My Once Upon a Time...

I received a phone call from my ex mother-in-law last year, saying that she wants to take me on a trip, just her and I, anywhere I want to go in the world. Say what?!? I didn't have to think very long to decide that I wanted to go to Ireland. She had already been a few years prior, and we started planning our trip for this summer. While I have traveled with her with the family many times before, we never been on a solo trip, and she spoiled me beyond belief, from flying first class, shopping, to five star hotels and Michelin restaurants...I was in awe the entire time. We had a red eye flight and arrived around 8am to our first hotel in Dublin before we started to explore the city. We visited Trinity college, walked around, took a hop on/hop off bus tour, and enjoyed the beautiful weather that was such a stark contrast from the Phoenix heat. I was obsessed with all the flowers on every building. We toured a lot of castles and visited beautiful gardens almost every day! Every afterno...

I took a quick trip to Germany over spring break while the boys were on vacation with Katie. My dad had some medical issues over the past year, and it had been almost two years since I went, but a trip that was supposed to be five days in Germany, ended up being only four days because of flight delays. When in Germany for the first time, you HAVE to try Mettbroetchen. Needless to say, she was not a fan haha. A trip down memory lane is always on the agenda for the first day, walking around my village, visiting the homes where I grew up in (which are luckily still owned by my family), visiting my grandparent's graves, and eating all my favorite foods.  My only living grandparent, and one of the main reasons I wanted to go visit. It was so special to spend time with her. We had doener almost every day! Family dinner at my favorite restaurant one night, I absolutely loved how many people were able to join us even though it was very short notice. We also had breakfast at my grandma'...