The Smiths go to Italy!

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For our 20th anniversary this year, we decided to celebrate big. We had talked for years about someday going to Italy, and being married for 20 years seemed like a good enough reason for us to book a trip. Of course, with the boys being at the age they are, and having the appetite for Italian food that they do, there was no way we could go without them!

We started our trip with by flying into Rome. We stayed at the coolest Airbnb right by the Colosseum. Our host showed us a map where we could see that the building was actually an ancient training site for gladiators.

We somehow chose a record heat dome as our timing for visiting Italy, so we were hot and sweaty the entire time. We saw landmarks such as the Colosseum, the Pantheon, and the Roman Forum, with the help of our water bottles, fans, and lots of gelato! Sightseeing at nighttime was much preferred.

After 3 nights in Rome we boarded the train to Florence. While Rome was full of history and rich food, Florence stunned us with its beauty around every corner. The art, architecture, music, and culture were amazing. Some of the highlights were climbing the Duomo tower (all 415 steps!), taking a pasta and gelato cooking class in Tuscany, and of course, seeing the statue of David.

After 3 nights in Florence, we once again hopped on the train to head to Venice. As soon as you exit the train station you catch your breath at the beauty of the canals and old buildings. We spent most of our time here wandering the beautiful old streets, getting lost, and popping into stores and gelaterias. My favorite moment from Venice was when we stopped into a tapas shop that our gondola guide had suggested. We were so excited to try the cicchetti and cheap pinot grigio when a flock of seagulls swarmed us and knocked it all out of our hands. I could not stop laughing!

What a gorgeous part of the world. We were so glad that our kids got to be a part of this adventure at this age. They loved learning about the history of the places we visited, taking pictures of the sites, and of course eating all of the delicious food. I can’t wait to explore more of Italy in the future! Ciao!

Brady-boo is 15!

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Our sweet B-man turned 15. He celebrated this special day by inviting over all of his friends for a summer kick-off pool party. It was awesome to see him in his element with all of his buddies and to see just how many people care about him. They all wrote such thoughtful messages in his cards and it showed us that the qualities we love about Brady, are the same ones his friends enjoy about him- his quirkiness, his knowledgeable brain that he uses to help his friends with math or teach them fun facts, his humor and inside jokes they share, and his kindness that makes him a safe friend to confide in or be themself around.

This year was full of challenges and successes for B. He scored a 5 on his first A.P. Exam. He competed on his school’s Robotics Team and performed the trumpet in the band. He expanded his friend group, spent time volunteering, and began learning Japanese. This kid loves movies, documentaries about movies, the Dodgers, collecting cards, Minecraft, history, and trying new foods. He is adventurous, brainy, patient, funny, kind, and has a great head of hair!! Next up, drivers ed! We love you lots, Brady-boo.

Somebunny is a teenager!

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This Easter our (not-so) little Bubba turned 13. The last time our Spring baby’s birthday fell on Easter was when he turned two. At the time I researched when the next time we’d be celebrating him on Easter and thought it sounded so far away that it would not be for another eleven years. But, boy, how those years flew by!

At the time, Nolie was a loud, energetic, feisty toddler. Now he is a loud, energetic, feisty teenager! He still loves giving his big brother a hard time. Still eating us out of house and home. And still obsessed with any kind of activity that involves a ball. This version of Nolan is still tall for his age, still not interested in sitting still for very long, and still keeping us on our toes. He is funny, athletic, competitive, and tender hearted. He is smart, quick witted, and gives us a run for our money.

Happy birthday, Bubs. We love you bunches!

Brady-boo is 14!

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How is this child growing up so fast? Our not so little Brady-boo will be in high school next year. While he is more than ready, we can’t help but want to make time slow down a little.

