We went to Natchez Trace State Park over Fall Break! We stayed in a cabin, went hiking and kayaking, relaxed in the hammock on the back porch, read books, took naps (Tom and I), played video games (the boys), cooked hot dogs and s’mores over the fire, etc. It was really relaxing and refreshing…I want to do it again next year!
We spent the week at Lake Anna, VA with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the (Northern) Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis.
For more pictures, click on the “Lake Anna 2021” picture page to the right.
We’re heading to Lake Anna, VA this week to spend the week with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the (Northern) Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis. On the way, we stopped off at The Caverns at Natural Bridge. We’d never been to anything like that with the boys before, so it was super cool to explore together.
We spent the night at a hotel and stopped off at Virginia Military Institute where John Paccassi is a cadet in school. One of his good friends was there and gave us a tour, and we took him to lunch (the perfect thank you for a college student). Check out The Palms, if you’re ever in Lexington, VA…delicious!
Loved this beautiful mountain view…
We went to Red River Gorge, Kentucky for the latter half of Spring Break. We stayed in a log cabin in the woods (loved the view and the hot tub on the deck), took a sky lift up to a natural bridge (I was scared out of my mind, but all of the boys…including Tom…loved it), hiked three miles (I’m hoping for more family hikes in the future…however, Roman lost his mind about a 1.5 miles in), and spent time just relaxing (we watched the first episode of the Mandalorian and Raya and the Last Dragon with the boys). It was really nice…I’m so grateful we were able to get away.
For more pictures, click on the “Spring Break 2021” page on the right.
This morning we went to Happy Ours Kayak and Bike Outpost to do some kayaking and snorkeling in the bay. The boys loved it in the past, but today they were CRABBY. Jonas and Xander both helped paddle and took to it pretty well, which was great…they love to race. But, when it came to snorkeling, none of the boys were into it for some reason and preferred to sit on the boat and whine, which just sort of put a damper on things because they were pouting and asking to go home. I just ignored them and enjoyed snorkeling, but Tom ended up having a Come to Jesus with them. I think it helped a little, as they all ended up getting in for a little bit and checking things out. We saw horseshoe crab shells, scallops, a starfish, several schools of little fish, and lots of interesting coral. After lunch and quiet time, we went out for some ice cream at Cape Coffee and Ice Cream (a small local ice cream shop, where if you don’t time it right…will have you waiting in a line wrapped around the parking lot). So yummy! We swam in the pool until dinner time and then headed down to the beach at sunset for a game of football and one more round of pictures (we needed to get a good one of the whole family).
We are so grateful to be back at the beach in Cape San Blas, FL! We’re staying at the same place we stayed last year, which we love because it’s quiet and close to the pool and the beach. When we arrived yesterday, it was raining. So, it was the perfect time to unpack and unwind after a long drive.
Today, we hit the beach in the morning for some metal detecting, sand castle building, and wave dodging on the shore. Then, we spent some time at the pool (the boys had fun rescuing little frogs!) before heading back in for lunch and quiet time. In the afternoon, Roman and I hung out at the pool while Tom took Jonas and Xander down to the beach. Afterwards, we got cleaned up and went out to dinner in Port St. Joe at Pepper’s, a Mexican restaurant that was packed (which was a little crazy for me, honestly…we’ve definitely not been used to being surrounded by that many people in more than three months). Roman did not make it long, which I was actually grateful for, because it was loud with music and conversations and I was feeling done too. He started covering his ears right after he finished his meal, and I knew the sensory meltdown was coming. Thankfully, he was able to be a big guy and use his words to say, “Mom, can we get out of here? The sound is driving me crazy!” instead of flipping into full meltdown mode. I was so proud of him! We walked down the street and window shopped (Jonas and Xander ended up joining us too) until Tom was able to box up the leftovers and pay the bill. Then, Tom walked with the boys down the street and to the ocean to hang out, while I did the grocery shopping. When we got back home, Tom and I put a movie on for the boys and took a short but wonderful sunset walk on the beach.
Tom, bless his heart, rented us a cabin in the Smoky Mountains for a change of scenery while social distancing.
It is so quiet here…everything is completely shut down, including the Smoky Mountain National Park. We’ve been enjoying our little cabin in the woods…taking it slow and easy.
We went to Chattanooga for Fall Break!!! We stayed in a hotel and walked around downtown, checked out the aquarium, ate a delicious dinner at Blue Plate, saw Superpower Dogs in 3D (so awesome…about all kinds of rescue dogs…we even got to meet a few in the theater lobby), grabbed some ice cream at Cold Stone Creamery, and walked along the Walnut Street Pedestrian Bridge. The weather was perfect, and we loved our one-night/two-day getaway just a few hours from home.
