We’ve said it many times… Punta Mita is definitely one of our favorite places! It holds some kind of magic that calms our souls. It’s like finally taking a much needed deep breath and everything just melts away. We were grateful to spend our spring break there and enjoy that calm for seven days. The days just blend together and the world fades away. It’s our little family of four taking a lot of deep breaths.
Things to remember: Tide pools with creepy crawly things, golf cart rides everywhere, Charlotte driving, Johnny driving, reading a book by the fire every night, the weirdest oysters our first night, amazing food, Sufi with all 4 of us, playing cards, music, sunsets, speed bumps, wave diving, Charlotte’s epic sunburn, breakfast at the house, surfing (kind of), Charlotte’s separate living quarters, morning mist/fog, frisbee, and Punta Mita’s magic.
Charlotte turns double digits, but it feels as though she’s been 16 for a couple years. When she was born, we received a gift that said a common saying, “Sugar and spice and everything nice. That’s what little girls are made of.” Wow, that is our Charlotte. (It’s still in her closet.) She’s strong and bold and beautiful and I do not worry about her taking on the world. I do, however, hope she can stay 10 as long as possible and not grow up too fast.
Charlotte pushes herself in dance and in school. She also pushes me in my journey as a parent. Boundaries are getting less black and white with her negotiations and determination. It’s Charlotte’s world, and I’m just here to hold on for the ride. I truly wouldn’t want it any other way. She just gets things and sometimes “parenting” her feels silly. I will continue to yearn for more patience and humility.
Charlotte strives for perfection and holds a high standard for herself. I admire her hard work and commitment in all she does. If you give her a task, she will nail it! It might take longer than expected, but it will be done well. She is currently very involved in dance and is spending 14-15 hours a week dancing. She is on a competing team where they will compete in jazz, contemporary and hip hop next spring. She has taken on another dance solo and has also achieved the status of point where she practices once a week with a private ballet instructor on point shoes (her first pair of high heels). This last competition season was a huge success with her team where they received many awards and 1st place titles. Charlotte also took her hip hop solo to Nationals in Las Vegas and won 1st place in her category. Go Charlotte!
When Charlotte is not dancing, she’s home listening to music and enjoying art, fashion and makeup. For Charlotte’s 10th birthday, she and I were able to steal away to Las Vegas for one night to see the Michael Jackson show where all of her favorite things were combined – dance, music, art and fashion. It was an inspiring show for both of us. I love spending one-on-one time with her and getting her fashion and makeup advice. She’s my best girl and I’m the luckiest mama! Can’t wait for more, Charlotte!
One last note worth documenting, we gave Charlotte her first iPhone for her 10th birthday. There were multiple factors that weighed heavily into this, mostly her dance schedule and her dance friends. We’re still working on the balance, but wow, what a time to be alive!
I remember hearing someone say “BVI” and I had to ask what that meant; this very special place in the Caribbean that all the cool people call “BVI”. Our family was lucky enough to experience this very cool acronym last February for ski week. Instead of skiing in Park City, we journeyed on our favorite catamaran, Sea Boss, through BVI. From here, it is only the pictures that can tell the story.
Things to remember… the longest journey to get there (sleeping in the Atlanta airport), lobster, lots of lobster, conch shells, eating fresh conch while snorkeling, fishing, caves, The Baths, snorkeling, pirate night, busting my cheek, glow worms in the water at Anegada, early morning fishing, Hanna and Stu forever, tarpon fishing late at night with the Top Gun song Danger Zone playing, capturing a scale of a fish, paddle boarding, fly fishing with Stu, flamingos, a long walk on Cow Wreck beach and the rum to follow while riding in the back of a truck/taxi, saying a prayer for “Lobby”, the rainbow, Johnny stung by fire coral, hiking up to the ruins of a deserted estate while fighting the bugs, COVID tests via Zoom, forgetting the kids’ bag on our way home, Hanna mailing Charlotte’s favorite buddies and blankies home.
