America’s Pastime!

Baseball. Take me out to the old ball game. One of my favorite games (baseball and golf are close together golf getting the slight edge). I was probably around 14 when I went to my first baseball game, at least that I remember. I really couldn’t have remembered how old I was until I googled when Joe Kennedy played for the Rays. I remember being there for the first game he played. He was the first left-handed pitcher to start for the Rays. Why I remember that he was the pitcher of the game……

Certain things stick with you and sometimes you can’t really explain it. I do know that my Dad took me and my stepbrother Kirk to the game. I also remember he bought us both devil rays duffle bags. I do know that was the only travel bag I used for the next 4 years until it was destroyed during a fire while I was in basic training. We keep things not really knowing why. I kept that bag and only used it for all those years. If you would have asked me at that time I would have said “that was the only bag I had” well that just wouldn’t have been true. Shoot, I could have just used my backpack. But I didn’t. I used that bag my Dad got me when we went to our first game together. And you could have asked me before I googled Joe Kennedy and I would have told you I was at the first Rays game in 1998, and I had told people that. But to me that was when the Rays started playing and when I would become a lifelong fan.

This is one of the reasons I want to take Auggie to baseball games. I know the memories that can be made, it is one of my favorites. Auggie received a free rays lunch box when we went to one of the games and I got to watch him take that lunch box to school for over a year. It is a little wore out now but It still sits in our pantry and every time I see it, I remember the first game my dad took me to and the continuation of the tradition because that was the first game my Dad, his Papa took him to. Auggie uses the T-ball glove that Dad bought him every time we play baseball and I watch him grin ear to ear. Memories.

The memories are not in the things. I used to believe that you had to have the item to remember the event until I lost that bag. While I keep certain things, I keep a lot less now. I also have found minimalism and know that the memories are not in the things. I could take a picture of the item and it be about the same as having the item to remember. No matter what happens to stuff there is always more memories to be made. No matter what has happened there is always time while everyone is here to make more memories.

As I write this, I can see my wife sitting in front of her computer screen, checking this blog post for typos balling her eyes out [Steph: It happened]. I am not writing this down for that purpose. I am writing this down, so you know, that you never know what memories stick. What memories will last. Spend time with your kid, knowing that seventeen years later, they could be married with a kid, sitting at a laptop, writing about memories you may have shelved, or even remember, but seem to just be one of many.

Some things that seem insignificant at the time shape the memories of generations.

Panic & a Safe Kitchen

Updated: Oct 24, 2019

We’re sitting. It’s a fun family day out. There are smiles, laughs, bad dad jokes, and then…panic. Living with someone with food allergies is not for the faint of heart. It’s not something I’d wish on anyone. It’s some of the most panicked moments I’ve ever had as an adult. Realizing that my food choices are literally toxic to the person I love most in this world. For the first 4 and half years of our marriage, I lived in fear every meal we had that Randy would have an allergic reaction. I looked at every ingredient to try to narrow down the “unknown” culprit…and to this day, I still don’t know. I know I can’t buy chicken breast from Trader Joes and the Italian Sausage from Lucky’s Market is a “No-Go”, but the specific ingredient(s) that causes Randy to have an allergic reaction and my panic is one I’m not familiar with.

To be honest, I got to a point where I was just overwhelmed by it all…until I finally asked for help. In December 2016, I decided to reach out to one of my favorite singers, turned health coach, Tristan Prettyman a.k.a., The Goodpath SD. To my surprise, she answered my Instagram message. I was floored over the next few months by the information she gave us and slowly, the allergic reactions stopped happening every other night. The panic slowed and I finally felt somewhat healthy.

It was during that time that my mindset finally started shifting to understand what a healthy lifestyle is actually intended to be before it was twisted around by the food industry. I finally started putting together the knowledge I’d learned during grad school and my career in research safety with the outside world, and in particular, our family meals. During that time, Tristan guided me towards choosing more whole foods and expanding my recipe book, while cleaning up our pantry to include safe options for Randy and Auggie. I’ve always loved cooking, but because of the weird food allergies/sensitivities we have to navigate around in our family, I had begun relying on the “safe” restaurants as staples in our weeknight dinner rotation.

My rationale for spending that extra money on dinner out:

1. I work two jobs and I just wanted to spend time with Auggie and Randy at night.
2. Truth is, we spent more time battling Auggie at the dinner table than we spent playing with him in his room.
3. If I wasn’t making the food, then I wouldn’t be the reason my husband ended up In the ER because of an allergic reaction.
4. I got so overly emotional every time I cooked, and Randy had a reaction or Auggie hated the chosen meal.

