She’s Here!
Hi! We’ve had a good week here in Northern Utah. The weather is warming up a bit, there are buds on the trees, and…oh yeah…we have a new granddaughter! Daisy Ray Bauserman joined us about 10 days early on Friday night. Lauren had a crazy day of contractions and running back and forth to the hospital on Thursday with no progress. Then on Friday night, little miss didn’t waste any time and was born just before 10 pm. There was a bit of a hiccup in delivery when Lauren’s blood pressure dropped (and of course, so did baby’s) due to an extra dose of pain meds in her epidural. But she recovered and was able to deliver normally, despite being extremely medicated and numb. Miss Daisy’s a cute little thing and looks an awful lot like her big sister. Needless to say, we are tickled with our newest addition.
Marching On
Hello from beautiful Utah and Happy March! We had a good two weeks in Missouri, playing with kids and helping out. After two long driving days later, we are resting up in Utah for new adventures coming up! Although Nathan was fighting illness the whole time, we had a...
A Very Merry Birthday
We’ve had a good week here in Ohio and West Virginia. Nathan is still in a battle with a cold virus, but it’s been great beside that wrinkle. We’ve played with the kids, done some projects around Lauren’s house, and even found time for a trip to the dentist (Bo :)). We just happened to be around while he was off with his brothers and dad on a hunt, so it was a bonus to be able to help Lauren. She’s in her last month of pregnancy number four, so things are getting exciting! Despite being 8+ months pregnant, she prepared me a spectacular birthday dinner, making ramen from scratch (including handmade noodles) and a glorious flourless chocolate cake. I was spoiled to get fancy chocolates from my hubby, texts and calls from lots of people I love, and plenty of grandkid giggles and hugs. It’s been a good one! We’ll be picking up and moving on tomorrow…Missouri is next!
Not Warm. Loving It Anyway.
Hello from chilly Ohio! We had a great week traveling northward toward one set of grandkids, despite Nathan coming down with a cold. We had some fun in Nashville, where we had a pleasant surprise, and in Dayton, where we finally visited a museum we've been trying to...
Goodbye to Warmth
We've had a great, if quiet, week here in Florida. We've managed to book some fun future travel plans, talk to the kids and grandkids and other family, and enjoy this corner of the world. This slice of Florida has been great this month. We've really enjoyed being able...
Just Chillin’
We're still here in Florida, working on projects and getting in our daily walks and recommended daily doses of sunsets and healthy food. We don't do much that's exciting from day to day. Nathan reads, studies languages, and practices the piano. I've made some crafts,...
All is Quiet
There’s not much going on from day to day here, so very little to report. I will be doing some website maintenance in the next couple of weeks, so there may or may not be posts for a bit. We will see how it goes. There was a request (thanks, Erin!) for book recommendations from 2025, so here goes…
New Year on the Gulf
Happy New Year, y’all! We are settled into our January home: a little condo in Miramar Beach, Florida overlooking Choctawhatchee Bay. We had a quiet Christmas, a tumultuous trip to Miami, and a great visit with family on our way here.
West Virginia and Points South
Hello and Merry Christmas! We have had a full week of the fun and excitement that we like about our nomadic life. Not all perfect, but good!
Having a Ball!
Just a quick check in, since I missed last week. We are having an absolute blast visiting kids and grandkids.
Happy Thanksgiving!
Hello! We hope you had a wonderful holiday, whether you had a wild a raucous party with lots of friends and family, or you had a quiet day in! We had Linnell family dinner at my niece’s home (Erin) on Thursday. Then we had Mueller family dinner at Nathan’s brother’s place (Warren) on Friday. We ate REALLY well and enjoyed catching up and just being with family. We also went to see the new Wicked movie on Tuesday and comedian Ryan Hamilton at WiseGuys Comedy in Salt Lake on Saturday. It was a full and fabulous week and now we are packing up (again) so we can head east to snuggle some grandkids. Have a great week!
