Longevity gets framed less as a medical mystery and more as a lifestyle choice: keeping your social circle from shrinking, and building low-pressure routines that make it easier to show up for others. The hosts also share practical community-fundraising details around an auto show closet sale and a “duck pond” grab bag. Later, they pivot into car-buying strategy—what destination fees are, why they affect pricing beyond MSRP, and how spec comparisons can mislead.
It's a wedding weekend for Kelly and Lizz. Both with childhood friends, but different friends. Lizz is in the wedding and ready for everything that comes with it, pregnancy and all. Kelly is excited for Wedding Tyler to make an appearance. Speaking of Kelly, Tyler and weddings, there 10 year anniversary is just a couple of years away and the planning has already begun!
A big milestone is happening this week in the Stumpe household: George is graduating from kindergarten! It's a whole production and George will be dressed to the nines for the occasion. But the biggest milestone happened earlier in the week when Kelly's new American Girl doll finally arrived! Who was more excited, Kelly or her daughter?
An unintentional Fast Lane Philosophy is revealed as Kelly and Lizz discuss their amazing neighbors. They talk about why fostering those relationships is so important for so many reasons, including getting random calls for the kids to enjoy a bounce house. Good thing too as Kelly is getting summer ready to host the neighborhood parties.
Kelly has a base model luxury this week all about flavored water. Lizz's is the truck dinners she enjoyed for Mothers Day. Which one do you think is best?
In Industry News, they break down the release of the Audi Q9 and explain the destination fees you'll see at the dealership. Finally for Ditch the Drive Thru, Kelly is making her favorite pulled pork in the crockpot
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Audi Q9
"Okay, so the big story that broke last night... is Audi released their new Q9. Which is their new upcoming SUV that is larger than the current Q7 and the Q8."
The Audi Q9 is Audi’s next big SUV. The hosts are saying it’ll be bigger than the Q7 and Q8, aiming more at families who want more room.
The Audi Q9 is described here as Audi’s upcoming larger SUV, positioned above the current Audi Q7 and Audi Q8. In the luxury market, moving “up” in size usually means more interior space and a more family-oriented layout, similar to how other brands stack their SUV lineups.
"Which is their new upcoming SUV that is larger than the current Q7 and the Q8. ... And the problem is the Q7 and the Q5 and the Q8 were just like not it in any capacity."
The Audi Q7 is one of Audi’s bigger family SUVs. Here it’s mentioned as the current size that the Audi Q9 will surpass.
The Audi Q7 is Audi’s current larger three-row SUV in the lineup, and it’s used in this segment as the size benchmark for the upcoming Audi Q9. When a new model is “larger than the Q7,” it typically signals a bigger footprint and more passenger/cargo capacity.
"Which is their new upcoming SUV that is larger than the current Q7 and the Q8. ... And the problem is the Q7 and the Q5 and the Q8 were just like not it in any capacity."
The Audi Q8 is another big Audi SUV. In this conversation, it’s used to explain where the new Audi Q9 will sit in terms of size.
The Audi Q8 is Audi’s larger, more upscale SUV in the lineup, and it’s referenced here alongside the Q7 as a size comparison point for the upcoming Audi Q9. The Q8 is often positioned as a more premium, style-forward alternative within Audi’s SUV range.
"Yeah. And the problem is the Q7 and the Q5 and the Q8 were just like not it in any capacity. Well, I shouldn't say that."
The Audi Q5 is a smaller Audi SUV. The hosts mention it because they think Audi hasn’t nailed the family-car segment with its SUV lineup.
The Audi Q5 is Audi’s smaller SUV in the lineup compared with the Q7/Q8, and it’s mentioned here as part of the lineup that the hosts feel hasn’t worked for “family cars.” In other words, they’re arguing Audi’s SUV range hasn’t covered the family-focused niche as well as competitors.
"Like they didn't have the Volvo XT90, Lexus TX, Vibe. And it was so disappointing..."
Volvo is mentioned as one of the brands that already has a big family SUV option. The hosts are using it to compare what Audi is (or isn’t) offering.
Volvo is referenced via the Volvo XT90 as an example of a competitor offering a family-focused large SUV. The point in this segment is competitive positioning: Audi’s lineup is being compared to other brands’ three-row offerings.
