Hooray for Ouray

Hi All, 

In July, we ventured to Ouray, Colorado for some fun in the mountains. Unfortunately, the way there was a bit more adventurous than we anticipated, with the main highway being closed and our alternate "route" essentially being the Alpine Trail through the mountains which is really only fit for off-road vehicles such as ATVs and UTVs.

Our F-350 truck was crawling over the rocks with steep cliffs on either side. I felt like we belonged in a Ford commercial! I was thankful for Jason's driving skills and everyone's patience with the endeavor since the drive took about 4 hours longer than anticipated! But we got there safely, thanks to our perseverance and not so much thanks to Google Maps for making our route look like an actual road!.

Once we got there, we rented ACTUAL ATV's to go on those same trails and it was fun, not insanely stressful! The views in Ouray are absolutely are amazing. 

When we weren't in Ouray, we stayed at Burnbrae which is always a favorite place to be. Quinn and I hiked to the top of Mother's Rest together, and we all went fishing (mostly just fishing, not a lot of catching except for Olivia's little catch here!).

After this family time, the kids went to Shady Brook YMCA in Deckers, CO for the week and Jason and I worked. All in all, it was a beautiful 2 weeks in the great state of Colorado!

Back home in August, Olivia and I caught the Morgan Wallen show at Arrowhead which was a fun time. She is starting at Indian Hills Middle School this year which is an exciting change for her!

In addition to the YMCA camp, this Summer both kids got to go to an away hockey camp. Olivia and her friend Maddy went to Shattuck St Mary's in Faribault, MN which is a prestigious hockey institution. Quinn went back to Heartland Hockey Camp which is a great camp in northern Minnesota. 

We are all looking forward to getting back in the swing of things with work and school to round out the remaining months of 2024!

~claire & family

Grand Vacation

Hello All!

Welcome to the next installment of the Cunningham blog! 2024 was a year of mostly work and hockey, but we took a little time out to play too :)

First off, the kids and Dad attended the Spring banquet at the Carriage Club for hockey recognition. I think they clean up pretty well, don't you think?

Over Spring Break, we went on an adventure trip to Grand Cayman! I must say, the beaches there were gorgeous. A highlight was Sting Ray City where the rays come right up to you (for food) and they let you pet them.

Hands down, the best day in GC was when we went out on the boat and visited the outer cayes. The kids found starfish all over the place to play with. Very interesting creatures!

On this trip, we mostly hung out with our friends, read books and played in the surf.  Towards the end of the week, we ventured out on an ATV ride to explore the island and rented jet skis to explore the waterways. In case you were wondering.... I think it is more fun to ride a jet ski with Dad than Mom! It's ok though, we all have our strengths...

It was a great chance to soak up some sun and play in the sand before heading back to reality (aka Kansas City)!

Love always, 

Claire & Family

Touchdown, Kansas City!

Happy New Year!

In January, Quinn rang in his 11th Birthday at Capital Grill which is always a good option for a fancy dinner. Creme brulee was also involved!

Quinn is blessed with a good 'hockey birthday' because it is early in the year. This means he is generally one of the oldest kids on a team that is at his age level, and he often has had the opportunity to play 'up' to a higher level at times through his youth career. 

This season, we are enjoying what  is probably the last year where Olivia and Quinn will be playing on the same hockey team. They are both doing Carriage Club house as well as the KC United Travel team that does tournaments. 

Tis the season for Chiefs Playoff games! KC sports fans have been spoiled lately with incredible success in the NFL post season, thanks to some generational talent in the form of our star QB Patrick Mahomes. He has led the team to 6 STRAIGHT AFC Championship games, and we have played in 4 of the last 5 Super Bowls, winning 3 of those 4. Those are some crazy stats. Arrowhead has sure been rocking for some home field playoff games!

The Cunningham home has become a gathering place for post season Chiefs Watch Parties. We started this tradition two years ago when they went on their run to win their second Super Bowl title with this core team. And since we are now on a winning streak, we can't stop now!

