New Years Resolutions

I thought I usually posted some goals/New Years resolutions every year, but I went back for four years and couldn't find any :) I never have a set list with a very structured plan, but I do usually consider some things I'd like to do. My main goal for this year is to simplify/declutter/get rid of stuff in our house. Minimalism = sanity for me. It's why I don't have many pictures on the walls or stuff sitting around my house. Clean is calm to me.

 

We've been cleaning out my mom's house and I've been very conflicted between my goal to clean out my house and keeping stuff of hers either because I like it or because I want to remember her. I've tried to be very selective. I kept this green lamp and took it to my office at work. 

Another goal for this year that kind of goes with the last but could contradict if I'm not careful is I want to do some random repairs, improvements, and decorating to our house. We've lived here for almost 11 years now and it's time to do a few things to maintain and spruce it up if you will. I have a One Note file with a page for every room in the house. Some rooms need more than others. We fixed a major water pipe issue last week under the house that has been a problem since we lived here. We've tried a couple times to get it fixed over the years with no luck. We finally found the right person and got it fixed pretty easily. Carson can now take showers in his bathroom instead of mine!! He sent me this pic and said he wants his hair to look like Miles'.

The next two things are actual goals. I want to prioritize exercising again. It's been a while since I've done anything consistently. Taking care of my mom over the last year took priority and while life is still very busy, I definitely have more time than I have had in a while. And this next one is probably doomed from the start, but I'll throw it out there anyway. I'd love to wake up earlier on workdays. I am a snooze for an hour kind of girl. My alarm goes off at 5:45 every morning and the earliest I get up is 6:30am. I would love to get up & get ready for work first and then have time to relax, read, or do things around the house. I know I would love it, but I also love laying in bed until the last second. We'll see where this gets me. Side note...I had some very hard days taking care of my mom. One night Carson surprised me and spent the night with me. God blessed me with an easy night with my mom and a fun night with Carson. His surprise made me cry and he was so happy to make me happy. I'll always remember that night. 

Last, I want us to "take the trip" this year. We've limited travel over the years for various reasons, but this year, we are going to start making it happen. Disney made me realize that our family thrives on shorter trips. We don't need a week at the beach anymore. We need 3-5 day trips with stuff to do. So far, we have trips planned to Hot Springs (Darrin's work), Aruba (Darrin's work), Boston (Fenway to watch the Braves!), and Houston (wedding). I'd love to plan something next New Year's again too.  

I couldn't be more excited for this year. Here's to 2026!

Weekend Wrap Up

I had a very busy day at work on Friday, so I made sure to fuel properly :) I had a long to do list that had to be done before our expected weather rolled in over the weekend and we had inevitable closings this week.

Friday night, we met Darrin's cousins for dinner. We did the same thing last year and have found that January is a good time for this big group to get together. 

I had to come straight from work and we were 25 minutes late, but we made it! 

We were projected to get 2-27" inches of snow, sleet, and/or freezing rain. The forecast was ALL over the place.

We planned for all of the above and even a possible ice storm where we could lose electricity for days. I woke up at 3am on Saturday morning and there was nothing outside. At 6am, it looked like this.

It came down pretty much all weekend and Carson was here for it! 

He has played outside endlessly all weekend. 

Several of the neighbor kids are in the neighborhood only half the time. I am so thankful they are here this week. It's funny to me that Carson is the youngest and he drove everyone around all weekend. He's going to be a good driver one day. He can already drive the side by side better than me. 

The four of us have been out everyday playing in it too.

I bet he played outside for at least 8 hours this weekend in the freezing cold. He was living his best life. 

The side by side has been exactly what we hoped it would be for times like this.  

This looks like Darrin is contemplating his life choices and counting down until we were ready to go inside. I think his hands were just cold because he had on the wrong gloves. He also had on my scarf. There is no shame when it comes to snow clothes.

We found an open field and they did boy things on the toys. I just watched and prayed for no injuries. Literally.

We have played a ton of games. We take turns picking the game. I'll have to share all our favorite games sometime. This one is called Qwixx. Super fun and easy.

We've made tons of good food. I have finally perfected shrimp hibachi at home.

We had some steak and salmon too. I don't like salmon, but they love it. I randomly put some raw veggies out while we were cooking and they were gone in seconds. I need to do that more often.

Miles cooked the streaks and they were perfect. Secretly I had a hard time giving up the control but I reminded myself that I want him to know how to do this stuff one day. He nailed it.

We finished off the weekend by watching two great football games. I love watching the NFL playoffs because I love football, but also because that means we are getting closer to baseball season...the best time of the year!!

Weekend Wrap Up

Carson got to be the helper during Seeds of Faith on Friday. Seeds of Faith is a Christian devotional for 3rd & 4th graders before school one day a week. I loved getting this picture at work from a teacher friend.

