It is December 18, 2024. James and I both have about a week off of work starting today and we had a successful day of Christmas shopping and wrapping. I am dealing with a little year end upper respiratory crud and fought the urge to watch Netflix or Tiktok all day. However, I did not want to be showed up by my husband who manages to never have the “man flu” even if he clearly feels like trash!
I know I say it every year but it has been a unique year. I won’t be sorry to wave it goodbye. There were definitely some highlights though. Last December, in lieu of elaborate gift giving, we took a family trip just before Christmas. James and I and all three girls had not been away together since before Paige deployed and we hit up Disney In December 2019. This last year we headed somewhere more familiar, Anna Maria Island Florida. The weather was not fantastic, you never know in December. So we named our group chat “Hurricane Eden” and Floridians would probably be annoyed at that if they believe in bad omens. Good thing I don’t. (My only superstitions revolve around emergency medicine and saying the word “quiet.” But we had no idea that less than a year later the area would be torn up by two hurricanes. I personally had no idea how many times I would be back there between December and June.
I know I regularly focus on my travels. I love everything about travel, even the stress of planning it! So this year, I want to put digital ink to digital paper and highlight those trips, even if only to document them for myself.
So, December 2023, most memorable one liner of the trip. Apparently my first born can be even more “hangry” than me! Night one, we arrived all stuffed in a rented minivan, Eden had been an angel all day and was OVER IT by the time we loaded her into her car seat (that got kinda soaked while being unloaded from the plane). She wailed all the way from Tampa to the Island. we dropped her and her momma off to set up to sleep. James found the first open drive up, It was the Golden Arches of course! Reese was thrilled but Peyton and Katie were just desperate to eat, even garbage fast food at this point. Peyton, from the back of the minivan begs, “just frisbee that cheeseburger into my mouth!” It was actually pretty hilarious at the time. We had a good trip. Eden took amazing naps in the closet at the Reese Condo! We enjoyed some amazing live music on Bridge Street, and some Breakfast and shopping at Ginny and Jane’s (it reopened today after being closed due to hurricane damage).
In January, my parents were settled in at the condo. They were doing prep work for my dad to have back surgery while there. I decided to take a few days and fly down to see them. I drove to Peoria to catch my flight, only to discover it had been cancelled. Not to be deterred, I booked a new flight out of Indy the next day and mom and dad came a little farther to get me but it all worked out! It was a good trip. It had been a very long time since I had spent much time with just them. We went to the Swordfish Grill and I cannot figure out why I had never tried it out before! yummy! Side note, perfect Grandparent gift is a digital picture frame, these things are a game changer!
February was the trip of a lifetime for me. James and I had the opportunity to join Crossroads Church in going to the Dominican Republic for a mission trip. Megan and I got to spend 3 days in clinics treating patients and working alongside some fantastic people. Eastern Dominican Christian Mission has a pretty incredible ministry in place. I pray we get to go back again. We met amazing people. However the highlight was coffee and our small group from Crossroads meeting on the roof for devotions and prayer every morning. Music, games and visiting in the mission house was unforgettable.
March, we ditched our usual trip to the Dells and went to a waterpark in Gatlinburg/Pigeon Forge area. We had a great time with the Tidwells! Matt and Charity were in the area at the same time and we got to hang out with them. We did some damage at the Outlet Mall as well!
April we had our 2nd annual small group couples getaway. we ended up in Brown County this time. It was a great recharge time for food, music, Bible Study and lots of laughing. Highlight was being part of Sarah and Dustin getting baptized in the hotel pool!
End of May I set out to return to Florida as my dad’s back surgery was finally a go. However recovery started out bad and honestly just got worse. We moved him to a short term rehab facility. Peyton flew down and was a huge bright spot for Grammy’s birthday. The 3 of us snuck away for food at Tide Tables. I just love my adult babies and how much they mean to my momma heart! Peyton extended her trip a few days and that was a huge Blessing to mom and I.
My life long Ride or Die showed up on the airport curb a few days later and shared the spare room and bathroom with me for most of the next week, There were a few days that I was only putting one foot in front of the other because of Stephanie Tidwell! We snuck away to eat and walk at night as well as a visit to Rod n Reel Pier Restaurant. I am so grateful for that decision and the pics we took when Rod n Reel was completely destroyed in the fall. By this time I had extended my trip an extra week. Shoutout to my fantastic coworkers who covered me. By this time I was missing James, Reese and Eden (and her momma of course) so much! we made arrangements to fly dad home so James flew down and did all the physical and emotional heavy lifting to get us home. He and I did hit up swordfish grill to eat. We also made it to the pretty fantastic worship services at The Bridge Church.
We turned around and flew back to Florida later in June. we had already planned a two part trip to Disney and Bradenton with the Shuey’s months before. I would not call it a stress free trip. However I got to spend some great time with some great friends. Highlight was probably the night I made it to the fireworks, and our boat day. Unfortunately there were no Chinese Fire Drills and I did not have any unfortunate incidents with hot sauce.
July was tough, thankfully it was summer! (visited Wrigley in Chicago for an amazing Journey and Def Leppard concert, of course the weather turned insane!)
mid August Steph, Amanda, Charity and I did a quick Indy trip. staying at Iron works was on my bucket list! we all had big Birthdays in 2024, On mine we managed the getaway. The girls were thrilled about the bright pink matching shirts I made them wear shopping. Highlight for me was the road trip Gen X playlist and lunch at Kilroy’s.
Oh and Reese went with the Longs to Traverse City Michigan. She slept outside in a hammock and sent me these stunning photos.
End of August into September, James and I went to Vegas with Ketcherside’s. Meg and I went to a conference for continuing education while the guys tried to keep from passing out from the heat while they walked all day. Highlights.. Freemont street at night, the amazing Italian dinner, and the Michael Jackson cirque du Soleil show. Also, our coffee and breakfast mini Bible Studies.
Later in September, I was oblivious to the upcoming Hurricanes and was freaked out when Peyton messaged me from Mexico that their room was flooding and they did not always have power. Cracked me up when she pointed out that at least there were no bomb threats!
So I was finally out of PTO time and any other leave I could come up with this year. I have to admit I am dreaming about the trips we are putting in motion for 2025. We spent the fall going to volleyball games, hanging with Eden, and getting new tattoos!
That brings us back to staycation December 2024. Going to try and appreciate each day for what it brings, even if it did not require my suitcase or passport!
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