In Winter of 2024, we only had one good freeze, but it was enough to get our ice patch up and going for a good skate during one of the watch parties. SPOILER ALERT. The Chiefs ended up winning this SB, making it two in a row. How about a 3-peat in 2025? Time will tell! 

Another fun part of the watch parties is getting to try out new recipes and make things that you wouldn't normally try. I have been working with the InstaPot a lot and Quinn has been baking up a storm. The other day he did homeade pop tarts which were slightly burnt, just the way I like them! Below is a batch of his pretzels fresh out of the oven. He even made some spicy mustard to go along with them. Yum!

We had an unseasonably warm Winter this year, but we were able to sneak out to Montana for some fun on the slopes and definitely felt the bitter cold out there! Quinn convinced Jason to go up to the very top and ski down in near whiteout conditions. I was nervous about this plan and tracked their location on the mountain the whole way (not that it helped!). I think it was a little touch and go up in the tram too! 

Wishing everyone a wonderful 2024 abundant with love, health and many blessings!

~claire & family

Cooks and the Kitchen

Hi All!

I will say that the 2nd half of 2023 flew by so quickly. Everyone was super busy with work and school. We took some time out to play too which is really important!

Olivia and I caught the Chiefs and Chargers game in early October which was a beautiful day for football! Who knows how well this news will age, but Travis Kelce and Taylor Swift had just started dating and she was in the suite just behind us. Exciting times for all (especially my almost 12YO Swiftie)!

We visited Cabo again for Fall Break which is always a great time. Olivia took the prize with this sailfish!

Quinn had a marlin technically landed but they were unable to bring it in for the photo op.  He did get this sailfish though! They both had fun and lots of 'reel' opportunities.

Jason checked an item off his bucket list by getting seasick and feeding the fish on the way back in. To be honest, it was a rough, choppy ride out there. Don't worry... I didn't get a pic of him puking!

There was a lot of activity in our kitchen this past year. Both of the kids are working on signature dishes. Olivia has really perfected the chocolate chip cookie, especially a gluten free variety, which is wonderful. Quinn and I have been making a lot of pot pies and he's also working on actual pies. Apple is his favorite as well as cheesecake. The kid can do really yummy pretzels too!

I helped him put together a little menu to pass around the neighborhood and sell some of his baked goods.

The last 2 weeks of the year were definitely the best though! We took a trip to the Cook Islands, with a stopover in Hawaii on both ends, to round out the year. Our friends, the Smith Family, joined us on the adventure and it was a blast.

Here are some pics of the kids hanging together.  Getting off the plane to Aitutaki, Olivia climbing a tree for some nu coconut and playing games on one of the rainy days.

Here is Quinn being goofy with some eyeglasses and a familiar view of the lagoon at the Pacific Resort where you can do stand up paddle, canoeing, snorkeling and swimming to your hearts content. And we did! 

Here are some more fun pics including an action shot of the 'Flying Quinn' and a family picture at dinner right before we boarded the plane to travel back to Hawaii. 

Best wishes to all in 2024 and beyond! 

Love,

The Cunningham Family

Summer Daze

Hi All!

The Summer of 2023 is in full swing!  This Summer, we have made sleeping in until at least 8 am a priority. I swear both kids have grown 5 inches this Summer!

In early June, I rented a massive double water slide and invited kids (and parents) from both classes to our house for a Summer Kick-Off Party. It was a huge success! By the end of it, the kids were so worn out from playing hard, and I'm certain we got bit of money out of that 24' slide!

This is the first Summer where I haven't had a nanny or babysitter to help out.  We had several trips and camps planned that it just didn't make sense to hire someone.  In the end, it worked out fine but there were times when I had to work and the kids were bored. But plenty of times I was able to take them to do something fun on a given day for a little bit. We mastered 3 escape rooms this summer by the way!

We spent 2 weeks in June in Cascade at my parent's place Burnbrae. Nothing like a creamy hot chocolate on a brisk morning!

