Day four. Last full day! Also the day we went to the American Girl doll store, finally! But I'm going to post about that one separately cause it was all kinds of wonderful and really deserves it's own post.
Chicago: Day Three
07 July 2026
Hello and welcome to day three! Which was so much fun! We walked through this park on the first day when we were headed back to our hotel. Just happened to stumble on it and it's so lovely! We planned to grab breakfast one morning and head back for the girls to run and play-- and for us to enjoy our espresso and a beautiful morning.
Chicago: Day Two
06 July 2026
Hello and welcome to day two! We went so hard the first day that we slept in today and took it slow. We had reservations for brunch this morning -- also Father's Day! And Kate has really been looking forward to this one. So we took the long walk to the west loop and were able to do some sightseeing on the way!
Faith Lately: Learning to Receive
28 June 2026
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I don't claim to have all the answers or always know the right thing to say. But I do know that I feel things deeply and writing about them has always seemed to help. A huge life event happened to our family in 2023, and it changed the way I think about a lot of things. It deepened my faith and, at the same time, became something that has been difficult for me to process and talk about.
I use this blog as a way to document our life. I love looking back years later and reliving trips, birthday parties, holidays, home projects, and all the little moments in between. Truthfully, I write this blog for me. It's a scrapbook of sorts, and writing has always helped me process things, learn from them, and sometimes make sense of them.
So I'm starting a new series called Faith Lately.
Chicago: Day One
27 June 2026
Helllllo Chicago! We woke up early this morning to make it to the airport for our 6:51am flight. I feel like we were always here with way too much time, so we shot to leave our house at 5:15. Brian says we cut it far too close for his liking. We waited a long time to check bags, and it took a while to make it through security. We grabbed breakfast and coffee and walked right on to board. I feel like it was perfect timing 😊 But that’s not what you’re here to talk about.. it’s our fun, family trip to Chicago!
Sylamore, Year 2
24 June 2026
Round two at the Sylamore with the Johnston Family was another success. The girls love it! We did not camp this year and they were highly disappointed but I was deeply thrilled that Brian realized we are not tent kind of people. Hello cabin from here on out.
Salmon Salad, Pantry Copycat
23 June 2026
Ya'll.. I had this dream of a salad at the work lunch the other day. I left knowing I need to try to recreate it as soon as possible and have it again. It was at the Pantry in west Little Rock. I did not add the salmon at the time but when I made it at home (more than twice now), we added and it was divine!
Memorial Day and AI :)
22 June 2026
Memorial Day at the lake consisted of playing with Boompa's ChatGPT nonstop! And the girls loved every minute of it. So funny to hear them explaining exactly what they want in their AI-generated images! :)
Oreo Icebox Pie or Cake?
20 June 2026
Brian asked for this Oreo Pie a couple weeks ago so I had to deliver. The girls "helped" me and could barely keep their little hands out of the Oreos. That's the problem with ordering those darn things, the minute they came in the grocery delivery, I had to fight everyone off so they would be left for the pie!! Also lied and told Emmy it was a cake cause she hates pie. Babies be silly.
