Travel

Friday Favorites {#283}

Posted on December 5, 2025December 4, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Of course, I’m always team “TGIF,” but something about Fridays in December are just a bit better.

We had a little bit of everything this week from re-entry after Thanksgiving break to a snow day and the kids having busy evenings with activities.

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

This is a super-sized Friday Favorites from Thanksgiving tidbits to festive fun.

Going back to last week, we were in KC for Thanksgiving. We drove a bit after school on Tuesday and finished the rest of the drive on Wednesday. Overall, we had a pretty chill KC visit which was fine by me.

Of course, I had to catch the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day parade on Thanksgiving morning.

My dad’s cousin hosts that side of the family, and there are probably thirty people there…my cousin outdoes herself with the tablescape and place settings.

I always look forward to the personalized chocolate turkey! It’s a fun and sweet tradition!

We snapped some family photos…

My brother and his family were there too!

Can you go to KC without getting BBQ? Per Hayden’s request, we had some for lunch on Friday.

The girls baked cookies…

…and we spent some time with my Gma. When I think of my Gma, I always think of cardinals and Nutcrackers. She has quite the collection of both…and she passed down a Nutcracker to each of the great grandkids.

We also made a visit to the Magic tree which is a fun tradition. It had started to rain, so we had to snap our pics quickly…

GG was in on the fun…

We left around noon in Saturday and drove home mostly in the rain which was no fun. There was actually snow on the ground for quite a bit of our drive through Missouri and Illinois.

Sunday morning me thanked pre-Thanksgiving me because it was nice to sip my coffee by the glow of the Christmas tree.

The Nutcrackers have found a home…

….as did this cookie jar…another hand me down from my Gma. My brother received one as well.

My mom gave my sister-in-law and me one of these cute Christmas trees… I hope I can keep it alive!

Topsys Popcorn in a KC staple, and it’s one of my fave traditions to get some during the holiday season. I don’t think they always do it, but now it’s in some grocery stores there, so my dad picked some up. The crew plowed through it, so I picked up a couple of tubs to bring home.

I shared my Trader Joe’s haul yesterday, and I love this festive bag.

Sunday, I put out our outside decorations. We don’t do much, but we haven’t had light up trees in a couple of years. I purchased a set of two on Amazon, and they arrived just in time. I was pleasantly surprised with them.

They have a battery pack, and I did wonder about turning them off and on every night…but lo and behold when I went to turn them off the first night, they’d gone out…and then they were lit up the next day. So, they must have a timer that I didn’t realize. My version appears to be sold out, but they have a “snow” version.

On a Target run a couple of weeks ago, I picked up the wreath for the mirror as well as a cute pack of ribbon. I decided to tie some on the coffee table tree that I’ve had for years, and it’s the perfect festive touch.

On that same trip to Target, I lucked into finding two of the Christmas icon glasses. I got one tree and one gingerbread man. I wish I’d picked up a couple more because it appears they are sold out.

Classic…cold milk and a couple of Oreos for dessert.

I also use them for iced coffee…so festive and cute.

We had a snow day on Tuesday which was kind of unexpected. The meteorologists were talking about a chance of 2-5 inches of snow, and it was certainly cold enough, but I don’t think I’ve every had a snow day in December!

Our streets were fine by 9am, so I guess the timing was just right with snow covered roads when the buses would be driving their routes.

I actually went to school to set up my tree…This was the one that Hayden put in his room when he was little, but it’s been in our attic. Next year, I need to remember to add a few more lights. The tree skirt, beaded garland (I probably should have gotten two strands), and ornaments are all from Amazon.

One of my favorite food trucks came to school yesterday. I love not having to pack my lunch, and I love the “mozzaroni” sandwich to warm me up on a cold day.

I shared my December book trackers on Instagram. They are saved in a highlight, so feel free to use them and tag me. I love seeing what others are reading.

Favorite Mom Meme:

’tis the season (of life!)

Bonus Fave: Flashback Friday

This pic is from 2013…and it was the first time the kids went ice skating. We were in KC for Thanksgiving, and we went ice skating at Crown Center which is something we used to do when I was a kid. Like with most things, Hadley hopped right on the ice, and Hayden was a bit hesitant. Their personalities haven’t changed much since then!

Share Our Lives:

We have our last Share Our Lives link up of 2025! We’d love to have you join us!

Weekly Recap:

I had a few posts this week!

Prime Purchases

November books

Tis the Season: Trader Joe’s

I hope you have a fun and festive holiday weekend!

Travel

Fall Break 30A Recap Part 2

Posted on October 9, 2025October 9, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Thursday!

