Our Midwest Summer Road Trip

Ok, I started writing this post last Summer, but as usual six months later it's still not done. If you see any references to our "recent" Summer trip, just pretend it's still August 2021!

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Did you travel anywhere last Summer? 

Over the end of June and start of July we took a two and a half week road trip through the Midwest and explored some new to us cities, towns and well known locations. The main destination of our trip was Chicago. I'd been wanting to visit Chicago for such a long time, and we had actually planned to spend Spring Break there in 2020 - but we all know why that didn't happen! I'm so happy we finally made it there this past Summer and it's one of my new favorite cities. We'll definitely be back!  

Originally we thought about flying to Chicago or even taking the overnight Amtrak train from Denver, but ultimately settled on making it a road trip. I figured that while we were right by the Great Lakes it would be nice to explore the area a little more and we'd need a car for that. The original plan was to take the sleeper train to Chicago (something we've never done before) and then get a rental car to explore the Great Lakes after a week in the Windy City, but with rental cars being a hot commodity last Summer and there being no guarantee that a booking would actually stick (no matter how high the price) we figured it was safest to take our own car. Driving from home also gave us the freedom to add in some extra stops along the way, extra space for luggage (our minivan fits a LOT), and no need to lug around car seats to use in a rental.

As well as Chicago, our trip included Detroit, St Louis, Kansas City, Mackinac Island, Mount Rushmore and more.  We drove through ten states on this trip: Colorado, Wyoming, South Dakota, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Missouri and Kansas. I've got a lot of new states to cross off my list! We visited world famous landmarks, stopped at quirky roadside attractions, ate all sorts of new to us foods, crossed mighty rivers, took in lots of art, visited amazing museums, and caught up with friends. Our good friends from New York met up with us in Chicago and spent the better part of two weeks with us before we went our separate ways to head home. It was so good to catch up with them and the kids love having other kids to play with when we travel. This was our third Summer trip together so it's become something of a tradition. Last year they stayed with us in Colorado and a few Summers back we spent time with them in New York before traveling to Boston together.    

 

Here's a look at the route we took for this road trip. We added in some detours to visit various places rather than driving the most direct route. Google tells me that it was about fifty two hours of driving all up - and I can tell you that it definitely felt that way! Most of our driving days were around six hours of driving, but there were a few nine hour drives thrown in towards the end. While it was nice to be able to add in a few destinations that wouldn't otherwise be on our radar, I've got to say that the driving part of road trips is definitely not the highlight. Who ever came up with that "It's about the journey, not the destination" phrase clearly did not spend 50 hours in a car driving through the mid-west! It's always about the destination if you ask me!

Let's take a look at our trip day by day...

Selfie at Stanley

Hey Colorado friends!

If you've been here a minute, you'll know I love a good immersive museum or interactive exhibition. I'm always on the look out for fun new experiences that fit the bill and I'm excited to say that I've found a new one! 

Selfie at Stanley is a fun new pop up exhibition designed for those of us who love taking selfies - or in my case, photos of the kids! Located at the Stanley Marketplace in Aurora, Selfie at Stanley features 25 interactive photo backdrops with props a plenty. You'll find all sorts of photo opportunities here including swings, a bath tub full of "bubbles" (ball pit balls), a 60's living room full of vintage goodies, a wall of plushies, a retro hair salon, a scooter zooming down Denver's Larimer Square, angel wings, puffy clouds, and so much more.

Let's take a look at all the fun!

Goodles: Noodles, Gooder

Disclaimer: I received this product for free from Moms Meet (momsmeet.com) in exchange for my honest opinions. Compensation for this post was provided.

If your kids are anything like mine, then it's a pretty safe bet to say that mac and cheese is probably a meal that's on heavy rotation in your house. It definitely is here! It's such a quick and easy meal to make and it's one that you know the kids are definitely going to eat. It's a cheesy comfort food that the whole family loves. 

But, let's be honest... it doesn't always feel like the healthiest or most balanced meal. And there's definitely some mom guilt there when it comes to making a meal that comes out of a box. I always add in peas and corn for the kids, and sometimes carrots or broccoli too, but it still feels like a meal that's missing something. 

I'm happy to say that I tossed that mom guilt out the window when I discovered Goodles. 

What are Goodles? They're noodles, gooder! Ok, "gooder" isn't a word, but it sure is a cute slogan! 

Goodles Mac & Cheese is reinventing an American classic. That same delicious cheesy taste that everyone loves, but with so much goodness added in. Goodles Mac and Cheese dishes up 14 grams of protein. That's the same as eating 2.5 hard boiled eggs - but much tastier! You'll also get 6 grams of fiber, which is three times more than regular boxed mac and cheese, and it's packed full of prebiotics for gut health. Then there are 21 nutrients derived from organic plants, plus Goodles has 25% fewer calories than the leading mac and cheese. But wait... there's more! Or, rather, less. Goodles contains none of the bad stuff: no GMOs and no artificial flavors, colors or preservatives. 

All of the good stuff, none of the bad stuff, and all of the cheesy, creamy flavor!

