rushley & crew

A few months ago, I had literally JUST started following @knowhowmomtips on Instagram when she shared about an upcoming marriage retreat in Bryce Canyon. I read the details and decided I wanted to go. If I had been following her for any amount of time, it would have made more sense, because at least I would have had a better idea of what kinds of things she teaches. But I really didn't know anything about her and I wanted to go anyway. I just liked the idea of going away for the weekend with Russ and learning stuff to help our marriage grow and flourish. While it took some time to make the final decision, Russ and I both decided to go for it. And I'm so glad we did! The conference was two days PACKED with everything. The conference was mentally, emotionally, physically, and socially draining! But in such a good way. We learned about tools for connecting and communicating better, how to deal with solvable and perpetual conflicts, and how to move forward building a...

My parents commonly say that they don't want to leave us an inheritance when they die -- they want to spend that inheritance on us while they're still alive! That means we've gotten to go on several fun trips as a family -- and I love this way of doing things! It means we get to create more memories together :) A few years ago, shortly after our adults-only trip to Europe (amazing!! Still haven't blogged about it though . . .), my parents started discussing where our next adults-only trip would be to. After much discussion, we landed on Hawaii. My brother Tyler said that he and Anya wouldn't be able to attend because he wanted to use his vacation days for his own family (he now has five kids of his own!), but everyone else was in! Until my sis-in-law Amy unexpectedly got pregnant and was due right around the planned vacation. So it turned into a trip with my parents and sisters (and brothers-in-law)! It was a different dynamic than usual, and I missed my brothers ...

We recently got to fly out to Kyle, Texas, to visit my sister Brooke and her family. It was Ada's first time on a plane, and Russ's & my first time to Texas together -- state #10 for our United States Map! :) We get guest passes for Alaska Airlines (essentially 10% cost for standby seats) each year because Russ's dad is a pilot. Our 2017 passes were about to expire, so we started brainstorming where we wanted to go. My only requirement was a new state. Russ wanted to go somewhere warm and suggested Texas or Florida. Since my sister lives in Texas, I suggested that, and we went with it! Since it was Ada's first time flying , I was suuuuuuper nervous. My girl is super sleep trained and super scheduled. That means when she misses a nap, she does not know how to handle it, and pretty much loses it. It also means she is pretty much incapable of sleeping in our arms or even a carseat. However, we got super lucky for all the flights! For 3 out of 4 flights, we got a...