Disney 2022

When we went to Disney World back in 2016, we knew that we'd want to come back at some point when the kids were older. As the pandemic began to wind down and things started to return to "normal" we thought that the best way to celebrate would be to take a drip to Disney. We had hoped to plan it when Nyla was done with school for the year, but before the rush of summer crowds began. Unfortunately, Nyla didn't want to go, but we decided it was now or never if we wanted to do this before the crazy high school years begin in the Sturm home. So, we took the plunge and made the magical adventure a reality. We were lucky enough to have the Bruley family (great neighbors and friends) join us for part of our trip.

After exactly 100 days of counting down, the day was finally here!

We stayed on property at the Caribbean Beach Resort and loved it! The location was great and the resort was amazing.

Day 1 was Magic Kingdom....we were on the go from sun up to sun down (and then some)!

Day 2 was Animal Kingdom...it started with a rope drop sprint to the Avatar ride and ended with us going back (after an earlier departure from the park) to ride a few favorites one more time!

Day 3 began with some much needed sleeping in...followed by a trip to Disney Springs, relaxation/fun at our resort, and a visit to the Boardwalk area for some special ice cream treats!

Day 4 was another early morning rope drop to Hollywood Studios where we loved the new Star Wars land, conquered our fears of thrill rides (well, Joel wasn't quite sold on the Tower of Terror, but did it anyhow), and survived the crowds in an effort to do just about every ride we could.

Day 5 was a much slower paced day at Epcot and we loved getting to end our trip there!

We were definitely sad to leave, but our aching feet and tired bodies were ready to go home!

Caleb Takes On Washington DC

Back in 2020, our family road trip was supposed to be to Washington DC. We considered rescheduling it in 2021, but many of the places we wanted to see were still closed due to Covid. As we began to think ahead to our 2022 travel plans, we thought long and hard about where to go. We knew that Caleb, our history lover, would truly appreciate a trip to Washington DC. However, we knew that the other three kids would likely rain on his parade if we made the trip a family vacation. So, we decided to make this a special, 8th-grader-only trip. Caleb has had a phenomenal history teacher over the past two years and has learned enough to make DC a worthwhile adventure. Our hope is that the younger two will also see this as an exciting trip once they hit 8th grade and we will take them as well. The best part of it all is that it gives us some much needed one-on-one time with our kids at such a unique age when one-on-one time is very hard to come by!

When we pitched the idea to Caleb several months ago, we put him in charge of planning where he wanted to go and what he wanted to see. He did a great job, and all that was left was to book the airplane, hotel, and a few tickets for places that required it.

The trip started with a VERY early flight out of Chicago on Friday morning. Once we landed, we had to figure out the Metro system and got to our hotel to check in. We visited several museums that day and even got a surprise visit from Alfredo, one of TiTi's former baseball players!

Saturday was the day that seemed infinitely long, but was packed with SO many great stops! We did SO much walking that day and our feet were sure to let us know. Thankfully, we became pros at using the Metro and also made good use of the rental bikes that are available throughout the city. The bikes were great until we got caught riding through a torrential downpour that came out of nowhere!

Sunday started with a trip to the National Zoo, where Caleb was more excited than any other visitor to see the red pandas. Most people come to see the giant pandas, which were definitely awesome....but this kid was definitely most thrilled about the red pandas and the kamado dragon. We spent the afternoon at Ford's Theater and then made the journey down to Mt. Vernon. On our way back, we made a quick visit to the Nationals baseball stadium and then took in the sites along the National Mall at night. It was incredibly scenic!

Monday was our final day and we pushed through the dreary, cold rain to take in a few last sites before heading home. Our flight was delayed a bit that evening, so it made for a long and exhausting end to the trip. Caleb couldn't even make it home before falling fast asleep in the car!

We will definitely treasure every single moment of this special trip with our boy! We've learned that traveling is worth every ounce of effort and every dollar paid if it means making memories with our kids. We will cherish these memories forever and hope that he will too!

If you're wondering what the other kids were up to while we were gone....Nyla stayed down at school for Easter weekend and the younger two were in great hands with Grandpa and Grandma and didn't miss us one bit!