Golden State
We’ve had a great week here in California. We heard some great chamber music, made a trip to the aquarium, took lots of walks, and spent time with some of our favorite people. Tomorrow we move on.
West Coast
We’ve had a great week of traveling down the west coast and soaking in the views. We left Oregon on Tuesday and spent the night in Trinidad, CA. Then it was on to Santa Cruz and we’ve been enjoying some relaxing time with Uncle Ron and Aunt Martha, even with the wetter than normal weather.
Scene Change
After a whole month in alpine bliss, we packed things up and moved out of the canyon. We spent a busy weekend working on some projects at Margaret’s place in Centerville and having one more super fun Mueller family dinner. Then we filled the car with a few things and drove north and west for a change of scenery.
Movin’ Right Along
All good things (and bad things, I will add) come to an end. We thoroughly enjoyed our month at Solitude in Big Cottonwood Canyon, but we are moving on to the next adventure. We have moved back to Centerville for a few days to regroup and repack and then we are hitting the road!
Just a Little One
Hello! We are still enjoying our time in the beautiful mountains of Utah.
Paradise
Happy October! We hope you are enjoying this beautiful time of year! Some people dream of paradise on a quiet tropical beach, listening to the surf with a drink in hand. Not this girl! Give me mountains, especially drenched in autumn color, bursting with new spring leaves, or covered in snow. We are spending October in one of our favorite places–Big Cottonwood Canyon just east of the Salt Lake Valley. We are loving the gorgeous golden aspen with the deep pine greens. Hiking is great and so is the smell of fresh forest! Nathan’s sister, Liz, and her husband, Christian, joined us one morning for a lovely hike through the woods. We got to experience a powerful thunderstorm and then a full day of snowfall. Our condo for the month is just right for us and we love having access to a pool, hot tubs, sauna, and workout facilities. We especially like that we can pop back to the valley to do some shopping or see family and friends. So far, so good!
Fun Family Time
We have had a lovely couple of weeks in Utah. We’ve been able to rest and recover from five months of travel, help Nathan’s mom at her house, and spend time with family.
Full Circle
Five months ago we flew to Rome from Utah. We had a summer of trying new places and experiences and revisiting old favorites and now we’re back where we started. Since we get the question a lot, I thought I would share some of our favorites from our travels in Europe this year.
Feels Like Home, pt. 2
We're in Missouri hanging out with Alex's family this week. We've had lots of bike riding, swingset time, and stories. We spent a day at the Science Center and ate lots of yummy meals together! Have a good one!
Feels Like Home, pt. 1
We made it back to the USA! We’re spending a week visiting Lauren’s family in West Virginia. Were soaking up all the precious time with grandkids and their parents. Have a great week!
Fringe Finale
Just a quick post this week with highlights from the endnof the Fringe and two pieces of exciting news.
Fringe Frenzy
Hello from Edinburgh! We had a couple of very steamy days in London, then hopped on a train bound for Scotland. We are here to immerse ourselves in the craziness that is the Edinburgh Fringe Festival and enjoy this magical city.
Seagulls and the West End
It’s been a lovely week in England. We finished up our road trip in the south and returned to London for a few days to rest and regroup.
Land Lubbers Again
Hello! It’s been a great week for us and we hope you are all doing well! We would really love to hear from you all – we miss you. So please feel free to us a message or write a comment and let us know what you’re up to! We finished up our cruise with a stop in Scotland and now we are road-tripping around the south of England.
Fantastic Fjords
We have had a great week touring the fjords of Norway and Iceland. We’ve done some hiking, had some adventures, and seen some beautiful places. Unfortunately, our long streak of staying healthy has ended, as Nathan came down with a head cold.
Back to Scandinavia
Hello! It’s been a bit of a slower week, but we’ve embarked on a new adventure: a fjords cruise to Norway and Iceland!
More Walls
I’m writing this week’s post in the car as we drive to London. We’ve had a great week touring around England.
