Roadtripping with Nitto, Part Three: Exploring Your Own State

If you're anything like me, when you think of a road trip, the idea of driving a really, really far distance comes to mind. When I was younger I never thought of the East Coast car trips my family and I would take as road trips- for some reason that term was reserved for more cross-country driving in my mind. But now as an adult myself, I realize that sometimes the very best road trips are in our own state. Perhaps there's a small town you've never seen, or a whole side of your home state you've never explored- summertime is the very best time to get in the car and drive three, four, five hours and explore some of the more local gems right around the corner.

For my last post with Nitto, I wanted to do just that, and explore Tucson, a place I'd been numerous times for shows or to visit family, but never really got a chance to really take in. I recruited my Mom and sister this time, and in a moment of brilliance (or craziness), we decided to pack everyone into my car and make our way down south for two days in the Tucson sun. Tucson is about 300 miles from my house, so it was a nice little drive down there in a car full of kids and Moms. It was the first time all of us- my Mom, sister, Henry, Charlie, Lucy, and me- had gone on a trip without the guys, and we had a great time. Like I mentioned in my last post, there was an even more thorough checklist that went on for this trip, because I was hauling such precious cargo such a long way. Hank made sure to check everything twice, but I do have to say how great it is to feel confident in the tires on our car, especially with almost everyone I love traveling in it with me. Peace of mind is invaluable.

And of course my sister and I got super excited and decided to make a playlist for the drive there and back, and of course I have to share it with you guys! If you have the Spotify app you can listen to it there, or listen to it via this post right here. Music has always been such a huge part of our family vacations- from Bruce Springsteen and the Traveling Wilburys to Rilo Kiley and TLC (random, always)- that most of my memories of any car trip always have music tied to them.


So we listened to our random mix all the way down South, and when we got there (after more than a few bathroom breaks) we got to exploring the city. We fit a lot into a couple of days, and had a really good time. We ate at some favorite spots and I had some of the best pasta I've had in the longest time. We walked around Tucson's adorable downtown and got ice cream with my Aunt and cousin. We visited a couple touristy spots and also spent the second afternoon at the Tucson Botanical Garden. All in all it was a perfect two days. And when we packed everyone back into the car on Saturday afternoon, I had to turn around in my seat and take it all in for a second- my Mom, the kids...it was awesome to have had the chance to make such great memories with them.

And how about you? Do you have any road trip plans for the summer? Are there any places in your own state you haven't explored yet?

Thanks so much for supporting these three posts with Nitto (see part one and two). I've had such a great time sharing our adventures here!

xoxo

*this post was sponsored by Nitto Tire but as always, all opinions are mine.

Weekend Wrap-Up (on a Wednesday)

1 // Veronica hosted the cutest little Valentine's party for little ones. We had a blast, and left in a total sugar coma. This was the cake she served- SO good. It was a triple layer, fruit infused masterpiece and it made me happy that days like this don't come around too often. I eat healthy a lot of the time, but I will never (and can't ever) say no to something like this!

2 // On Friday afternoon Jana and I took the boys to Lappert's, a little custard spot that just opened in the next town over. It was a fun treat and I was actually pleasantly surprised by the grilled chicken salad I ordered. I didn't try the custard (still over-sugared from that cake!) but Henry really loved it.

3 // Sisters and babies. It's very cool to have my best friend home with her babies doing the same stuff I'm doing, at the same time. Now if only we lived in the same place. We took this photo Sunday after while at the park at my parents' house. It was 75 and sunny- best weather ever.

4 // Speaking of best friends, on Saturday I got to have brunch with two of my oldest friends to celebrate Erin's birthday. We went to Luci's Healthy Martketplace in Phoenix I was pleasantly surprised. Great, healthy food and a cute atmosphere. Plus, I had the best company. You know those people that know you- really know you- and remember all of the stages and phases you've been through? Hold onto them. These are those people for me.

5 // Lucy and Charlie at breakfast on Sunday morning. They were born just 7 months apart and I love watching them together. And can we talk about sassy little Lucy for a minute?! She kills me.

6 // Sunday dinner at my parents' house. I live for it. This plate was chock full of goodness- filet, shrimp, kale salad, and some more veggies.

I hope you had a great weekend too...although we're already halfway to the next one!

Festival As A Verb

I love Fall. I love my family. I love Fall-festivalling with my family (see previous years here and here). Seriously though (and this deserves a blog post all its own), my immediate family members are my best friends. I love those guys and everyday wish with all of my being that we lived in the same place. Truth be told I often get sad thinking about my sister and me, both stay-at-home Moms doing the same things everyday, yet living three hours away from each other. I mean, we could be doing all of these things TOGETHER.

But anyway. This past weekend was our little town's little Fall Festival. Although I am thinking they must have put it in the newspaper down in Phoenix or something because there were so, so many people down there. We had a great time though, and luckily we arrived just as it began so we could hightail it out of there before 1pm when it started to get really packed. It's always a fun event- tons of things for kids to do between the jumpy castles, booths to trick-or-treat, and even a little pumpkin patch. It's events like this that make me love where we live even more, and grateful that there's always something fun to do with kids. And even though sometimes Hank and I dream of big cities and different places, right now small town life is really the life for us.

Here are some photos from our weekend- I hope you had a lovely one too!

Sister Time, Auntie Time, Cousin Time

So my sister and Lucy came and visited this week and it's been a few days full of lounging around, eating really good food, and catching up on crappy reality television...because isn't that what sisters do? Or is that just us? On a related note, we watched the finale of Teen Mom and oh lord, why do I continue to watch this show? It's the worst, and always leaves me crying and so upset. This particular episode was maybe the most upsetting one I've seen yet and like every episode, I say "No more! Never again!" but then I know I'm just going to have to watch the Dr. Drew special. Ugh! But let's not sully this happy sister post with Teen Mom talk- just had to mention it!

It's still a little crazy for me to be around Lauren, and our kids. It's still- how did this happen? How are we not still little anymore? How are we both Moms? Sometimes I feel like when we're together we're stuck at age 11 and 15 in my mind, and to take a step back and look around at our reality is a strange sensation. Hopefully I'll still feel this way when we're 81 and 85, right?

Our days together though were so fun. Sister time, Auntie time, cousin time. And let's not forget lobster roll time, frozen yogurt time, and running around in the green, green grass time.

A few things:

1. Even though I grew up on the East Coast and spent my summers in New England, I've yet to have a lobster roll. Lots and lots of lobster yes (remind me to tell you of the time I almost made Hank simultaneously cry and throw up at a lobster shack in Gloucester one day), but no lobster roll. So leave it to me to have my very first one in land-locked Arizona. In my defense, our little town's newest (and only) seafood spot outside of Red Lobster is run by a Maine-native who gets the lobster flown in. So that's kind the same? Maybe? Regardless, it was so good. My sister and I are big on seafood and we both gave it two thumbs up.

2. May is here! It's my birthday month, and our wedding anniversary month. It also happens to be Shirley's birthday, which is wonderful because she's one of my favorite people in the world, so her birthday is very special to me. Hank and I also always do a fun little staycation to celebrate our birthdays (his is June 1st) and our anniversary (May 31st) and this year we chose a super neat place in Phoenix. Can't wait.

3. Frozen yogurt is delicious.

Some photos from our day -