Family Florida Trip 2018

Do I get ten bonus points for title originality or what?  Other ideas were "See You Later, Alligators" or "Excuse me, Flo(rida)?"  I know, all bad.

This summer, we said YES to taking trips.  I think this has been my most adventurous summer yet as far as traveling goes!  Earlier in June, my family of four traveled up to Wisconsin to stay with friends.  Then, at the end of July, Tate and I rented a house boat with a group of friends (there were 16 of us total...I know no one believes I have that many friends) and we cruised up the Mississippi river.  We ended up in Wisconsin, again.  Guess where we went for our third trip.  If you guessed Wisconsin you are wrong and CLEARLY didn't read the title you imbecile.  Our third and final trip of the summer was in sunny Marco Island, Florida!  Did you read sunny Marco Island, Florida in the Price Is Right announcer's voice? Me too.

The four of us ventured down there with my sister's family and my mom.  We rented a house through VRBO - Vacation Rental by Owner.  This was our first time using it and we had a really good experience.  You can view the house we stayed at by clicking this link.   It was a beautiful home and they even had sand toys, a collapsible cooler, beach towels, beach chairs, a beach umbrella and even an extra fridge in the garage!  If you travel down there, I highly recommend renting a home with a pool.  It was so nice not having to pack for the beach for a couple of days but still being able to swim, especially with having little kids.  I also highly recommend renting a convertible.  We did this while we were in Hawaii as well and it is just so fun and different, the kids loved it and so did Tate and I (most of the time).

Our first day, we did some swimming in the pool, unpacked all of our things and then made a grocery store run.  It was nice being able to eat breakfasts, lunches and some dinners in to save some money.  Bringing Dunkin' Donuts back to the house totally counts as "eating in," right?

Our second day was one we would like to forget.  We didn't really do our research very well and our walk to the first beach ended up being over a mile long.  Imagine how much two 5-year-olds, a 3-year-old, my 65-year-old mother, two short-tempered 30-something males and me and my perfect sister loved doing that with all of our beach gear in 95 degree heat.  Basically we wanted to fly back home after that.  Just kidding!  Once we got to the beach, it was beautiful. 

One of my favorite things that we did was take an air boat ride through the Florida Everglades.  Our guides were awesome and very informative.  In the Everglades, we saw some raccoons and I pointed them out to the girls saying, "Look, there's some raccoons!"  And our guide told us the were actually ring-tailed swamp monkeys and for a half second I started doubting myself until he started laughing.  While we were stopped in a cove, an alligator popped up between our two boats.  Honestly, it freaked me out a little bit.  I tried to stay calm and collected since Daphne was getting a little antsy that it was so close.  I think I watched a little too much National Geographic with my dad when I was growing up.

For a fun day trip, we decided to head off to Sanibel and Captiva.  Sanibel Island was just north of where we were staying; Mom has always wanted to go there, and it is known for its seashells and sand dollars.  The red tide was there, so there were a few dead fish (puffer fish!) on the beach.  My 5-year-old nephew LOVES creatures of all kinds and he was actually educating us on what all of them were.  It was so fun to listen to him and hear him spew off various facts about all of the dead ocean life we were seeing.

While down in Florida, I decided I was going to do a "cheesecake tour" at all of the restaurants and then compare.  My sister did a "key lime pie" tour as well.  My favorite was a blueberry cheesecake at the Mucky Duck in Captiva.  My favorite restaurant was called The Bubble Room.  It was so eclectic and completely different than anywhere I've ever eaten, the food was also amazing!  Old portraits covered the walls from tabletop to ceiling and there were all sorts of antiques.  I could have been in there for a couple of hours just looking at all of it.  We also had one fancy dinner at the Claw Bar.  The food there was unreal.

Our last day at the beach, we saw a dolphin.  It was swimming so close to the swimming area.  Honestly, if I were the people that were close to it, I would have sh!t my pants because any sort of dorsal fin in the ocean gives me traumatic flashbacks to watching JAWS when I was just six years old.  Our last day at the beach was the icing on the (cheese)cake to a perfect vacation.

I would highly recommend Marco Island to anyone looking to get away for a week.  It is so family friendly!  There were so many things to do in south Florida, I wish we could have done more.  That only means we will have to return there, some day. ;)  Also, for a little free keepsake, don't forget to collect lots of shells.  I brought them home and put them in a mason jar with twinkle lights for a sweet reminder of our sweet trip and memories. Thanks for reading!