Click on the “Chattanooga 2019” picture page to the right for more pictures…
We went to Lake Wylie, NC this past week for our biennial celebration of Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried’s wedding anniversary with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, The Seyfrieds, The Longs, and The Paccassis. We are so blessed to be able to gather together with family. We enjoyed tubing, riding on the boat, swimming in the lake, paddle boating, paddle boarding, kayaking, waverunnering, eating, playing games, reading, and catching up.
For more pictures, click on the “Lake Wylie 2019” picture page to the right.
We took the boys to the Tennessee Aquarium over Spring Break. We loved swimming in the pool at the hotel, playing on the climbing wall at the playground, sliding down a huge hill on cardboard boxes over and over again, eating dinner at the Mellow Mushroom, walking with our delicious ice cream cones down to the river at sunset, spending the day checking out all of the interesting creatures at the aquarium, and watching one of the best IMAX/3D marine animal films.
Click on the “Tennessee Aquarium 2019” page to the right for more pictures.
Our Mommy/Me trip tradition started with me taking a 5 month old Roman up to Vermont to visit with my dear friend, Charity, from college. When Tom and Jonas dropped us off at the airport, Jonas said, “Mommy, I want to come too.” That’s when I knew that I would be taking each of my boys in turn on a special trip each year. It has been one of the biggest blessings of my life…and I hope theirs.
This year, Roman and I went to the Wilderness at the Smokies indoor water park!!! We enjoyed meals at the Cracker Barrel and at all of the hotel restaurants, played video games in the arcade, hung out in the indoor water park (tube slides, wave pool, hot tub, and surf rider), rode the shuttle, painted pottery, went bowling, played laser tag, climbed the climbing wall, played black light put put golf, walked through the laser maze, went on the ropes course, visited with Audrey at UT, and went to the most amazing sweet shop so perfect for Roman called the Chocolate Monkey.
Click on the “Mommy/Me Trip with Roman 2019” page to the right for more pictures.
Xander and I had SO MUCH FUN on our Mommy and Me trip to Wilderness at the Smokies!!!
We left on Sunday morning after breakfast, ate an early lunch at Cracker Barrel just off of our exit, checked in and got all settled into our room, played at the indoor water park (water slides, wave pool, hot tub, etc.), hung out in the arcade, took warm showers, ate dinner at the hotel, went out for ice cream, snuggled up together and watched “The Emoji Movie”, and slept for 11 hours.
On Monday, we ate breakfast at the hotel, painted pottery, played in the adventure forest/arcade (ropes course, bowling, black light mini golf, etc.) and ate lunch there, played at the indoor water park, had some quiet time in our room (Xander had some tablet time and I took a nap), took warm showers, ate dinner at the hotel, played in the adventure forest/arcade (laser maze, laser tag, etc.), went out for ice cream, snuggled up together and watched “Smurfs: The Lost Village”, and slept for 10 hours.
On Tuesday, we ate breakfast at the hotel, packed up, and headed to the indoor water park for one last hoorah before heading home.
What a blessed time that we will always remember!!!
For more pictures, click on the “Mommy and Me Trip with Xander 2018” picture page to the right…
Tom and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary in Turks and Caicos!!!
Thank you so much to Aunt Julie and to Grandma and Grandpa who took care of our wild and crazy boys for us while we were away. There is NO way we could’ve done it without you.
Tom and I talked about how this was our best trip together yet. We flew to Florida and then on to Turks and Caicos, rented a teeny tiny car, stayed in a sweet bright yellow house a few blocks from the beach, spent mornings on the beach snorkeling and reading and resting, ate lunches listening to the sound of the waves, spent afternoons resting at home, and spent evenings eating home cooked meals on the screened in porch and riding bikes for ice cream or frozen yogurt or picking up groceries or watching movies. We saw sea turtles, stingrays, barracudas, and lion fish when we snorkeled (Tom saw a black reef tip shark!!!). We marveled at the beautiful, huge yachts. We saw a rainbow (or two) every day. We ate a delicious lunch and dinner out. We went on a snorkeling tour (we saw JoJo the dolphin and his family, I got incredibly sea sick, and Tom ate a conch spine). We renewed our vows on the beach.