"Like they didn't have the Volvo XT90, Lexus TX, Vibe. And it was so disappointing..."
The Lexus TX is another big SUV that’s meant for families. The hosts mention it to show what other brands are already doing that Audi hasn’t.
The Lexus TX is referenced as a competitor large SUV aimed at families, including the three-row “room for everyone” use case. Here it’s part of the host’s argument that Audi’s current Q lineup doesn’t meet that family-focused demand as well as rivals.
"Volkswagen owns Audi and you guys know how much I love the Atlas. And the Atlas is such a good family car."
The Volkswagen Atlas is a big family SUV with three rows. The host is saying that since Volkswagen already has a great family car in the Atlas, Audi should be offering something similar with the Q9.
The Volkswagen Atlas is a family-oriented three-row SUV, and the host uses it as a reference point for why Audi’s new Q9 feels overdue. The key idea is that the Atlas already “covers” the family SUV role, so Audi’s larger SUV push is framed as a long-awaited move to match that demand.
"The Infiniti QX60 and the Nissan Pathfinder are basically the same. So it was just like disappointing..."
The Nissan Pathfinder is another big family SUV. The hosts pair it with the Infiniti QX60 to say other brands offer similar family vehicles even if they’re sold under different badges.
The Nissan Pathfinder is mentioned as the mainstream counterpart to the Infiniti QX60 in the host’s comparison. The takeaway is that some competitors cover the family SUV niche with closely related vehicles across brands, while Audi’s lineup is criticized for not doing the same.
"The Infiniti QX60 and the Nissan Pathfinder are basically the same. So it was just like disappointing..."
The Infiniti QX60 is a family SUV. The hosts mention it alongside the Nissan Pathfinder to say some brands basically sell the same kind of vehicle under different names.
The Infiniti QX60 is referenced as a large, family-oriented SUV, and it’s paired with the Nissan Pathfinder to make a point about how brands sometimes offer very similar vehicles under different badges. In this segment, that comparison is used to argue Audi should have a comparable family-focused offering.
"It's got tether anchors in all four seating positions, only two seats in the third row,"
Tether anchors are built-in points in the car that let you attach a child seat’s strap. They help keep the child seat more secure during an accident.
Tether anchors are attachment points used to secure a child seat’s top tether, reducing forward head movement in a crash. They’re typically installed in the vehicle structure and are important for proper child-seat installation.
"It's got tether anchors in all four seating positions, only two seats in the third row, and apparently it's going to come in both a six and a seven passenger."
The third row is the back row of seats in a three-row SUV. Here, they’re saying there are only two seats back there, not three.
The third row is the rearmost seating area in a three-row vehicle, usually intended for kids or shorter trips. In this segment, the speaker notes the vehicle has only two seats in the third row, which affects passenger capacity and how the interior is used.
"I had been following with Car Edge. I was listening to Car Edge's podcast and they were talking about destination fees."
Car Edge is a car-buying show/podcast. In this segment, they’re the reason the hosts started talking about destination fees and car pricing.
Car Edge is a car-shopping media outlet/podcast that discusses pricing and buying topics. Here, it’s referenced as the source of the hosts’ discussion about destination fees and how they affect what buyers should expect to pay.
"they were talking about destination fees. I don't think people will know what a destination fee is, but it's going to make me start talking about car prices differently because a destination fee is a fee that comes from the manufacturer."
A destination fee is money the automaker charges to get the car from where it’s built to the dealer. The idea is that everyone pays the same basic delivery charge, even if they live farther away.
A destination fee is a charge added by the manufacturer to cover shipping the new car from the factory to dealerships. It’s typically applied broadly so customers in different regions pay the same baseline delivery cost, rather than being charged strictly by distance.
"So like it's like the perfect example is like the Mazda CX90 legroom, how we like discovered that
[2446.5s] it's not 39 inches of legroom.
[2448.2s] It's 39 inches when the passenger seat is pushed all the way forward."
The Mazda CX-90 is a family SUV with three rows. The hosts are saying that the legroom measurement you see in ads can change depending on how the seat is adjusted.
The Mazda CX-90 is a midsize three-row SUV where packaging details like second-row legroom matter for real-world comfort. In this segment, they point out that the “legroom” number depends on seat position—pushed fully forward versus the fixed “on paper” measurement.