It would be impossible to take the knowledge I learned in that time period and put it into one blog post, but I’ll try to hit the high points:

Read your labels:

• This is for YOU. Ultimately, you can decide what foods and ingredients you let into your home. It’s up to you, not a health coach, not a doctor, not the media or food industry. If you decide you want a gluten free, dairy free home, that’s up to you and that’s great. If you choose to have a pantry with crackers and a fridge with yogurt and cheese, that’s great, too! It’s what works for you and your family, but you should know what is in the foods you eat so you’re able to make an informed decision based on your lifestyle.

Eating whole foods and quality meat doesn’t have to break the bank.

• When we first started, I spent way too much money on food. I’d buy packaged foods with all the “_____-free” ingredients and it was expensive. When I started creating meal plans that included meals like baked potatoes, chicken, and roasted vegetables, we were able to save money and still spend more on things like grass-fed beef, organic chickens, and pasture raised pork. Vegetables aren’t expensive when you buy them in season, and there are always deals on steamer bags of veggies!

Always keep fresh-made sauces on hand or find good brands you love!

• I love sauces! Randy and Auggie not so much. So, when I make dinner, I keep it pretty simple.
• I try to make 1-2 different sauces for the week and freeze half for a later date. Some of my favorites include the 5-minute magic green sauce, cashew ranch, and Boss Sauce (it tastes just like the Zax sauce, but it’s so much cleaner!).

Cookbooks we love!

I won’t say we have it all figured out, but we are better than we were 7 years ago. I’m lightyears ahead of where I was in my understanding of what healthy choices looked like. I’m slowly figuring out my body and how to get the results I want with cleaner foods that don’t jeopardize my family’s health. Every family’s journey is different and most probably don’t focus on food as much as ours, but this is a part of our story and it’s important for me to share in the off chance there is some new wife trying to figure this out on her own like I once was.

Disney & Trucks

And were off. We had a prior engagement in Gainesville on Saturday, so we headed out as soon as we were done, to go to Disney on Sunday.

On the way down everything seemed to be going just as it should. We had the camper in tow. Singing the same song that Auggie had been wanting to sing for the past hour. Then, ding ding ding…truck coolant low. Not what I wanted to see on my dashboard. So, I kept an eye on the temperature gage the whole way down and checked it out as soon as we got there. I was low. The level was actually below the minimum level.

Whelp, time to hop on the old bicycle (one of the perks of having the bikes with us) and ride to the nearest auto parts store and pick some up. Then we were good to go. [Little did we know this was only the beginning of the vehicle troubles. I did not catch this on camera, but the DEF quality low light came on next and then Steph’s car went into the shop.]

Well anyway… we ended up going into Magic Kingdom the next day. We did some of the same things we did the first time and also saw some new rides. Auggie did great once I went back to the truck to get his headphones [Rookie mistake].

Around 2:30 Auggie asked to go back to the camper. While we were having a fun at the park, Auggie does love to just hang out at the camper. It had been quite some time since he had really been able to just enjoy the camper. We have just been using it as a means of getting to a destination. We love that about our son. He loves going to see different things and explore. Although he does prefer a hike to Disney. He also enjoys just hanging out and relaxing. Give that boy two hot wheels & he is good for hours. This is not always the easiest thing for us to remember as parents. For some reason we are always trying to make sure he is doing something. He has an activity to keep him busy. Well we like down time and so does he. [Steph: It’s been a busy month for our family with Auggie starting a new school and getting acclimated to a new routine. I was so grateful for that afternoon of relaxing. We got to swim, cook tacos, and laugh a lot. We made it back home early enough to get everything ready for Monday and get enough sleep. It was really, just wonderful!]

The only way you know we left the park so early is if you are reading this. There is no video of us relaxing. Even though there was a little footage I did not record most of this. It was a time for us to relax and enjoy being with each other. I love recording, if I didn’t, we wouldn’t have our channel. I also enjoy sharing our story and documenting these adventures so Auggie can look back one day and hopefully spark a memory. I really do hope by sharing our story on YouTube, we inspire other families who don’t adventure to get out there. You do not have to be a fulltime traveler to see things you normally wouldn’t. There are endless things to do near your home. The more I research, the more I find. So, whether it is a trip to Disney or a trip to a state park that has a pioneer day.