The Wall
It’s been a mixed bag this week. We finished our tour of Ireland, moved on to England, and worked our way through a bit of a rough patch.
Wet and Wild
It’s been a very busy week touring the west coast of Ireland. We’ve seen cities, towns, and little villages that aren’t much more than a crossroad. We’ve walked mountains, cliffs, and fields full of sheep. We’ve even seen the sun occasionally!
Green
We finished up our time in Switzerland and now we are in another very green, very beautiful country…Ireland! We were lucky enough to visit here in 2019 for several days and we’ve wanted to come back ever since.
We Are Family
If we were done with our travels, I would take the next two weeks to relate our adventures in Romania and Switzerland. But we have more things coming up, so this is going to be a longer post. I’ll give you the highlights first, and then you can read on if you want more details.
Slower, With a British Accent
We’ve been in London since we left the cruise ship. This week was a bit slower and a welcome break from the last six weeks of constant movement. We’ve had some fun, eaten some good food, caught up on sleep, and made plans for the summer.
Baltic Beauty
The last post was all about the first half of our cruise and now I’ll tell you about the rest. We stopped in Helsinki, Tallinn, and Kristiansand and there was another unexpected change of plans.
To the North!
Here are some highlights from the first half of our Scandinavian cruise. We sailed from Southampton and had stops in Denmark, Germany, and Sweden. We also had an unexpected change of plans.
To Madrid
This week we finished off our Spanish tour in Madrid, then set out for the north.
Spanish Steps
We’ve had an exciting week driving and walking around in Spain. We started off with a few days of hiking in the Pyrenees, then we spent time in Basque country and Galicia. We’ve had lots of adventures, so this is a longer post.
More Med and Beyond
This week, we had an excellent end to our cruise and we’re now off on new adventures.
Grand Mediterranean
What a wonderful week it has been! We have thoroughly enjoyed the first half of our Mediterranean cruise. We stopped in Crete (twice), Mykonos, Istanbul, and Athens.
Setting Sail
We are sailing the Mediterranean! It's been about a year since the cruise line offered to let us move to a different date and we postponed by a year. We are back in Europe and having a ball! We flew from Salt Lake City to Amsterdam, then onto Rome from there. The...
Closing This Chapter
So, here we are. It’s been 90 weeks since we drove out of our driveway in Sandy, bound for new experiences and a unique chapter of our life by moving to Europe. We started another chapter when we returned to the U.S. last summer. A LOT has happened since then, and we have been blessed to spend tons of time with family and friends across the country. The last ten months have been such a precious season to reconnect, to celebrate, and to mourn with those we love. Now, it’s time to close that chapter and open another — time for another adventure!
Mountains and More
Another fun week in Utah with family and friends doing some of our favorite things!
Utah!
I missed doing a post last week because we were en route to Utah from St. Louis. We really enjoyed our last week with Alex, Hanna, and the boys. We had a great time playing outside with the kids, going to the library and the St. Louis Science Center.
This week we have been in Centerville staying with Margaret (who is such a kind and accommodating host) and having a good mix of family time, outdoor fun, and working on sorting through Nathan’s dad’s office/studio. Our daughter, Lauren, flew in from West Virginia yesterday to ski with her dad. We are enjoying the beautiful, snowy mountains and the relaxed visits with family and friends. We will be here for three more weeks, so if you want to meet up, send me a message!
Missouri
We have had a great week here in Missouri. I’ll give you a short update, but I would also like to make a request. We have shared recommendations for podcasts, books, musicm and the like in the past. Now, we would love to hear from you! What have you been reading? What music or podcasts are you liking lately? Have you seen a good movie? Please comment on this post or reply to my email. We love hearing from our friends and family! Now for what we’ve been up to…
Back to MO
Just a quick post this week. We hunkered down in Ohio/West Virginia and took refuge from the cold. We did lots of cozy things with the grandkids. We took a trip to the library to play and choose a big pile of books. Huck is a little reader now, so it’s fun to find stories that he can read. We spent A LOT of time reading those books–at the library, on the couch, and in a blanket fort. We also did crafts and built lots of Lego. We went with the kids to the children’s museum for a special STEAM class and then hours of play and building after that. We also took the older two out for a special lunch date. It was a great week! We are now back in St. Louis and excited to spend time with the other grandkids! Have a good week!
