisor-or your favorite travel site and find what interests you…then crunch some numbers.

🔸Accessibility. how easy is it to get to the city? To get around the city? Can you drive there? Is it a non-stop flight? Can you stay within walking distance of the venue? Uber has changed the way we do things, but I don’t like to rely on it for events like this, so its nice to be close enough to walk if possible.

A little planning, then you can just sit back and enjoy the music!

But I keep cruising
Can’t stop, won’t stop moving
It’s like I got this music
In my mind, saying it’s gonna be alright
Shake it Off

Road Trips

We grew up in the backseat of our Grandparents’ Suburban and my parents trusty station wagon {who doesn’t have these memories 🥰} heading somewhere across the USA.

Every summer that I can remember they piled us in the car and headed off to some historic, interesting and meaningful places. We loved the car time. Playing games and singing songs. Grandma never shied from belting out words she knew-or not. Grandpa would look over and chuckle. Then he would sing his own off-key words, usually foretelling of our upcoming stop. 🎶Paul Bunyan loves to chop your wood and eat pancakes..🎵 or something of the sort. We always laughed. A lot.

I love Road trips.

Now that I have kids of my own I want to share that with them and really I want to live my parents’ part. It’s my turn to give them the some awesome, adventurous memories to cherish. ♥️

We’ve taken the kids on many road-trips over the years and they really are my favorite memories. I feel like the time in the car is just as important as the sights we see or the tours we take.

It’s a great time to throw in questions to help develop their sense of understanding and help them own their part in the journey.

Ask what was their favorite stop of the day
Ask for their ideas on what to do next.

-give them options when they are younger

-as they age let them come up with their own ideas. You can either vote on what to do Or let each choose one (either one each day or one child per day).

Catch up on our kids’ friends’ lives. (It’s so important to understand their world)

Listen to their interests-what is something new they have tried and liked in the last year

Where they see themselves in 5-10 years. (For the older kids)

For my soon-to-be-college-students its a great time to talk about expectations of child/adults. A much easier conversation in a relaxed environment. Plus the advantage of it not being child-centric..they can all get in on the conversation.

Talk about family history. A great way to connect them to your past as well as the role they have played in your lives and in our world.

Best of all we take time to enjoy the sight of the passing landscapes. It’s a wonderful world we have here, spending time in it will help us appreciate it.

#road trips #roadtrip #familytime

Make America Kind Again

Warning: this is not a political post. It’s a human post.

I feel like we deserve better. I don’t even know when the change was. We were a country of people that worked to help each other; we looked after our neighbors and our family, we didn’t have to say pay it forward-we just did. Help was part of who we were.

I believe the rise of the internet, the predominance of video games and the age of the OC and the Kardashians top the list of things that have made us zombies. We don’t take joy in the beautiful things in life. Instead too many people spend their days watching stupid pranks (think tidepods?!), stealing cars and running from police in a virtual reality world..or lusting after a family of toxic people. Where does that actually get us?

Beyond that though is how we treat each other. My mom always said ‘if you don’t have something nice to say, don’t say anything at all’. Didn’t everybody’s mom say that? I recently heard also…’if you can’t say it with joy and charity don’t share it‘. {pause} Brilliant. Think about why you are saying something. Not just what you are saying. >>It’s not only about the words you choose but the intent you have.

We have lost tolerance in individuality. We are eager to trash someone’s name or identity JUST because they don’t think like we do, either politically or culturally. We find it easy to hide behind a screen name and say whatever we want. Even if we spew out personal attacks and words of hate. We find it easy to leave words of discouragement towards others when we feel like it–whether or not it is warranted…and really-why do we look at what others think and not think for ourselves?

>>Part of the unique value of travel is the opportunity to discover different cultures and the people who live them. How exciting to meet someone in a café halfway around the world and find out that you share something..past achievements, hobbies…etc….yet you still live completely different lives…have different political beliefs….but can get along because really, in the end, it’s the human inside that we meet. Don’t look at people as the shell, but as the whole. ♥️

How can we come together? What is it going to take for the common good to prevail and people to roll up their sleeves and work on making America kind again.