I forgot to schedule this post this morning which give you a peek into how my week is going haha!

I’m picking up where I left off with part 1 of my recap of the first few days of our fall break in Florida. Here’s a glimpse at the rest of the trip:

Tuesday morning started off slowly. Is there any better way than to start your day on the screened in porch with a cup of coffee?

Then, we headed to Seaside to meet some friends for breakfast…Hadley was our chauffeur…

Last year was our first year going to Black Bear, and it was a must again this year.

I got a bagel, and then we found a spot outside of Modica Market to eat. Trav picked up both up one of their legendary mimosas.

After that, we walked around a bit and shopped. I went into Sundogs Books which is one of my favorite spots in Seaside.

Seaside was far less crowded than in years past which was amazing.

Once we got back to the house, we changed and headed to the beach. Of course, there were clouds most days, but Tuesday was pretty overcast and honestly, that was a great reprieve from the heat.

We were at the beach for quite a while and then went back to the house for a bit before going back for sunset. Unfortunately, it was a pretty cloud covered sunset, but Hadley and friends had fun taking photos.

It was Taco Tuesday for dinner at the house and the moms and daughters watched Dancing with the Stars.

I was up pretty early on Wednesday and decided to take a walk. I love this entry point by our house.

I spotted the boys out fishing.

The water was so beautiful and calm.

One of Trav’s friends lives about an hour from Seaside, and he came in to see Trav and another friend who was in town on vacation. I joined them in Seaside where we sat around and talked and grabbed lunch. Hadley had tried the new “dumpling” place and raved about the fried rice, so that’s what I had for lunch that day.

We got back to the house early afternoon, and I was tired. I tend to “hit a wall” at some point on vacay, and this was that day. I just hung out at the house and read and took a nap. The teens were in and out, and I took them to Publix for cookie dough and whatever else they needed. It was just a chill house day.

On vacay, we choose one night when the adults go out to dinner. So, we got ready, and the girls got ready too because they were headed to the beach for more sunset pics.

Hadley and I snapped a pic…

…before I dropped the girls off at the beach. These friends had the best time that week.

Then, the adults made our way to Watercolor to eat at Fish Out of Water. While we waited for our table, we took a few pics and caught the sunset.

We’d never been to this restaurant before, and it was so nice. I got the low country boil, and it was so good.

Meanwhile…the girls were living their best lives. haha

The kids requested ice cream, so one of the dads picked up ice cream cones at Publix (don’t ask how many times we went to Publix on this trip. lol), and that was everyone’s sweet treat when we got home.

Thursday morning started with coffee and reading. I was starting to panic that I hadn’t read enough on this trip! Going on a trip with a big group means more chatting than reading, apparently…but that’s ok.

A couple of Hayden’s friends rolled into town and one of moms is good about getting pictures. She spotted Hayden on the way to meet the boys who were fishing.

We all made the most of the last beach day, and the weather was beautiful.

I started a new book.

After a few hours, some of us packed up because we wanted to go back to Seaside for a few things. I wanted an iced coffee from Black Bear, and I went back to the book store for a book.

Trav met me there, and we spotted both kids out and about with their friends.

Then, we went to Great Southern and met friends for apps and a drink.

After that, it was time to catch one more sunset…look at the sailboat showing off!

Is it even a 30A vacay without a sunset Seaside shirt pic?!

Big and little girls combined! What great memories they’ll have from these vacations.

The adults rallied for a photo!

…and one with all the kids. We didn’t travel with all of these kids, but our kids are good at finding their friends!

My family obliged for a couple of photos…

…which I always appreciate.

Also, isn’t it amazing how quickly the sky changes as the sun sets? I’m always in awe of it.

We packed up and headed back to the house. None of us look forward to Thursday evening when it’s time to eat all the leftovers in the fridge, do laundry and start packing.

Friday morning we all wanted to leave by 7:30, and we were close to that goal. The kids *begrudgingly* took one more photo. We were all tired from a fun filled week.

The drive home is brutal because Nasvhille traffic is no fun most times of the day. Truly, the drive to Seaside is usually under ten hours, and the trip home is always at least eleven hours! Plus, we lose an hour on the way back.

Anyway, we never know if we’ll be able to pull the trip off year after year, but so far, we’ve made this happen for four years. It’s hard to believe we might only have a couple years left!

Also, my apologies for however many times I typed “sunset.” If it was a drinking game, you’d be under the table!

Thanks for following along, and let me know if you have any questions.

Travel

Fall Break 30A Recap Part 1

Posted on October 8, 2025October 7, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Wednesday.