Get out and explore.

Lessons: A Day in Disney with Auggie

Yes, it can be done. Our video this week was themed on the fact that we went to Animal Kingdom and did not spend a dime (outside of buying the tickets & parking). We brought in our own food. We brought in refillable water bottles (Disney offers free water). We also did not buy any souvenirs or trinkets because really, our intention was to just go enjoy the day. But, I missed what the theme of the video should have been. Auggie overcoming fear.

Freaked out in Avatar World

Auggie was not having the best day when we went to Animal Kingdom. He was in sensory overload. He had been to Disney before and was ok. I was a little surprised at how hard of a time he was having. [Steph: Looking back, we had started a new school and a new routine, so my guess is that it had something to do with that.]

We had a fast pass for Nemo the musical (fast pass is a way to cut the line). Auggie freaked out when Nemo came out on stage and ran out of the theater. He seemed traumatized. It didn’t help the curtain was auto closing on him as he ran out. Fast forward twenty minutes and he wanted to try to go in again. I could not believe it; he had just left screaming and now he said he wanted to be a big boy and try to go in again. Well, I wish I could say he was successful. He wasn’t. But he did spend almost a full five minutes before he was no longer able to handle it. To be honest those puppets freaked me out a little. As far as I am concerned though he was a champion in overcoming that fear. And that was not his only challenge of the day.

We took him to a few places in the park that he was not thrilled about. Auggie made it through every ride. Where we hit the next snag in the road was when we took the train to Rafiki Island. He loved the train, but not the island itself. At first, he did not want to walk past a wood cut out of Rafiki. We even had to go ahead of him just so he could see we checked it out. But where the day turned around for us was also on Rafiki Island. Once he got to the petting zoo where he was able to brush the donkey, a few goats, and a couple sheep he was good to go, and it was like he was finally enjoying himself.

The first bit of excitement I really saw from him was on the safari truck ride. Boy that kid loves big trucks. But you put big trucks mixed with rhinos ten feet away, & that kid is in heaven. He has been watching the Wild Kratts on PBS and has fallen in love with learning about animals. Auggie went on the safari three times!
With the “Lion Guard”

The first guide we had was the best. I only went twice because we were running out of fast passes from the train ride. Something I did not catch on video (or lost the footage I swear I recorded it) was the fact that a tree fell on the train tracks on Rafiki Island and we were stranded for a while. But in true Disney fashion they took care of us and gave us six extra fast passes. Then when Auggie and Stephenie were on the safari the last time a truck broke down. Of course. So, they were stuck out, in the dark, with wild animals. Then the lion started roaring. How awesome/ominous to be able to experience. I really wish I would have been on that trip. That’s a little side tip. If you go to Animal Kingdom ride the safari at night, that is when all the animals come.

[Steph] So, like Randy said, our truck broke down on that last truck ride. I remember sitting in the dark, listening to the lion’s roar thinking, “Auggie is not going to like this!” I panicked a little at first. Then, as if he knew I was worrying, Auggie turned around and just said “Hi Mommy!” in a completely happy voice with the biggest grin. We talked about all the animals and he loved every minute of being stuck. He thought the lion roars were the coolest! As a mom, I’m grateful they were contained and a little freaked out to be honest, but it was fun!

Two exhausted but happy parents

This was one of the most difficult parks for us to take Auggie to at Disney [Steph: Probably one of the hardest days we’ve had so far]. But definitely one of the most rewarding. Auggie is working hard in therapy to overcome/cope with his sensory disorder (I hate having to say disorder makes it sound terrible he just has a sensory struggle). I hope we continue to have days like this. Sure, I would have loved for the day to go smoother and he have no struggles in life. But he is learning, growing, and overcoming. He is becoming himself, and what we hope is a good person.

A picnic and raising a Good Human

Ok maybe you watched the video. If not here is a link to watch it really quick I can wait:

There is not much that I can write about that is not in this video. I will add just a little more, though. This was Auggie’s last Saturday before starting real school. Not daycare. He is at the School he will be at until eighth grade, or until we move. That is kind of crazy to think about.

I am so glad that I was able go on this ride with Auggie even though I was exhausted. This little boy is growing before my eyes and super quickly. Stephenie and I are trying to guide him into the man we believe he should be. From every morning making him say “It’s going to be a great day today” to his evening prayers. A good man.

