Sunshine, smiles, and sweet memories; A mid summer check in

I got to spend FIVE precious, adventure-packed weeks with family and friends, and it was more incredible than I anticipated. I’m learning that I’m a quality time gal – Maybe it’s because now that we live farther away from family, our quality time with them doesn’t happen as often, so when it does it is such a gift!!!

I’m getting back into the groove of things here in Kansas, but here’s an update of what we were up to for the last 5 weeks!

Spent 3 weeks in my hometown – The good old Quad Cities! Here’s what filled our time:

• Went to the John Deere Store and Pavilion. Nolan sat in a tractor tire that was three times his size and I played a weed stomping game that was basically DDR, and I think we both lived our best lives!
• Got my fix of classic Quad City dining including Lemongrass Cafe – my all time favorite Thai restaurant, Flips, 392 for the BEST drink, “Your Favorite Flannel”, Happy Joes, and Whiteys.
• Went to the Freight House Farmers Market, which if you have not been, let me tell you that it rivals every farmers market I’ve ever been to except the one in Des Moines.
• Played at the Moline Public Library and the Coal Valley Library. I love a public library! They always have great events for kids and adults. My sister and I went to a “bar crawl” at the Coal Valley library, where we ate dessert bars brought in by others and got to vote for the best one – Truly my kind of bar crawl!
• Went to the Botanical Center to let the kids play around in the Children’s Garden that’s complete with a huge splash pad river.
• Took a long walk along the mighty Mississippi with a bestie since middle school.
• Went to Chicago to celebrate some of our best friends who got married!!! Alex did great with his best man duties and we successfully managed our first weekend away from Nolan. We missed him every second, but he got some great time with both sets of his grandparents, and Alex and I got to spend some quality time with each other and our close friends.
• Spent pretty much every waking second with family, which somehow still doesn’t seem like enough!!

We also got to spend 2 weeks in Michigan at our favorite vacation spot, Walloon Lake. This is a really special place for me because I have some of my earliest and best memories here! It’s a place where I get to spend time with family, be in awe of God’s beautifully designed nature, continue old family traditions, make new memories, and did I mention spend time with family?! I’ve gone to Walloon every summer of my life, but this summer, my 27th trip there, was extra special because my son got to take his 1st trip there! It truly was the best way to close out our busy month of travel. Here’s a quick list of things we did while in Walloon:

• Took a lot of family boat rides. Oh, the stories we have about our boat, yall. There is simply not enough time to tell them all today. Someday though, maybe haha.
• Looked for Petoskey stones on Lake Michigan.
• Shopped in downtown Petoskey.
• Went to THREE trivia nights. My sister and I found T shirts that had moose riding bikes on them (for $2.50!!! each), so we made the family wear the shirts to trivia and I do believe this was the reason we won 3rd place back to back nights.
• Had lots of outdoor time playing at parks, taking walks, and playing on the beach.
• Stopped at my favorite winery of all time, Boyne Valley Vineyard.
• Hit up the Petoskey library, of course! Their kids area was a great place to go on a rainy day when Nolan needed to get his wiggles out. They also have a bookstore in the lower level where I got 8 children’s books for $2!
• Played lots of Euchre.
• Had a book club over Just a Regular Boy by Catherine Ryan Hyde.
• Had a pickleball tourney.

The last month has been so much fun! I feel so grateful for these moments that will become long lasting memories! We’re entering a stretch now of slower, quieter days at home (boooo! lol) but I’m going to challenge myself to find the joy in these days, too! What have you been up to this summer? I would love to know what’s been filling your time! Let me know down below or send me a message here!

I love you and I’m praying you find some genuine joy today!!

– Jenn