Aloha!

Hello!

Aloha from the Cunningham Family! I am calling this blog installment "Aloha" because it means "hello" and "goodbye". Since our last update, we have had some life changes that have had us saying goodbye to some things and hello to others. Without further ado, I will dive right in!

1. In mid-July, Quinn swam backstroke and freestyle in the city-wide Swim Championships and his boys 8 & Under relay teams took home two gold medals! We're really proud of him and it was fun to cheer his team on.

Quinn kicking off Champs relay with the backstroke!

2. Jason was researching current selling prices for RV's and decided that we should list our camper and see what happens. After about a month on the market, we ended up selling it for more than we paid for it 3 years ago! I guess the demand for RV's is really up due to Covid. We miss the camper but enjoyed it tremendously. Someday we may get another one.

3. Also in July and somewhat spur of the moment, we decided to take a peek at what other houses were on the market. I've absolutely loved the home I bought in KCMO back in 2006 and since I met Jason, so much has been done to improve it. But after 16 years, it was time to see what else is out there. We found a house nearby on the Kansas side and took the leap! The new house has been recently remodeled and has ample space for 2 home offices and other amenities.

We were able to close on the new house about 6 weeks after putting it under contract and we moved Labor Day weekend! Packing and moving was fairly exhausting, but it has been well worth it. Jason's mom Patti came out for several days to help set everything up and that support was so much appreciated :) 

We are completing some final touches on the old house (renovating two bathrooms and a bedroom) before we will list it for sale later this year or next year.  

4. Amidst all of this moving, we actually had a 2 week trip to the Big Island of Hawaii during the first half of August. Getting there was quite an adventure with the COVID testing delays for the kids and all (thank heavens for airport testing!), but we made it work. We stayed in a condo with a nice kitchen and probably ate half of our meals there which was important since island restaurants were pretty slim pickings and reservations were pretty scarce.

Setting up for another (slow) day at the beach!

Enjoying the fruits of the island - another incredible meal!

Gorgeous black sand beach

Chocolate farm outside Hilo

Dolphin Quest!

On this trip, we had our share of beach days but we also explored all over the island. One day we drove to Volcano National Park and hiked the volcanoes. That night we stayed at a B&B in the middle of a Hawaiian forest with all kinds of critters chirping and bleating all night long. 

In a rare turn to experience the more touristy side of the island, we took a sunset dinner cruise that was quite interesting! The seas were pretty rough and by the end, I believe about 40% of the people on the boat, servers included, had gotten seasick! Luckily our group was fine but we had some good laughs and stories to tell.

The day after we got back from Hawaii, the kids were off to school - first day at St Paul's for another round. This time 3rd and 4th grades. Here's a picture of Olivia ready to go take on her first day of school! When I was a kid, I would get nervous on the first day of school, so I love seeing her all ready to go tackle it!

Love always, Claire & Family (including Murphy 🐾)

OBX Adventures

Hello!

It's been a while since my last post so I'll dive right in! We planned a big camper trip right at the beginning of Summer to Outer Banks, NC. While the trip involved a lot of miles, we took our time a bit more with the drive and stopped in campgrounds most nights there and back so we could all stretch our legs, cook out and let the kids explore the campgrounds.  

Our first stop was in Lexington, KY where we stayed at the Kentucky Horse Park campground. We explored the horse museum there and saw the "Circle of Champions" including Go For Gin who is the oldest living Kentucky Derby winner! He is quite beautiful and well situated in one of the primary paddocks there.

We ate a wonderful dinner out in Lexington where Dad and Quinn shared a 48 oz Porterhouse steak and between them, they ate the whole thing! The kids were both so polite at dinner and displayed such great manners that they had both definitely earned a nice dessert. When the server explained the dessert options including chocolate mousse, Olivia said "I've had that before and it actually tasted like pudding... So is this really a chocolate moose or more like pudding?"  It was really cute and we both told the server they needed to up their game in the chocolate moose department (!).

We really loved Outer Banks, NC and hope to return someday. I was expecting it to be more similar to Florida panhandle beaches, and it really was completely unique. The beaches were endless with picturesque sand dunes. We got a beach driving permit and could easily find beach spots without another soul in sight.

Jason fished from the shore, the kids played in the sand and I played fetch with Murphy and just took in the beautiful sights. The campground we stayed at actually spanned both the sound side and the Atlantic ocean side of the island. So we could walk to the beach in the AM to watch the sun rise over the ocean, and in the evening, we could watch the sun set right by our camping spot on the sound side.