Back to the Fun
We slowed down a bit this week, but there was some birthday fun and I have details on our trip through the Mississippi Delta and on to Ohio. This is a long post, covering almost three weeks of a busy road trip, so if you just want the bullet points, read the first bit. For the down and dirty details, read on.
From the Big Easy to Music City
Hi! This is just a quick check in from the road. We spent the week on the move. We started in New Orleans, then we drove up through the Mississippi Delta on the Blues Highway. We stopped at lots of smaller places along the way to visit museums and check out the history of the blues and our country. Then we cut across to Alabama to visit Muscle Shoals to tour the recording studio and to see the US Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville. Then from there it was north to Nashville, Tennessee. We are here to visit a friend (Adam Overacker) and to enjoy some more music. See you next week from an old classic, Marietta, Ohio. Hopefully I’ll have time this next week to fill in the details from a very eventful road trip! Enjoy your week!
Hello from…
…warm and sunny New Orleans, LA! We are here for a long weekend to enjoy the delicious food and lots of great jazz and blues. We will check in again next weekend from another city stop on our way back to the grandkids. Have a great week!
San Antonio and Padre Island
This week has been pretty quiet, so I thought I would give you the details on our mini trip to San Antonio from last weekend as well as answering some questions from you!
Q and A
We are just back from a quick trip to San Antonio and I will give you the details on that next week. But for now, I asked for questions from you last week and here are some answers!
Corpus Christi
This week started out very quiet and ended with a trip into Corpus Christi.
A New Year! A New Place!
Hello and Happy New Year! I hope you are all well!
I promised a more detailed update of our last few weeks, so here it is…
A Quick Update
Hi! It’s been a few weeks since I checked in. And this message will be a short one. We have really enjoyed the last couple of weeks with the grandkids and all the family shenanigans. I’ll fill in the details next week. Today is our 31st wedding anniversary and we are on the move again. We stopped at our favorite BBQ place for lunch and we are snowbirding instead of snowboarding. We are bound for Corpus Christi, TX via Austin. It should be a pleasant place to park ourselves for a few weeks. Have a good one!
Chicago, part 2
We had a great week in Chicago! This will be a quick installment and then we will probably be off the radar for a bit. This coming week we will be in a small town: Napoleon, Ohio. We are on our way to Marietta to meet up with our two oldest kids, their families, and other various family members for an early Christmas celebration.
Where are We?
Thanks to those who submitted a guess for our latest destination (Martha and Emily). I had to laugh at your guesses, since it seems that you think we are smart and that we would go somewhere warm like New Orleans or Florida. NOPE!
Mounds, Skates, Magic, and Giving Thanks
What a fun week! We took a trip back in time at Cahokia Mounds State Park, went on two fun outings with the kiddos, and had an early Thanksgiving celebration. We move on to a new adventure this week, so make sure you comment with your guess for where we are headed.
Atlanta and A Day Out
This week started out with our final day of Atlanta. We also spent some fun days playing with the boys (lots of Lego!) and and little outing, too.
Last week I promised the share the details from our trip to Atlanta, so here we go:
Off to Atlanta
The week started with everyone being sick and three days of rain. Now we are spending the long weekend knocking around Atlanta.
Happy Halloween!
We have had another round of the dreaded head cold here this week.
Two + Choo Choo
We had a great week! We made it back to St. Louis to celebrate Peter’s 2nd birthday, then we moved into our own place, and we had some fun outings!
WV
We had a great week visiting with Lauren’s family in West Virginia. The weather was virtually perfect, we got to play a lot with the kiddos, and we enjoyed good food and good conversations.
