From the Editor

BEHIND THE SCENES

Ashley's Top Picks

By far my favorite gift that Mason received for his birthday was this set of Little People from his Uncle Zach and Aunt Karen. Recognize this group? That’s right, it’s none other than Michael, Jim, Pam and Dwight from The Office. Mason loves Little People figurines—might as well teach him early about one of the best TV shows ever, right?

For Avery’s big double digit birthday last month, she opted for a family adventure instead of a party. After a lot of research, we landed on Great Wolf Lodge in Mason, Ohio, and it did not disappoint! We went for the indoor water park, but the rest of the lodge was just as entertaining. Reed loved MagiQuest, which is basically an indoor scavenger hunt with a wand, and both kids loved the arcade—complete with bowling and mini golf! This would be a great trip if you aren’t wanting to drive too much and can be perfect for any time of year! 10/10 from my kids! (Note: it is a little expensive, but we planned our trip pretty last minute and it was Avery’s birthday celebration, so we justified the extra money.)

There are just some things that signify fall to me.

You might be thinking pumpkin spice lattes (yuck) and oversized flannel (not my style).

For me, fall means finally slowing down from busy baseball and soccer seasons. The summer bucket list is checked off and we are settling into the season of family and being thankful for what we have.

The leaves begin to turn, the air loses that Kentucky humidity and somehow we have more time in our day, despite turning back our clocks.

Our family finds more time for little moments.

Like reaping the rewards from a summer pumpkin patch and turning the fruits of our labor into painted works of art and carved masterpieces.

Like raking the millions of leaves around our little home in Philpot into a pile that seems so small, until I realize that our kids are just a little bigger than they were last year.

Like finding the perfect golden brown color of a roasted marshmallow around a fire at Granna and Grandad’s farm.

Like nights snuggled on the couch, watching Hocus Pocus, convincing the kids it’s the best movie ever. (They will quickly remind me it was made in the 1900s.)

Like weekends without schedules and spontaneous family adventures to the woods for a day in nature and without distractions.

Fall is my absolute favorite time of the year. And this year, at a time when there is so much conflict and uncertainty, I can’t wait for the love and comfort this season brings.

OK, so I know I am probably late to the Amazon Photos bandwagon, but man, has it been a game changer for me. I take a lot of photos of my kids. I mean, a lot. Like in the last 10 years, I have taken nearly 50,000 photos and videos I decided this �� year to finally organize all of the photos from my desktop and phone. After asking others what they used, we decided to go with Amazon Photos. (We already have Amazon Prime, so the photos feature is free.) It took me a full week, 24 hours a day, but I finally got them all uploaded. I can now search my photos by date, by person, by object. I wanted to find a photo I remembered of Avery from Reid’s Orchard—I have thousands of photos of Avery and I couldn’t remember if she was 2, 3 or 4 years old. How did I find it? I just searched “apple” and BAM!—the exact photo I was looking for.

Avery is 10 now (as old as Owensboro Parent!) and is quickly changing her fashion and style to match her age. She begged for a new backpack this year and was pretty excited to pick one out from Pottery Barn Teen and not Pottery Barn Kids. We’re both very happy with this one—the quality is great and the lunch tote is adorable!

I love getting one on one time with my kids, but with our busy schedules, it is hard to find time. Last month, we decided to make a special date night and Reed took me out to dinner and ice cream. He brought me flowers and told me to get dressed up. (I put on my prom dress and told him I was ready to go! He told me, “Not that fancy!”) He took me to dinner at Colby’s, which he says is the fanciest place. He paid for the meal (with my credit card) and then took me for a walk by the river before grabbing some ice cream. It was a perfect date. We decided it was something we needed to do more often!