Well, the first day back to school was as busy as you’d imagine after over a week off from school. That being said, it was great to see my students again, and we had a good day overall.

We had another really lovely fall break in Florida with friends. Every year is similar but different, but I love having all the memories in one place.

This post I shared last year recapped that trip, but I also shared a few thoughts about how we’ve made it work traveling with three other families the past few years. It’s a blessing to find a crew that you enjoy being with, but those who also understand when you need to fuss at your kid. haha

We’re all like one big family at this point.

Anyway, here’s a recap of the first few days of our fall break fun:

Friday:

Let me remind you that our last day of school included the freshman field trip for me! So, we’d decided to make the decision to leave Friday and drive to Nashville or wait and drive the full ten hours on Saturday until after school. Once I got home, I still needed to pack, but I was motivated at the thought of sleeping in a bit Saturday if we left Friday night. We got the car packed up and left the house around 6:30. I drove the first hour and a half, and Trav drove the rest of the way. We made it outside of Nashville by 10:00 which was our goal. We checked into the hotel and got a great night’s sleep.

Saturday:

Honestly, I was sleeping so well that Trav woke me at 8:00 because he was ready to get on the road. We had breakfast at the hotel, and left by 9:00. I honestly would have loved to sleep longer, but it was time to get moving as we had a six hour drive ahead of us.

It was a pretty easy drive, and we stopped a couple of times for gas and lunch. One of the families drove the whole way on Friday, another drove to Birmingham on Friday and the last family drove the whole way on Saturday. So, we all kind of did our own thing to get to Seaside, but we met at Hurricanes around 3:00 which has been our tradition to grab a bite to eat.

The house was ready surprisingly early, so after our meal, we all headed that way and unpacked. The groceries had been delivered a bit earlier, and our friend had already unpacked them.

Most of us went to the beach to catch the first sunset of vacay.

Honestly, I’m glad we made that happen…it was nice to have my toes in the sand, but also, this was the best sunset of the trip!

UK football was on that evening, so we all just hung at the house, watched the game, and some of us played a few games before going to bed.

Sunday:

We all eased into the morning. I love hanging out on the front porch to have my morning coffee.

We made it to the beach around 10:30 and set up for the day. The weather was warm, and the water was beautiful.

The teens come and go to the beach, and some days they are there longer than others. Since it was the first full day, I guess they wanted to be where we were. haha

I rarely buy books, but I’d been at Target the week before, and decided to purchase Elin Hilderbrand’s newest book that she co-wrote with her daughter. I was excited to start reading it.

I stayed at the beach until about 3:30, and then I headed back to the house to watch the Chiefs game. Hayden and I did that, but then I headed back for sunset.

One of the friends made these cute cups for our trip. They were perfect.

The girls joined us….they are such a sweet and fun group.

Hadley…she understood the assignment.

Fun with friends.

The sunset was a stunner.

It is crazy that it’s dark by 6:30. Once back at the house, we grilled out and then the kids made s’mores.

Truly, most nights we’d think it was 10:00 only to find out it was 8:30! haha

Monday:

Monday, I slept until 9, and then it was another slow morning followed by a beach day.

Hayden and a couple of friends went golfing while the rest of us beached it.

Mermaid Hadley.

We usually have one night that the moms go out for happy hour, so we did that on Monday night.

We went to Rosemary Beach which is about fifteen minutes from where we stay. It’s a really cute little town.

We went to The Pearl for happy hour.

I had a Frose’…

…and we had the perfect sunset views.

We stayed for a couple of hours…

…and then as we headed out, we asked someone to take our pic, and I’m so glad we did.

We went to Seaside for dinner, and then it was back to the house. The first few days were great!

Friday Favorites, Travel

Friday Favorites {#276}

Posted on October 3, 2025October 2, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Friday!

Well, all good things must come to an end. Today is our last official day of fall break, and it’s been a good one!

As always, I’m linking up with Andrea and Erika for this week’s Friday Favorites.

This week we spent time in one of our favorite places…30A/Seaside. This is the fourth year we’ve spent the week here for fall break, and it was another great year.

The weather was in the upper 80’s all week, and we only had one cloudy day.

Seaside showing off…

The one cloudy day, but it was still a good one at the beach!

We caught the sunset every night which is my favorite thing to do on vacay.

We had many great meals, and the moms snuck away for a happy hour on Monday night in Rosemary.

We always have one night where the parents go out for a nice dinner, and we caught the sunset while we waited for our table.

The kids are with us, but rarely around 🤣

We’re headed home today, and I will share a trip recap next week…although it was pretty much sunshine, sunsets and seafood like always.

