Dear Ali, Something about turning nine is clearly a large step – we’re entering into something new, something unknown, a completely different territory of life. Maybe it’s not that exact age for everyone, but we sense it with you. You’re growing up, figuring out who you are, becoming more self-aware of your personhood. We’ve been having lots […]
The Grand State Park Tour.
We did it. A mom, 2 kids, and a Grandmother, 50 hours, 436 miles, Over 8 hours in the car, 0 bathroom breaks during said drives, 4 State Parks, 3 State Park Restaurants, 2 State Park Lodges, 3 Hikes totalling 6.7 miles, 1,438 pictures taken. And it only took me a month to actually blog about […]
On Petit Le Mans.
We’ve been traveling quite a bit this fall – a bunch of random trips all somehow congregated and decided unanimously to happen at once to make our lives extra chaotic. I’ve hardly had time to process these trips, let alone blog about them, so this week will be a bit of Callahan Travelogue. Some of […]
Epic Camping: The Ups.
Everyone should go tent camping. Everyone. Unless you have children under four or you are pregnant or live in north Canada or have an aversion to bugs or can’t sleep to the sound of crickets or are addicted to your Sleep Number bed or don’t like peeing in bath houses while large spiders watch you […]
Vacation Like it’s 2005.
We just returned from our fifth traditional summer beach trip with our friends, David, Ashley, AJ, and Tessa. We arrived Wednesday evening in Isle of Palms, South Carolina (just a few minutes outside of Charleston), got unpacked, and hurried out to the beach to enjoy the last colors of sunset. The skies, the water, and […]
Summers are For Kids.
Our summer thus far has been the most fascinating family paradox. While Chris and I have been wrestling with it in a most epic fashion, the kids have literally had The Best Summer Of Their Lives. I had surgery = The kids got ten days of fabulous playdates with different friends every. single. day. Then […]
On Hopes and Dreams.
A few months ago, I asked the kids a question. “Would y’all like to be on a billboard?” Ali’s eyes lit up. “YES! That would be AWESOME!!” Noah’s brow creased. “NO. They’re way too high. I might fall.” Fair enough. I had been working here and there with a local company, Alabama Outdoors, with regards […]
Moms Need Retreats.
A couple of months ago, my husband gave me an assignment. He demanded that I plan a trip for the moms in our small group. He also made the suggestion that changed everything. “Pick a date. You’re going no matter what. And whoever can join you, great.” …Because we’ve tried this before, and it’s never […]
Discovering The Soul of Trains.
Last Sunday was our annual trek out to Calera to visit Thomas the Train. But this year, we managed to get there earlier than usual, and it was much less crowded than it has been in the past. These two factors gave us ample opportunity to explore everything else at the location – something we’d […]
Cherries, Take Me Away.
My life has been the definition of “train wreck” lately. Nothing devastating or life-changing – no worries. Just a constant onslaught of sicknesses and injuries and roadblocks and traumatic doctor visits. The upside is, they often make good blog posts. Y’all have read about some of them, but I haven’t written about a lot of […]