Tales of the Ordinary Days

October 2009 - October 2019 Garrett and I just wrapped an amazing 9 day road trip through Oregon, focusing our travels on the southwestern region of the state. By our calculations (which was basically a combo of loose memory and verification through my flipping through iPhone pictures), this was our sixth annual fall trip together. We started this tradition with hiking the Rocky Mountain National Park in 2014, taking in the beautiful orange aspen leaves and all the great fall mountainous views. The other calculation that came to light was that it was ten years ago when Garrett and I first met. TEN YEARS. Wow. We had to recheck our math on that one too. A lot has happened in our collective lives since that fall day in 2009. By twist of fate, I followed up with Garrett, a presenter at a conference I was attending in Denver ten years ago and so it all began. This was before texting was the prevalent form of communication. I sent him an e-mail on my way out of town and we later se...

Caption of photo: Miss Daisy Driving (Zach and my recent Vegas/Arizona road trip to visit my parents) A friend recently posted a quote that has stuck with me. "The key is not to prioritize what's on your schedule, but to schedule your priorities." - Stephen Covey Too often, I have let my schedule run my life. Not always, but more in my past than I'd like to admit. And I am not in the minority with this offense. It is more common for people to let their days run them, rather than them running their days. Priorities. This last month has been a win for me in the priority management category. There were many great times with my husband, kids, parents, friends. This feat did require planes and a lot of careful planning, but a success. Zach has turned the page to 24, Ben safely past the age of 21, and Grant a golden 17. Although my three sons live in three cities, we found a way to uniquely celebrate each April birthday. My husband finished his teaching st...