There is so much violence in the world and while we can’t shelter him from all of the negative things in the world, we try to guide him to know right from wrong. He picks up a squirt gun and tells people he is going to kill them (One of the reasons we keep guns from him) but we have to explain to him that there is no returning from being killed. There are no health bars to go grab to make it better.

There is more and more competing for our son’s attention. We spend so much time trying to vet the things that he sees or hears. But there will always be things that get through. I have no idea where he even learned the word “Killed”.

The best defense I have found so far from keeping these things from him is…. Well I have not found one yet. But I do know the best offense to keep my son knowing right from wrong is to teach him and to just be there. Every time he learns a new bad habit, is when Stephenie or I have to work crazy hours and one of us is trying to hold down the fort.

[Steph’s Interjection: Randy’s right. I’m not sure where he learned this word, or what he thought it meant, but it was a “STOP in your tracks” moment and we sat with him and explained exactly what Randy said. By the end of our conversation, we were talking about capturing the bad guy and putting him jail, and to be honest, we really haven’t heard him say it again. When he’s playing, we capture the bad guys and tell them to be nice.]

So, my secret sauce for parenting…. Stephenie. I would like to think she would say the same about me, but who knows. A united team is when we are at our best and when our son is the happiest. I worked so much two weeks ago that I almost doubled my normal pay. However, the sacrifice Auggie had to make was to great. He was not going to bed and he would call saying that he just wanted his Daddy. This is odd because Stephenie usually does the bedtime routine.

[Steph: I agree, Randy and I work best as a team. We created Auggie and while he has his own personality, I see parts of ours in him. There are some things that Randy can explain and get through to him much easier than I can. While at other times, I get where Auggie is coming from. I think that’s the beauty of it all. We created this little human and God made him like us so we would have the tools we needed to raise him. We haven’t unlocked all the secrets by any means, but we are listening and learning along the way.

While some might think we’re over sensitive, or a little strict, with the words we use, it’s important to us #1 above anything else that we raise a good human who contributes positively to this world. Do I want Auggie to be successful…sure…but I don’t know what that looks like. He could go to college, med school, or trade school…I could care less if he’s happy and a good human.]

Sharing Hobbies as a Dad

Golf…. Man, this game has been a staple in our little family from the beginning. Stephenie has been around golf most of her life. I mean, she spent a lot of her life living across the street from the golf course. Her dad plays golf (and isn’t too shabby). I worked as an assistant superintendent for the university golf course for four plus years and have a degree in Turfgrass management from Penn State. Needless to say Auggie has grown up and will grow up around golf.

I believe that it’s a good game for the little man to learn. It teaches him several values like sportsmanship, taking turns and the all important “give me”. I love this game and want Auggie to love it too. So far, I have been lucky. He loves going to the golf course and playing golf. Especially if there is a golf cart involved. As a parent, this game on the professional level has several players for him to look up to, including people like Jordan Spieth, Ricki Fowler, and a whole host of others. These players not only play a great game, they give to charity and promote sportsmanship. I want Auggie to see this and emulate these traits.

The biggest challenge I feel I face as a parent is not trying to force my child to like the things I like. I like golf, fishing, camping, hiking and many other activities, as you can see from our videos. I am pretty lucky that over all, Auggie has similar interest. But there are other areas in life that he likes, things that I am not crazy about. Right now, he is really into dragons. It is no secret that I am not crazy about dragons. I like the movie “How to Train Your Dragon,” which is where Auggie learned about dragons, but that’s where my interest ends. Auggie is all or nothing when he gets into something. He gets that from me. I try and embrace everything he is into for the time being knowing that this may be a phase or it could be a lifelong interest. As long as I can share time with Auggie, I’m willing to expand my interests so I can bond with him.

I do believe that Auggie and I will always have something to share, even if it changes over time. My goal is to always have something no matter how small to bond with Auggie over. Whether it’s dragons, golf, basketball, or my favorite… travel. As long as Auggie and I share something, we share everything.

Memorial Day Weekend @ Thousand Trails

Thousand trails……. Is it worth it? 

Spoiler alert, YES!