This year Brady grew so much socially. His friend group expanded as he began to get more involved in band, running track and cross country, and participating in Lego Robotics club. This was evident at his birthday party where 11 teen boys came to hang out, swim, and EAT SO MUCH FOOD. One thing I noticed was how each of them had such nice things to say to Brady in their birthday cards- they all seemed to know him so well and really care about him. It feels good to know that as he begins this new adventure of high school, he will be surrounded by some really good kids.

Brady at 14 is not that much different than Brady at 4 in most ways. Yes, at 5’8 he now towers over me, but he is still my dinosaur obsessed boy. He still studies things and quietly observes in new settings. He still loves museums, books, and building. In fact, this year he asked for money for his birthday so he could buy his own Lego Robotics kit. He loves learning behind the scenes information about his favorite movies (Star Wars, Jurassic Park, Jaws) by watching documentaries about Steven Spielberg and John Williams. He is a wiz at coding, Lego, and anything Paleontology, but he also loves being up to date on current events and government.

This kid is so unique and so kind. He is analytical, logical, and has such a good head on his shoulders. We are so proud of the young man he is becoming. Slow down, time! We love you so much, B-man!

Nolie is 12!

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Our sweet Bubba turned 12! He spent his special weekend rock climbing with friends, watching the Minecraft Movie (he LOVED it), eating his favorite foods, opening presents, and cheering on the Gators in the Final Four.

Nolan is our competitive, musical, feisty, and fun-loving kiddo. This year he has had a great start to middle school, is continuing to play baseball and trumpet, and has begun to hone his piano skills with lessons. He has branched out by making new friends, becoming a more adventurous eater, and practicing harder things like tricky Lego builds and complicated piano songs.

He is loving and funny and can always be seen playing with a ball or heard humming a song. He is so smart and loves to humble brag about his math skills.

We love this boy SO much!

Smiths’ European Vacation!

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For as long as I can remember, I have always dreamed of going to the U.K. I love British humor, accents, television shows, movies, and books. I love watching Instagram videos of quaint pubs, decor, and bookshops. In the summer of 2024 we finally made my dream of going across the pond come true.

We didn’t set out to book a trip to London initially, but when we sat down to do our annual summer vacation planning, we became frustrated with the high plane ticket costs to go to Florida and visit family. On a whim we decided to check to see how much it would cost to go to London. Surprisingly, it wasn’t much more than going to Florida. Could…we…actually…go?! With the help of our credit card points- we made it happen!

Once the initial shock of booking flights on British Airlines started to wear off, we realized we needed to start planning this big adventure! When we started looking at the time would have, we decided we would have enough days to pull off a quick trip to Paris as well. HOLY MOLY. This was beyond exciting.

We wanted to make sure that the boys were a big part of the planning as this trip was as much for them as it was for us. They both had must sees on their Euro lists. Brady wanted to see as many museums as possible (specifically for dinosaur fossils.) Nolan wanted to see Abbey Road and eat baguettes. I had dreams of having afternoon tea at Harrods, seeing Buckingham Palace, and taking a night time cruise down the Siene to see the Eiffel Tower lit up. Chris wanted to go to a Premier League match, and take in all the art, culture, architecture and food that we could. Happily, we did all that and more!

We ended up staying one night in London with a quick double decker bus trip for a little sightseeing. Then we hopped on the train to Paris where we stayed two nights in an amazing Airbnb that was right in the middle of everything! After that, we stayed 6 nights at the most beautiful flat in the Chelsea area of London. Everything about the trip was a dream come true. And I can’t wait to go back someday!

These are my favorite memories…

The train to Paris
Arch de Triumph- a quick walk from our apartment
At Carette
The Louvre
Nolan seeking out air conditioning
French Pokemon cards
At the Paleontology Museum in Paris
Taking the train back to London
Seeing the Crown Jewels
Tower Bridge
Eating all the yummy food at Borough Market
The viral chocolate covered strawberries
Mac and cheese he still dreams about
Westminster Abbey
Taking the tube to the West Ham match
Abbey Road
Banksy Art in front of London Zoo
London Zoo
Our Airbnb neighborhood
Afternoon tea at Harrods
At the British Museum of Natural History
Nolan finding the cool air again!
Pub life
Buckingham Palace

By far, our biggest, and most blessed adventure yet!