Almost Heaven
We started the week in Utah, spent a few days regrouping in Missouri, and now we’re in West Virginia.
Mueller Family Recipes
We had a wonderful, if difficult, couple of weeks planning and holding the funeral for Nathan's dad, Max. It was a precious time with our family and we feel so blessed to have been in Utah with so many dear ones. For the family luncheon after the funeral, I made three...
Sad News
This will be a short post this week. I am sad to report that Nathan's dad, Max, passed away last night. We are going to miss his zest for life and his forceful personality. He has been in cognitive decline for a couple of years and having him fade away has been really...
Slowing Down
I'm sorry I missed posting last week. After a full month on the road, I was just worn out! When I wrote last, we were still in Portland. We finished out our time there with a visit to the beautiful Grotto. It's a Catholic church next to a forested cliff area. They...
Rollercoaster
We had some wide mood swings this week. The ups were welcoming our sixth grandchild and reuniting with loved ones. We were in the dumps with an August snowstorm, sitting in traffic, and a pricey piece of vandalism. First, the best news! After a rocky pregnancy, being...
A Moment to Breathe
The last couple of months since we returned from Europe have been delightful: spending time with family, enjoying the beauty of the U.S., and reacquainting ourselves with the things that we missed. But it’s been a whirlwind, too. We started this week in Utah, bouncing from place to place and soaking up time with people we love. Now we are in Santa Cruz, California, still enjoying loved ones, but at a slower pace.
Moving Westward
I was hoping that I would have time this week to update you on all the goings on, but this little post will have to do as we have been pretty busy!
A Quick One
Just a little note since we are on the road this weekend. We had a great week playing with Teddy and Peter and their parents, but we're all still eagerly awaiting the arrival of the baby brother. Nathan and I spent three nights in Kansas City and now we are making our...
Some History and Lots of Time with the Kiddos
Just a quick post this week from Missouri. It’s rare for us to have a week when we can snuggle all the grandkids in a 7-day span, but this week it happened! We also visited the historic Blennerhasset Island in the middle of the Ohio River.
A Few Answers
Hello, all! It’s been a quiet summer week.
An Update
Hello! It’s been a few weeks since I wrote a proper post, so I thought I would give you an update on some of our adventures since returning to the U.S. Next week, I’ll be answering questions, so send me your burning queries.
Ups and Downs…but Mostly Ups
We are driving back to Marietta today after our week visiting Utah and Missouri. I will fill you in on all the details next week. In the meantime, enjoy some photos of our adorable grandsons, Teddy and Peter. Have a great week! Teddy and Alex at the National...
A Little Bit of Everything
This will be a quick post as we are traveling this week.
Having Fun!
It’s good to be back in the U.S.! We are staying in the beautiful town of Marietta, Ohio, about a 30-minute drive from our daughter’s home in Waverly, West Virginia. We are loving our new grandson, Hugh! He is a sweetheart and we are already over the moon for him.
Until Next Time
We have just about 24 hours left here in Mainz and we have spent this week saying goodbye to this chapter of our life. We made a list of a few things that we didn’t want to miss and all the food we wanted to eat before leaving and we checked everything off our list this week.
Portugal, Germany, and A Little Friend
Hello to you all! We had a lovely week of exploring and relaxing. We traveled to Portugal for a few days to visit friends and we even managed to squeeze in a couple of little outings in Germany. And…we also welcomed a new grandson!
Music and More
This week started with a return to the church of St. Stephan for a choral concert. We also returned to Frankfurt for an orchestral concert, some excellent Mexican food, and some not-so-excellent comedy.
France, but make it German
We did some outings this week and we also stayed close to "home". Our outings took us to Strasbourg, France and into Mainz proper to the St. Stephan church for a concert and some art. We started the week by boarding a train headed south to Kehl, Germany. Then, rather...
The Good, the Bad, und der Hässlich
Guten Tag und Hallo! Sorry for the abrupt end to the post from last week…we were just so busy that I ran out of time (and energy) to write it all up. But I will catch you up on all our doings now.