"So like it's like the perfect example is like the Mazda CX90 legroom, how we like discovered that
[2446.5s] it's not 39 inches of legroom.
[2448.2s] It's 39 inches when the passenger seat is pushed all the way forward."
Legroom is the space for your legs in the back seat. The amount can be different depending on how the seats are set up.
Legroom is the usable space between a seated person’s knees and the seat in front of them. Because seat position and adjustment vary, published legroom figures may not match what you get in a specific car with seats set to your preferred position.
"And it shouldn't be so difficult in my opinion.
[2465.7s] Yeah.
[2466.3s] And I think the annoying thing is that they can just keep raising it and they're never gonna"
“Apples to apples” means comparing cars in a fair way. The hosts are saying it’s tricky because the numbers you see and the way the car is actually set up can be different.
“Apples to apples” in car shopping means comparing vehicles using the same criteria and assumptions (trim, options, seat settings, and pricing structure) so the comparison is fair. The hosts argue that it’s hard to do this because published specs and real-world setups don’t always line up.
The GMC Yukon is a big SUV made by GMC. People often keep them for a long time, so it’s a common choice when talking about car longevity.
The GMC Yukon is a full-size SUV from GMC, known for seating capacity and family-friendly practicality. In longevity conversations, it often comes up because large SUVs tend to be kept for many years if maintenance is kept up.
"Oh, no, it was a 24.
Oh, it was the BMW X7.
Okay."
The BMW X7 is a large luxury SUV from BMW. If you’re trying to keep a car for a long time, luxury SUVs like this can be more costly to maintain, so maintenance habits matter.
The BMW X7 is BMW’s large luxury SUV, built around comfort, space, and a more premium driving feel than smaller crossovers. When longevity is the topic, the X7 is relevant because luxury SUVs can be expensive to maintain, so upkeep habits matter.
Select text to request an explanation
Welcome to the Carpool podcast with Kelly.
And to put on like khaki pants,
a button down, a cowboy hat, a tie, a belt.
I'm like George, you don't have to get that dressed up.
We're just going to our friend's house.
And he'll tell me, well, I want to show respect, mom.
And Liz.
Summer, especially a pregnant summer.
I'm going to really lean into the paper plates.
And I think that that's just like the season
for paper plates, you know?
Sue me, whatever.
Your mom time off starts now.
Welcome back to the Carpool podcast with Kelly and Liz.
And it's Friday.
It's about to be the weekend.
You kind of have a big weekend.
I have a huge weekend.
I have my childhood best friend is getting married.
And so I'm in the wedding.
So, you know, I've got the rehearsal dinner.
I'm probably going to make a done at 6 AM on the wedding day.
I've got the wedding figured out all day long.
So I'm like so booked.
It's so, I'm so excited.
It is so much harder to like navigate the wedding plans
of when like when you're in a wedding, when you have kids.
Because it's like, who's watching the kids win?
Who's feeding them dinner?
Who's doing that?
So I'm kind of like navigating that right now.
Because like you're going into dawn.
I'm going, I'm out.
And then Maddie has to attend the wedding as well.
But like you're basically out of town this weekend.
Might as well be.
Yeah, might as well be.
But I'm so excited.
It'll be so fun.
I haven't been to a wedding in forever.
I feel like my like crazy wedding season was like one year.
And then it just I never really went because when I met Maddie,
I met him so when he was like, he's five years older than me.
So he was 29 when we met.
So he kind of like went through like the crazy wedding season
of all of his friends like before we met and then it was COVID.
So we never really had that every weekend in the summer.
We have a wedding to attend, which I'm really thankful for
because I just really feel like I've been able to enjoy
everybody and I've gone to.
And so crazy is I'm also going to my childhood friends
wedding this weekend with different childhood friends.
So we actually won't be seeing each other.
But I'm very excited.
Yeah.
I wish everyone had the privilege to experience wedding Tyler
because he is such a delight.
Tyler is so much fun at weddings.
I had never been to a wedding until I started dating Tyler.
I feel like Tyler's.
I don't think culture is the right word, but like Tyler's his upbringing,
his upbringing and like his community town.