I am so blessed to be married to Tom…his love for and patience with me heals my soul and gets my heart every day, he gave me three beautiful wild at heart boys, he makes me laugh countless times a day, and he’s still always the one I’m drawn to in any room. Here’s to 10 more years!!!
For more pictures, click on “Turks and Caicos 2018” in the Picture Pages column to the right…
We were BEYOND BLESSED to get to spend a week in Tampa on the bay at the house of a dear friend’s parents. We had so much fun swimming in the pool, going for rides on the boat (looking for dolphins, eating at a bayside restaurant, and riding on Big Mabel), and visiting Winter at the Clearwater Marine Aquarium. It really was one of our best family trips yet.
For more pictures, click on the “Tampa 2017” page to the right…
Roman and I went on our Mommy and Me Trip this week to the Atlanta Zoo and to the Georgia Aquarium!!!
We had fun at the zoo on Sunday afternoon…seeing the animals, riding the carousel, and riding the train. Afterwards, we checked in at the hotel and went for a swim before walking to the Waffle House for dinner. On Monday, we walked to the aquarium and spent the morning: checking out the Ocean Voyager, the Cold Quest, and the Tropical Diver exhibits; watching the amazing dolphin show; and getting Roman’s face painted. We picked up a Subway for lunch and walked back to the hotel for a rest. Feeling refreshed, we walked back to the aquarium for the sea lion show, the Aquanaut Adventure and the River exhibits, and Happy Feet in 4D. We had dinner at Johnny Rocket’s before walking back to the hotel and crashing for the night. What a special time with my little guy!!!
Click on the “Mommy and Me: Roman 2017” picture page to the right for more pictures…
We had such a wonderful time on our trip to Lake Gaston, NC with Grandma and Grandpa Seyfried, the Northern Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis!!! It’s such a blessing to get to spend time with family, just hanging out. Â I love that everybody just does their own thing: Â tubing, wake boarding, jumping off the dock, swimming, fishing, reading, playing in the water, digging in the sand, soaking in the hot tub, running, life guarding, eating, napping, watching kid movies, cooking, playing board games, building with Legos, coloring, making Playdoh creations, going to mass, watching the sunset, mod podging Christmas ornaments, making sidewalk chalk, etc. Â It’s a beautiful thing. Â Among the highlights for me were: Â seeing Tom wakeboard, watching the talent show, and saying the rosary with the family.
Here’s a picture of all of the cousins. For more pictures, click on the “Lake Gaston 2015” page to the right.
Xander and I took a special trip…just the two of us…to the Atlanta Zoo and to the Georgia Aquarium. Â We drove down on Sunday (that was the quietest car ride I’ve had in a long time…he worked on his road trip binder, listened to books on CD, looked out the window, watched a DVD, colored in his dolphin coloring book, played a few games on my phone, ate snacks, and rested). Â We spent the afternoon at the zoo. Â He did all of the navigating, and his favorite parts were seeing the otters and going for repeat rides on the carousel and the train. Â We made it to our hotel in downtown Atlanta around dinner time and walked down to the Waffle House for dinner. Â Xander was super pumped about his bed at the hotel and loved cozing up under the down comforter with his dolphin pillow pets and looking at his books by the light of his built-in reading lamp. Â He passed out pretty quickly after our long drive and afternoon at the zoo. Â He enjoyed going downstairs in the morning to have breakfast at the hotel in his pajamas. We walked to the aquarium through Centennial Olympic Park, and Xan-Man was over the moon when the first thing he saw was a statue of a dolphin just outside the entrance. We were both pretty much walking around the aquarium the whole time with our jaws on the floor. Â I just followed his lead on the exhibits he wanted to check out. Â We checked out the Ocean Voyager first which was absolutely amazing with whale sharks, manta rays, and countless interesting fish swimming in tanks overhead and in a tank as big as a movie theater screen (that was my favorite place to be…so peaceful just sitting and watching). Â Next, we walked through the Coldwater Quest and visited with the penguins, the beluga whales, and the sea otters. Â After that, we spent some time looking at the Tropical Diver with the jellyfish, beautiful coral, and brightly colored tropical fish. Â There was actually a diver in one of the tanks…cleaning, adding coral, and feeding the fish. Â He had a microphone on him while he was in there and talked about it all with the crowd who gathered around to see. Â We enjoyed watching one of the bigger fish nurse from the fish food bottle…so funny! Â It was time for a snack after that. Â Then, we headed to Dolphin Tales for the reason for the whole trip to Atlanta…the dolphin show!!! Â I was totally amazed at Xander’s