Less judgement. We are ALL struggling to get through this life. We are all special in God’s eyes. We are unique but individual. Embrace that. We really wouldn’t want anything else.
Empathy and compassion for our neighbors
Understanding that we are all entitled to our opinion. I am. You are. They don’t even have to be the same opinion. We can disagree and we can still get along. (maybe an incentive to learn another side where you might discover something new?)
Experience life. Get out and live. Understand nature. Understand different cultures. (I love talking to taxi/Uber drivers..we find out so much about the city and what to do, where to go, what’s worth it, etc….and of them love to tell us stories about their city)
Respect
Common goals
Less name calling
Character-trashing is really cruel and unnecessary.
Support for the less fortunate than myself
Love of everyone and realizing that at the end of the we are all equal in soul and spirit. ♥️

I am sure there are many more things we can do and I would love to hear them.

If you take away nothing else remember this: One small gift of joy can go a long way.

Life in the Fast Lane

I know it’s cliché but I am amazed just how fast time has moved forward. 2018 came and went before I could blink. In the last year we have lived so much–done so much, seen so much, experienced so very much. Considering I turned 50 this year I want to live it all I can!

Carolyn graduated high school & moved to Lawrence in the fall. Rock Chalk♥️💙
Nicole graduated middle school…and had her confirmation into the Catholic faith ⛪
We opened a restaurant! A quaint little Italian place in Bonner springs.
We hosted 3 Barn parties last year! 1)Tom’s dads 80th birthday party in May, 2)the harvest barn party (a church donation we’ve been doing annually), 3)our Halloween Spooktacular. That was quite an undertaking but was a highlight of the year!
Saw a few very fun shows at Kauffman center including Harry Potter & the Prisoner of Azkaban and Back to the Future.
Saw so many fun concerts and shows, including Fleetwood Mac, Hall & Oates, Bob Segar. Awesome 🎶. Then Cirque du soleil CRYSTAL. ✨ magical ✨
I turned 50!
We had our 22nd wedding anniversary
We traveled ✈️🚞🚙⛵️ a lot.

In February Tom and I spent a few days in NOLA with friends. 🎭

In March I drove 5 18-year old girls through Nashville to Destin for a fun-filled spring break….then raced home to get in a car with Nat and her teammate and drive to Indy for the Nike MEQ Volleyball tourney. I put in over 3,000 miles on the road that week, with two-thirds of that behind the wheel. It felt good to be home after all that.

For the summer we spent most weekends at what turns out to be our last summer at the lake house. Fun family time for sure 👩‍👧‍👦👨‍👧‍👧.

Then we rolled up our sleeves and worked all fall to get Billa’s off the ground. What an undertaking it is getting a restaurant business going.

Until-November. That’s when we spent a week sailing around St. Maarten, St. Barth and Anguilla 🇦🇮. Plus a few little mostly uninhabited islands near there. We chartered a 7-day cruise with Tradewinds on a 52′ catamaran named Philia.

A couple weeks later we attended a business function in Tampa, Florida before relaxing in Clearwater beach for the rest of the weekend.

Then to end the year on a high we met the rest of the family in Wichita for a little “family retreat” thanksgiving weekend. We always love those.

I can’t complain about our year, but I’m ready to catch my breath.

Hello 2019

The highlight of 2018: Here are a few of my favorite Caribbean pics…a little bit of peacefulness.

The sunsets were fantastic.

We sailed through a storm on our first afternoon at sea. That was an experience we won’t soon forget. I swear some of the waves were 10′ around us. Not sure how they didn’t crash over the rails!

I love the culture of the islands. The people are so friendly and welcoming…they go out of their way in kindness.

The islands are still showing signs of Irma. Luckily, you can tell they will not let that fact deter their welcoming spirit! Go if you can. Visit. Spend time. Take in the culture. You won’t be sorry.

There is so much rebuilding to do.

