My Once Upon a Time...

This was the most spontaneous trip I have ever taken. My kids were on vacation with Katie, I was off for six days at work, so I decided to fly to Germany for four days to see my family. I was shocked how cheap the flight was, and since the kids weren't coming with me, it was so easy to travel by myself, and just having to worry about myself. I didn't even check any luggage. This is my sweet grandma. She was the main reason I flew to Germany. I spent so much time with her growing up, and she even came to visit me in Arizona in 2019. I loved being able to spend some more time with her. My mom made me my favorite cake, and I ate my heart out during my four days there, between all my favorite restaurants, and treats that I have missed in the US. My aunt and cousin. I was visiting my brother at his house, and it was so nice seeing them, and talking about the "good ole times". My cousin and I got into a lot of trouble together when we were younger, we are a year apart in ag...

One side of Katie's family invited the boys and I to come on a little post Christmas trip up north with them. We left the day after Christmas, and my sister in law found the most beautiful AirBnB for us. This was the boys' and my room. They had a little game room downstairs along with some bedrooms and the kids loved playing down here.  Grandpa is always everyone's favorite. I think one of my favorite memories of the trip was, that for the first time in YEARS, I was able to read a book front to back. It didn't hurt that there was a fire going, I was comfy under a blanket, and the snow was falling outside. It was magical.  Every night we played a game that one of the kids brought (I think it was called "How well do you know your family?"), and there were some funny truth or dare scenarios that Grandma was more than happy to oblige with.  They had some swings for the kids under the patio as well, and an obstacle course, including zipline, in the back.  There was...