A few other faves….

October is my favorite month, so I always share this quote to kick off the month:

Per usual, I have a few new book trackers saved to a highlight on my Instagram.

Feel free to screenshot them, use them and tag me! I always love seeing what others are reading.

Weekly Recap:

This week I had a few posts:

September Books

Wednesday Hodgepodge

Monthly moments

We’re ready to get back home, do laundry, sleep in our own beds, and see Homer!

Throwback Thursday, Travel

Throwback Thursday: Disney 2019

Posted on July 24, 2025July 24, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Thursday!

Well, this post is coming to you a bit late, but it’s one that I wanted to share as a follow up to my posts last week.

Last week, the Share Our Lives post was about travel memories…which got me thinking about the first time we took the kids to Disney World in 2015.

Today’s Throwback Thursday post is a follow up to that one, and I’m sharing about the other time we took the kids to Disney in 2019.

Here we are in 2015…

I had just started my blog when we returned home from this 2019 trip, so I’m assuming I shared at least something, but I couldn’t quickly find it in the blog archives…so here we go with a recap:

On another trip to Siesta Key in 2019, we planned a second trip to Disney World. This time, we decided to stay at the Polynesian the day/night before our day at Disney World. Our friends are frequents as Disney, and they graciously shared their Disney points with us, so we stayed the one night using their points/rewards!

We drove from Siesta Key, and arrived at the Polynesian in time for check in.

These kids got the hang of Polynesian life real quick!

We checked in, got the lay of the land, and hit up the pool. The kids also hit up the hot tub.

After a day of pool activities, we cleaned up, snapped a family pic…

…and went out to eat in Disney Springs. I don’t remember where we ate, but I think it was an Italian restaurant….with balloon fun…a Minnie “hat” for Hadley and a dinosaur for Hayden.

That night, we watched the fireworks from our hotel balcony. If you read my post last week, I shared that when we went to Disney in 2015, the fireworks were rained out. We kept that in mind this time, and our hope was to see them from our balcony the night before and then leave Disney the next day before the fireworks to head back to Siesta Key.

Thankfully, our plan worked!

Who doesn’t love Mickey waffles for breakfast?

We took the monorail (I think?!) from the Polynesian to Disney. So pretty!

Another round of Etsy shirts for these two.

Did you even go to Disney if you didn’t take a pic in front of the castle?

I don’t have a ton of pics, but I know we rode all the rides…including the classics like Dumbo…

…with a few laps around the track.

I didn’t buy the Disney photos, but I have this screenshot from the Seven Dwarfs Mine Train. So funny.

Like in 2015, we had a reservation for lunch, but it wasn’t with the characters. We kept it a bit more simple, but were excited for the a/c, a place to sit down, and some food to eat.

Then, we did get a little bit of rain…just as we were at the Swiss Family Robinson house.

Fun fact…Swiss Family Robinson is one of my favorite movies! …and a sweet memory I have from after the trip is that as soon as we got home, we watched the movie as a family…and both kids loved it…especially Hayden.

Since it was raining, I remember we scrambled to find something to do inside which apparently was the Haunted Mansion.

Hadley’s face…priceless!

I do think we ended our day riding Splash Mountain because if we got too wet, we were headed back to the car.

We left around dinner time, changed our clothes in the car, with the kids putting their pj’s on, and stopped for food on the road.

Another trip with sweet memories, but the kids never really asked to go back! Like I said, I’d like to check out the other parks some day, but that’s not on our immediate list.

Hopefully, the kids have sweet memories from those two trips!

Travel

Michigan Recap Part 3

Posted on July 23, 2025July 22, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Wednesday!

Well, it’s really getting real around here. Yesterday, I spent a few hours in my classroom just getting it set up and organized. Today, we have a professional development day. After today, I don’t have to think about school for a bit and can savor the remaining days of summer.

So far, I’ve shared parts one and two of our trip to the Lake Michigan area. We started in South Haven, visited St. Joseph, and then moved on to Saugatuck. I’m picking up where I left off to finish sharing about this trip.

Also, I’m sorry about the number of times I used the word “cute” in my part 2 post…I will try to do better. haha

Friday morning, we had our breakfast delivered around 8:30. Hazelnut waffles and sausage hit the spot.

Then, we got ready and headed into town …

…for our couples massage. Why does the time go so quickly when you get to relax?!

The massage was great, and then we went to Boardwalk to get…

…a smoothie for Trav and juice for me. It hit the spot.

After that, we walked around a bit. I had seen the Christmas store the day before, and I’m trying to get better about picking up ornaments on our travels, so we headed that way.