St Maarten was very impressive. With all the hurricane aftermath, it is alive! It is colorful! It will take your breath away.

The airport runway into St Barth…it looks just a little small for me. The nice thing is you can come in by ferry too.

Beautiful islands dot the sea around St. Maarten. There are some that are mostly uninhabited, only hermit crabs claim residence…allowing visitors like us to come to swim, hike, climb, or just laze about for an afternoon.

this week most definitely was not in the fast lane. It was perfect! By and far the best year yet! Now I’m ready for the next 50. 🥂

Monsterous month

October is one of my favorite months for sure.

I love the changing of the leaves, the smell of fall burning, the cooler days, bbqs and bonfires, even Halloween 🎃. Maybe especially Halloween 👻

It’s also a very busy month for this family of 6. The kids finish cross country, school volleyball, they start basketball, club volleyball league starts back up, cheer classes go from one night to two, high school football games go on. Banquets and parties most weekends. Chili cook-offs. Boy I am tired just thinking about this last couple months.

Those last precious few weekends st the lake.

We need wood cut we need yard mowed and leaves raked.

But we’re having a party! And I’m so excited.

I love dressing up for Halloween.

I love ghoulish decorations. Haunted. Zombie-ish.

Halloween music and games….not so much the really scary movies though. Eek!

I love hosting friends and family for a good time.

This year I had fun making decorations for the barn. ☠️

Fluffy—gone but he is not forgotten

So, how much later and we finally made it! What a great party. Fun. Fun.

French markets and cafes🇫🇷

Two of my favorite things.

There are few things that can make us forget our troubles and get lost in an adventure. These are it for me. I love to travel, I love to explore different cultures and I love to see the beauty of this world.

That passion for travel has brought me to Paris twice. We ventured here in April, 2012; then again in September 2017. Both trips were amazing, and very different.

One thing was the same about both, though, and probably one of my favorite parts.

The open air market on Avenue Woodrow Wilson .

❤️❤️❤️

Fresh olives, breads, cheeses, salami, jams, crackers, yogurt and fresh fruits
We found some fresh-baked rotisserie chicken that was so good..and we snacked on it along with 🔺 all the above while we were in Paris. We took it out with us and ate in parks with the pigeons. We snacked on a park bench overlooking the city, we even snacked on the banks of the river Seine.
Wine 🍷 that is affordable!
Fresh tasting seafood. We have had both scallops and fresh shrimp. We have bought fresh and created a lovely and fun-filled dinner in the apartment. While I like to try the local restaurants, there’s something pretty special about preparing and sharing a meal together in a foreign city 😍.
Fresh flowers 💐

The activity on avenue Woodrow Wilson is amazing to be part of and a great way to start your day in Paris. It’s electric and an awesome way to enjoy the vibrancy of the city and its people. I recommend finding the city’s open-air markets wherever you go. They infuse the energy of the city with the fresh produce and goods of the community. You learn so much about the culture. A great tourist destination or local haunt, the best part of any city.
I found one of my favorite silk scarves at the market this year. Local vendors of many kinds of art craft, good-quality and reasonable prices. Win!
Made fresh crepes. We made ours savory. Very good 👍🏻.

It’s a place that warms the soul. I like to enjoy the smells, the sounds of the market. It’s reassuring…I’m in the big city but I’m at home in my small Midwest town. It’s a treasure.

🇫🇷

The cafes are abundant in Paris. After a long day of sightseeing, it’s a fantastic way to sit back and take it all in-the days events and the current state of the city. I especially enjoy dusk as everyone is hustling from one place to the next.

A breath of fresh air!

On having the heart of a child

It’s tough being an adult.

I’ve been doing it for..many years. On the calendar it says my age is 48. In my heart i feel like I am 13.

I wish my mind could understand that because it really wants me to be 48.

It wants me to pay the bills–on time!

It wants me to wash all the towels. Every week.

It wants me to get all my little ones to all of their many activities. Every day.

Oh responsibilities!

My heart wants to..

..run through the rain singing Beautiful Day.

..stuff my pockets full of the pretty rocks I see.