Beautiful Sunsets

Kids Playing at the Beach

One of the days, we drove as far south on the island as you can and hopped the ferry to Ocracoke. It is this darling little place where the primary mode of transportation is a golf cart. We definitely want to return there someday.

I also enjoyed learning about the history in OBX including the Wright Brothers First Flight at Kitty Hawk, the demise of Blackbeard the Pirate in Ocracoke, the marine history including thousands of shipwrecks, the really cool lighthouses, and the list goes on.

There are also some oddities with the area, including these really weird fish that look kind of like snakes. The local fishermen encourage you to fish with "blood worms" which actually have little teeth and they know how to use them! The locals don't tell you this but you should NOT swim in the ocean past your knees because the waters are actually shark infested.

It wouldn't be a Cunningham vacation without a few days out on the water fishing, right? One of the days, we caught several Mahi Mahi. It's fair to say our freezer is stocked for the foreseeable future!

In other news, Jason brought home a new toy that we have been using on weekends to get out and about on lakes near KC. It's been fun to take just a few hours and play on the water for a bit.

We also have launched in to a garage remodel that is coming along nicely.

The kids have a Summer packed with sports this year including swim, dive, tennis, lacrosse, golf and hockey. Signing off for now. 

Love~claire

Imagine Dragon

 Hi All!

Another blog update from the Cunningham family coming right at you 😀.  First off, we need to report the newest addition to our family!

Quinn had his heart set on a bearded dragon and so last Summer, Dad and Quinn started building a cage during Covid shutdown. We staved off actually getting a dragon until a few weeks ago. Luckily, the Universe heeded the call and we found the perfect full grown dragon on Craigslist! He is very sweet and Quinn is very happy. He does a lot to help care for Hannibal (his given name) AKA Buddy including feedings and lots of social time.

Olivia also got two poison dart frogs for her vivarium (also a Covid project with Dad), and they are doing well. They are really tiny and hard to capture in pictures though! Below is a picture from the internet of what they look like 😀

A few weeks ago, the kids had their hockey finale which culminated in a playoff game where we sadly did not come out on top. Quinn was asked to play 'up' in the U10 game though which was a big honor and here he is just before the game with his great friend, Maxwell.

Last time I mentioned that we spent some time skiing with friends in Big Sky, MT - full story is that we actually purchased the condo we stayed in last December and we are now remodeling it to give it an updated look. It's a great rental property and it will be completed sometime this Summer. Here's a picture after Jason and I went out and gutted the main floor in late March.

This past Easter weekend, we actually ventured to Disney World and had overall a really good time. It was different with the Covid protocols but once you figure out how to navigate it and adjust your expectations, it was overall really worth it.

Quinn is really notorious for forgetting his mask. By the way, this is what you do with your kids soccer jersey when they forget their mask when you go out for pizza 😆.

I'll leave you with a picture of the Critter in his new digs up in Quinn's room. Life is good, I think.

Love, Claire & Family

Six Feet Apart

Hello!

Here's a blog update to catch us on the state of things during the last part of 2020 and the first part of 2021!

Jason and I have been so blessed as we have been able to adapt to the remote work and not miss a beat with the businesses we are running and the jobs we are doing. The kids are doing great at St. Paul's which is a private school that has been fully open since mid-August to in person learning. With very few exceptions for remote learning, they have been in the classroom alongside their friends. And most importantly, we have all stayed completely healthy during these crazy times!

The pumpkin pictures below kind of tell a story for how things went down for us towards the end of 2020.... things were a bit simplified and stripped down just like the pumpkins we carved this year vs. 2019's versions. But that's just fine by me, and in a way, it has allowed us to take things a little easier, cook at home more and focus on things that matter to us. 

The kids did fall soccer and have really enjoyed hockey this past year. Olivia moved up to the Squirts/10 & Under age group while Quinn is still in the 8U group, however he is good enough that he is practicing and playing lots of games on the 'full ice' with Olivia's team. Last June, hockey camps were one of the first things to open up so we did several indoor camps through the summer and it really helped them build their skills.