We stand amazed by this place and hope to come back soon.
Christmas came and went again like a dream. Santa stopped by on the beach via parachute. Charlotte and Johnny seemed less amused with meeting him and “sitting on his lap”. He brought a few presents and some candy which the coatis (Mexican racoons) ravaged through (glad they had the tummy ache and not us). Like every Christmas, we hope the takeaway was an experience that fills our memories with love and time spent together. Luckily, we get to do this as a family at one of our favorite spots, Rosewood Mayakoba. We feel incredibly grateful for this special week we get to spend in the sun and sand.
Things to remember: First and foremost, the near plane crash we lived through on our way to Chichen Itza; we’ve never been more scared and more relieved to feel the ground (we didn’t quite make it to the pyramids). COVID restrictions of masks, testing, etc. Massive crowds and chaos at Cancun airport on arrival. Breakfast, lunch and dinner; every bite is an experience in and of itself at Rosewood. Bike riding to and from the beach as well as to the village to play arcade games. Charlotte and Johnny had their own bikes this trip. Riding beach cruisers as a family through the jungle on our way to the beach might be the highlight of my entire year. Sailing with daddy where Charlotte and Johnny made an obstacle course under the boat that they called “Tom and Jerry”. The lifeguard pulling in the sailboat because the wind died. Johnny’s “dabs”. Charlotte reading a book on the beach. Playing dodgeball on the paddleboards. The Mayakoba boat where we found a deserted island to explore as well as a deserted boat from Hurricane Wilma. Playing giant chess. Swimming in the rain on the last day. Diving, swimming, digging, running, sunning, eating, biking, discovering and mostly loving life together.
Thank you, Santa. We will try to be good so we can come back next year.
NFR is a special event for feeling some of the goodness America was built upon; hard work, horses, dirt, pride and a little bit country. John and I were thrilled to be able to bring Charlotte and Johnny this year to experience NFR for the first time. We walked away with a renewed sense of hope for America and wholesome goodness that gets to live on at home on Mellor Ranch. God bless America and long live cowboys!
We were also able to squeeze a little bit more out of Vegas with a trip to see the Grand Canyon, Cowboy Christmas, amazing meals, bubble baths and last but not least, the Carrie Underwood show. Charlotte and Johnny are hooked. We can’t wait until next year.
Johnny is a bright light in this world! He has a contagious, happy energy that surrounds him wherever he goes. He’s enthusiastic about everything he does, especially if it involves the great outdoors and/or the dogs. Whenever possible, Johnny wants to be outside experiencing the real world. It is such a joy to be around him and see the pond, creek, or even the grass through his eyes. One of Johnny’s latest sayings is “I’m having a really great day so far”. It has matured from “this is the best day ever” but still the most genuine sentiment of truly loving life. He usually follows it with “how is your day going, mom”. I proceed to melt and concur that I’m having “a really great day” too. And when he gets upset or has a stubborn streak, it’s usually over quick and with him owning every aspect of it. I feel like the luckiest dang mom that there ever was with Johnny.
Johnny is in 1st grade and has started the Spanish dual immersion program at Parley’s Park Elementary. He loves to learn and loves his friends even more. Johnny’s teachers have an affection for him that we all share. Johnny also enjoys all sports possible, especially soccer and baseball. He is an avid outdoorsman and is quite skilled with a knife, hammer, fishing pole, bugs and all things with dad. He loves animals and seems to have a special connection every critter he finds. Johnny is also a proud little brother to Charlotte and does his best to push her buttons as well as give her hugs at recess. He continues to make us all laugh with jokes, voices and silly faces. We’re grateful for the joy Johnny brings to our family. Happy 7th birthday, bud!
Here are a few pictures of Johnny on his actual birthday, September 9th. His birthday party was a few days later with more details below.
