A family adventure to the Milwaukee zoo!

Tom took some time off (the days he previously asked for for the family vacation that I screwed up) and we decided to go to the zoo!

The Lego dinosaur exhibit! (For an extra $3pp of course!)

This was life size! It was like 5′ long!

Also life size!

If you look closely in the foreground you’ll see a bloody stump of a leg.

Cool Lego ferns in stone.

It was really hard to get me and the dino in the same lighting to see us both, so here are two versions.

Katie could fit inside one dino footprint.

Dino family!

Katie always wants to get her face painted so we finally agreed.

So then we offered it to Owen but he opted for a tattoo!

So while the kids were getting this done, we decided to grab a snack—so Tom walked to get himself a beer and some loaded fries for us to share. Well, then we came upon more food, so the kids had to make a decision because they were sharing it.

And then we walked some more and HOLY SHIT BEER ON TAP?! Then Tom had to make a decision. 😂

He opted for the Coconut Porter and got me an adult root beer float.

And it was right next door to Ooz, and now the kids wanted food, so… Katie got mac and cheese, Owen got BBQ pork mac and cheese, and we all shared some cheese curds.

Wording gets me.

Full of cheese…

And then we walked past a caricature booth and I decided we had to do it. Tom and I had one done probably 20 years ago and I’ve been wanting to do one with the kids but it’s expensive (like $15 per head). But we decided since we were splurging, why not?

So Tom and I sat down and we obviously couldn’t see what she was doing but she was drawing away. So 15 minutes later when it was time to switch to the kids and we saw what she was drawing…we both looked at each other like (pardon the language but it’s fully deserved) WHAT THE FUCK IS THAT?! (I’ve photoshopped it a bit to make sure you can see her drawings.)

On what planet is that a caricature?! Was she serious? Were we on candid camera? Were we being punked? That thing was hideous. So Tom and I were talking quietly about what we were going to do and I said I was definitely NOT paying for it, but of course it would be awkward to say something. We let her go a few more minutes but then I just told her to stop because that was NOT a caricature and it was NOT what we wanted and we would NOT be paying for it. She was kind of surprised and tried to tell us that it would look different after she put color on it. Sorry, no. We figure maybe she was a face painter (the booth did both) but we were just aghast that she thought what she was doing was fine.

This was the sample hanging up. A real caricature.

So that was a huge waste of time and a big disappointment because I had really wanted one. There were other booths that we had passed but didn’t want to go back and find one. And I am still debating emailing them to let them know about her pathetic attempt.

The zebras cracked me up. They had a huge enclosure but they were waiting at the door—so we guessed that’s how they got fed. I thought they looked like Maggie or the cats waiting for us to feed them. We probably watched them for five minutes and they just stood there waiting.

There’s always money in the banana stand! (Confused?)

And then we let the kids play in the farm area playground and then we were on our way home. We did see animals but they didn’t do anything exciting so no pictures. 😄

Do you open your circle or leave it closed?

I never thought about my situation (being a military spouse) in quite these terms but as soon as I read it I knew it was perfect. 😢

I can’t tell you the number of times that I have tried to get into a circle of women and they just ignored me or barely talked to me. School, sports, work, business–take your pick. They have their friends and their circle and anyone not already in it is not really welcome.

I’m sure they don’t really think that much about some random woman saying something to them or asking a question–and they might answer or chat pleasantly for a minute–but then they go back to their own group. If they even let you in at all. It’s exhausting and annoying and depressing and I get tired of it duty station after duty station.

Which is why when someone actually takes a minute to talk with you and connect with you AND OPENS THE CIRCLE, you have made a friend (or friends) for life.

School is officially over and summer has officially started!!

Had the kids stayed in school, today would have been their first full day of vacation. Against my better judgment, I decided to take them to the pool after we unpacked and ran a few errands. Ugh. WTF was I thinking on the first day of no school when it’s finally 80°? 🤦🏻‍♀️

Too many people. No seats in the shade but lots of shaded seats taken up with bags and towels. The kids didn’t pack a towel for me so I’m sitting on Katie‘s towel on the ground in the shade and ants keep crawling all over me. Am I having fun yet?

I guess this is my repayment for being a good mom?!

And it only took a matter of HOURS for me to be annoyed by the kids. 🙌🏻 What do I win?

