The Brumwell Chronicles

  The Dishwasher That Changed My Life I once read a short story about a therapist that I still think about regularly. A woman was venting in a session about how much she hated washing dishes. The chore filled her with resentment. It felt endless. And to make matters worse, her dishwasher never seemed to get the dishes clean. The therapist listened and then said something so obvious it felt revolutionary: “Run the dishwasher twice.” That was it. No deep childhood excavation. No reframing her relationship with domestic labor. Just permission to do the thing in a way that actually worked. Something clicked in my brain. Because the problem wasn’t the dishes. It was the anger she felt every single day while doing them. That tiny shift, the idea that we’re allowed to remove unnecessary friction from our lives, quietly changed mine. Because maybe sometimes there is a hidden cost to doing things the "right" way. For years, I did chores the “correct” way. The socially approved ...

Summer is here, and our family of five is more than ready to trade in homework and hustle for sunshine and sweet memories. With one big goal— more quality time together —we’ve created our ultimate summer bucket list full of adventures, big and small, that we can enjoy as a family. Whether you're a fellow Tri-Cities local or just looking for summer inspiration, here are our top picks for unforgettable fun—both at home and within a 4-hour drive. 🌻 At-Home & Local Summer Fun Ideas Sometimes, the best memories are made right in your own backyard. Here are some simple, joy-filled activities we're excited to do around town or at home: Backyard Campout: Pitch a tent, roast marshmallows, and tell stories under the stars. - There is something so fun about camping at home, we have even done this indoors several times. Is it a lot of work to move furniture and later to take down the tent, yeah, but you could do a blanket fort instead (still lots of work, but maybe more fun to...

When we moved to the Tri-Cities, we knew we wanted more outdoor adventures for our family—but we didn’t expect to fall so hard for hiking. Turns out, when you trade Mississippi humidity for dry desert air and panoramic views, it’s hard not to get hooked. Over the past few months, we’ve been lacing up our sneakers, loading up the snack bags, and hitting some of the area’s most popular trails: Badger Mountain, Candy Mountain, and the Rattlesnake Dance Trail. Spoiler alert: the kids crushed it. I survived. And my husband? He’s now plotting to turn us into a full-blown mountain-climbing couple. Pray for me. Badger Mountain: Our “We’re Actually Doing This” Hike Badger was our first big local hike—and by “big,” I mean big for a family of five plus a dog who thinks he’s part mountain goat. The trail is wide and well-kept, but don’t let that fool you: it’s a steady incline that had my calves singing by the halfway point. Luckily the kids wanted to stop and rest, take some photos. Did you...

Well, y’all, we did it. We packed up our life in Clinton, Mississippi and moved 2,300 miles across the country to the Tri-Cities, Washington. That’s right. Two adults, three kids, one dog, one cat, and enough snacks to fill a small convenience store made the epic journey together. If you've ever wondered what it's like to uproot your Southern life and replant it in the Pacific Northwest desert... buckle up and let's begin. Why the Move? Call it a leap of faith, a quest for adventure, or just a serious change of scenery. Ryan and I had known when we moved to MS that we would only be there 2-3 years and that the next move we made we wanted to be a more permanent stay. We have been dreaming of a new chapter for a while—somewhere with big skies, new opportunities, space to explore, and maybe most importantly, Hockey! The Tri-Cities (Kennewick, Pasco, and Richland) kept popping up on our radar. Sunshine? Check. Family-friendly? Check. Outdoor activities for days? Double check. ...

 Everyone knows one of my favorite things is game night. We go to a friend's game night at least once a month and have a family game night once a week, but more often than not, family game night happens multiple times a week.  That also means we can get burnt out playing the same games so often. Even the best games require a little break occasionally. Anytime we get the chance to test out some new games it is like a mini party! To be fair, it doesn't take much for us to turn something into a mini-party at my house. I own a mini disco ball, so I need to make sure I'm getting my money's worth. 😄 When I got to opportunity to work with OP Games again and play two new games, Mish Match and Tapple 10, I was super excited. One of my favorite things about them is even though the suggested age is 8+, my younger kids (7 and almost 6) are still able to play, but my youngest can get upset if he doesn't do as well as everyone else. The gameplay is easy to learn and the games ar...

 I know I am not the only one who always needs a little more room when working on a craft or doing a project with kids. For the longest time, we had a little kid table with 4 pipe legs that you could unscrew and snap into the back of the table. It took a lot of muscle to snap those legs in and out of the table and several minutes to undo it all and screw the legs back into the table. Worse yet was when my boys would steal a leg of the table when I was in the middle of set up or take down and would hit someone with it. Needless to say, that table wasn't working for our family, and took a trip to Goodwill one day. Even though I loved having a small additional table that my kids could use, it wasn't worth it to keep it around.  Then I found the Iceberg IndestrucTable, thanks to Tryazon! It is lightweight, easy to set up and take down, dent and scratch-resistant, easy to clean, and has 3 adjustable heights. I'm talking, about my 5-year-old son carrying it from my kitchen, up a ...