Like everyone just goes to everyone's wedding.
Where I feel like in our community or wherever in our life,
you would go to like some people's weddings, but it was like a lot smaller.
But I mean, Tyler of goes to like 700 people's weddings
all the time, like they just invite the whole town to the wedding.
They invite the whole town and they also invite kids.
I feel like so he was going when he was young, too.
Yes, like it's very small town community, which we've kind of lost.
And they're a lot more casual.
Yeah, they are.
They're a lot more casual than like I think some of the St. Louis weddings.
Like there's no assigned seats.
It's just kind of like it's all they're all at the same hall,
but they're so much fun.
And we had a very like the year that we got married,
we, I think, had like seven weddings the year we got married.
It was kind of insane.
Mm hmm.
And now I'm coming up on nine years.
Yeah.
It's like so crazy.
That is so crazy.
I feel like you guys need to go on a trip for your 10 year.
We are going to go on a trip.
We've already spoken about it. OK.
I think I don't know for sure.
I kind of want to go to Napa.
I've just like think I would love Napa.
I think Tyler would love it.
Um, the problem with me and Tyler, though, is like we just
we want to have like some alone time, but like we want to like meet other people
or like go on a trip with other people.
Like we're not like so.
Like part of the fun for us is like hanging out with other people.
Yeah, I get that.
So I feel like maybe at Napa, like, you know, you go to a winery,
you meet the people and you like kibitz or because I'm like,
we can't invite like friends on like our anniversary or 10 year anniversary trip.
Like it's like I'm at my book club on the anniversary trip.
Like so weird.
So just something to think about.
You know what?
Matty sent me he sent me this ranch in Idaho or something
and it like looks beautiful.
You do horseback riding.
It looks very like relaxing.
And he was like, we should do this next summer.
And I'm like, just us, no kids.
I'm like, yeah, totally kind of like, yeah, you know, in a perfect world,
we could do that.
But he was like, no, I think we should.
I think we should book it so we can't.
So we're committed.
I think we should book it now.
I'm like, sure, let's definitely get like insurance to be able to cancel it.
If need be.
But it's and we haven't done it yet.
But it is kind of a good idea if you just want to do something,
but you don't think you'll actually do it.
Just like, she's just book it now.
You know, yeah, I really was.
I almost I wanted to go to the beach this summer,
but Tyler told me now, which is probably fair.
You're so close, I feel like, for it being so easy to travel
with all your kids on an airplane.
But like now is probably not the time.
Yeah.
Anyway, here nor there, but it is almost summer break, which is so crazy.
Uh-huh.
And it's almost the auto show, which is even crazier.
Get your tickets at thecarrom.com, use code carpool to save some money.
And we have been prepping this week.
I don't know if we've spoken about this at length.
But something really fun we're doing at the auto show,
and it's a fundraiser for a catch a ride,
is we're doing a closet sale.
Me, Liz, our mother, who you know has some good threads,
and Merrick, Merrick White, she's donated.
We're doing an amazing closet sale.
Yeah.
So I am collecting the clothes.
I'm tagging the clothes.
And there's some clothes that like maybe sell the tags on them
that I've been holding on to for like a rainy day.
But I'm like, you know what?
I didn't want to just like donate this to Goodwill.
But because I know that 100% of the proceeds of this sale
will go to catch a ride, I'm like, done.
I'm feeling the same way.
It's very easy for me to let go of these really nice clothes
that otherwise I would have held on to because they were, you know,
a good brand or sell the tag.
I shouldn't take it to Goodwill because like I could sell it.
Or I could like, and I'm just not getting around to that.
Like I have anthropology dresses.
I have a Hill House dress I'm getting rid of.
And I agree.
It feels so good to just know that it's all going to charity.
So if you're coming to the auto show,
the closet sale will be open at the VIP night.
So they'll get first dibs on it.
And then whatever's left will still be open at the auto show.
I'm very excited.
I think the closet sale is going to be really fun.
And then we're doing our duck pond of all of our PR.
Did you order the ducks?
No, no, no, it's a grab bag.
I'm just calling it a duck pond.
Oh, okay.
I have blue bags.
Every bag will have some random PR we've been sent.