They were complaining that we were leaving the pool early. REALLY? After I had told them we weren’t staying long? And after I just took you on a five day vacation to a house WITH AN INDOOR POOL where you got to do whatever you wanted and eat whatever you wanted and play with your cousins then we came home and I TOOK YOU TO THE POOL!! But that’s apparently not good enough. 🤦🏻‍♀️

So I went to Sam’s Club and bought them their summer workbooks. Ha. I’ll show them. 😂

How’s your summer going so far?

Vacation house, Day 4

Filipeks and Coes left super early this morning because they had a long drive and had to be back for work Monday. So that meant it was just the Hudson and Schwalm clans.

Katie was trying to sneak the flower crown on Gramma.

Look at this gorgeous little flower girl. I can feel the hearts breaking already.

They had so much fun with the “breakout box” that they played with it again this morning.

Someone finally got a bath!! I only had my body wash with me but once you turned the jets on it was bubbles galore!!

When Schwlams were leaving it was a bit rainy so we decided to look in the landscaping rocks for Petoskeys…we didn’t think we’d really find any, even though I had already found one. Mom thought it was random luck—like someone tossed one out there. So I went out and proceeded to find one within about two minutes. And then found more! I can find them anywhere!!

And then I found this, which I had no idea what it was. I posted on a Petoskey forum and was told it was a great Rugose Horn Coral colony.

There was also more pool time, of course. But also lots of time playing Peggle with Gramma. 😄

Vacation house, Day 3

Random pics aplenty!

Cousin Gabby made some gorgeous flower crowns.

Kathryn and Izzy tried some lipstick!

Filipeks made an awesome taco bar for lunch and ice cream bar for dessert!!

We spent the afternoon chatting on the deck and then dinner was delicious cheesy shrimp and grits!

And then the annual pics!

Cousins!

The kids, then and now.

Aunt Marie put together an amazing escape room/box for the kids. They had a blast!

Then there was card playing and video games.

And this is why I love technology.

I am on a family vacation in Indiana and for some reason thought about a wine cooler-esque non-alcoholic beverage my cousins and I bought in the late 80s while we were camping. Imagine the exhilaration of being in middle school or early high school, being old enough to not need parental supervision, and walking around a state park campground drinking something that LOOKED adult but wasn’t. Living the dream, right? Feeling all adult and fancy. Like maybe we were getting away with something. 😂

But not one of my stepsiblings could think of what it was. We spent a half hour looking at Google’s suggestions for “1980s and 1990s beverages.” There were a hell of a lot of good memories but NOT what I was looking for.

I then texted my cousins (who I love dearly but rarely text with) and they both IMMEDIATELY got back to me with their ideas!! One who was on a road trip driving up I-75 in Michigan and the other at home elsewhere in Michigan. After a few texts and Google searches on either end, we got it!

What would we have done before the internet and instantaneous communication?! How could I have survived not knowing the answer to that most pressing of questions?! 😂

What is something from your past that you’ve needed to Google or use technology to help answer?

P.S. Bonus points if you remember Sundance or drank it. 🙋🏻‍♀️🙋🏼‍♂️

Vacation house, Day 2

We were sleeping in an awesomely dark and quiet basement room so combined with a late bedtime, we all slept in! I was up at 7:30 (technically 6:30 CST) and just waited for either kid to wake up. Owen finally got up about 8:30! I stayed in bed to enjoy the quiet and when I finally came upstairs, this is where I found Owen.

And I decided to have a fully relaxing no makeup day.

The kids spent most of their day in and out of the pool. Spending time with Uncle Jim was super fun and they even had a cannonball contest!

While the kids were (still) in the pool I got some work done. Not a bad view.

The kids were finally out of the pool and playing hide and seek while we were getting dinner ready. Uncle Marcus and Uncle Jim we trying to confuse Katie as she counted.

The birthday kids!

And tonight was a campfire and sparkler night!

And it was a momentous night—Katie actually asked to go to bed!!!

Vacation house, we are in you.

The kids really wanted to get in the pool the minute we got to the house but I was a mean mom and made them look through the house first and then actually put their suitcases in a bedroom and not just leave them splayed open in the middle of the living room.

Watching intently as I opened the pool cover.

It’s like this pool house knew I was coming.