Mainly Main and the Rambling Rhein
We spent this week further exploring our new corner of Germany. We spent a day in Frankfurt, explored more of Mainz, and took a cruise on the Rhein. We are also back to being without, so we have returned to buses, trains, trams, and lots of walking.
Back to Deutschland
Our time in Italy came to an end and we took a few days to see some new places and move to our new homebase. We visited the lakes of Italy, the Black Forest, and took a trip up Germany’s Romantic Road. We have landed in the city of Mainz, just west of Frankfurt and on the mighty Rhine River. We will be here for six more weeks.
Museums, Palaces, and Jazz
We spent this week as full-time tourists in Torino. We visited museums and palaces as well as a few events at the Torino Jazz Festival. This was our last full week here in Italy and we wanted to enjoy what we could.
Catching Up
It’s been a couple of busy weeks, so let’s get caught up! We spent time in three regions of Italy, so we’ll do this geographically.
Torino With a Side of Milano
Hi, everybody! We had a great week, with a bit of “normal” and a bit of adventure. We hiked up to the symbol of the Piedmont region. We spent a day in the center of Torino and went to a concert. Then we spent a quick weekend in Milano to see the duomo and The Last Supper.
A Trip “Home”
We went to Switzerland to visit the Swiss side of the family, Nathan’s sister’s family, and our nephew. We had a great time with the fam, ate lots of good food, experienced crazy spring weather, and did some hiking.
A Little Q&A
We are in Switzerland this weekend visiting with family, so I thought it would be a good opportunity to answer some questions! How is the food in Italy? We are happy for the change in cuisine...yummy olive oil! The food here is just like anywhere else...some is...
There and Back Again
We are back in Torino for a few days, so I have a chance to update you on our road trip last week. Short version: We visited Genova (Genoa) in Liguria, Lucca and Siena in Tuscany, then Orvieto and Civita di Bagnoregio on our way to Rome. We were in Rome for three days, then it was on to Assisi, Ravenna, Parma, and Cremona before returning to Torino. We had a blast, but we were very ready to return “home”, do some laundry, and regroup.
A Change of Plans
Greetings!
When I wrote last week’s post, we were planning a road trip, driving south from Torino, eventually ending up in Rome so that we could board a cruise ship in Civitavecchia.
Welcome to…
Torino, Italy! We arrived here a few days ago and we are settling in nicely. I’m actually surprised that only one person guessed Italy (you are the winner, Emily!). But we took a meandering 6 days of road-tripping to get here, so I’ll tell you that story first.
Saying Goodbye to Leipzig
We are on the road this week, but I think I will save all the details of our travels for next week’s post. You can leave your guess for which city we are headed for in the comments. Whoever is closest gets the prize of…the satisfaction that they were the closest.
London (and Beyond)!
Our trip to London was a blast, but we also have some news for what is happening in the coming days and weeks.
Time to Fly
Greetings from one of our all-time favorite cities: London! We are here for my birthday.
More Music and a Night at the Zoo
We had a week much like last week, with one exception: the zoo.
Emerging from Hibernation
The weather has warmed up, so we have ventured out this week. We also spent a lot of time making plans for the coming months.
Winter, Continued…and Q&A
Since there’s not a lot of news, we are going to answer some questions from my sister (Thanks, Jana!) This is Nathan’s debut at the blog, so that’s news, I guess!
Winter Returns
To make up for the super long post from last week, this post will be teeny tiny. Not much happened here this week other than the return of winter. Although we had a chilly period in November, the bulk of Autumn and beginning of Winter were unseasonably warm. That...
Happy New Year!
I hope you all had a wonderful holiday season. We have been back to studying and practice after all the celebrations.
A Memorable Holiday Season
We had a lovely time celebrating holidays and events in the last two weeks.
Merry Christmas!
It’s tempting to say that nothing much happened this week…