There's everything from like a dib stick
to an electric picks bracelet to some tinted sunscreen
to some merit makeup.
Like it's just all the PR I've been sent.
$20 a bag.
And then you just pick a random bag
and you get what you get and you don't throw a fit
because it all goes to charity.
And you're walking away with something that's valued
probably more than $20.
For sure.
So those are our two like big fundraisers
that'll be both at the VIP night and the auto show.
I really wanted to like try to bring a dinner auction
to the auto show.
But like logistically, I just couldn't do
the dinner auction that I wanted to.
So this is kind of like my way of sprinkling
in some dinner auction funness.
You will get your dinner auction one day, Kelly.
I do believe that.
Yeah.
I do believe I will plan.
And you know, we kind of considered it this year.
But I really just like couldn't find a venue that I loved.
And I think it's because if I ever do it,
I think I will do it at a grade school gym.
Like just to like get the complete vibes.
Totally.
Like if it's not an under the sea themed grade school gym
fundraiser, I don't want it.
Yeah.
I do think it needs to be like NASCAR themed though.
You think?
I think it has to be like something like car themed.
Yeah.
Okay.
I don't know.
My cross to bear is just like, I'm just,
I'm the car mom and it's like, I just,
I don't know anything about NASCAR.
No, me neither.
But like racing stripes and flags and like a leather jacket.
Like I can, I can throw that together.
That's true.
Yeah.
Like race to the auction.
Done.
Write that down.
Write that down.
So anyway, I'm just so excited for the auto show.
I can't believe how soon it is.
I can't believe how, oh, we ordered our merch.
So cute.
Exclusive to the auto show.
It's really cute.
Have I sold you enough like it's like so much fun.
Yeah, I'm so excited.
But before that, I've kind of got a huge week.
I've got a kindergarten or graduating.
I don't know if all schools do this,
but our school does like a really big kindergarten graduation.
And it's going to be darling.
They wear a cap and gown.
That's so cute.
That's ridiculous.
I love that.
George is really into dressing up.
Have you noticed this about him?
Yeah.
And it's so funny.
Like you think it'd be like Hattie and like Hattie's whatever.
She doesn't really,
I mean, she cares what she wears,
but like George really cares what he wears lately.
And frequently I'll be like, hey, we're going over to dinner tonight.
Go get dressed.
And he'll put on like khaki pants, a button down,
a cowboy hat, a tie, a belt.
And I'm like, George, you don't have to get that dressed up.
We're just going to our friend's house.
And he'll tell me, well, I want to show respect, mom.
See, and that's what I love.
Like I do feel like some boys, maybe his age,
maybe a little bit older when they like dress up.
It's because they want to put like a gold chain on
or like silly baseball clothes or like just something that's not,
you know what word I'm thinking, but just like he
like puts it like, yeah, like tux his shirt into his giant belt buckle.
It's so funny.
It's so funny.
So when it came to graduation, you know,
they wear a cap and gown, but like they wear a nice outfit underneath it.
And I was like, I'm going to get this guy a suit
because I think like he would love a suit.
So I texted Merrick because her boys are always in suits.
And I feel like she kind of has like tall, skinny boys,
kind of like George.
And I was like, what's the best suit to get like a seven year old?
And she said this is brand called Appaman.
So I ordered him one and I showed it to him last night.
I was like, hey, and I also got it for him
because I'm actually going to bring my big kids
to Craig and Charlotte's engagement party, which is which is Derby themed.
And I showed it to George and he's like, mom, that's perfect.
I'll wear that all the time.
I can wear it to graduation.
I can wear it to Christmas.
I can wear it to dinner.
I can wear it to Gigi's house.
Like he's like listing all these places he's going to wear his suit.
And I'm just like, you're so funny.
He's such a funny kid.
I know I love him.
That's so cute.
And then in other big news, I got my American girl doll in.
Yes, Samantha.
Samantha is, I can't express to you how much fun I had unboxing her.
And the best part about buy, listen to me.
I don't know if you get it, but it's worth a try.
Go buy the cheapest thing on the American Girl Doll site
in hopes that you will start getting the magazine.
Because like there is nothing better than the American Girl Doll magazine.
And no, it's first of all, two thoughts.
Seeing you unbox it like I could see the child like wonder in your soul.