The best part is that even with all this extra added goodness, Goodles Mac and Cheese is just as easy to make as the box mac and cheese you've been making for years. In fact, you make it exactly the same way. You probably won't even need to look at the box - but you'll want to because the packaging is super cute. I mean, look at it! 

Goodles Mac and Cheese comes in four different flavors so there's something to appeal to every member of the family. Shella Good (aged white cheddar and shells) is the favorite among my kids, but those who prefer classic mac and cheese will love Cheddy Mac (creamy cheddar and amacaroni). Mover & Shaker (cacio e pepe inspired mac) and Twist My Parm (asiago and parmesan with spirals) are my two favorites because they're a little more grown up. Mac and cheese isn't just for kids! 

You can find Goodles mac and cheese online at www.GOODLES.com. Save 25% on your purchase with the code MOMSAREGOODER.   

Marshall Fire

Trigger warning: This post contains descriptions and photos of the fire and the damage caused.

I've been pretty quiet here on the blog so far this year. 

In the lead up to the new year I had every intention to start 2022 out strong on the blogging front and play catch up on some posts I've been meaning to share for a very long time. I'm not one to set new year's resolutions or goals, but a new year does always feel like a good time to start afresh, and I'd decided I was going to bite the bullet and just get it done. 

And then 2021 decided to throw us one last blow... 

On December 30th 2021 our little city was hit by one of the worst fires in Colorado's history. Fueled by 110 mile an hour winds, what started out as a small grass fire on nearby farmland quickly spread to the neighboring town of Superior and then here to Louisville. Within hours entire housing subdivisions were gone. Entire neighborhoods wiped out. Tens of thousands of people hit the congested roads to evacuate, grabbing what ever they could in the little time they had to prepare. If you've been following along on Instagram you'll likely know that we were among those who evacuated. We grabbed our pets, important documents, back up drives and favorite toys and joined the traffic heading north and east, not knowing if we'd have a home to return to.

We're among the lucky ones. The wind changed direction before the fire reached our neighborhood. Our home is still standing. A little smoky at first, but completely undamaged. Unfortunately, around one thousand families in our community can not say the same. Their homes are gone. So too are their most cherished belongings, and unfortunately in many cases, their beloved pets. The fire moved so quickly that there was little time to grab anything before evacuating. Many families were away on vacation at the time with no one able to access their homes and save their pets. It's heartbreaking. As well as those who lost everything, there are many more families in our community whose homes have been rendered uninhabitable due to to smoke and ash damage (whether visible or not). 

I'm sure you've seen it all on the news, but today I'm going to share my story from experiencing the fire first hand. Our home was spared and for the most part we had the comfort of watching the fire from afar (through our Nest camera and Twitter) but I did find myself in the thick of it at one point and it was the scariest thing I have ever experienced. It is the only time I have honestly feared for my life.

Camp Christmas 2021

Denver sure is a festive city when it comes to the holidays!

If you've been following along here on the blog or over on Instagram you'll know that I've already shared quite a few holiday events going on around the Denver area. Today I'm sharing another one with you, and it just happens to be one of my absolute favorites. It's Camp Christmas and it's back after a year off in 2020!

You may remember our visit to Camp Christmas at Stanley Marketplace back in 2019. You can see it here. This year Camp Christmas is a mostly outdoor extravaganza of twinkling lights, vintage decorations, memorabilia, music, and holiday cheer spread over six acres at Heritage Lakewood Belmar Park, in Lakewood. The new outdoor location brings so many extras to Camp Christmas this year. There's a vintage carousel. There are trees wrapped in thousands of twinkling lights lining lighted walkways. There are vintage buildings decorated in a festive manner inside and out. Most importantly, there's space to spread out away from other visitors, which we all know is important right now.

While there are plenty of new things on offer at Camp Christmas, many of the favorites from our previous visit are still on display, and that same sense of whimsy and magic is definitely there. Dare I say, maybe even more of it!

We could all do with some whimsy and magic in our lives right now, so let's take a look at our visit to Camp Christmas... 

 

Luminova Holidays at Elitch Gardens

The holiday season is in full swing, and we've been busy getting out and about enjoying all that Colorado has to offer when it comes to holiday fun. Ok, well maybe not all of it because Colorado has a LOT of holiday fun to explore, but we've definitely been checking out all the best Colorado holiday events. I have so many to share with you, but today I'm sharing one of our favorites which is new to Denver this year.

Recently the kids and I visited Elitch Gardens to check out Luminova Holidays. You guys, it was so much fun! There was so much to see and do, and the best part was that we could go on the rides.

Let's take a look at Luminova Holidays...

So Much Christmas at Gaylord Rockies

 It's that time of year again...

That time of year when Gaylord Rockies Resort in Aurora comes alive with Christmas fun!

It really doesn't feel that long ago that we were at the Gaylord Rockies last year celebrating the holiday season and yet here we are again celebrating all the festive fun that Gaylord Rockies has to offer. This year really has flown by.

Recently the kids and I spent an evening at Gaylord Rockies checking out their holiday events. We helped Buddy the elf save Christmas, we watched acrobats and magicians, we strolled through the colorful light displays, we ice skated under twinkling lights, we slid down the tubing hill and we ate lots of tasty treats. 

Let's take a look at the fun...