For Johnny’s 7th birthday, we created a survival skills birthday party for a bunch of energetic 6-year-old boys. It was a total hit! John was troop leader as he led Johnny and his friends around the ranch on a scavenger hunt to learn a few basic survival skills. They learned how to use a compass and a signal mirror. They also went to rescue an injured hiker and learned how to apply pressure to a wound and make an arm sling. The injured hiker was Charlotte with a very (fake) bloody arm. The last test was knowing a parent’s phone number in case of an emergency. Surprisingly, most of the boys didn’t know the phone number. We told them that was their homework 😉 We ate trail mix, hot dogs and fish cooked in tinfoil (Johnny ate the fish eyeball). The party ended with singing happy birthday and eating cake!
Our self-created family holiday happens once a year (July) at Mellor Ranch when John cuts and bales the hay field. It never ceases to bring pure, good old-fashioned fun for all of us. John gets to use all of his tractor equipment, Charlotte and Johnny get to run around wildly in the field, Prissy and Ginger get to catch voles and I get to bring out the big camera. Below are the memories captured and documented.
If one is seeking adventure, Costa Rica is the place. We went from ziplines in the mountains to black sand beaches with howling monkeys in-between. It was truly adventure packed! There were plenty of critters to keep us on our toes (literally) and lots of winding dirt roads to help us slow down and soak in the rugged scenery. We also enjoyed practicing our Spanish and eating amazing local food. Our house was a major highlight as it sat up on the hillside above Coco Beach. The sunsets were incredible and so were the daily rainstorms as we swam in the pool. Overall, Costa Rica was a remarkable discovery with our two very curious children, especially as our wanderlust souls continue to crave uncharted territory through these Covid years (I can’t believe we’re saying “years” but it continues to rage on).
Things to remember: Ziplines, the bus ride to the water slide, the water slide in the rain storm, hot springs, rivers, mud, scorpions, lizards, frogs and crabs at night, june bugs, howling monkeys, more rain storms, sugar cane, crocodiles, humidity, breakfast on our patio, black sand, dirt roads with lots of bumps, mosquitos and even bigger flying bugs who remain nameless, more ziplines that might possibly be unsafe, boat time, beaches left undiscovered, feeding monkeys, feeding crocodiles, dogs, bone marrow, cats, fish spa, eating lunch in the deep backcountry, chillaxing in our infinity pool as we overlooked the bay, Johnny getting a fever the day we left, COVID tests on our patio, the lightning storm on our last night.
Below are pictures from one of our ziplining experiences where it actually felt safe and regulated … hence a professional photographer.
And now for the abundance of iPhone pictures that happen so easily without settings and without a giant camera to lug around.
We’re so happy to share our holiday card 2021! Our family and two of our dear friends brought this to life. We have to give Brett Bluth a standing ovation for creating and executing the theme. Brett hand painted every brush stroke on the wallpaper that covered our fireplace and floor as well as every brush stroke you see on our white clothing. This really happened in real life (hard to believe these days). We also have to give credit to Phillip Istomin for loving to create and for being the mastermind behind the lens as well as the back of the card. To put the cherry on top of the project, Brett wanted to paint one more brush stroke on each envelope we sent out to our friends and family. Wow, we had fun! Thank you, Brett and Phillip, for making this happen. Not sure how we will ever top it. First photo is the one we sent out, the rest are just as good!
We found ourselves back at our happy place for Spring Break. We’ve been coming to this same spot for years and always find our true Mexico serenity, especially when Park City’s spring becomes too long to bear. We happened to arrive on Charlotte’s 9th birthday, so obviously there was “Cake By The Ocean” and a proper piñata to crack. However, after much anticipation, the piñata was not filled with candy. Not sure where the miscommunication happened, but the kids really didn’t care. We were in Mexico and after that… little matters. So, happy 9th birthday to Charlotte and also happy spring break 2021. Below are the pictures to document our happy place – Punta Mita.
Below are pictures from our super awesome surf session.