And I was like, I want to, I'm like jealous.
Like I totally get that.
And then seeing had he flipped through the American Girl Doll
magazine that you posted in your stories.
Yeah.
I mean, they're set up.
They're cute.
Like it's so interesting because since you started talking about American Girl,
like American Girl is everywhere.
They're kind of everywhere.
Hill House and American Girl have a collab right now.
Tea collab.
Hill House has no.
Oh, no, it's tea.
Maybe it was tea.
Maybe it was in Hill House.
Tea in Hill House will have an American Girl Doll collab.
No, it's kind of insane.
Like what is that?
Do you feel like whenever I talk about things, they kind of become big?
Well, I do think a lot of these collections have probably been in the works for a while now.
No, for sure.
It's fine.
It might be a coincidence.
It might not be.
Who knows?
I don't know.
But, you know, I am so obsessed.
So I, anyway, I unboxed my Samantha and I'm not going to be a freak about it because
there's no fun in being a freak about it.
But I did let how you know, I was like, this is my doll.
You can play with it a little bit, but there's rules around Samantha.
And I let her play with her a little bit.
And Samantha is going to come to work with me tomorrow.
I'm going to bring her to the Kia store.
And we're going to give her kind of her like debut moment in the sun.
Fabulous.
Today's episode is brought to you by K-12.
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That's letter K in the number 12.com slash carpool.
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This episode is brought to you by Quince.
Lately, I've been more intentional about what I wear day to day.
Leaning into pieces that feel effortless, comfortable, and still put together.
It makes getting dressed simpler.
Quince has been my go-to.
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They work directly with ethical factories and cut out the middlemen.
So you're paying for quality craftsmanship, not brand markup.
Kelly and I mentioned this the other day, but you can find literally everything on Quince.
I recently bought James's fabulous linen shirt that is so cute, so lightweight,
and he's going to be so comfortable in all summer.
I also recently bought candles from there that are excellent.
So you can refresh your wardrobe every day with luxury you'll actually use.
Head to quince.com slash carpool for free shipping on your order and 365 day returns,
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That's qince.com slash carpool for free shipping and 365 day returns.
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Oh yeah, that's an exciting thing we're doing.
We are doing another keys, please.
Which people are like, some people love the name.
Some people, it's a very controversial name, but I don't think it's controversial.
I only see how it's good.
I don't think people get how it's like, like the ending thing.
It's, it's like, so are you saying yes to the dress?
I'm saying, so are you saying you would like the keys and they go, give me the keys, please?
Yeah, it's cute.
Like it's the best, first of all.
I hate when people say I don't like it and I don't have another idea.
Yeah, like we've been thinking about it and this is what we've come up with.
It's a good name.
So anyway, our keys, please, that we're going to film tomorrow is with my high school friend.
She is looking for a car hybrid between 40 to 45,000 is her budget new.
She has one kid, but she drives constantly.
She like, lives two hours away from St. Louis and her family is in St. Louis.
So she's always like driving, lives out of her car.
So we are going to look at a couple of cars with her.
Yeah, I'm excited.
I think I know where we're going to end up, but I'm excited to take, to take the journey
there with everybody.
Me too, me too.
I'm excited to see Madeline because I haven't seen her in five ever.
Yeah.
She's in the wedding this weekend that I'm in.
Oh, that's so fun.
What's synergy for you two?
No, the wedding that I'm in is like such good synergy.
I have her and then my neighbor, who's also one of my closest friends, she's in the wedding.
So we are like carpooling and then the boys are going to carpool together
because they have to be there at every time.
And then I'm driving everyone home.
Like there is just, I saw this reel that it's like, it is the neighborhood you choose
to live in is so important because it's your community.
It's the people around you.
And I didn't really, we didn't really think about that so much when we picked this neighborhood.
It just so happened that some of our closest friends were also looking in the same area
and it found a house right next door to us essentially.
So it's worked out like beautifully, but it is so nice.
And I already just know it's going to serve us so well to just like be this close to someone
that you trust wholeheartedly.
You can't put a price on that.
Will Smith, I believe, said it before he,
do people still think he's kind of crazy since he like slapped Chris Pratt that one time?
Or not Chris Pratt?
I have no idea.
What's his name?
