All three boys adore GWL with an intensity that’s sky-high. And we’ve loved making it an annual tradition to take them in December when it looks like a winter wonderland inside. Ryan and I are bracing ourselves for subpar sleep and 5+miles worth of steps around the lodge as the boys complete a million MagiQuest missions. And of course the water park!!! If a recap of GWL is of interest, let me know, as we’ve visited numerous times in the past. And at this point I feel like I have a few tips/tricks to share. (Though we’ve been invited to GWL in the past for a media visit, this is not a sponsored or comped trip/ And we are happily paying customers whose kids just love this place.)
And now the real reason you’re likely here today: It’s Things I’m Loving Friday time! Keep on scrolling for a roundup of a few things that made me smile this week. And, as always, feel free to share some of the good stuff goin’ on in your life with me in the comments section below, too! Have a great weekend, my friends!
Things I’m Loving Friday #535
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Thanksgiving 2024
We majorly lucked out when my parents, sister and my sister’s family all told us they wanted to come our way for Thanksgiving this year! We had 12 people under one roof for 5 days and it was wonderfully chaotic, cozy and fabulous. I majorly unplugged which was delightful (though it also means I don’t have many pictures to share!) And we celebrated with tons of food and a Turkey Trot that everyone said was a highlight despite the dreary weather.
Chase totally rocked it and got his 5K PR — 27 minutes, 44 seconds — and was thrilled! I was also super impressed with Rhett and Ryder, my Turkey Trot buddies, who rode their scooters the entire 3.1 miles with zero complaints and finished in 48 minutes. They crushed it and everyone was so excited to sport their medals and eat mini apple pies after the race!
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SNOW!
On Tuesday morning, we awoke to SNOW!!! Sure, it was only a dusting but when you live in an area that hasn’t had snow stick on the ground in several years, you’re gonna freak out in the best possible way. The boys were so excited both by the snow and the 2-hour school delay. And were outside playing in their snow gear by 7 a.m. We made the most of what felt like a magical morning with waffles and hot chocolate all before 9 a.m. It was such a fun short-lived wintery morning!
Back in October, I mentioned how inspired I felt by the book Outlive by Dr. Peter Attia. Reading the book prompted me to make several health-related appointments, ranging from routine blood work and a pap smear to a DEXA scan to test my bone density (more on that later). My routine blood work came back mostly okay (we’re going to test again because of a slight elevation in my liver enzymes) but much like the prior years’ blood work, I showed signs of dehydration. I’ve honestly struggled with drinking enough fluids my entire life (I was even hospitalized for dehydration in high school) so I’m feeling increasingly motivated to hydrate properly. One thing that’s been helping: This monstrosity of a water bottle.
This time stamp water bottle has truly been the ONE thing that’s helping me drink enough water and I like that it encourages me to space out my water consumption versus being a desert camel all day and chugging a bunch of water before bed at night (not a great idea for sleep, btw). Anyway, it’s big and cumbersome but it’s also effective for me so I wanted to share it here for anyone else who would like to join me in being a pee machine. I had to do some digging to find this bad boy but it checked my most important boxes: Made of glass and has time stamps as well as a straw and a handle. It’s leak-proof when closed but doesn’t fit into a cup holder since it’s the size of a small child. Enjoy!
Don’t you love it when impulse buys end up far exceeding your expectations? That was certainly the case with this ALOHA white chocolate peppermint protein bar I nabbed at the Whole Foods checkout counter last week. I am a sucker for anything chocolate + peppermint this time of year but definitely did not expect this bar to be as wonderfully delicious as it was, especially since I’m very, very picky with plant-based protein bars. It’s perfectly minty with a touch of white chocolate flavor and the texture is soft with a lightly crispy candy-like outer layer. I liked it enough to immediately order 2 boxes on Amazon (still 15% off!) so I can enjoy them all season long.
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The Unwedding by Allie Condrie
My rating: C+ / Genre: Mystery
You know those books that begin well, bubble over with intrigue and then kind of explode in a mess at the ending? That was The Unwedding for me. I loved a lot about this book — the isolated location, whodunit cast of characters, the everyone’s a suspect aspect — but the last quarter of the book felt sloppy and too all over the place to me for me to say this book was a new favorite. The book started strong but lost momentum along the way for me and the ending left me feeling frustrated and unsatisfied because it just felt far-fetched and kind of out of nowhere, but not in a “whoa, what an amazing twist kind of way.” It was entertaining enough for me to look forward to reading each night before bed, but fell too flat for me at the end to say it’s a “must read.”
The Unwedding begins when Ellery Wainwright embarks on her 20th wedding anniversary trip to Broken Point, a small but luxurious resort in California. Only she’s recently divorced, her ex-husband Luke is not with her and she’s all alone. She’s second guessing her decision to go on the trip immediately, a feeling that’s only exacerbated when she realizes a wedding is set to take place at the resort during her stay. That is until Ellery makes a discovers the groom’s body floating in the resort’s pool. When a freak mudslide means all resort guests are trapped together, Ellery questions her safety when another guest turns up dead. As Ellery begins digging, she uncovers secrets that make her question her ability to trust almost anyone at Broken Point, and wonders if a murderer exists among them.