..gather fireflies in a jar and watch them sparkle.

..lay in the hammock all afternoon daydreaming of the life I might have.

I want to balance these two me’s but inevitably the adult me wins.

Why do I feel like the weight of the world is on my shoulders. It’s heavy. It’s hard. It seems unforgiving.

🔹I have been mom to 4 pretty awesome kids for almost 18 years now. The oldest is a senior in high school. The youngest is a 7th grader. There is one boy and three girls. I love being a mom. It’s truly the best thing that has happened to me.

🔹I fully believe that the sacrifice I have made will come back to me two-fold. I don’t have one regret.

🔹I do everything I do so that my kids can be kids as long as possible. I want them to enjoy the world the way I have. I want them to be carefree and just be a young! Soon enough they will have real-life responsibilities.

In the end though, I hold onto these words: life is too short to not be happy. So, finding happiness in the place I am is so important. How can I do that?

It’s a real struggle. I want something different than the outward me can have right now.

My thoughts turn to a man who was so amazing in my life;

🔸He spread love and compassion. He showed me that boys can be respectful and kind.

🔸he served in WWII, he was a radio engineer who saw into the future. He challenged himself. He taught me that hard work can get you everywhere.

🔸he was a great father and grandfather. Family was his thing. Countless camping adventures we took, spending our summers on the road with he and grandma. Lots of late-night card games while enjoying his favorite-root beer floats.

🔸He cherished his bride. He was by her side as she grew weaker…he didn’t waver.

He was my grandpa. I love him and I respect him. I want to emulate him. I want to be passionate and unwavering in my love..but yet I’m finding it hard to let myself go. To love without boundaries.

🔺That’s me and my Grandpa ♥️✨

Now I ask myself-am I living the life I should be? How do I know the answer?

I wait 🙏🏼

The heart of a child. I’m in love. 😍

One day at a time..

Taking time to re-examine what the heck happened to my life…I still don’t have any more insight than I did a year ago.

One year ago. So much can change in a year, and life has a funny way of changing things. Forcing you to change..to change your belief, to change your habits. Your soul.

What happens next? Where do you go? What do you do? How do you know where you should be? I have so many questions.

I’ve never really asked myself these questions before, but this last year, after all the loss, I ask quite a bit. In a span of about 6 months…I endured the loss of a close friend, then just 3 weeks later MY MOM, soon after that an old and dear friend, at thanksgiving another good friends mother passed, and my daughter lost a good friend in an auto accident right before Christmas. That’s a lot of loss. In 6 months.

I’m not sure I really want to know where I am going.

I am not sure I want to look back on where I came from.

I ache to have all those moments back. To move forward on a different path, to in some way recreate and change the reality it is to make it the way it could have been. To what I really want it to be.

I miss my family. I miss my friends.

There is never enough time.

🔸🔸🔸🔸🔸

how I felt…..Waves crashing. Deep. Dark. Tormented. Wandering aimlessly. Wandering hopelessly.

Then I made pie 👩🏼‍🍳. And I feel like I can take the challenge on. OK, it’s not really that easy. But I have to push on. My foggy brain can’t settle anywhere it just weaves in and out…stories, memories, pictures. Sometimes i feel loving and nostalgic when they pop up, other times I cry. I cry for the love I miss, the soul not here, the ear not there, or the wisdom I relied on.

I love baking, gardening, do it yourself. I love watching my kids sports, their dance recitals, debate tournaments, just spending time with my family makes me happy. (Sometimes by the end of the day though…I’m like…it’s mom time with a glass of wine)

I love taking pictures!! My camera is always close.

We love to travel. every chance we get we pack our bags and head to another place. i love to explore–monuments, libraries, museums, national parks, cultures. its an amazing world out there!

So, hey it’s cMarie.

Married mom of 4.

Living in a sort of small town suburb…but my heart is really in the big-city lights.

i have a lot to say…I think I chose to start today because I need to start looking forward again. Look at the flowers. Play in the sand. Come get away with me and see the world.