Friday night, I have a dinner date with some of my dear friends from Martin. We haven't been together in almost two years, which is mind blowing. But per usual, we picked up right where we left off :)

Carson had his first two basketball games of the season.

They got two wins!

He was so happy to have Rhett on his team this season. They two met at daycare, but have never been in class together. Every year they hope & pray. Now they have basketball and Rhett is on Carson's new travel team. We are so excited to be with him and his family more. 

Darrin is coaching for the first time. Obviously Carson is very excited about that. I think it's going to be a great season!

Carson's biggest fans were there to watch. 

It was a friend kind of weekend. I hung with my Medina moms on Saturday night. All my friends were so good to me while I was taking care of my mom even though I had nothing to give in return. In so many ways I had to check out of life as I knew it. I told several of them that I would be back when I could. My mom would be happy that I'm rejoining life.

Just a quick weekend update, but I'm happy to back to blogging :) 

Disney Wrap Up

In a pretty last minute decision, we decided to go to Disney. My mom always wanted me to take the boys, so I promised her I would. In the last few weeks of taking care of her, I needed something happy to think about, so I started thinking about the possibility of going after Christmas. My friend is an expert Disney planner and she hooked us up with little notice. Here is our photo dump of pics.

We paid for the photo pass and it was well worth it to always have someone to take a picture for us.

The last night, Darrin and Miles were done, but Carson and I were not. I have so many memories with my mom at Magic Kingdom at night. I convinced Darrin and Miles to leave us. Carson and I partied for 5 more hours. I'll never forgot it. 

We all loved the Star Wars stuff at Hollywood Studios even though Miles and I aren't Star Wars people. Rise of the Resistance was awesome. 

Smugglers Run was so fun too! We had two extra people with us. They couldn't speak English, but he pointed to the buttons to tell me how to do. Apparently I wasn't keeping up :)

Taking pictures here with my mom is also a core memory.

The wait for Tron stayed around 100 minutes. We had a lightning lane for the 4 of us. Last minute I was able to buy one for Carson and me the night we stayed. He was so happy to be able to ride it again. It was his favorite ride out of all three parks.

The ride pics were SO unflattering, but they are priceless. Miles said I was living my best life in every picture.

I love the Magic Kingdom at night!

The Tower of Terror was our first ride. 

We were not prepared. I'm glad we didn't know what to expect. 

Right after that, we went on the Rock N Roller coaster. Again, we were not prepared. It ended up being one of Miles' favorites.

We guessed where the cameras were on a couple rides.

Being on vacation on New Years Day was a win. This might be a new tradition for us. 

We went to Epcot our last day. We had some lightning lanes early in the day. Then, we had plans to taste test and tour the countries in the afternoon. Our first stop was Mexico. Everywhere was so crowded and my crew was bored, so we aborted the mission and park hopped back to the Magic Kingdom. Park hopper passes were the best decision we made. We went to two parks every day and three on one. 

When we stayed that last night we rode six rides, watched the parade, and watched the fireworks. 

Guardians of the Galaxy was the best ride I've ever ridden. I can't imagine anything every topping it. We all loved it so much. We had a lightning lane and then we wait almost 2 hours to ride again. 

Tron was awesome too. I loved the speed and how smooth it was. 

Cards in the airport. Thankful for smooth travel days.

Carson loved his magic band. We set it up where he could make purchases too. He loved feeling like a big boy. 

We are a family of foodies. I wouldn't say Disney is the place for food, but we managed to find some good stuff. Carson liked his salmon on a fish plate. 

Riding the Barnstormer was comical. One seatbelt for two adults provided lots of laughs. 

They got along most of the trip and made some good memories. 

I hope he's a better driver than he was on the Speedway cars at the Magic Kingdom.

I didn't expect Carson to love the characters as much as he did. Miles felt silly but he endured for Carson's sake. Carson asked me why Mickey & Minnie were at Hollywood Studios (since they live at Magic Kingdom). Then he said, I know it's a person. It's cute to think how he still believes in the magic a little. 

So, so tired. Carson is really well behaved, but the one thing that gets him off track more than any other is when he's tired. He was a handful at times.

My feet are still recovering from the 25 miles we walked over three days. It was COLD too. It really only got warm on one day.

I had to teach them about phones and tell them how we used to have one phone in the kitchen and you had to talk to your friends with everyone listening!

Had to take a picture with the Yahtzee sign!

It rained a little on our second day which cut down the lines a little. That gave us the chance to go on Slinky Dog and I'm soooo glad. It was one of my favorites. 

Always living his best life. 

Carson loves fireworks. The poor kid is growing up in a non-fireworks family. Watching him watch the fireworks at Magic Kingdom will be etched in my memory forever. 

After our late night together, I had one more yes in me. We stopped in the arcade at the hotel at 11:30pm on our way to the room. I discovered that they had a massage chair in there. For $15, we were both happy.

It was an unforgettable trip and just want we needed after the sadness of losing Marmee. I think we made her proud living our best life at one of her favorite places.