They might already be in the pool and I might have bought them an inflatable unicorn. 🦄💦

Ahhhhh.

We had a bit of time before everyone else got here. It was quite a steep journey to the water and fire pit.

Dinner tonight was shish kebabs from the Coes. They were delicious!

The last day of 1st and 4th!

This is what happens when you give your 10yo the phone to try and take a pic on their last day of school. 😂

It looks like all smiles and laughs but we parents all know the day is bittersweet as we’re reminded just how quickly time passes and how lightning fast they are growing up. Weren’t they just in diapers a few months ago? Weren’t they just getting on the bus for the first time? Before you know it they’ll be graduating and moving out and getting married. 😭

These are the feelings I’m going to try and remember this summer when they are making me crazy with 1000 snack requests and whines of “I’m bored.” And I’m going to try and take in each moment and relish the fact they’re still actually little kids. 🥰

First and last days of school. The district actually has three more days due to snow days but we had a family reunion vacation planned for months so today is it for them. We also had a Katie outfit change with lots of drama because she’s ALMOST SEVEN and everything is filled with drama. 😂🤦🏻‍♀️

We ran into a dwarf lilac bush!

Today was a good day. We ran into a dwarf lilac bush that had such a strong scent I could smell it across the parking lot. As I got closer I closed my eyes and just stopped and slowly inhaled…and was instantly transported to my Michigan childhood home. It was a warm summer afternoon and I was playing in the front yard with the neighbor kids. The lilac bush was right in the center and was easily twice as tall as I was and probably 20′ around. We’d run circles around that thing trying to catch each other. My mom would cut branches off and bring them in the house so we could smell it all night long—and if we were lucky they’d last another whole day.

Sigh.

My mom still lives there but the lilac bush is long gone…but the memory of it will never fade.

What smells take you back to your childhood?

And thanks to the scissors I carry in my car this time of year…

SeneGence Leader’s Retreat, Day 2

So this is what I’ll look like to meet the CEO. SeneBlue shirt and Purple Reign lips. It’ll work!

Breesy and me.

Just here to meet the CEO of my company and get a personal training with 35 other amazing women. 💙 Of course we had to stop at the sign and all take pics.

We had to drive under the highway to get there!! That was weird.

I guess this is us!

It’s harder than you’d think to get a pic like this without one or more of the 35 others behind you. You can see them reflected in my glasses, though.

After we signed in we were free to roam throughout the ranch. They don’t live there all the time but they do stay there. I loved the cement floors and the fact that it was all decluttered (life goals, right?).

The master bedroom…

And everyone was giddy over the closet. Including me.

Time for training! I may have gotten stuck in the back row.

Group pic before lunch! See, I wasn’t kidding about the blue and leopard!

The whole time we were watching the training, we were watching the workers set up for lunch. Of course it wasn’t just tables…so they literally spent three hours setting up!! And it was gorgeous!

I forgot—aren’t these earrings cute? They were a gift from our CP.

The next step in our journey—headquarters! I laughed at those taking pics in front of the sign but I’m kinda sad now that I didn’t.

Beauty bar!

On the tour, look who I saw on the wall?! My friend Morgan who you’ve seen before on my blog. I texted this to her and she didn’t even know it was up there!

Second round of training!

Back at the main house relaxing poolside. I could learn to love this. And yes, there’s a margarita just out of frame.

The Crown Princess I’ve been mentioning—the lovely Jenna. She’s so cute and tiny I just want to put her in my pocket.

Then we broke out into small training groups for an hour after dinner and then it was back to our house to get in the hot tub.

SeneGence Leaders Retreat, Day 1

So about six months ago I was pulled into a Facebook messenger leaders group with a bunch of other women that are all part of a certain leader’s downline. I was curious about how I was included because I am technically not part of her OFFICIAL downline (so she can’t see any of my statistics) but I was too excited to ask too many questions. We are basically a sounding board for each other and we have the ears of an amazing crown princess (CP) leader. In order to stay in the group (get special trainings, stay in the chat group) we have to keep up our own leadership qualities and our sales. It’s been amazing.