This was absolutely my favorite campground we have been to, so far. The views were so beautiful at the lake that even though it was a three-day weekend, and most people were taking that opportunity to sleep in each and every one of them (Stephenie included), I woke up before sunrise to get some pretty awesome footage! The pool was awesome. There is actually two full size pools and a spa. Oh yeah, there is also a little one-and-a-half-foot pool for the kiddos. The staff is awesome everyone helps you without hesitation. We have been to one other thousand trails property, the peace river resort in Wauchula FL. We like this property as well but the campground that will get us to pay for a membership after the free camping is over (We received a free membership when we purchased our R.V) is the Orlando R.V Resort. There are several other properties that we will try but the membership is worth it for this park alone. Oh, did I mention free kayak rentals! They do require a deposit but that will be returned the moment you return.   

We didn’t venture out too much from the campground with all the amenities that were offered, but we did pull ourselves away for a few hours to go to the Lake Ridge Winery. This is Florida’s oldest winery (I am taking their word for it). I have only ever been to one other wine tasting before. At the first one I went to, we sat down, and they brought the wine to us, it was great. While lake ridge was great, the wine was tasty, the vineyard was beautiful, you did have to walk station to station. This isn’t so bad, they are close, but for me I only have 25% hearing in my right ear, so when there are multiple people talking at one time, I have trouble hearing. That is the only thing I would have changed about the whole thing though. Once we were done tasting, we took the next logical step, and purchased a bottle of wine, a cheese platter, and went outside and enjoyed the beautiful May day. Watching Auggie grow has become my new favorite past time. I know I mention that he is growing every day but, seeing him jump up on the stage and start singing, he has become a long way from the shy little boy he was just six months ago, before we bought our camper. 

This video did take place over Memorial Day weekend. I just want to take a minute and remember that we get a three-day weekend, because some people no longer have weekends with their families. This day is not about the BBQ, the pool, or even the camper trip. It is about remembering those who gave it all. We were grateful that the resort had a Memorial Day service to honor those who weren’t with us. As Steph explained to Auggie, these people went to keep us safe and weren’t able to come back to see their families. He stood and said the pledge and sang the anthem. So, while I’m not entirely sure he understood what the day stood for, it was a starting step so we all never forget. 

Here is a link for great information on Memorial Day. 

https://www.history.com/topics/holidays/memorial-day-history

Why the long face?

Why the long face?……Okay so I may have said it was the best Dad joke ever, maybe that was a slight exaggeration. 

This place was amazing! I have to admit, I thought we would be there for ten minutes and run out of things to do. I mean you can only feed so many horses. But this place has 335 acres of farm land to take care of the horses and other animals that have been mistreated, or were no longer useful to their owner, so there would be no telling what might have happened to them (use your imagination). There are 140 horses that are currently retired there. They also have a few other animals. The farm has been in operation since 1984. The people who started this are amazing. Fully run on donations, it takes approximately $400,000. If you would like to donate and help this farm here is a link to help out.

How you can Help

Auggie had a blast! Getting to feed horses is not something he would have most likely been able to do without farms like this. We are not farmers or ranchers, nor do we intend to be. The most unique animal we have is Ally our dog. We try and expose Auggie to as many ways of life as possible, let him become his own human. We love the fact that he had the chance to get to know these horses and interact with them. He learned that not all horses want to be bothered, that horses and other animals have personality’s just like humans. 

Auggie’s favorite horse had to be Lance-A-Lot. That horse followed him for close to half a mile. I can’t blame him though Auggie was not stingy with the carrots. We were able to tell Auggie the story of ance-A-Lot, how he was a police horse. Auggie loves meeting the police (not the band). This horse was no longer able to perform his duty, so he taken there to relax and retire. Side note: That has to be weird for the police officer that had him for all those years on the force, to just have to say goodbye. Auggie really did not want to leave but, he did want to go to his friend’s birthday party. So, off we went.

Auggie had a blast at his friend’s birthday party, that now he wants one of his own. Before when we asked him, he just wanted to go on a special camper trip. But after seeing all of his friends outside of school, he wanted one of his own. So, we have scrambled to put a birthday party together on short notice for him. That little boy has really come out of his shell this year. With being in occupational therapy, and of course having the camper, he is learning how to be in different social situations and when other people are around it is ok. Little man acts like he is running for mayor when we are in the camper, shaking hands and kissing babies, maybe not that last part. Although, he keeps telling us he is going to go visit his baby cousin and hold him soon.

Whether it is feeding horses or going to parties, letting Auggie be Auggie has been a lot of fun. Yes, that’s a little cliché, and I am about to be a little more. I am learning from him, learning that even though you don’t feel like doing something, or your little uncomfortable, participate, try and see if you can get use to whatever the activity is that you didn’t want to do. Who knows maybe you will even like it? I am not a fan of swimming. But I am participating for my son, learning from him.

