Travel Archives - Page 11 of 37 - Enjoying the Small Things

Hit the Road: Family Adventuring on Instagram

December 15, 2015 By Kelle

Growing up, the day after Christmas meant one thing: balling up in a pathetic heap of sadness as I mourned the end of Christmas and fully welcomed post-holiday depression. It didn’t even matter that my birthday came four days later–I took Debbie Downer to the moon. 364 more days to Christmas = the depths of despair. Now that I’m a grown lady, I know that we have some control over our feelings, and that there’s much to be enjoyed in any given day. It also helps that we started a tradition a few years ago of packing our bags and hitting the road for some family adventure post twinkle fest. And that has to be one of my most favorite things in the world–hitting the road and adventuring with my family whether it’s a quick staycation or a long road trip to far off places.

We’ve stashed a lot of memory miles over the years and look forward to the explorations 2016 holds, which brings me to an exciting partnership opportunity I’m thrilled to announce. I’ll be joining some other family adventurers over at Alamo Rent A Car’s Instagram account next year for all the inspiration you need to get out the door and explore with your family. From little trips to nearby cities to bucket list destination vacations, Alamo’s Instagram account will be your travel guide next year, providing adventure inspiration for families–fun photos, packing and travel tips and ideas for making family adventures more meaningful and fun, and a community of explorers who know that it’s less about the destination and more about the journey there.

Whether you’ll be exploring more of your own state next year or hope to travel a little beyond the lines, Alamo’s Instagram is going to make exploring with your family even more fun for you–help you find those adventures and drink every last drop of what they have to offer.

So pull your phone out, follow their feed and get ready to join us as you find your own ways to explore the world with your family and write your own stories of hitting the road.

I call shotgun!

Nobody’s crying after Christmas.

Slough Your Stuff

September 30, 2015 By Kelle

Hellooooo! I’m back from my blog break which included this scene:

And this one:

Claire Bidwell Smith and I hosted our second Spark Retreat which, since I’m typing this waiting for a clay face mask to set in, I’ll translate in beauty terms. At our retreats, we slough our stuff–emotionally exfoliate, if you will, through writing. And then we deep condition the parts of us that don’t always get a lot of attention–through connecting with other women and eating really nourishing food and yoga and meditation and lots of “me toos.” The result is everyone leaves with the reserves filled up–takes them home to their families and their jobs and most important, themselves. (We had a spot open up for our November 5-8 retreat. Email sparkretreats@gmail.com if you’re interested!)

Another result? I’m eating jicama sticks and drinking coconut water right now, deciding on how I’m going to mix the bean sprouts with the bok choy for dinner tonight. That is because our retreat chef not only cooked us the most wonderful meals but inspired us all with his passion for food and health and taking good care of ourselves. I love braiding new inspiration and things I learn into what already works for us which means I’ll still indulge in pizza and I will not feel awful when I reach for a box of macaroni. But I will aim for the good stuff, and I’ll have fun doing it.

Feels good to be home.

Also, tomorrow starts Down Syndrome Awareness Month, and we have a fun way for you to learn more about the hopes of families and opportunities for people with Down syndrome. While post secondary education is one path of many, it can be a powerful tool in bridging the gap between graduating high school and creating a fulfilling life in adulthood for people with Down syndrome. And, it’s a dream many parents assume they have to give up when they are given a diagnosis for their child. We want families to visualize the future they want, and to let those dreams guide their journey. Beginning tomorrow on Ruby’s Rainbow Facebook and Instagram accounts, you can follow the adventures of Ruby and Nella as they head to college. Candid on-campus moments, hilarious captions and fun facts about some of the amazing educational programs currently available to students with intellectual disabilities will be shared as well as perspective from other students, parents and volunteers.

These two have big dreams.

Follow them this month through #rubyandnellagotocollege hashtag.

And now I have no idea what to do with my bok choy. I have some Googling to do.

Happy day.

The Things We Bring Home

July 31, 2015 By Kelle

I’m a dreamer–always have been, always will be. No matter how grounded in reality my feet are, there are these thoughts that still escape as balloons–brightly-colored ones that bob high in the air, sometimes breaking loose and sailing away to God knows where–a balloon carnival.

I brought a bundle of these balloons home from our summer adventures–optimistic thoughts inspired by all the slow mornings we enjoyed and the observations I had time to explore.

I’m going home a better person! I’ll be more organized, more thankful, more attentive. I’ll read more, listen more, savor more, sip my coffee slower. I’ll plant a wildflower garden, dig a fire pit, mail postcards, wear a fluffy white bathrobe every morning (bought the exact same one my dad had at the cottage after falling in love with it). We will explore nature more together, gaze at stars more. I’ll be a better wife, a better mom, a better person. There is no shortage of helium in my balloons.

We’ve been home a few days now, and the balloons are off sailing somewhere. Yesterday after, I swear, my kids whined for the thirty-fourth thing within in a two-minute period and our clean house made the quickest transformation in history to messiest house ever, I got a little crazy.

“I’m going to be honest,” I told Brett last night, “I feel like I might lose my mind right here, right now in this kitchen. They didn’t do this on the trip.”

“I feel the exact same way,” he answered, “I can’t take it.”

“Well only one of us can lose it at a time, so you go first and I’ll take the little ones for a shower.”

Nobody lost it, and we managed to pull ourselves together for a family walk last night. Turns out three days is hardly enough time to implement life transformations and “life transformations” might be a little stretch on what is simply a sweetened approach to life after a full submersion in summer’s simple pleasures.

I’m wearing that bathrobe this morning and recognizing far more than yesterday the presence of those things we take home from adventures. I ordered the new book my cousin talked about, found the apricot scrub I fell in love with at my sister’s house, stacked the rocks I brought home from Glen Arbor which led to tidying a corner, rearranging a shelf.

I’m thankful that in between I’m hungry, Open this, I want juice, Fix this, I want to go outside, there is wind in our hair and constant invitations–no matter where we are or what season it is–to slow down and enjoy life’s little pleasures.