patience waiting in line and waiting for the show to start. Â He sat on my lap the whole time, mesmerized. Â It was hands down one of the coolest things I’ve ever seen in my life and SO can’t-find-the-words special to share it with my dolphin-loving Xan-Man. Â The pictures do not come close to doing it justice…dolphins diving and flipping, skating on the water on their tail fins, gracefully pushing their trainers around the pool so it looked like they were walking on water, and winning the hearts of children and adults alike in the process. We passed through the gift shop on the way to lunch at Baja Fresh and picked up a few dolphin friends for Xander and a few souvenirs for his brothers. Â After lunch, I was delighted to find that he was ready for a rest at the hotel. Â We walked back through Centennial Olympic Park and checked out the Olympic Ring splash pad and fountain. Â When we got back to our room, we rested in the quiet and in the dark, cozed up in down comforters for a good hour and a half. Then Xander flipped on the lights and said, “I’m ready to go now, Mom.” Â I’ve never met a little boy who knows himself better than Xan-Man. It was such a privilege for me to be able to take the time to slow down and enjoy life at his pace…what a sweet pace it is. We headed back to the aquarium and enjoyed Deepo’s Wondershow in 3D, complete with some pretty cool special effects. Â Then, we headed to the Aquanaut Adventure which was super fun and educational…Xander got to walk around with an iPad…navigating, answering questions, and completing challenges. Â After that, we hit up the face painting station so he could get a dolphin painted on his face (I wish we had known about this earlier in the day so he could’ve enjoyed it for longer, but he still loved it). Â At the end of our long day at the aquarium, we were both pretty much done and ready for dinner…so we grabbed a Subway and some ice cream, picnicked in the park, and played on the playground. Â We got into bed late that night, and you can see tired Xander in the pictures at a park in Chattanooga where we stopped to stretch our legs on the way home. Â What a wonderful, tiring, beautiful trip with my precious Xander that I will remember for the rest of my life!!!! Â Here’s to many more I hope for in the future…
Click on the “Atlanta with Xander 2015” page to the right for more pictures…
We were SO blessed this summer to have Tom’s niece, Audrey, fly down from Connecticut to stay with us a few days in Tennessee before and after our road trip together to a beach house in Florida for a week!!!
Before we left and amidst the packing (and my shaky mental and emotional state…poor Audrey and the boys), we went to Centennial Park in Nashville to feed the ducks and to the Smyrna Splash Pad.
We really loved our time in Florida…playing in the ocean, splashing in the pool, and kayaking and snorkeling in the bay…and there is NO way we could have done it or enjoyed it without Audrey. Her sweet and calm spirit was SUCH a welcome addition to the loud and wild chaos of our family life.
For more pictures from Audrey’s visit, click on the “Audrey’s Visit 2014” picture page to the right.
Tom and I went on a two day/one night backpacking/camping trip in Fall Creek Falls State Park this week!!! We are indebted to my precious mom who graciously took care of our three wild boys for us (they all ended up getting sick but were grinning from ear to ear when we got back from all of the quality time they got to spend with Maw). We hiked 12 miles (7 fairly level miles the first day and 5 very up and down miles the second day) with 20 pound packs. All I’m going to say is…I’m not getting any younger and…Ibuprofen is a good thing. HaHa! It was so much fun but it WORE ME OUT…it’s taken me a good two days to recover. It’s amazing how something so physically demanding can be so rejuvenating but it was…and spending time with just Tom in the mountains was the absolute best.
(Let me preface this by saying that in no way did I come home from a ten day trip followed by a thirteen hour car ride with four children to write a post about our family vacation…I’m back posting for chronology’s sake…haha!!!)
We spent ten days in a great lake house (thanks to Grandpa and Grandma Seyfried) on Lake Gaston in North Carolina with Grandpa and Grandma Seyfried, the Seyfrieds, the Longs, and the Paccassis. Highlights of our time together included: taking boat rides, going tubing, swimming in the lake, relaxing in the hot tub, fishing, playing pool and four square, having fun with sidewalk chalk and bubbles, doing crafts (tie-dying pillowcases, painting sun catchers, building and decorating little wooden boats, making homemade Gak, etc.), going to mass, participating in the family talent show, watching fireworks, celebrating the 4th of July with Father Anthony (the Ugandan priest from the local Catholic church), roasting s’mores around a campfire, reading, and cooking and eating and cleaning A LOT.
For more pictures, click on the “Family Vacation in NC 2013” page to the right.
