Due to the delightfully unexpected appearance of Ellie and the subsequent cancellation of a long-awaited Paris trip for which plane tickets had already been purchased, we had some international flight money to use up before the end of February. Unfortunately, … Read More

After returning home from our visit to Texas, we spent the rest of January close to home enjoying some great quality time with friends and family. James and Ellie just hanging out together. Ellie gets some time with her Papa. … Read More

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