This past weekend was the umpteenth time that Hadley and I have traveled solo. By the time we move to Arizona next month she will have visited more than half of the states in the country and Puerto Rico. She’s four. I have figured out how to plan travel for the smoothest process possible.

Tip #1

This is the most important of the tips. Make your travel arrangements according to your child’s sleep/nap schedule. Flying with a sleeping baby or toddler is way easier than trying to entertain a child during a flight.

Tip #2

Plan ahead for times that your child will not be sleeping. Go to the Dollar Tree and buy various toys and activities to occupy your child’s time. Also, splurge on candy, fruit snacks, and sweets that you normally wouldn’t buy. Also, download shows on a tablet that your child enjoys. These will go a LONG way!

Trip #3

If you can get an upgrade, take it! There may be some in first class that turn up their nose to children and voice their concerns. Brush it off. You’ll have more room and will be able to exit first.

For nearly the past year, I have used this blog to share some of my thoughts.  I created the blog for a previous course and continued to post.  I find that blogging is a good way to organize thoughts and stories by different categories to share with a large audience.

For the Capstone course, I will use the blog for the outlined purpose.  The pages on my blog have descriptions of my family, our adventures, and other thoughts.  I plan to continue to post on the blog in the future and look forward to sharing more.

Something that happened a few days ago has been weighing on my mind.  I signed Hadley up for T-ball several months ago, and practices started in late May.  Anyone that knows my child, knows that she is a bit of a free spirit.  Needless to say, she isn’t super focused when playing and requires some additional instruction.  I don’t expect her to excel in everything she does, but I want her to find her niche and enjoy those activities.

She had a game Tuesday night at 5:15.  Since it was so early on a work day, Andrew wasn’t able to make it.  Hadley was super excited, because it was our turn to bring snacks and I found Paw Patrol string cheese that she was ecstatic to share with her teammates.  About halfway through the game, I heard a boy on her team utter the words, “Hadley isn’t a good player.”  My heart sunk.  I immediately went through a range of emotions for about 5 seconds, until the boy’s grandfather corrected him.  I’m not going to lie, parenting is the craziest emotional roller coaster that I’ve ever experienced.  Everything is deeper – love, fear, excitement, pride, sadness, happiness – everything.  Even though I was so upset and hurt by what he said, I probably wouldn’t have responded if the grandfather didn’t correct him.

I understand that kids generally have no filter and say whatever comes to mind.  He was just pointing out the obvious.  Hadley was talking to me when it happened, so I don’t think she heard.  Since that night, I have thought about how I would have explained the situation to her in the case that she did hear him.  Would she understand?  How would it affect her?  Would she want to continue playing T-ball, or try to get better at anything in the future?  I’ve realized that I have absolutely no idea, but I also know that this incident is probably just the beginning.

I know that kids can be less than nice, especially as they grow older.  Ultimately, I can’t control what other kids do, but I can influence my own to be kind and generous to others.  I’m okay with Hadley being a bad T-ball player, as long as she’s nice.

Memorial Day weekend was exactly what we needed.  We had super busy schedules the past few months and it was nice to just relax for a while.  I left work early on Friday and we went to our favorite Mediterranean restaurant.  Hadley was sick on Wednesday night and Thursday, so we were all pretty exhausted.  Needless to say, everyone was out early on Friday night.

Hadley had dance class on Saturday morning and then we all headed to the Y.  We decided to pick up a grill on the way home and made dinner while we sat outside watching Hadley and the dogs play.

On Sunday, we had plans to spend the day boating.  The lake  is about an hour away, and the forecast for Sunday didn’t look so great.  But, it’s Idaho and the weather changes QUICK!  We decided to go ahead with the plan.  There were some clouds and a few sprinkles after we got on the water, but the skies cleared up and it turned out to be a beautiful day.  Hopefully, the water temperature is warmer for our next trip.

To finish off the weekend, we did a little shopping on Monday and tried a local restaurant.  The food was really good and they’re dog friendly, so next time, the Lu will probably join us 🙂

via The Lu

For quite some time, I have found myself pondering the idea of sharing the everyday details of our lives.  Being geographically separated from all of our family and friends, I thought sharing these stories in this way, would be fascinating.  In reality, this is something that I probably should have done much sooner!

A little about us…

My name is Amber.  My husband is Andrew, an Army Officer, and currently the Boise Army Recruiting Company Commander.  I’m originally from Louisville, KY and we met while he was stationed at Fort Knox in 2012.

Andrew deployed to Afghanistan in the spring of 2013, and returned in January 2014.  We were so eager to have a puppy, that we literally adopted our firstborn, Lucy the day after he got back.

We also got engaged….and married within the next few months, then moved to Sierra Vista, AZ, where our sweet daughter, Hadley Mae was born in November 2014.

Hadley didn’t get to see much of Arizona.  The Army decided that it would be time for us to move 2.5 weeks after she was born.  So, we packed up the cars, and headed south.  Crazy!  We spent the next 2.5 years in Savannah, GA, while Andrew was stationed at Fort Stewart, and made sure to soak up plenty of trips to the beach, and explore as much as we could.

Last summer, the Army brought us to Boise, ID, where we’re currently living.  We also added another Short to the tribe, when we adopted a goldendoodle, Culper last fall.

Every day is a different adventure around here, and I plan on sharing as much as I can!

Stay tuned…