Like millions of children, my son loves mac n cheese. A few years ago, he decided that he wanted to try mac n cheese in every new place we visit. So far he’s up to 12 states and three different countries on two continents. We have hanging in our home two large maps, one world map and one U.S. map, on which we place pins in all the places we have been. We now also refer to these maps as places where my son has had mac n cheese.

Amazing how the simple act of a leisurely walk with my family can bring so much joy. There’s as much beauty in that as there was in the things surrounding us.

After leaving the dreary grey of Chicago behind us, even a little color was a welcome site.

Our lives are like that of so many other busy families – over scheduled, very little free time, running from one activity to another. So why is it that when we arrived in Scottsdale, we were so compelled to fill every minute of our time with activities? The whole point of this trip was to go someplace warm that the kids had never been to before where we could just be. We thought about a Cubs pre-season game, horseback riding. It turns out, though, when we asked our kids what they wanted to do, they were perfectly happy just hanging out at the hotel.

That’s what we did. We hung out, just let the lazy hours go by while we spent time at the pool. Turns out the biggest decision we made during the day was googling where to go for dinner.