To the Baseball Fields We Will Go!

In this week’s video once again…. nothing went as planned. I told Auggie I would take him to the baseball fields so he could run the “real” bases. Well its little league season, and we had received a lot of rain. So…the baseball fields by the house were flooded and unusable. I planned to use these fields because I knew there was no little league. What I didn’t think about was the weather and that we would not be able to use the fields. Once we saw the flooded fields, we went all over town to every other field to see if there was an open field. After a few hours of trying I finally convinced him the best thing was to stop and eat lunch. We went to Beef O’ Brady’s so he could watch baseball as he ate. At this point there was only one baseball field that I could think of left. We pull in and of course little league.

So, we sat in the stands and watched a game. Went out to the playground threw the ball and played on the playground. Then, we received a call about a family emergency and that there would be no baseball. Auggie was ok because I told him we could ride bikes on the university campus to go get mommy, who was in class. He acted like such a big boy and was a champ in a not fun situation and cheered mommy up. Everything ended up being okay and now Auggie just tells friends and family not to play bumper cars.

Now on Sunday I knew there was no little league. Auggie and I woke up early and headed out. We were the first ones to the field but surprisingly there were a few little league practices that early on a Sunday. We had a blast. I love watching Auggie smile as he runs around the bases. He doesn’t like hitting the ball off the tee either, he wants to be pitched to. He can hit the ball and when he does that cheer would make any dad smile, then he is off. As he runs the bases, he counts them off – first, second, third, and as he calls it home safe base.

I wish I would have caught more on video, I thought I had. So, this week’s video is the shortest we have ever produced, but one that makes me grin ear to ear when I watch it. Auggie is really coming into his own. He is making friends everywhere he goes and playing great with others. When we take the camper out, he acts like he is running for mayor, saying hi to everyone that passes, especially the puppies. Our biggest hope in the world, is that we stay out of his way and let him become the human he wants to be. Trying not to push baseball, soccer or any other activity. Just let him decide what he wants to do and who he wants to be – as long as that’s a good human.

Nothing Ever Goes as Planned

This weekend ended up being kind of hectic. We had planned a nice relaxing weekend……That was our first mistake.

We started the weekend off with a race benefiting a local daycare that is associated with the University of Florida. Stephenie has always run races and enjoys running, me…not so much. Stephenie ran a half marathon only two days after finding out she was pregnant with Auggie. Races have always been important to her, but this gives her even more of a connection to running races. This was the first race we have ran as a Family, my first race period. It was a cool experience. With my health being up and down here lately none of us really prepared, so we walked quite a bit of it, Auggie rolled with the stroller option, smarter than the rest of us.

We had planned on getting housework done that day, nothing to exciting, except we were also planning on going Kayaking. We aren’t able to take the kayaks with us when we’re camping just yet. I need to get roof racks for the truck, which just aren’t a priority in our budget right now. As usual the plans we made changed, though. Stephenie has been wanting to upgrade Auggie’s bed for nearly a year now and one of her friends was selling a bunk bed that was only the top bunk, so Auggie would have more room for activities in his room. So, we took off to get his new bed, no problem, well one, we needed to get a mattress for the bed. This took a few hours and before we knew it the day was gone.

So, day two. I loaded up the kayaks and we headed out early (Steph had plans for the second half of the day). We put in at a place called Rum Island in High Springs, FL and enjoyed a nice peaceful paddle up the river. That early no one else was on the river yet. We usually put in there because it is about a five-minute paddle to Blue Springs State Park and we can let Auggie get out and swim. This time he stayed in the boat and excited for about three hours. He got to swim a few minutes before we left and then he and I hung out the rest of the day. He helped me mow the grass, wash the truck and do all kind of chores. He is becoming quite the little helper.

We always start the day off with these grand plans. We have too much stuff planned that there is no way we will get to them all. We do try and prioritize the list and make sure we tackle the most important. With Stephenie getting her MBA and me starting the YouTube channel and blog time gets away from us. We also have these pesky things called jobs that steal fifty hours or so of our time each week, our schedule is full, so we need and try to not worry about not having time to get to everything we want to. As long as we make time for the most important thing – Auggie, then we are happy. So, one load of laundry (or two) doesn’t get folded for a day or two, it’s all good, as long as Auggie knows he is loved and is able to experience life.