Lost, But Holding Hands

memorial day weekend: bennett spring / lebanon KOA; arrive saturday, depart monday it's the wednesday after memorial day and we're just 2 sleeps and a wake up from our next adventure. this friday we're heading back to my original stomping ground in north-central missouri. there's a nice rv park with some fun things to do that's only about 10 minutes from the town i grew up in. i'm looking forward to seeing some family and taking another weekend to "slow down fast".  since we're getting into the meat of the season i'm excited to do that more and more in the coming weeks. it's the real reason i love taking our travel trailer out. slowing down and reconnected with self, nature, and family feel so necessary and refreshing. i remember spending hours at state park campsites as a child doing...well, nothing. not literally nothing, but nothing in comparison to regular life. the nothingness is powerful. there is beauty in just BEING...

We camped over the Memorial Day weekend at Bennett Springs State Park. In true Britt fashion, it stormed hard  on Saturday.  We had literally just pulled in, hooked up, and began to settle in when a tornado warning sent us to the camp clubhouse.  Once the severe weather stopped, it continued to rain- so we headed to town and visited a couple stores- let Ryan pick a new movie and some movie snacks and then headed back to the camper for a family movie night. Family Movie Night! Sunday, on the other hand, was beautiful.  We hiked, we visited the fish hatchery, grilled, watched the fly fisherman, and played at the campsite. KOA is always a great option with kiddos- Bennett KOA had a pool, an awesome clubhouse, a jumping pad, and gem mining. A 3 mile hike through some rough terrain :) Playing in the clubhouse  Fortunately I was off work on Friday and spent the day shopping, meal prepping, and loading up the camper.  We decided to grill ...

Ya'll  Friday was my last day of school!  What?!?! I know.  I am so excited!  The peacefulness of summer is beginning to wash over me.  I love summer---even though it is a myth that teachers have summers off and I will be working on and off all summer.  But I've got that summer feeling- for sure. Last weekend we took the camper to Omaha for the weekend. It was the perfect distance from KC and we had an awesome time.  We stayed at the Omaha KOA .  It had super fun amenities that Ryan loved---a giant jumping pillow, a rope course, ladder ball, and a trampoline basketball game.  Not only that, but it was in a great location.  It was about 25 minutes from the Omaha Zoo- which we did on Saturday afternoon and only 10 minutes away from Schram Park and Eugene T Mahoney State Park.  We went to the both of these parks to explore and hike.  If you are thinking about exploring Omaha- I say go for it!   As far as staying on the wh...

Usually I spend a good portion of Sunday grocery shopping and food prepping.  Yesterday was a tad different because we didn't get home from our Omaha camping adventure until late afternoon.  I didn't go to the grocery until after 6 and didn't start meal prep until after I put Ryan in bed at 8:30.  I roasted sweet potatoes and veggies, grilled sausages, pan fried burgers, and cut fruit until just after 10:30.  But I collapsed into bed with 10 breakfast kits and 10 lunch kits ready for the week. -----> Breakfast: 1/2 sweet potato, grilled sausage (Aidells Chicken and Apple), and 2 scrambled eggs. Lunch:  Grilled Burger (grass fed beef, garlic, and primal palate meat/potato seasoning), carrot fries , and roasted broccoli/brussel sprouts.   Dinners: Monday- Crock Pot Fajitas Tuesday- Chicken with Potatoes and Sage Wednesday- Oven Baked Chicken Thighs with Lemon, Garlic, and Scallions Thursday- Greek Chicken Skillet Friday-  Green...

as an old guy once said, "And now, the rest of the story." let's see...when we last left off the score was bummers: 2, not bummers: 4. quick recap for the TL;DR crowd: we went camping. stolen propane tanks. water everywhere. so as i said earlier, the evening wore off and our friends left. the campfire was put out and we headed in to bed. ryan settled in for bed with dreams of an easter bunny jumping through his mind. kelly and i put in a movie and snuggled up in bed. it wasn't long before we could hear a storm start rolling in. the rain fell steadily and the thunder... well... it would give garth something to sing about. the storm couldn't negate our sleepiness from all the day's adventures, and even "as the storm blows oooooonn out of control", we were soon asleep. for a while. at about 1:15 i was gently drawn out of my slumber courtesy of my wife's elbow to my temple. TYLER. WAKE UP. I'M GETTING WET.  what? I'M GE...

We went to the Garth Brooks' concert last night.  Wow, was it amazing.  But also it made me realize how I am too old to be out until midnight.  I am  dragging  today.   But nevertheless, it's Sunday and my list of to-dos isn't going away...no matter how many excuses I make. I've already checked breakfast (eggs, shredded potato hash, roasted cherry tomatoes, and an orange), Church, grocery shopping, and lunch (grilled steak salad) off my list.  Next up is meal prepping.  I've listed the things I plan to accomplish during food prep below---but check in on Instagram to see what I actually accomplish! This week's plan: Breakfast-  So I think I am going to combine our usual breakfast casserole with this new  recipe  that I came across.  I plan to do breakfast sausage, sweet potatoes and eggs, but mix in some compliant salsa before baking.  Sounds like a good Tex Mex breakfast.  I think I'll buy some extra avocado...

Warning:  This post is purely free advertising for a few of our favorite Whole30 products.  Beware that these are solely our opinions and based on our own Whole30 experience. There have been several products we have tried and not loved, but I would rather answer questions about those one on one. feel free to message me if there is something you are going to order or try that's not on this list and want to know if we've used it. 1.   Tessemae's Buffalo Sauce = thebomb.com Honestly, this has been a lifesaver when it comes to a dipping sauce for grilled chicken, wings, etc.  It is dairy free, sugar free, vegan, gluten free, kosher, and Whole30 compliant.  Plus, look at the ingredients.  There isn't anything in it that I can't pronounce or had to look up- Sunflower Seed Oil, Olive Oil, Aged Red Peppers, Distilled Vinegar, Sea Salt, Lemon Juice, Spices, Garlic, Organic Mustard. Just do yourself a favor and order a bottle---or 3.  2.  Nutpod...