I don't know.
I don't really follow.
Who did he slap?
It was a comedian, I think.
It was Chris, was it a Chris?
It wasn't Chris Pratt.
Who did Will Smith slap?
It was the guy who plays...
Chris Rock.
Oh, Chris Rock.
We're so dumb.
Anyway, but one thing Will Smith has said, I believe, you can kind of text us on to my
fast line philosophy, is two of the most important decisions you'll make is who you
marry and where you live.
Yeah.
Because they will really shape your entire life if you think about it.
So true.
And same thing.
I mean, we have really been just like kind of steering headfirst into our community and
our neighbors and our friends.
And like those are just some of the most important relationships to foster in my opinion.
Because like when you need something or like it's just something like I'm really into at
the moment is I'm really liking, I think one of the key, this is so deep.
I'm sorry.
Like can I just take like a left hand turn for a second?
Sure, let's do it.
But I think one of the keys to longevity is like keeping a really big circle.
Because I've read this somewhere, I believe.
And if not, it makes sense to me.
But like these blue zones, like these people who live a very long time,
they have very big circles.
They see multiple different people every single day and week.
And if I think about like someone like Taylor's grandma, for example,
she is 90 and she has a better social life than any of us.
Like she is constantly, she watches her great-grandchildren.
She has chickens and does egg runs.
She goes to town.
She's always inviting people over for dinner.
Like she's always going to dinner.
She's always going to her grandchildren's and great-grandchildren's things.
Like she is beat-bopping around town all the time.
And I think that's just such an important thing because I think the problem with,
one of the problems with aging is your circle starts to get smaller and smaller and smaller.
And that gets really sad.
So I'm into keeping my circle, I'm into keeping my circle big.
And the easy way to do that is to people who like are convenient to see.
So that's why like I love being so involved in our school and our church and our
community and with our neighbors.
And I love, like I feel so blessed to have our house because it's such a place to have people over.
And like even on the days where it's like, oh my gosh, like I don't want to host today.
I'm just like, you know what, it's just not that big of a deal.
Yeah.
It's just like good for everybody.
Yeah.
And you know, when you do it enough, like those same people, like sometimes they will see your
house when you have done it the most with the hosting and sometimes they're going to see it
when you just have like paper plates and like that's fine.
Yeah, that's fine.
Like it doesn't always have to be this like big ordeal.
It can sometimes just be like.
And I think sometimes like the more casual times like is when people feel like more comfortable
and more at ease.
Like I don't want it to always be, I mean, there's definitely times like I want to clean my house
and like have a great dinner or like host a great party, but I also don't want it to be a
place where people feel like they can't, you know, let their kids run wild because I let
my kids run wild all the time here.
Two things that I think my neighbor that I was just talking about does well is she's,
she is always like, you know, inviting over.
They recently for their daughter's birthday, they got a bounce house.
And so now they have a bounce house.
Like they bought about like now they're the family with the bounce house.
They're the family with the bounce house.
She was like, it was the same, it was like $300, which is like what it was going to cost them
essentially to rent it for as long as they wanted to rent it.
So she's like, I'm just going to buy the bounce house.
And so now she texts me, she said, Hey, we can throw the bounce house up for the kids
if you want to come over.
No, the bounce house is such a good scapegoat.
Like if you're wanting to like dip your, you know how I always say, like,
if you want to like dip your toe into hosting, like how to do it.
I feel like if you're wanting to dip your toe in like your neighborhood more,
because also sometimes I like an activity that's like, Hey, come over and stay outside.
And that's what the bounce house is.
There's what I'm not expecting her to like feed, feed me or my kids.
I'm not expecting even a drink.
I mean, maybe I mean, they'll always offer you a drink when you go over there.
But like, I'm not expecting any like we're going there for the bounce house and that's it.
And we're going to all sit outside and watch the kids jump on the bounce house.
And you could like so easily like text your neighbor.
You don't know where we'll be like, Hey, just so you know,
like we're outside on the bounce house.
If you guys want to swing by like that's so like expectations are set.
That's so easy.
That's what I'm saying.
Be the family with the bounce house if you are wanting to dip your toe.
And that's like kids only are only going to jump on the bounce house for so long.
Like maybe you're there.
