Thank you to the Phoenix airport employee who was so kind to take our photo! Recently I flew with Maeve twice, to and from Minneapolis for our Eau Claire trip. Each flight was about two and a half hours and I was nervous about how it would go. That's a long time to be stuck in a confined area if your toddler is unhappy! I'm happy, and relieved, to report that Maeve was a champ traveler and I truly enjoyed traveling with her. In case anyone else will soon be traveling with a toddler I wanted to share some tips... Read more →

I'm back home in Gilbert after spending a month in Eau Claire, Wisconsin where we bought a house this spring. Before arriving I had never been to Eau Claire and had only been to Wisconsin once before several years ago. I felt a bit lonely and untethered when we first arrived, understandable since I have so much routine, familiarity, and community in Gilbert. But as we prepared to leave I felt sad to go. Chris and I both fell in love with Eau Claire and the surround region as well as our Eau Claire house and neighborhood. Now that I'm... Read more →

We recently took a short road trip from Eau Claire to spend five days in Madison, Wisconsin. During our stay we had our first HomeExchange experience and it was really positive so I wanted to share a bit more about that. I first heard about HomeExchange from my sister-in-law who's been using HE for several years. She’s had great travel experiences with her family as well as good hosting experiences. Hearing her positive first-hand experience made me feel comfortable trying it out. The cool thing about HE is that you can arrange reciprocal exchanges (you stay in their house, they... Read more →

here's our house; we think it's so cute! I'm really looking forward to a fresh coat of paint at some point next year / University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire campus and Rod and Gun Park Yesterday we woke to rain. Glorious rain. When we checked the rain gauge on our deck in the afternoon it read nearly 1.5 inches which is a bit shy of a quarter of our annual rainfall in Arizona. I've become relatively acclimated to the very extreme climate in Arizona and so now marvel at the most mundane weather. We still have two weeks left in Wisconsin... Read more →

This post is also available as a podcast in which I read the post. Search for "rising shining" on most podcast platforms to listen. For the boys' fall break we took a family adventure to Colorado Springs and had a great time! Unfortunately the trip wasn't with the whole family as we had planned. Two days before we left, Maeve came down with RSV and a double ear infection, poor gal! So Chris stayed home with her so that I could go enjoy the trip I had spent so much time planning. After the initial disappointment of not having Chris... Read more →

At the beginning of November Chris attended a conference in Philadelphia and I tagged along. We enjoyed the city so much and ate such great food; it might have been one of the best culinary trips we've been on. I had no idea Philly was such a foodie city – I stand corrected! What made the trip extra fun was the bonus of spending time with cousins. My cousin Scott lives in Philadelphia with his wife Jen and teenage daughter Lily. I don't get to see them often so it's always a treat when I do. I love talking to... Read more →

camping at Christopher Creek campground outside of Payson Did you go camping when you were growing up? As a kid there's no better adventure than spending all day outside exploring the woods followed by roasting a hot dog, eating s'mores, and then snuggling into your sleeping bag in a tent. When I was growing up my family went on one or two camping trips each year. I also went camping with my Girl Scout troop. I have such fond memories of those trips with my family and friends. I loved being outside, helping to lay a fire, taking notice of... Read more →

In March, spring break felt like the theme of the month even though it was just a week plus a Monday. Dash got pretty sick over spring break too so instead of parks and adventures we had several cozy couch days watching movies. It wasn't how I expected to spend the week but I did feel very thankful not to be dealing with trying to take time off work to be with a sick kiddo. On the creative front last month I was productive but always want to do more. I'm reminding myself that I'll probably always feel this way.... Read more →

I have fond memories of family camping trips growing up: roasting hot dogs and marshmallows over a fire, using a pocketknife, and looking at the Milky Way with my dad. Now that I have a family of my own I've been eager to continue the tradition of camping but it's intimidating to make the transition from "being taken camping" to "adult in charge of a camping trip!" Luckily the stars aligned and Team Wharton went on our first camping trip a couple weeks ago – to great success! What really gave us the push we needed was tagging along with... Read more →

Recently, I traveled to San Francisco for work to attend a (fantastic) writing workshop. And I was reminded of something: I love to travel by myself. I kept my hotel room, which overlooked the bay, ridiculously tidy just because I could. When I needed to be somewhere I could get ready leisurely but arrive in plenty of time. At home I'm so accustomed to the long list of tasks that must be negotiated and completed before we leave. To suddenly only worry about myself felt laughably simple. I also find being in an unfamiliar place slightly disorienting in a pleasing... Read more →