 If you don't know by now, I'm not like a regular mom. I'm a cool mom! Obviously, I gotta do cool mom stuff over the summer and one thing my kids always want to do is go camping. Unfortunately, we are currently living about 3 miles from the sun's surface and it is a billion degrees outside. Luckily for my kids, as previously stated, I am a cool mom. What do I do? Pull out our camping tent, push our couch out of the way, and set it up indoors.  Another unfortunate for my kids is that I am also like the princess from the princess and the pea story and there is no way I am going to be sleeping or even laying in the tent with them on the hard floor. Luckily for them, we just got a new Airbed from BestwayUSA and it was the perfect time to try it out. This wonderful Queen sized beauty comes with a built-in pump that is so quick and easy to use that a 5-year-old can plug it in, and turn the knob to have it filled with air before his mom can finish dancing to a quick Taylor Swi...

 Have you ever yelled something at someone and then at that moment realize that it is clearly something you've always needed to yell at someone? Did I go through life thinking "I can't wait for the moment that I get to yell 'You lying sack!'" at someone? No. But when it happened it was absolutely evident that it was something that checked off a box in my life. Now I crave to yell it at someone in a non-game setting.  Game nights are my jam! We try to play family game nights at least once a week but often times it is multiple times a week if our schedules allow it. When we go on vacation I have a whole suitcase dedicated to games that we will play while away from home and of course a large purse with several good books for after-games.  Anytime that Tryazon has a game night opportunity I always apply, especially if that game night is by one of my family's favorite game companies Exploding Kittens. We love that they are always quick and easy to learn which i...

 Santa came early this year! Okay, it wasn't Santa, it was Squaregles and Tryazon, but I am sure that Santa will be getting plenty of lists requesting Squaregles this year.  Anytime someone says they have a toy that will keep my kids off electronics I'm first in line to try it. As an Engineer, my husband is very passionate about our kids playing with toys that promote STEM learning and creative thinking. As a stay-at-home, I am just passionate about anything that will keep my kids busy and allow me to clean the kitchen, put away some laundry, or let's be honest, let me read a few chapters of my current book.  Building toys are one of my kid's favorites, blocks, Legos, and magnetic tiles are always a go-to for them. I was curious to see what made Squaregles different from other magnetic tiles on the market. When I tell you that co-founders Joe and Noah put so much thought into their toy I mean it.  Squaregles are larger pieces and have stronger magnets than other tile...

 The summer season is fast approaching, and that means it's time for parents to start getting ready to get their kids outside for some amazing fun times! While it can be hard to compete with electronics; there are a few things that every kid loves. One of those things is Bubbles! And what's better than bubbles? Ginormous BUBBLES!!!   Thanks to the  South Beach Bubbles  you can get your kids outside with giant, colorful, high-flying, and long-lasting bubbles. They are fun for all ages and ideal for almost any outdoor event! There are multiple kits to choose from and parents can't help but join in on the fun.  There was a small bit of a learning curve to get the giant bubbles without popping them, even the youngest of our crew (2-year-old) was able to get some great bubbles blown. Be prepared for a little bit of a mess if your little one is wild and slings the wand out or around, but other than that they are easy and a lot of fun! Even the adults simply could...

 In case you weren't clued in by my name; I love the Summer. My birthday is in the Summer (which is how I got my name), I love being outside in the sunshine, and the kids are out of school which means we get to SLEEP INNNNN! There are BBQs and ice cream all the time, campfires, beach trips, I mean the list of reasons why I love the summer go on and on!  The list of reasons why I don't love the summer can pretty much be summed up into one thing... it's HOT! If you're in the south like me then there is no relief from the heat. Even being in the shade is still so hot (thanks humidity!). Having a place to swim in the summer is so important. Unlike some of my southern friends, I'm not a huge fan of swimming at the lake or river.  So when Tryazon emailed me about the opportunity to try out The Coleman Power Steel Swim Vista Series II from Bestway, I of course said Yes!  This pool has so many awesome features like it's steel frame (which is rust and corrosion resistant...

If there is one thing that our family loves, it's a good game night! One of our favorite gaming companies is The OP Games. They make lots of family friendly and fun games. One of my all time favorites from The OP Games is call Telestrations. It's a fun take on the game telephone, but you sketch stuff out. For those who don't know.. I'm an amazing artist.. amazingly bad artist. Even so this game always leaves us laughing and playing "one more round"  When I got an email from Tryazon asking if I wanted to host a game night for a new OP Games game called Telestrations Upside Drawn, it was an easy YES!  Players use only a pen and board in a race to be the first team to sketch and guess the secret word.  Players divide into teams of 2 or 3, each team gets a dry-erase board and marker, pick which color side of the card to use. Each team has a guide, someone who controls the board and knows the secret word, and a guesser(s) who controls the pen and does the sketching...