Our fave breakfast spot, The Pantry in Green Mountain Falls

The last weekend in Colorado, we decided to set off for a fishing and camping trip. We traveled to Deckers and found a tent camping spot. Quinn and Dad worked on their fly fishing technique.

Olivia didn't get much of a mention in the last blog on hockey, so I wanted to include some pictures here and more on how she's been doing. She took piano lessons all year and did a piano recital in April where she received a good grade on her playing skills 👍.

She got braces this past year and subsequently got them taken off a few months after (I have a feeling there will be a few more rounds of that). She got a really good haircut and style which she is super excited about!

As an aspiring veterinarian and total animal lover, she loves to 'rescue' animals such as snakes, turtles and fish from nearby waterways. Here she is with Boxer (who apparently goes by the name Shelly). Shelly was released a day or two later since the weather was great and we weren't sure s/he was eating the food we had given.

The kids went to Camp Foster YMCA in Spirit Lake, Iowa the first week of July and had a great time learning water sports.  Meanwhile, Jason and I went out to Colorado Springs to work together on completing his latest car wash project out there.

Signing off for now.

Love always, Claire & Family 

Hockey Stops

Hi All,

In case you haven't heard, the Cunningham kids are really into ice hockey (like REALLY)! Jason and I are 100% in support of this because the kids work hard and they enjoy reaping the rewards of their hard work.  

Sometimes those rewards come in the form of a fun team trip to a faraway city for tournament play and sometimes those rewards come in the form of a seafood tower at Morton's with Dad after said game. 😅

Even though sometimes it stinks that the whole family can't attend all of these away tournaments together, it is great when the kids get to go with either Jason or I and get some one on one time. Quinn and I went to Chicago in late May and I practically had to arm wrestle Jason to get him to stay home with Olivia and the dog because he's so hooked on these trips as a true 'hockey dad' 💓.

When I was growing up, I was so into horse showing that I never actually did team sports. I think it is good for kids to grow up experiencing team sports because so many life skills related to working with people and striving towards a common goal are learned through that.

It is great when they get individual recognition, but even better when they look at ways to recognize and celebrate their teammates. By lifting others up, you all achieve success and happiness.

Olivia had some girls tournaments this year but not as many as Quinn had with his Squirt team.  We will see what next year holds and be there cheering them on win or lose.

Jason likes to say that between our cozy brick house with wood burning fireplaces and the hockey season, he looks forward to winter now whereas he previously used to dread our KC winters. I think it's great to have the kids in a sport that is so active in the winter to keep them off the couch and being active.  Just like any sport, when you get into it, it actually can go year round if you let it with all of the camps and travel teams. 

Love always, claire 

Catching

 Hi All! 

You know the old saying after a rough day with a fishing pole and not much action on the line... "That's why they call it fishing not catching". Well sometimes when you go out it should be called catching!

We actually went BACK to Cancun with the Ascencio family for another round of fun over Spring Break! On this trip, the boys went out and had a ton of success at sea and a bunch of fun to boot.

Quinn and Olivia both share Jason's love of fishing. It is definitely a great way for them to bond with their Dad 💓

We also took the ferry to Isla Mujeres on this trip and had a lot of fun exploring that island where time has kind of stood still compared to the hustle and bustle of Cancun. 

On one of the days, we went to a water park which was about 5 miles from our hotel. We figured we could get a cab back or something at the end of the day but transportation was pretty scarce! We all piled into this tiny car (that's all 11 of us!).  

So thankful for such a wonderful family to travel with!

Finally, Jason (and also Brian A's) alma mater made it all the way to the Final 4 Men's College Basketball Championship game! Quite a big deal so they made the trip to Houston and met up with other friends there to root on the Aztecs who had an amazing run but lost in the final game. There's always next year!

Love always, Claire & Family

PS: one of my favorite fishing spots in Deckers, Colorado has a little dive bar (which incidentally also has the best soft serve ice cream in the entire world), and there's a sign above their bar that I really like. It reads, "In dog beers, I've only had one."