“ Travel makes one modest. You see what a tiny place you occupy in the world.” - Gustav Flaubert

Our First Family Road Trip

Hi friends!  We just got back from our first family road trip and I wanted to make a post about it so that I could look back on all of the wonderful memories and that I would be able to talk Tate into a future trip because this one wasn't that bad. :)

Technically, this is our second trip.  But the first one almost scarred Tate and me for life because Daphne was about a month old and screamed for approximately one hour straight in the car.  I honestly think Tate debated scheduling a vasectomy the next day.  Fast forward almost three years later and here we were, about to embark on our second car trip longer than three hours.  I think both of us were nervous since our first experience was less than pleasant.  

One of my best friends just moved to a house on a lake up near Madison, Wisconsin.  When I say just moved, I really do mean just moved....as in about 2-3 weeks ago.  But, with best friends, there are no boundaries, right?? I've gone to visit her on a couple of girls trips but this time I wanted the whole family to go.  Madison is such an awesome town with so much to do, whether it be a girls weekend or a mini family vacay!

We arrived at around 5 o'clock in the evening.  Her hubby was grilling burgers and hot dogs while we unpacked the car.  We pretty much immediately went down to their amazing dock that has a view of the capital building along with the pretty skyline.  It was so peaceful and relaxing.  After dinner, we tried our hand at fishing off the dock and Libby was bound and determined to catch a fish.  Somehow, she managed to catch about four fish and they would seriously finagle their way off the hook somehow right as she was pulling them up to the dock.  She finally got one though and she was so excited! 





Shortly after that, there were a bunch of ducks and geese around the dock.  Daphne and I went down to check them out since they were so close and she loved it.  I love listening to her talk to the animals. She talks with such authority sometimes.  She kept saying, "Get ova herrrrrrre ya duck!" and "Do you want some cackers (crackers) duck?"   We finished the first night with s'mores around the fire and several thousand of our mosquito friends decided to join the party.  I think my friend and I probably had around 50 bites between the two of us (I wish I was exaggerating).



The next morning we went to this little playground on the beach.  It was so cute and the real show stopper was a two person swing that the girls and I loved. WHY DON'T THEY HAVE THOSE EVERYWHERE?!  Seriously, it was so much more fun getting to swing with them than having to just stand there and push.  After the playground and beach, we came back for lunch.  She had originally planned for BLT's but the guys added turkey, and we decided to one-up them and add turkey AND avocado.  Game changer.  I'm not sure I will ever have a regular BLT ever again.  Tate usually goes the BMT route--bacon, mayonnaise and turkey whereas I go more traditional.  Are you Team Tate or Team Chelsea when it comes to a BLT?  If you aren't Team Chelsea then GTFO my blog.  Kidding.  
My friend knows the way to my heart and she made sure to plan a stop at the world's best (and probably only) bait + ice cream shoppe.  Of course the girls picked out the darkest color of ice cream.  I'm thankful it matched their dresses to camouflage the stains.  It was bath night even if it wasn't bath night.  If you don't want ice cream while you are buying bait, what kind of a monster are you?  I think all specialty shops should just start selling ice cream.  Sporting Goods + Ice Cream.  Shoes + Ice Cream.  Swimsuits + ...okay wait, scratch that idea.  I'm not sure about the worm selection, but the ice cream variety at this place was second to most.  Haha, I laugh at my jokes so often and they aren't even that good.  I wish you all could see how many times I giggle after typing something that only 3% of readers will find funny.  I'm also joking about the shop, the variety of ice cream was good.  I ended up getting a vanilla with fudge, chocolate and caramel swirled in because I'm focusing on perfecting my mom body.  Tate copied me because he always does and the girls picked out a pomegranate Greek yogurt variety. #Proud    They didn't pick it out for the health benefits, they WANTED RED ICE CREAM....WIF SPRINKLES.  Daphne yelled that several times while we were in there.  I just acted like she wasn't my kid.













The next day, we took the kids to the zoo.  It is a free zoo and it's actually pretty good!  When my friend told me the zoo was free, she heard the tone in my voice of my reaction and had to defend it saying, "It's pretty good!"  Tate was making comments that they probably only had one animal so I said, it must be a shih tzu. And he looked at me like I was the most unintelligent person on the planet.  Sometimes I wonder if he doesn't get my jokes or just really doesn't find them funny.  It's probably the latter.  Anyway, the free zoo...I had my doubts, but my friend was right.  It was great.  Daphne calls all tigers "Shere Khan"...as in the mean tiger on the Jungle Book.  It is seriously her favorite Disney character.  I mean, why couldn't it at least be the nice, gentle tiger from Aladdin? Seriously.











We had such a wonderful time and our host and hostess couldn't be better.  Time with good friends, their kids and of course my family is something I will always cherish.  There were definitely some wonderful memories made on this trip and I can't wait to do it again!

