The Traveling Shenks rang in the new year in Texas with some of our favorite people, the Carignan Gang. Having left Utah for the lower altitude of the Dallas area to improve Evie’s heart health, they welcomed us into their … Read More
The end of December 2017 brought us Ellie’s first Christmas, and we were excited to spend this milestone holiday at home with our friends and family. Step One. Get a tree. Step Two. Decorate the tree. Step Three. Hang the … Read More
Not all of our trips are for fun. In mid-December, we got the news that Chris’s uncle, Mike, was hospitalized in the ICU and they weren’t sure what was wrong. It turns out that last-minute plane tickets in December are … Read More
In the beginning of December, we took a quick weekend trip to Denver to introduce Ellie to some of our favorite people, Aunt Charlotte and Uncle Jim. Though our visits there never quite seem to be long enough, we are … Read More
In true “Traveling Shenks” fashion, Ellie’s first Thanksgiving was a busy one! Ellie hanging out with James watching the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. A quick family portrait before we head off. Thursday, we enjoyed Thanksgiving dinner with the Shenks at … Read More
In mid-November, just before Thanksgiving, we took a fun road trip up to the Chattanooga area to get some fun time outdoors before the holiday madness. We took our trailer with us and camped at a KOA that was technically … Read More
Fall is my favorite time of year and this one was especially nice! After welcoming Ellie into the family, we were thrilled to introduce her to so many of our friends and family members who spent time with us and … Read More
Due to my pregnancy, we stayed close to home this past summer, enjoying our pool and visiting with friends who came to town. It was pretty relaxing, although we have definitely missed traveling. This is right before he launched him … Read More
Ellie is such a wonderful addition to our family and we are so thrilled to have her! The first six weeks went by in a sleepless haze, as all parents will probably remember of those newborn days. She is often … Read More
We love Utah. And we love our friends that still live there. So, any chance we have to head west and visit, we take it! Once I got into the second trimester of my pregnancy, I started to finally feel … Read More
Our last picture as a family of three (plus Leo) taken a couple days before she arrived. She’s here! Our beautiful baby girl, Eleanor Marie Shenk, arrived on September 27, 2017 at 6:56 am weighing 8 lb. 9 oz. and … Read More
Two of our closest friends, Dave & Larcy, tied the knot in April and we were thrilled to be invited to their wedding celebration on a 3-day cruise to the Bahamas. James was excited to celebrate two “firsts” for him– … Read More
Not to be confused with “a summery spring”, which we didn’t really have. This past spring in Florida was quite nice weather-wise. This summer, however… UGH! But that’s another post. While super grateful and excited to be pregnant again, I … Read More
On February 27, our sweet boy turned eight! He is thoughtful, kind, funny, smart, sweet… I could go on and on. We are so proud of the person that he is, so grateful to be his parents and get to … Read More
January and February may be winter months, but here in Florida, they definitely do not have winter weather, hence the quotation marks. Here is a bit of what we did in those couple months leading up to James’ birthday. James … Read More
Well, not really. This was Christmas in December, but you get to read about it in July! Our little family had a great Christmas at home this year and tried to focus on time together with fewer presents, feeling that … Read More