Blog Archives

Weekend Camping Menu

A Weekend Camping Menu

We were able to sneak away this past weekend and get some great camping and hiking in. I adore camping with my family. Something about (mostly) living outside gets me in touch with what matters again, and allows me to slow my ever-growing anxiety and stress level. If you’ve camped before,

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Smith Mountain Lake, VA

Things to do at Smith Mountain Lake, VA

As you may know from our Instagram feed, we love Smith Mountain Lake, Virginia. It has such a special place in our hearts and something about it is magical for us. Smith Mountain Lake is a large man-made lake (the largest lake contained entirely within Virginia, according to Wikipedia) nestled

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Books that will change your life

10 Books That Will Help You Change Your Life

In the process of completing my 200 hr yoga teacher training, I have read a LOT of self-help books. Truthfully, I kind of had a thing for them before yoga teacher training (see this post here for ways to unstuck yourself). Self-help books have a bad rep, but I think

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Tips for attending a work conference

How to Attend (and rock!) a Work Conference Solo

As part of my new job, I have been on the road again (after a long break) attending work conferences. I love this. I love seeing new places and I am a solid ENFJ. However, these conferences are also tiring, especially as I am attending as the solo representative of

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Family Friday Five: The Odyssey, Marriage Therapy and more

I can’t believe I finally get to say HAPPY WEEKEND! It’s been a full-on wild ride this past week. A skateboard accident where a child’s teeth met with the pavement (the pavement won, so we have some significant dental work coming up) and school revving up… it’s been nonstop. And

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The Vanishing American Adult

How to be an Adult: On The Vanishing American Adult

As the new school year kicks into gear, my thoughts turn to education, learning, and how best to serve my kids’ needs. Their schooling is constantly on my mind – Are they in the right classroom/school? Are they learning the right things? Are they advancing well enough? Yet this pressure

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Roatan Honduras

Places & Tips for a Vacation in Roatan, Honduras

Years ago, Mr. Family Trip and I were able to sneak away for a long weekend (thanks to the grandparents!). But we were stumped on where to go. We yearned for some place with a new-to-us culture; a new stamp for our passport; warm, tropical breezes; and also feasible to

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Vail Colorado Family Trip

A Family Trip to Vail, Colorado

It seems bizarre writing about our family’s snow-filled trip to wintry wonderful Vail, Colorado earlier this year when I am currently sweating and in flip flops. But this popular destination books quick, so if you are thinking of going, then let’s get on it! Before you hit “reserve” on that

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Internet Safety and Screen Time Limits for Kids

Internet Safety (& Balance) For Kids

This post is a labor of love, a personal research project months (years) in the making. This was almost two posts but, really, Internet safety and screen-time balance for kids are two topics intricately linked. We have kids who love devices – WE love our devices. They are powerful and

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Working Out Every Day

Does Self-Care Mean Working Out MORE? (I tried it.)

I know self-care is important. One of the things modern-day parenting pounds into us is that we have to look out for ourselves, to treat our spirits like fragile baby birds. Nurture. By listening to our inner hearts and tending to them we can be better parents, spouses, and friends.

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RV Rental with RV Share

Renting an RV Through RV Share

If your parenting is trending like ours (and like the rest of the citizenry obsessed with that bewitching little Marie Kondo), you are currently encouraging “experiences” over “stuff,” especially when it comes to gifting. So when our youngest asked to spend the night in an RV for his birthday, we

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What happened when I did 108 Sun Salutations

What I Learned When I Did 108 Sun Salutations

In retrospect, I was pretty dumb. I walked into the yoga studio, willingly and blindly skipping into a class that promised 108 sun salutations. “Come Renew and Refresh Your Spirit in This Ancient Practice!” The signs all made me promises. I was clearly naive. The biggest piece of me treated this

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Why is a Weekend Alone So Hard?

As a busy mom, I am pretty good at complaining. One complaint I have perfected: “All I want is to be completely alone, do whatever I want when I want, without anyone asking me for anything.” Sound familiar? But it turns out that when the rubber hits the road, it

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tips on how to journal daily

The Benefits of Journaling Every Day

There has been a lot (a TON) going on behind the scenes in my life right now. And, for our family’s sake and to try to maintain our sanity, we’ve maintained a careful relationship with social media and the Internet. But that’s hard because one of the primary ways I

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Why Pink Hair?

Ed. Note: this post was written last year. The pink hair is gone, life is moving forward, but if you are wondering why ladies are popping up with colored hair lately, read on. Look, the reason why Gilmore Girls is brilliant is not because of the quick, witty dialogue. Its

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The Fringe Hours Book Review

On The Fringe Hours: Having it all.

*Please note that there are affiliate links in this post. Thanks for your support!* This book captured, in a beautifully bound 249-page nutshell, my sincerest struggle since becoming a mother: what do I make time for? When time is such a rare commodity, and the way time is defined has so

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5 Things We Learned in January

Life steams onward, with kids and ongoing demands and always the next sports practice. It can be challenging to stop and reflect. It seems self-indulgent to take time once a month to dig in to what is working and what is not. BUT, unless we slow down and do this,

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North Carolina State Parks Youth Programs

Three Ways for Families to Enjoy NC State Parks

It is hard living at the beach during the winter (I know, you are weeping for us). But, truthfully, we are a family that loves to be outside. When the weather is frigid, the frothy sea is impossible. Luckily, even in the middle of a terrible federal government shutdown, we