There are ornament options for everyone!

I loved seeing the Nutcrackers…those always remind me of my Gma.

Some of the cute ornaments I spotted:

I kept it simple with the Saugatuck chair with wreath. I can’t wait to hang it on the tree in December.

After that, we drove back to the hotel to shower and get ready for the day. After a bit, we walked back to town to grab a bite to eat. First, we stopped by the farmer’s market…

…and then we walked down by the water for a bit. It was overcast for most of the day. Of course, I would have loved sunshine and another beach day, but days like this give us time to walk around, shop, and just see where the day takes us…

…apparently, the day took us to The Mitten Brewing Co. haha

Trav had a beer, and we split a pizza. Another lunch, another pizza! I guess we didn’t plan out our lunches very well, but the pizza hit the spot.

We walked around a bit more and then headed back to the hotel. Since it was kind of rainy, we just relaxed and then Trav went for a run.

Another fun aspect of this hotel is that they deliver a little dessert around 5:30! These cheesecake squares hit the spot!

We got ready for our evening. We did have a reservation for a nice steak dinner in Holland, but we canceled it once we realized we were pretty full from lunch. We still drove about twenty minutes to Holland…another town we wanted to check out.

Downtown Holland seemed to be the biggest downtown we saw. We walked around for a bit and then drove around too…

Too bad the tulips weren’t in bloom with the pretty windmill.

We drove past a couple of beaches

So pretty!

…then, it was around 8:00, so we headed back to Saugatuck. We drove back a different way and Trav spotted The Southerner which was one restaurant he’d had on this list. There was a little bit of a wait, but it was worth it. We got to sit on the water, have a drink, and we both had a light dinner.

Then, we headed back to the hotel. I started packing up a bit before bed.

For Saturday’s breakfast, I had eggs, toast, fresh fruit and apple juice.

We had a little bit of time, so I walked for about twenty minutes to get some steps in. I loved seeing these Adirondack chairs that looked like the shape of Michigan.

The water looked pretty too!

Then, it was time to pack up and leave. We drove around the small town of Douglas, and I spotted the library.

We usually just get up and leave when we’re on vacay, but this time, we took our time. We stopped back in St Joseph once more to have lunch. We walked around…

…and walked through another farmer’s market.

Trav went and got us some sandwiches and drinks while I stopped for a crepe.

The campfire crepe was the perfect way to end our vacay.

So, that’s a look at our little trip. Now that we’ve been there, we definitely want to go back; I see why people “summer” a little farther north!

Let me know if you have any questions about our trip.

Travel

Michigan Recap Part 2

Posted on July 22, 2025July 21, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello!

I hope your week is off to a great start. I’m still recovering from our busy weekend in Louisville. Our nephew got married on Friday and then the reception was on Saturday. So, we had two busy and full days. I will share more about all that later!

Anyway, I shared part 1 of our trip to Michigan last week, and today I’m sharing part 2.

I’d left off on mid-day Thursday when we left South Haven and drove about a half an hour to Saugatuck. We’d heard the Saugatuck was a bit more “artsy,” and I’d say the by the paint palette as we entered the cute town was saying the same thing!

We stayed at the Hotel Saugatuck, and it was so cute. We arrived a couple of hours before we could check in, but we stopped in to let them know if the room was ready a little earlier, that would be great.

After that, we drove about half a mile into town, parked the car and started walking around.

How cute?!

I spotted so many pretty flowers, especially hydrangeas that had me oohhing and ahhing…

We settled on Scooters Pizza, and each got a slice of pizza.

Then, we walked around more. Cuteness at every corner…

You know I found the book store!

I thought this chalkboard was so cute…

We walked around a bit more, and then we were able to check into hotel about an hour early. Our room was “Oval Beach,” and it was so cute.

The hotel has a view of the Kalamazoo River, and we spent lots of time in this cute sun room.

One thing I loved about this place was that they let you choose your breakfast the night before, and then a delivery time between 8-10. For our first morning, I chose the hazelnut waffles and have zero regrets!

We unpacked and then took a quick nap. Trav needed to do some work and wasn’t super motivated to go to the beach, but I was. We’d driven past Douglas Beach, so I headed that way for a couple of hours. Look at this view…

All the steps were fine on the way down, but they were a beast on the way up! At least they were shaded.

There were probably twenty people on the beach, and the weather was perfect. I actually got pretty hot! I almost got in the water, but just got in to my knees to cool off a bit.

I spent two hours reading which was perfect.

As I drove back to the hotel, I spotted these deer…

I had just enough time to shower and get ready for our 7:00 reservation at Coast. Travis was very excited about eating here.

