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."

Next

 Hi! 

Catching up here with some news from the Cunningham family for how we rounded out the excellent year of 2022!

It seems like as the kids get older and activities pile on, life just gets crazier and crazier. BUT this November, I actually made a change to start shedding some of the craziness and allow more 'life' in. I decided to move on from my role at ScriptPro and put that part of my career behind me.  I'm focusing now on Jason's car wash ops and development enterprises plus the marketing side of things which is really fune and creative.  Obviously, being a Mom plays a big part as well.  Jason and I are in the busiest time of our lives right now and neither of us want to look back and feel like we missed out on our kids growing up.

It was really hard to move on from the job I've held for so long and all of the people I know there. Part of my heart will always be with ScriptPro for sure, but this just feels like the right time for me.

Now that the heavy part is aside, I'll get into the fun stuff!

Kids are carving on their own now!

We took a trip to Big Sky in December for some early skiing that was super fun! It was one of the first times we've been able to go to the place we recently remodeled and NOT work for a change (we put a lot of sweat equity into the remodel which I happen to enjoy doing :)!

Gorgeous View!

We had a wonderful 2nd Christmas in our home. This year felt so much more calm and cozy since we had all of our furniture and decor was complete. Honestly, moving in the second half of 2021 was kind of stressful and it took me awhile to really feel settled.

We DID lose our Elf on the Shelf somehow between last year and this one, though, which was disappointing for the kids. Reggie just checked out back to the North Pole I guess (??!).  We got a girl Elf but she was kind of flakey, not nearly as good as Reggie was! 😅

The day after Christmas, we headed out to Cancun with our friends the Smith Family. It was a fun trip and a great way to put a bow on 2022 :)

Dolphin Experience was really cool!

The Girls Tried the "Fish Pedicure" :)

We feel so blessed to have had a fun and healthy year. We look forward to 2023 and all that is in store.  

Love Always, Claire & Family

Start Your Engines!

Hello!

Summer 2022 was busy and super fun.  The day after we got back from Italy and NYC, we drove the kids to Camp Foster in Spirit Lake, Iowa for a week of away camp. Both kids really enjoyed it, and it gave Jason and I taste of what it will be like someday when the kids are out of the house. 😀

We wrapped up Summer with tickets to the NASCAR race in KC where Grandpa Craig and Grandma Kim had a camping spot and pit tickets so we could tour the area. Olivia and I waited in a long line to take a picture at Victory Lane. When she got up there, she started jumping and hooting like she had won! It was funny and it made people laugh at silly we were being. I'm still not a big NASCAR fan, but the race and atmosphere was fun and I can understand why people get into it.

Olivia in Victory Lane!

Future Crew Chief!

Some other highlights of the Summer included numerous lemonade, cookie, and sno-cone 'stands' that their nanny, Molly, helped to coordinate for them. The photo below shows Quinn with his friend who hosted this one because he's on a great street with good visibility and access. The boys would drive traffic to their stand by pushing the crosswalk button at the intersection nearby so they could lure cars to come to them. Quite sneaky but a good sales technique!

The kids did swim team again and took tennis lessons all summer. They both did a soccer goalie camp in July as well as numerous hockey tournaments, camps and ice time whenever they could get it.  All in all, they stayed really active and (mostly!) off of the electronic devices.

Jason and I took a few trips together including a long weekend in FL and a quick out and back to Big Sky where we had some more work to do on the condo for a carpet install. Updates to the condo are almost complete which is exciting for us since it has been a lot of work. But from here on out, it will be a place we can just enjoy when we visit.  

In August, we went to Colorado to stay at my parent's house in Cascade that is so warm and welcoming. Then it was back to KC and back to school already. Between work and other activities, it seems like the Summer just flew by.

Love always, Claire & Family

Lake People, Part Two

 Hello!

The Summer of 2022, the Cunningham family front loaded our vacation time in the first month or so! Our friends, the Smith family, had a reason to go to Italy in early June, so we planned a trip with them. I will say, it was hectic at times and a tight schedule, but I wouldn't change a thing! BUT maybe it made me nostalgic for the relaxing beach vacays a little bit ;)

We departed early June for London and spend a day there touring and trying to get un-jet-lagged if that's even possible. We rode the London Eye and witnessed lots of the festivities for Queen Elizabeth's Platinum Jubilee which wasn't really our primary focus but made for good people watching. 

Kids on London Eye

Family @Big Ben - Why do I always close my eyes! 😂

Early the next AM, we went to Gatwick airport for our flight to Milan BUT, little did we know, our Wizz Air flight had been cancelled and there was no airline support to rectify the situation. Our group had booked this neat condo near Bellagio right on Lake Como and we were kind of stuck for awhile. Like all travel adventures, this was resolved after lots of time, sweat and credit card plastic when we got on a flight to Venice. From there we rented cars and made it to our condo only about 7 hours behind original schedule. Everyone was hungry so we even got there in time for dinner and before the restaurants closed. YAY!

Our place in Lake Como was perfect for our families and we had such a great time.

Go Jump in a Lake!

They're NOT FIGHTING! WOW!

The place we stayed in was right on the lake and was so beautiful. The lake seemed to have a mind of its own and would be calm one minute and choppy the next. One day we went shopping in Bellagio which was so cool! Here's a pic of the kids hanging out at Hotel Bellagio where we got a snack after a full day of shopping :)

One of the days we rented a boat and cruised Como. Wow! I think some of the most amazing real estate in the world is on that lake! And almost every view is like a scene from a movie (literally it is in movies because it's insanely photogenic).

Always a great time to be on the water!

The Cunningham family only made it back to the airport to catch our flight because of some wizardry from Mr. Smith who got us a car when all of our other arrangements had fallen through (thx Justin!). 

The biggest issue with being in Italy (and also London) during that time was a lack of infrastructure to support the tourism industry. Right and left, train operators, taxi drivers, airline attendants, you name it, were going on strike. I know post-COVID is a weird place and it frankly makes me want to stay a bit closer to home just to ensure we don't get stuck somewhere.

So after we made it back to the states, we stopped over in NYC and spent the night there so we could do a little sight-seeing as well. It was a good teaser to what will be a longer trip to the city someday, probably during the holidays.

Love, Claire

PS literally the day we got back from Italy, the US dropped mandatory COVID testing for international travelers to re-enter the US. This bodes well for future travel though we don't have anything planned!