Like I said, we have been eating at home more, but still taking the time to support our favorite local restaurants such as Il Centro (AKA The Good Spaghetti Place!), which is a cute little Italian place about a mile from our house. Olivia and I got our toenails done for my birthday and also for her birthday. As much as we can, we're supporting the places that have suffered during the shutdown.

While we haven't traveled much (other than Jason who has been going back and forth to the new car wash build in Colorado Springs most weeks), we did decide to take a quick 4 day trip to Cabo, Mexico over the kid's Fall Break. We stayed at the Rosewood resort there and it was heavenly! We had an ATV adventure on the beach, hung out in the pool, and enjoyed the ocean views... just what we needed to fill up our tanks in advance of the winter spent mostly indoors and whatever imminent stricter Covid restrictions that we will all be facing soon.

With the car wash almost ready to launch (it officially opened December 1st!), we spent the week of Thanksgiving in Cascade, CO with my parents. The plan was to have TG dinner with the Thomas family, but things didn't work out for that to happen as we'd hoped. So at kind of the last minute, Jason and I shouldered the load and pulled together a TG feast for Cunningham's plus my parents that was out of this world good.

As you can see above, the kids pitched in on the decor and had fun finding napkin folding instructions on YouTube. This was one of many really well decorated dinner settings that we were treated to by the kids. The week after Christmas and over New Year's, we also stayed at Burnbrae and hosted some of the managers from the car wash and their families. For that dinner, the kids did animal shaped napkins, and Olivia hid a "joke" inside each napkin that people would go around the table and read. Very fun :)

We skied Vail a few days after Christmas and it was really nuts. Way too crowded, but at least on the last day we had 10"+ of powder. Quinn had a little trouble with it but he eventually got the hang of it! My motto, never ever complain about powder!

After New Year's, we hosted some of the cousins for Quinn's 8th Birthday skating party at the Club.

To keep the skiing theme going, in mid-Jan we hit Big Sky, MT for a really fun trip where we met up with the Howa family. We had some unexpected visitors around the condo there which was really neat!

The Fox of Big Horn Condos!

Ski Racers!

We also made it out to Beaver Creek at the end of January and had a blast seeing my friend Elizabeth on a few different occasions out in Colorado. In between weekends packed with numerous hockey games and a few ski trips, to say the least, the kids have stayed busy with various sports this winter!

Signing off for now. 

Love Always, 

~The Cunningham Family

 

New Normal

 Hello! 

I'll kick off this installment of the blog with a picture I love taken by Quinn's 2nd grade teacher the other day. The class was practicing reading to a partner in a creative way with social distancing. 😂

While there are plenty of things going on now that we don't want to embrace as 'normal' for the long term, I do believe that we've learned some incredible things about resilience and adaptability of human beings in the face of major change. 

Some thoughts below:

1. 99% of the people I come across are following the rules, wearing masks in public and attempting to social distance in public places. There's a country song called something like "most people are good" by Luke Bryan and I really think he's right.

2. Our ability to connect and interact over video conference is really huge and actually quite authentic. There is such a difference when you can see someone's face vs just hearing their voice. I've noticed that folks of all ages and walks of life are learning how to connect better this way whether at work or in their personal lives. 

3. I am hopeful that this time will usher in a new focus on health, wellness and hygiene that will keep people safer and healthier in the long term. Though I do definitely worry about all of the disposables and carry out boxes being used now and the impact on the environment from that.

4. More people are staying home and cooking, learning new skills and connecting with their neighbors. I feel a long term impact from this may be a revitalization and resurgence of smaller towns.

Back to our family experience during this Summer of Covid, the kids had a great Summer despite some interruptions but we all rolled with it. They did several hockey camps and even had a partial swim team season. Both kids are now voracious readers of chapter books. Murphy got to jump in the pool during the last day of the season, what they call Yappy Hour.

This Summer, Jason was in the thick of the car wash build. Here's an aerial view of the project from back in June. We all spent a lot of time at my parent's house in Cascade. S'mores, hiking with friends who joined us on one of the trips, going to the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo to feed the giraffes and elephant were all highlights!

We took the camper out a few times and had a great time in western Colorado at Ouray and then explored some other places in southern CO. We took side by sides up Imogene Pass, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. We also did a trip back to our fave spot on the White River in Arkansas.  

It was freezing at the top of the pass, over 13,000 feet. 

Jason and I cracked open a beer before heading back down!

This is the most beautiful flagstone stream you can imagine.