I meant to take a picture of the six course tasting menu…this is the nine course, but it was all so good.

We sat outside, and it was lovely.

This was my first course…it was actually my favorite, and I don’t typically love tuna. This was the tuna crudo, and it was so refreshing.

The other courses:

Australian beef tartare
Risotto
Salmon
Beef tenderloin
Creme Brulee (if creme brulee is on the menu, I will order it!)

They gave us bread in the beginning and suggested Trav’s course come out with my fourth course. He ordered the lamb from the menu. I had a couple of bites, and it was delish.

We left there pretty full, and it was a great dining experience.

After that, we walked over to the Butler for a drink.

Then, it was back to the hotel!

The next morning, we woke up to some rain which was actually so nice and soothing. Our breakfast arrived…

The little juice jars were too cute.

We had about an hour to eat before starting our day.

I hope to wrap up our trip in a blog post tomorrow, but this was our first day in Saugatuck, and it didn’t disappoint.

Throwback Thursday, Travel

Throwback Thursday: Disney World 2015

Posted on July 17, 2025July 24, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Thursday!

Why is this week flying by?! Also, why is it raining nearly every single day here? It’s hard for me to plan my pool time, but I did get a couple hours at the pool yesterday.

Anyway, in Monday’s Share Our Lives post, I shared about a few favorite vacation memories which included when we took the kids to Disney World in 2015 for the first time when they were five.

Last summer, I loved sharing some throwback memories, so today I’m taking a stroll down Disney World memory lane.

In 2015, we’d gone to Siesta Key with the kids and another family. We stayed at Trav’s aunt’s house like we always do, but we decided to take one day to drive to Orlando and go to Disney World.

Our friends have boy/girl twins too that are two years older than my two. My friend’s sister is a Disney planner, so that was so helpful in planning our trip. My friend and I purchased cute shirts for the kids from Etsy (maybe my first Etsy purchase?!), and the night before we were going to Disney, we gave the kids the t-shirts and let them piece together all the fun. All four of them were excited, jumping up and down which is such a sweet memory.

Anyway, we left the house around 7 AM and drove to Orlando for the day.

This was us on the ferry (I think?) on the way into Disney World.

We made it!

Making memories with friends!

We spotted the king and queen of Disney…Micky and Minnie.

I don’t remember all the details, but we did have the fast past, and that was so helpful. We rode everything we’d hoped to including some I didn’t think we’d be able to ride (due to the kids being little) like Space Mountain!

I remember prepping Hayden as we approached the ride that he might be too short. I swear it was because he was wearing his hat that they said he was tall enough. Well, when we got to the ride, I realized he’d be sitting in front of me and I had my hand on his shoulder for the whole ride. Since it’s so dark in there, I wasn’t sure if the squeals I was hearing were good or bad, but as soon as the ride was over, he looked back at me and said, “That was the best ride ever!” So sweet to see him experience those things!

I’m more of a Dumbo ride girlie!

I think we just had one sit down meal which was lunch, and the kids got to meet so many of the characters.

Oh, Eyore!

3D time!

…followed by the tea cups! I think we hopped on the tea cups while Trav and the other dad figured out our next stop.

They were trying to make me dizzy.

Of course, they had to drive on the race track!

Who doesn’t love the carousel?!

So many sweet memories!

The kids each got to choose one item from the gift shop!

The castle looked so beautiful at night.

Unfortunately, it rained and they didn’t have the fireworks that night. That was definitely a bummer, but we had a great day overall. I think we got back to the house around midnight.

We also took the kids to Disney in 2019 (I think?!), and that time, we stayed one day/night at the Polynesian and did one day at Disney.

I’m glad we’ve made the time to take the kids to Disney, and maybe we’ll get back there one day. Trav and I are both in agreement that one day seems to be enough, and we aren’t Disney fanatics. I’m interested in Universal Studios and Epcot, but we’ll see. We used to joke that the kids didn’t realize you can go to Disney for more than one day since that’s all we’ve done. haha!

Apparently, I didn’t take a ton of pics on that trip, but I liked looking back at that time!

Travel

Michigan Recap Part 1

Posted on July 15, 2025July 15, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Tuesday!

Today, I’m sharing part one of our trip to the Lake Michigan area.

This trip came about because Trav and I both haven’t been to the Lake Michigan area although we’ve heard wonderful things about it. There are so many small lake towns, each unique in their own way, that when we’ve thought about going in the past, we weren’t really sure where to start. Also, I’d heard that it’s better to go in July as the water is warmer, and typically we do June vacations.

