Friday, September 19, 2014

Telluride Re-Cap

Last week it was time to pack up the car with food, snacks, crackers, toys, more snacks, and an audio book and head up to Telluride, CO for a friend's wedding!

It was quite the trip, so here are my favorite photographed moments in an authentically <<Quick>> Seven Quick Takes.

1.
On our way there, I watched the map attentively (also being the navigator and all) and told Joel I was very excited to stop at the 4 Corners and take an epic family photo!!!!!!!





With a sleeping Mia at this very juncture BOTH TIMES through, this is apparently as close to a family photo at the 4 Corners as I am going to get. 


2. 
I read somewhere that one of the best ways to keep little toddlers occupied in a hotel room is to unplug the phone and let them play with it.   


I can strongly attest to this brilliant idea.


3.
On Friday we had all day to hang out before the wedding that evening.  We first went to breakfast in downtown Telluride, and took the gondola to get there!


Who isn't excited for cool weather clothes!!!!???


And who doesn't think this is the scariest decent down a mountain, dangling on a cable, of all time?


4.
While we sat in some grass to eat our breakfast sandwiches, I noticed Mia walking away quite cheerfully from her baby.



And for some reason the carefree expression on her face just cracks me up! 

Me: "Mia, where is your baaabbyy????"
Mia: ".....dumdy-dumdy-dum....."


5.
That afternoon after naptime, Joel took Mia to a little lake by our hotel.  She loved the ducks!

 
...In sort of a creepy way.



6.
Then she tried out her new "peek-a-boo" pose before heading back...



7.
That night, the wedding was beautiful!!  It was near the top of a mountain, and if I hadn't been so distracted by the fact that Mia dropped my phone down the cracks of the huge deck we were on, I would've taken more scenic shots.  



^^My favorite shot of the night. You can tell she is about to be up to no good!


The trip was an awesome break from the still-100-degree heat that is September in Arizona.  But October is around the corner, and hoodies and layers and trips to the park are in our future.  I can't wait!!


PS.
I just released my 4th podcast Episode of This Inspired Life!  I'm talking with Haley from Carrots for Michaelmas about Women and the Church - it was an awesome chat!  You won't want to miss it ;)



Friday, September 12, 2014

Driving for 8+ hours with a toddler, desert rain, the podcast, and more!

Well friends, it's been an exciting week.  Let's break it down into Seven Quick Takes..

1. 
The other night I woke up in the middle of the night to a huge rain storm.  I didn't think much of it except - "Yesss.. I don't have to water the plants tomorrow." and then I went back to sleep.

Well, it was apparently a once-every-hundred-years type storm.



2.
And apparently Phoenix is not built for that type of storm.



Because of all this, schools were closed and people stayed home from work! It was a Real Live Arizona Snow Day!

Joel went in to work late so we had a great morning walk around the neighborhood in the post-storm muggy-ness.  I felt like I was back in the Midwest!

3.
And then it rained again the next day and Mia could not be contained.




4.
If you are reading this on the day this post is published, we are up in Telluride, Colorado for a friend's wedding for the weekend!  We went back and forth about the decision to send Joel alone, or if we should just all three go, and we decided we were gonna make a run (drive) for it all together!

This entails an 8-hour road trip (each way) with a toddler, who has never quite been contained for that long of a stretch.  We'll see how it goes!  

I've spent a good amount of time on Pinterest looking up "car trips with 16-month-old" and found some great ideas.  I'll be reporting back when we return!


5.
As many of you may have heard, I launched my podcast this week!!  



And what timing...in the same week that Jen's Sirius XM Radio show launches!  I don't know about you but I'm so excited to listen to her show.  How exciting for the audio content world eh?! ;)

If you want to check my podcast out, you can find it in the iTunes Store by searching This Inspired Life Podcast, or on the iPhone's Podcast App.  Like most podcasts, it's free!

And of course you can listen to it on the website:


This is also where the show notes can be found, which include links to things I talked about on the podcast, fun pictures that my guests shared with me, and other related info.

My first two interviews were SO MUCH FUN!

I chatted with Kendra over at CatholicAllYear.com and she graciously agreed to chat with me about how she talks to her kids about the birds and the bees, body parts, etc. (all those awkward things)!


They were so great, especially agreeing to be my first guests with zero other examples to help them know what to expect.  

You should check them out!!   And you guys...the next interviews I have lined up...they are going to be just as awesome.  I can't wait!

6.
If you do listen and you have a second, I would be SO GRATEFUL if you could write a review on iTunes for the show??!!

I am really hoping to make it on the New and Noteworthy section which would allow many more people to find the podcast.  I only have a few weeks to get there before I'm not considered "new" anymore, so I really need your help!

All you have to do is open up the podcast in the iTunes Store, click Ratings and Reviews, choose a star rating and write a teeny tiny sentence.  That's it! 

Again, I would be so grateful if you could help me out with this.  If you have any trouble figuring it out please let me know!


7.
Lastly, I know I've said this in my last post but if you have any ideas for guests, questions to ask (or answer), or subjects to cover I would love to hear it!!  This podcast is for You! :)

Just shoot me an email anytime. I would love to hear from you!

Have an awesome weekend everyone and don't forget to check out the other 7QT's!
Kristin