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November 2024 Favorites
Blog Posts:
- PBF Gift Guide 2024: Little Kids (ages 3-5)
- Breakfast Meal Prep Recipes
- Thanksgiving Dinner Meal Plan
- PBF Gift Guide 2024: Kids (ages 5-7)
- PBF Gift Guide 2024: Big Kids (ages 8-10)
- Holiday Pretzels
- Fall Camping at Dan Nicholas Park
- How to Make Salmon Bites
- A Day at Magic Kingdom: Our First Time with Kids
- Chicken Sausage Sweet Potato Bake
Your Top Favorites:
- Hot Wheels Ultimate Garage (This monstrosity was the hit of Christmas for our boys last year. It’s one of those unicorn presents all three boys loved that they continue to play with regularly.)
- MERRY Sweatshirt (Glad to know I’m not the only one living in this cozy Target sweatshirt!)
- Shashibo Shape Shifting Cube (A stocking stuffer for big kids that’s legitimately cool!)
- Wiggle Car (A slam-dunk ride-on toy our boys first loved at age 2 and continue to regularly fly around on! We have 3 and our boys all still ride on them and love them.)
- Blank Slate (The best game!! It’s a multigenerational favorite everyone from big kids to grandparents enjoy playing together. Get this one if you’re hosting friends/family for the holidays!)
- Beckham Hotel Pillows (Apparently I wasn’t the only one who needed to upgrade our guest room pillows!)
- Christmas Kid Puzzle (Rhett is in a puzzle-loving phase and does this adorable puzzle every single day — often 2x a day — right now.)
- Reebok Nano Sneakers (My current favorite for strength + boot camp workouts)
- Nighthawk Ride-On Toy (I’m SO excited for those of you who bought these for your kids!!! A guaranteed hit they will be so, so excited to receive this holiday season!)
- Reusable Gift Bags (I bought these to wrap up awkwardly boxed kid gifts and love that I can reuse them every year.)
- Motion Sensor Night Light (We have these all over our house. You can set them up to always be on but we love the motion activation. Especially great in our boys’ bathrooms for solo nighttime potty trips.)
- Pottery Barn Loungers (As comfy and useful as they are gorgeous. We have them in our living room and in our play loft.)
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Friday Flashbacks
Oreo Peppermint Ice Cream Dessert (our family’s favorite this time of year and SO easy to make!)
Easy Holiday Breakfast Recipes (whether you’re hosting this holiday season or just want to make a delicious morning meal, these are some of our family’s favorite holiday breakfast recipes)
Question of the Day
What is one thing making you smile this holiday season?
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I enjoy all of your posts, but Fridays are my favorites. I’m reading your post as I drink coffee in a quiet house this morning. Chef’s kiss.
If you’re willing to share more about your DEXA scan, please do. I have my first one scheduled for next Friday. I’m 44 and doing the scan to get a bone-density baseline and see where I am on my muscle mass and body fat numbers. I haven’t decided how frequently I want to and will repeat the scans. I’m focused on growing more muscle at this life stage and am eager to see the results and positive progress.
Thank you so much for making me part of your morning routine, Sarah ! I will definitely share more about my scan! I also did it for bone density purposes because I had osteopenia in college and found out that I still have it now. Definitely looking into making some positive changes to try to strengthen my bones after learning this again.
I would love a post of tips and tricks about GWL! One opened up near my house and we’re taking our boys in two weeks!!
So fun!! it’s definitely a lot, but it is truly like heaven on earth for our boys!
Hi Julie! I clicked on the link for the water bottle and it goes to the book instead. Would you mind sharing the water bottle link? I am interested! Thank you!!
I’m so sorry about that! The blog post is updated now! You can also find the water bottle here — https://amzlink.to/az0ZTDafrCNBz
Hi Julie- I’m sure you get tired of linking everything all the time but… where’s the pic thats hanging behind your family come from? I love it!
Oh thank you! We have a Samsung frame TV and it’s just the basic seasonal art that comes with it that you can select this time of year!
When I struggled immensely with white coat syndrome, my anxiety made going to the doctor so hard. I was dehydrated at a PCP appointment years ago, and ever since then I try to drink plenty before lab work. I hope this bottle you bought helps! Also, I hope your liver enzymes look normal after hydrating better. I believe my bilirubin was barely elevated one year, and my then PCP advised the act of fasting can affect certain levels. I believe you will be fully well. Have a great weekend!
I would love a great wolf recap! My son is 4 and I keep debating on taking him! Would love allllll the tips!!!
aw! he would love it! sharing my GWL post on the blog tomorrow!
I gifted the game Blank Space to a friend, and we ended up playing it at a winery on a nice fall afternoon, and it was super fun. Great recommendation! She plans to take it home with her for the holidays to play with her family too.
From the Boston area and giggling about your snow day for the dusting of snow. I love it! <3