"Either write something worth reading or do something worth writing." - Benjamin Franklin

Life Lately + Dealing With Loss

It has been six months since I last posted.  The past six months have easily been the hardest of my life after losing my dad.  I miss him every hour of every day.  The first few days and weeks were nothing but a flood of tears and an ocean of emotion (channeling my inner Dr. Seuss there).  I feel very grateful to have had a father as wonderful as him and these days lately, most of my emotions are dealing with missing him and also a great sense of gratitude to have enjoyed so many years, moments, and memories with him.

I find myself wanting to do more of the things that he loved, although we have always shared similar interests; namely painting and drawing, fishing, and enjoying a tall can of cheap beer.  I'm still trying to acquire the taste of Jameson.  Someday.  Never.

I decided to dry some flowers that we had on display at his visitation and funeral so that I can make a special keepsake for myself and my family members.  

The weather here is finally changing and I know it is exactly what I needed for my heart to feel full again.  The new growth and change of the seasons is a reminder that although life ends, new life begins and it is a beautiful thing.  The only advice I have to offer to someone dealing with loss is don't always focus on what is missing, focus on what you have.  If you keep that perspective, it will help you make it through the hard times.

As I get older, I find myself more at peace being outdoors.  The girls have been quite the little flower pickers.  I love every single one they give me.  It has been wonderful being outside again.  The cabin fever was real in the Christensen house this winter. 

 

Tate had a day off on Sunday.  We had such a good day of family time.  After lunch, we went to the ball fields and Tate helped my nephew with batting practice while all of us fielded the balls (from the outfield for safety).  After that, we went to the park and watched the kids go down the slide several thousand times before hitting up our local ice cream shop that will be the death of my hot summer bod.  From there, we went down to the river to throw rocks in the water.  The kids love it, I know it sounds kind of lame haha. I found three shells by the river and Libby wanted to keep them.  Towards the end of the day she took a picture of her shells using Tate's phone.  I was so impressed.  I think I am going to print and frame it as a reminder of our perfect day.

 

Libby had to relax on the porch swing after our long, adventurous day.  Some upcoming projects we have on the docket for our house include updating our dining room (I can't wait to show these blown up old posters of our parents) and also transforming our treehouse!  Now that life is getting back on track, I will be posting more.  Thanks for reading. XOXO.

"If the sight of the blue skies fills you with joy, if a blade of grass springing up in the fields has power to move you, if the simple things of nature have a message that you understand, rejoice, for your soul is alive." -Eleonora Duse

Homemade Body Butter + Where Did October Go?

Hello Friends!  I cannot believe Halloween is this week!  For us, October was filled with beautiful weather, a puppy named Duke joining our family, a trip to the apple orchard, a couple of park dates, and we finally managed to buy some pumpkins a couple of days ago to set on the porch. #MomFail

Lately, I've been very into essential oils and reading about some of the benefits they have to offer (sorry if this doesn't interest you, skip to a lower paragraph haha).  I decided to try and make my own whipped body butter after seeing this recipe..  It only has 3 ingredients (more depending on how many essential oils you mix in). I decided to use 8 drops of grapefruit, 5 drops of lavendar, and 2 drops of Ylang Ylang.  It smells so good!  This was super easy and took about ten minutes to make from start to finish.  For the container, I just used an old candle container.  Does anybody else buy candles to try and re-use the container?  My inner 80-year-old lady is BEAMING with pride.

It is a little greasy because of the coconut oil, but I need to let it harden in the fridge.  There are so many more recipes out there, I will be making more in the near future!  Also, if you don't feel like making your own, these would be the ones that I would buy (and plan to buy at some point).  She also just started an organic + mineral make-up line that I can't wait to try!

Early in October, a new boy joined our family.  He is a mini goldendoodle and his name is Duke (after John Wayne of course).  We decided to get a puppy because we are insane.  That is literally the only reason.  Oh, and we thought it would be good for the girls since they were terrified of anything with more than two legs.  He has been good for the girls and good for us.  Make sure you listen to people when they tell you puppies are like a newborn.  Because they are. :)   I love listening to Daphne call him "Dukey Bear" and telling him that he's a good boy.  That girl has a lot of love to give. 

 

I have one confession, I've been listening to Christmas music one or two times a week since the beginning of October.  I know, I know.  Don't hate me cause you ain't me.  Just kidding.  I love Halloween and this time of year--I get such a sense of gratitude.  Thankful for all of the family time, thankful for a safe harvest (we have lots of farmers in our life), and thankful for all we have.  I hope everyone has a safe and fun trick or treat night!  All of the candy is hard on my mom body.