Anyway, with our 20th wedding anniversary, Trav suggested that we plan a trip in Michigan for a few days. We knew it would be an easy drive, and we chose a time frame when one of the kids (Hayden) would be at camp, so it was just Hadley who we needed to find coverage for a few days. Trav’s mom stayed with her two days, and then she stayed with a friend the other two nights. She was busy with work and volleyball, but she had some down time too.

Anyway, like with most of our vacations, Trav did all the planning. The running joke on our trip was how his “friend” Chat GPT really did most of the planning. I guess he asked Chat GPT for town and hotel suggestions and went from there.

Also, typically when just the two of us have gone away, we’re only gone three nights, and we wish we have one more day. This time, being gone four nights was perfect, and the six hours drive gave us time to feel like we had five pretty full days.

South Haven

Last Tuesday, we left around 10:00, and drove to Indy. We stopped for lunch and then finished the rest of the drive, arriving at our Bed and Breakfast in South Haven just before 4:00.

For the first two nights, we stayed at The Carriage House Bed and Breakfast, and it was so cute.

Our room was the Victoria, and it was precious.

This was the view from the balcony, and it was just perfect.

One thing I loved about our room was that it did have it’s own entrance. Later, we learned, that our room used to be the cook’s quarters, so that’s why it had its own entrance, and the large bathroom used to include a kitchen!

Anyway, we unpacked our car, and then went for a walk. One of the small beaches was right across the street. It was a foggy afternoon, but the view was still oh so pretty.

After that, we walked back to the B&B and drove across the bridge to the other side of South Haven. Of course, Trav spotted a brewery, Harbor Light Brewery, on the main street, so we made a pit stop there. Then, we walked around a bit more and went to Black River Tavern for dinner.

After our meal, we walked to lighthouse and then back up Main Street. It was nice to get some steps in after dinner.

After that, we got in the car and drove back to our B&B. Then, we walked back to the beach to catch the last few minutes of the sun setting.

By that time, it was 9:30, and I was ready for a shower and my PJs.

It was a lovely first day getting the lay of the South Haven land.

Wednesday

On Wednesday morning, I woke up to this pretty water view. It was so nice to wake up and have some time before breakfast.

On vacation, Travis tends to get up early and go for a run while I sleep in. When he came back, he told me we needed to hurry up because everyone else was already at breakfast. haha

At this B&B, breakfast was served at 9:00. We found a spot with a view of the water. We had Julia Child’s blueberry clafoutis, and Trav had to ask me who Julia Child was. The nerve! They also served us bacon, roasted potatoes, watermelon with mint, and a cherry scone. It was a great meal.

Then, we walked a trail that Travis had found near the B&B. I think it’s a trail that spans over 30 miles, but we just walked two miles!

It was a great way to get our steps in that morning.

There was a market near the B&B, so Trav went and picked up sandwiches, and we headed to the main beach (south beach, I believe) near the B&B.

It was a lovely afternoon, and we were there for almost four hours.

Reading, sand and sunshine…name a better trio!

After the beach, we took a nap and then showered. Since we wanted to see a few beach towns, we drove to St Joseph for dinner at Clementine’s. There’s also a Clementine’s in South Haven, but it had a long wait the night before.

The onion rings are apparently a must a Clementine’s, and we would agree!

After that, Trav said we “had to find” the carousel that he’d read about. We drove down to Silver Beach near the downtown area, parked and walked around. Trav thought the carousel would be outside, so he was bummed…but he also told me I had to take a picture of it. haha

We walked up the stairs, and that’s how we found the downtown area. Looking back, this scene reminded me of when we’ve gone to Del Mar, California…I guess just seeing the water in the distance and the sailboats.

We walked around downtown…

…and of course we got some ice cream!

Then, we headed back to South Haven just in time for sunset. We walked over the drawbridge, and it was just such a nice evening.

I loved the quaint feeling of this town with the flowers on the bridge.

Then, we headed to the beach for sunset…which was stunning!

After that, it was time for bed!

Thursday:

Again, Trav went for a run, and I slept hard! I got out of bed just in time to head to breakfast. Thursday’s menu was quiche, grapefruit salad, another scone, and a delicious Panna Cotta for dessert!

Once we were back in our room, I enjoyed one more cup of coffee while watching the boats pass by.

Then, it was about 10:30 which meant time to pack up and say goodbye to the cute bed and breakfast.

We found a spot to park downtown, and decided to walk around a bit, looking in quite a few shops.

South Haven is just so cute.

Trav suggested we grab a drink, so we sat outside for about an hour watching the boats pass by.