Olivia won the prize for catching the biggest fish AND the smallest fish. 😂

Quinn finally got to pitch his first tent!

The kids started school 'in person' on Aug 15th, and so far it is going well. I say that even though Olivia's class was just asked to quarantine at home for 14 days, which is a bad break but we've made the best of it. The e-learning program the school is putting on is so much improved, night and day better. The school upgraded the underlying tech over the Summer and also issued the kids iPads which are pre-programmed with Zoom links which is fabulous.

The picture above is Olivia on the first day of 3rd grade. I can't even believe how time flies and how big the kids have gotten! Mask in hand, she is ready to take it on. I'll say both kids have adjusted really well to the mask wearing, almost to the point that when they get home, I have to ask them to take them off!

Another bright spot is how much the kids truly appreciate the oppty to go to school in person and learn alongside their peers. Like I said, we have been home doing e-learning for almost 2 weeks and they can't wait to go back to the classroom and be with their friends.

Signing off for now. 

xoxo 

Claire & family

Going Viral

 Hello!

So we have just come through what is a very interesting and weird time in our history. On or around March 14, 2020, virtually everything shut down to prevent the spread of the COVID-19 virus in the US and beyond.  

We were in Park City for Spring Break and enjoying an apres ski beer when I got a text saying that all ski resorts were shut down effective the following day and basically that all restaurants and hotels were also shutting down. I immediately booked tickets for our group back to KC for the next day. Once we got home, we decided to drive our RV to Colorado and join my parents for a week at their house in Cascade, Colorado before setting off in our RV.

Part of what happens next is a blur, and I wasn't documenting a lot of it, but thankfully, Olivia is our resident photographer and she provided some interesting material to share 😊.

1. In Colorado, we cooked a lot and also did a lot of puzzles. After we finished one that was especially hard, we all signed it and my mom had it framed for display in the house as our COVID-19 quarantine puzzle. Grandma taught the kids a lot of card games. We dug deeper into the bucket of things to do and apparently some of us figured out how to do whatever this is to pictures.. LOL!

2. Next, we drove to Texas and found this tiny RV park right on the beach. The owner, Tim, was particularly fond of Murphy and would let him basically have free roam of the place, though most of the time, there was only one other couple at the entire place which had 7 camper spots. Also on this trip, Jason and I discovered that you can 'take out' gallon jugs of margaritas! Game changer. Here is Murphy playing a game of "run around the Camper".

We actually went to the same place in TX two separate times during quarantine because we liked it so much and the internet service was excellent. Each morning I would walk Murphy along the beach and watch the sunrise. It was magical especially with what sometimes felt like the world crashing down all around. And we took our bikes for rides up and down the coast and we also went riding in a TX state park known for its huge alligators. We saw lots of them! You definitely don't want to veer off the trail in that park. 😊

3. We did make it back home to KC a few times and also back to Colorado to quarantine in the mountains. Jason was working on a car wash build in the Springs so it was convenient for him to have us work and do e-Learning from Colorado when possible. Here's a pic from one of our trips back and forth from KC to Colorado Springs in "Mom's Taxi" aka the Grocery Getter.

Right before shutdown, we had just finished a long remodel project on our kitchen. We love the end result and the new kitchen appliances were really fun to play with especially with all of the baking and cooking that went on during quarantine. Olivia and Quinn learned how to master a few different dishes and I experimented with things like lasagna and other new recipes. 

3. e-Learning was an interesting road and I will say it was extremely challenging for all parents, and especially for parents who were working remotely full-time, to try to supervise this stuff. Our teachers at St. Paul's did their best, I am sure, but it ended up feeling like a scavenger hunt to find the correct zoom link, password, date and time. Though I hate to admit it, there were times when I just said, "forget it" and we just had to pass on some of the stuff.  

I found these pictures that Olivia took and I think they reflect perfectly the gamut of emotions we all had... from anger and frustration, then moving on to intense snacking and finally to smug resignation and acceptance.

We were blessed to be all together during quarantine and making some really incredible family memories. The freedom to sleep until you wake up and not needing an alarm was amazing. We created our own campfire sing along nights with S'mores and joke-telling. Olivia got inspired to work with her guitar, writing songs and performing them for us. 

Though I was really happy when things started opening back up, I can hardly complain about how we fared during the shutdown. I know how lucky we are and I thank God that we were in a place of protection during this uncertain time.

Love Always, Claire & Family