Then we were offered the opportunity to travel to Oklahoma for a personal training by the CEO of our company at her ranch. I debated for a bit (since it was right around the time of my anniversary and that’s always when I have my deep thoughts about what I’m doing going forward)…but I signed up. So here we are. 😀

I’m getting ready to head out in my SeneBlue outfit and leopard bag (the unofficial company print). I can’t believe I have everything I need in this tiny bag—but I refuse to pay to check a damn bag!

This is the look of someone who popped a Xanax this morning because my travel anxiety was out of control. I could feel my heart beating faster and it felt like my insides were rising up into my chest. (Much like I feel when we drive into Chicago.) Not debilitating by any stretch, but not fun. So I decided to be an adult and try and fix it. I hope the pills are still good—they’re from 2014 (2015?) when Tom last deployed. And I’m not sure I even took one back then, so instead of being older and wiser, apparently my thing is older and more anxious.

A sushi lunch at O’Hare because you’re two hours early for your flight.

Feeling somewhat relaxed on the plane.

❌ Con? I forgot my big ass phone charger at my seat and I realized it within five minutes of getting off the plane and they went and checked and it’s gone so someone is now the proud owner of a stolen $50 phone charger. 😡

✅ Pro? My friend was close enough to the airport to stop and get me so I didn’t have to get an Uber.

A few quick pics of the awesome house half of us stayed at.

Stopping to get party supplies!

The last pic of my night. Because me. 😄 (Margarita sidenote: they weren’t the best but it was still a margarita.)

I will say it was a little overwhelming meeting 35 women throughout the night (contrary to what most people think, I am an introvert), but it was an amazing feeling knowing I was hand-picked to be in the Leader’s group and then kept up my sales in order to qualify for this trip! (I also did ask and found out that the Crown Princess asked about me and got my info and personally hand-picked me!!)

Tomorrow, though, is the big day when we have a personal training session with our CEO at her ranch!!! I can’t wait!

I got my hair purple’d.

It was time, y’all. I last got my hair purple’d in November and I was getting tired of the bleached ends. Funny thing is that more than a few people told me they loved the light ends–that it was in style and people paid for that look. But honestly even though it’s from bleach, it reminds me that I’m going gray…and when it’s full on purple I feel younger. And feeling younger is always a good thing–I seem to have more pep in my step and a happier disposition.

What do you do to keep feeling young?

Raise your hand if…

🙋🏻‍♀️Raise your hand if you went to bed early last night. 🛌

🙋🏻‍♀️Keep your hand up if you were then woken up at 11 because you forgot to turn off the Tooth Fairy Reminder alarm. 🦷

🙋🏻‍♀️ Keep your hand up if you were then woken up at midnight because the bedroom door shut by itself and Bella was locked out and crying to get in. 🐈

NOT DONE YET.

🙋🏻‍♀️ Keep your hand up if you were then awoken at 2am by a very loud growling motor noise… Which turned out to be a penguin bubble blower in the MBA tub that magically turned on by itself. 🛁

Is your hand still up? No? Just me? 🤦🏻‍♀️

I am so tired, and I should take a nap, but I rarely do naps. Instead, I put on a few minutes of makeup. 😂

Are you a napper? I wish I was but I’d rather go to sleep at a normal hour tonight.

The best kind of friends?

The ones where you are texting about nothing important at 4:30 on a Sunday and you think it’s such a nice day it would be great to have dinner outside and have a fire and why not invite your friends? And they say great, we’ll bring ribs, corn, and hot dogs—and I say perfect, we have beans and alcohol, see you at 6:30! We did a quick 20-minute pick up so they could get in the house, threw another rack of ribs in the sous vide to heat up, and that was it!

All the kids were super excited and we barely saw them all night! We had fun around the fire, ending the night with a few fireworks and s’mores.

I’m at my summer happy place.

This is what I look like on opening day of pool season when the storms never materialized and you realized it’s 80° and humid and the kids are driving you insane for no good reason so you give them five minutes to get their suits on because the pool closes in two hours and you can’t find your old passes so you have to get new ones before 5:00. 😂

This is why I carry scissors in the car this time of year.

We were on the way home and stopped to snag some more lilacs. These are in our neighborhood between the highway (well, county road I guess) and a private street.

It’s a bad picture because it was starting to rain and it was really windy (see my hair) and we were stopped on the side of the road.

I could literally make a cave in here!

Success! Two colors off two bushes!

Shedding!

Love love love!