Including…this one that I joked looked like the pirate ship from Goonies.

Cuteness at every corner…

Around 2:00, it was time to leave South Haven and head to Saugatuck.

I hope you enjoyed this little recap! Have you ever been to Michigan? Considering it’s only about six hours from us, I can’t believe we haven’t been sooner.

I’ll share part two of our trip soon!

Not Just a Mom, Travel

Share Our Lives: July 2025

Posted on July 14, 2025July 14, 2025 by jgalvinwhite

Hello and happy Monday!

How was your weekend? We got home from our trip on Saturday night, yesterday we picked Hayden up from running camp, and then spent the rest of the day trying to get our lives in order. I was somewhat successful in that endeavor, but I also have quite the “to do” list today and tomorrow.

Anyway, it’s the second Monday of the month, so I’m co-hosting the Share Our Lives link up with some of my favorite bloggers.

So far this year, we’ve discussed…

Saving time on chores in January
Tips for falling asleep in February
Day in the life, an average day in March
Creative outlets/free time in April
How do you spend your birthday in May
Unique things about where you live in June

This month’s topic is…best vacation memory.

I was excited to write this post today as some of my favorite posts to write are the ones where I look back on certain times in life.

When I thought about this topic, the first thing that popped in my mind was the first time we took the kids to the beach in 2011. I blogged about it last summer in a Throwback Thursday post.

Travis and I had gone to Folly Beach near Charleston the summer before to celebrate our five year wedding anniversary. It was a great getaway, but one of the first times we “planned ahead” and thought about bringing the kids the next year.

When we went back to Folly in 2016, the kids would have been twenty months old or so…as soon as we got out of the car, we headed to the beach. Hadley pointed at the ocean and didn’t want anything to do with it. Hayden ran around, getting sandy and even got his shorts wet.

To know them, you would have expected the opposite based on their personalities. We had a great week, but we did leave a day early because it was a rainy day, and we needed to get the kids home and back into a routine. That was the first of many beach trips.

In 2013, we again went to the Charleston area, but stayed in Isle of Palms, SC for the first time. This pic is just the sweetest memory…

…so sweet that I keep it framed in their bathroom.

We’ve also spent many wonderful summers in Siesta Key, and it’s another great place that the kids are familiar with and love visiting. We love going to the beach after dinner…especially when the kids were little. I love this pic of them frolicking in the water.

When the kids were five, we planned a day at Disney World during our stay in Siesta Key. We drove up to Orlando for the day, and the kids were so excited when we surprised them. I will save the video forever…of them squealing and hopping up and down.

Another favorite memory is our trip to the Grand Canyon. This trip all came about because Hayden had read about the Grand Canyon and wanted to go. Neither Trav nor I had been, so we planned a trip to Arizona…followed by California and Nevada.

I blogged about it in 2020.

We’ve made tons of beach memories with friends the past few years. We’ve enjoyed going to the 30A area of Florida for fall break. The weather is so nice, and the kids have plenty to do. It’s rare to find friends you can travel with, and now, with three years under our belt, I feel like it’s such a blessing to have these memories with such great friends.

Going to Mexico a couple of years ago was such a highlight because the kids had never been out of the country, and Trav and I hadn’t been to Mexico since our honeymoon. The resort was so nice, we relaxed, we went to Isla Mujeres, and just had a really great time.

Last summer, our trip to Oregon and Washington really takes the cake. It took a lot of planning by Trav, and what made it so memorable was that the kids were so excited to go. It’s not often you can go to the Olympic Track Trials, and that was only part of our trip, but we had such a great time in Portland, Eugene, the Oregon coast, Olympic National Park, Seattle and more.

Since Trav and I just got back from Michigan, it had me thinking about some of our trips. I always love when I tag along with him when he goes to Del Mar, California for work. Del Mar is truly one of my favorite places.

Of course, we’ve traveled other places, but since we just got back from Michigan to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary, I got to thinking about some of the other anniversary trips we’ve gone on.

For our 1st wedding anniversary, we went to Siesta Key, and it was my first time going there.

Like I mentioned above, we went to Charleston/Folly Beach for our 5th wedding anniversary.

For our 10th anniversary, we went to Lake Tahoe. That was another fabulous trip; we loved that area.

For our 15th, it was 2020 and Covid, so we didn’t plan a trip away. We did go to Siesta Key that summer with the kids once we felt it was safe to do so.

This week, I hope to recap our trip to Michigan. The towns were so cute, and the weather was great!

I know this post topic was about a favorite “memory” and not “memories,” but this was a fun look back.

I can’t wait to read what others have to share.