Brady-boo is a teenager!

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Our sweet Brady turned 13 this summer. This past year has been a tremendous time of growing and maturing for him. He is easily 2 inches taller than me and is eating us out of house and home. You can practically see him growing before your eyes. He is smart and kind. He is witty and analytical. He loves Minecraft and coding. He plays trumpet and runs track. He spends his time reading and hanging out with friends. He is easily the best teenager I know. We are so lucky he is ours!!!

Nolan is 11!

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Our youngest (not-so) little man is 11. He is in his final months of Elementary School and is dangerously close to being taller than me. While he is maturing and growing, he is thankfully still our sweet, playful, hilarious Bubba. He loves anything he can “win” at- video games (Minecraft and Mario), sports, board games, and math problems. His quick wit is either going to take him far in life or get him in trouble some day! He has become more confident and more sure of himself over the last year. He is more willing to try new things and has worked hard at being okay with making mistakes. Although, that may always be a work in progress…

He is always up for a round of basketball, golf, or football in the yard with his daddy. He knows how to butter up his mommy for extra desserts and snuggles. He plays baseball and the trumpet, and his ability to play a tune on the piano by ear is amazing. We are constantly in awe of this kid and his talents, memory, and humor. He is the absolute best 11 year old I know.

We love you, we love you, we loooooove you, Nolie. *extra hug!*

2023 Recap

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As I sit here on a cold January day looking out onto a grey sky, I find my mind wandering to warm memories. I’m reflecting on all of the adventures we had last year and getting excited for new ones to come.

We started 2023 with lots of cozy days at home, working on our house (this was definitely a year of house projects!) The boys enjoyed snow tubing in the yard, building forts and snowmen, and getting outside as much as possible through the winter.

For February break we did a family get away to New York City. I loved seeing the city through the boys eyes and it was great to enjoy winter in New York without the crazy Christmas crowds.

For April break we had an amazing trip to Montreal and Quebec City. We loved the architecture, food, and museums.

Spring brought flowers, sunshine and lots of Little League Baseball.

Summer brough strawberry and blueberry picking, an Ed Sheeran concert, visit with family, a trip to Florida/Georgia and more baseball. The boys tried sailing camp for the first time and Brady went to his first overnight summer camp for STEM.

As the weather began to cool again we took advantage of less crowds and the beach and spent many evenings relaxing with Sailor. In October Chris and I had a quick getaway to Camden Maine. We spent a long weekend with the boys in New Brunswick Canada and loved the gorgeous scenery.

We ended the year with more visits from family and time enjoying our beautiful area.

I can’t wait to plan some new adventures for 2024!

Brady is 12!

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It’s hard to believe our quiet little blue eyed boy is on the verge of teen years. It seems like just yesterday he was flying his toy planes around and eating his cheddar bunnies while watching Mickey Mouse Clubhouse. And now, as I type this, I’m currently washing up a week’s worth of his smelly laundry from his first sleepaway camp that he just returned from where he learned to design flying gliders and all about Lego robotics. Our sweet Brady-boo still has his big kind heart from his toddler years- but he’s got a little older kid independence mixed in there now. He is still fascinated by building and understanding the way things work. He still has a HUGE appetite (and God only knows where he puts it all!) He still loves movies and music. And, he’s still a quirky daydreamer with plans to discover a dinosaur fossil when he grows up. It’s bittersweet to see our little guy grow up into this pre-teen kiddo, but he makes us proud every day. He boldly tries new things and doesn’t let a challenge deter him. He is fiercely himself in a crowd of middle schoolers all trying to out “TikTok” each other in an effort to fit in. He could spend hours with his books and playing video games with his brother. He is curious about the world and makes it better just by being in it. We love you lots, B-man!