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ways to work out at home

How to Workout Without a Gym

Ah yes, the New Year’s Resolution. How many of us picked “health” and “work out more” as 2019 resolutions? (I raised my hand, too.) It is no secret, though, that even with beginning-of-the-year incentives, gym membership can be expensive. While I found a secret way to save money on gym

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10 Best Kids Books 2018

The Best Books Our Kids Read in 2018

When I listed my favorite books in 2018, I looked at my children quietly reading next to me and thought. it would be fun to ask them THEIR favorite books in 2018. What they shared was interesting. I honestly thought it would skew very heavily to “boy” reads. But it

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The Best Books I Read in 2018

Reading is an integral part of life in our home. One of my favorite T-shirts says “The Book is Always Better” – I wear it as often as I can. And I can ALWAYS talk books. Always. I read a whopping 54 books this year. (Mr. Family Trip is still

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Things We've Learned Family Lessons

Things We’ve Learned {December 2018 Edition}

I went to yoga yesterday morning reluctantly. I had powered through work on my new passion project, and while I can dream forward I felt concern for how newborn and tender it is. I haven’t been sleeping well, indulging in 3:00 a.m. scenes of “I wish I had said,” or

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Cultivate an Attitude of Gratitude in Children

How to Establish an Attitude of Gratitude in Kids

It is Thanksgiving week. Naturally, in addition to how to cook the turkey and whether it is “stuffing” or “dressing,” our thoughts turn to gratitude – the giving of thanks. Did you know that gratitude has to be cultivated? I am not sure I know many human beings born with an

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North Carolina Balloon Festival

At The North Carolina Balloon Festival

The tale of our time at the North Carolina hot air balloon festival (called the Carolina BalloonFest) is really a tale of expectations – those lost and those surprisingly exceeded. If expectations could soar, mine were in outer space. And lofty dreams are tough to fulfill when they ride on

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How to help during a natural disaster

Ways to Help During a Natural Disaster

As the world seems to blaze and blow, it starts to hurt the heart. There is so much need and so much devastation lately. The number of natural disasters has steadily gone up since 1975, peaking with over 500 reported natural disasters in 2000. (source) As I shared in our

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freelance mom writer

Finding (& Following) Your Path: Ways to Change

Remember my last post, the one where I shared gratitude and Family Friday Five links? No? Probably not because IT WAS SO LONG AGO. But here I am, months later, and you all are still clicking (thanks) and I am still thinking (fortunately). And I find myself pulled back to

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Guide to Meal Planning

The (real mom’s) Guide to Meal Planning

Meal planning is all the rage. And it should be. Sitting down for 30 minutes to an hour once a week can save a lot of money (for more budget tips, visit our series), headache, stress, and calories. But (Mrs. Family Trip here) it feels like so much of the

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Love Your Life Not Theirs Budget Book

Family Friday Five: Parks, Budgets, Mommy’s Time Out & more

There are so many wonderful things out there to help families, kids, and parents live a healthy, satisfying life. Here’s what’s been motivating us this week…. Our Family Friday Five Roundup includes: Please note there are some Amazon affiliate links below. This means that if you click, we see a

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School Lunch and Snack Ideas for Kids

Easy Back to School Lunch and Snack Ideas for Kids

We’re engaged in a mighty effort here to get back to reasonable spending after a lazy summer month of too much (costly) fun. And one of the quickest ways to save is by bringing all food in-house. We pack our kids’ lunches and snacks for school every day and have

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How to Save Money on Gym Membership

A Secret Way to Save Money on a Gym Membership

When I (mom) quit my job to tend to kids, our household had to scale back. But one thing I knew I couldn’t let go was my gym membership. I have met so many great friends there, the community is full of amazing people, and it has shaped my life

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Kim Bland Mom Missionary

Meet Kim Bland: Being a Mom Missionary

Kim was in college and had never been on a mission trip in her life when she came home for break and told her family that she was going to be a missionary. While it may have surprised her parents, Kim knew in heart she was going to serve. For

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Wanderlust Festival Snowshoe Review

Inside the Wanderlust Festival Snowshoe

I stumbled on the Wanderlust Festival in Snowshoe, West Virginia quite by accident. Late one night, scrolling through Instagram, something beautiful and yogic caught my attention and by a slew of clicks, I discovered the Wanderlust company. I turn 40 this year and, while not bemoaning the loss of my

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AWESOME Family Summer System

Our AWESOME Family Summer System

There are so many ways to make summer successful for the family. From packing the perfect family pool bag to keeping their minds engaged with podcasts and puzzles, we work hard around here to shape a childhood summer in a way we love. But, then, of course, those kiddos can

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Cathedral of Our Lady Antwerp Belgium

Visiting Antwerp, Belgium

It’s funny how we’ve shared here Brussels and Bruges, what we saw and what we learned, but haven’t yet shared our experiences visiting Antwerp, Belgium. In truth, Antwerp, Belgium was the entire reason for the trip! “Dad” had a business trip there, so “Mom” (me) went along, able to use

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Gin Gimlet Recipe

Classic Cocktail Hour: The Gin Gimlet

Summer days = slow days watching our children chase waters toys around the pool and refreshing cocktails in the backyard at night.  We enjoy a cocktail hour around this house. It is an opportunity to slow down at the end of a day, reconnect, and occasionally exercise some creativity by

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Tips to Seeing an Airshow

We adore going to airshows. Grandpa was a Navy pilot and Uncle was in the Air Force, so perhaps it is in our DNA. But we try to go to an airshow once a summer. Whether you are watching the Thunderbirds or the Blue Angels, the adrenaline rush from the

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