Like you could leave 30 minutes later.
The balls weren't right, you know.
And then the other thing that she recently did is because we're in this wedding.
This is kind of niche.
But she was like, Hey, I am having someone come over to do spray tans for me.
And my mom, do you want to come over and get a spray tan as well?
Like she knows I also have to get a spray tan for the sweating.
I'm like, yeah, that would be great.
Thank you.
Yeah, I love that.
Just like looking for ways to just like little tiny ways to invite people over.
Yeah, I'm going to get back on my hosting grind.
I did take a little bit of time off this summer, Cal.
So summer, the pool's open.
You know, there's animals in the barn.
So I am ready to kind of to take it up a notch.
I need to do inventory of my paper goods in kind of a major way.
And I need to decide if I'm going to get a smoker.
Because I think that's also just like such a good like, you know,
Hey, I just smoked a bunch of pork butt.
Do you guys want to come over?
Yeah, totally.
But would I just use it for pork?
Or like, would I smoke more?
I don't know.
I don't know enough about it.
I know.
I don't either.
I'm just like something I'm considering.
Yeah, you might use it a lot.
I could know.
That's what I'm saying.
Because I think it's like, like a man's crock pot.
Like I think it's like a set and forget.
Yeah.
You know,
unfortunately, my husband's just like, and I feel like both of our parents grilled
growing up, but I feel like in some households, like, you know, the mom grilled or the dad grilled.
Tyler did not grow up with a dad who grilled only his mom grilled.
And I'm the griller in our house, but I actually love to be the griller.
Like it's actually something that I'm not really,
I don't really want to like let go of that.
Yeah, no, I think if we like had a party and there was like more things for me to do,
like the grill would be something that I would throw Maddie on.
But yeah, no, like I made burgers last night and I just grilled him outside.
Like I'm not going to wait for him to get home, get home to grill.
No, you should definitely know how to grill.
I didn't know how to grill until I got married.
Same.
And that's where like when I, that's where when Tyler and I
kind of like we're figuring out like who's going to be the griller.
We had to like kind of have that conversation.
And I'm like, will you grill these steaks?
He's like, I don't know how.
And I'm like, well, I don't know how.
Yeah.
And I just kind of adopted it.
Totally.
Anyway, Cal, what else do you have for me?
Well, I have a base model luxury that I'm like really excited to bring.
I've got industry news.
Then of course, I have a dish to drive through.
Like that's just kind of what's on my horizon.
Okay.
I'm always kind of a little bit nervous for your base model luxuries, but
we'll see what you bring.
Okay.
So as everyone knows, I've kind of been on like a journey with my diet.
And I am listening to the purse strings just a tad on a couple of things because
I'm what I'm like week nine or 10.
Like I've been here, I've been here for a minute.
I'm almost done with like this intensive program.
That's the intensive program, not including the 40 days of no sugar that you also did
before you started.
No, that's what I'm saying.
Like it's been like, and I would say overall, I'm so happy that I did it.
I'm so happy that I have the tools in my tool belt.
I mean, it's great that I've like lost some weight and lost my hives are completely gone.
So like all my energy is good.
I'm less hungry.
Like all good things to report.
But sometimes I'm just like looking for like a beverage.
Like just a more interesting water.
And I think the problem that I've noticed is like,
I think we've kind of girlbossed too close to the sun with electrolyte powders, you know?
Because I'm not always looking for like 500 to 1000 milligrams of sodium.
Yeah.
Like I'm not even, I get when you're like-
You didn't like go on a marathon run.
Like you just are living your life.
No, and like I'm just living my life.
Yeah.
And sometimes I felt like though they didn't make me feel that good afterwards.
Okay.
And then I kind of realized like, and I think like this is looked down upon,
like electrolyte powders are like so healthy and like water flavoring is like so unhealthy.
Don't you think that's kind of the perception?
Yeah.
Well, I think, I think it's when they have like dyes in them and stuff.
People aren't like into that.
Well, okay, whatever.
I've been into flavored water, like a little stir.
Uh-huh.
Yum.
Yum.
Or there was like a Jolly Rancher flavored water packet.
Sorry.
You got it?
So, yum.
Oh, that does not sound good, Cal.
Okay.
Well, you're wrong.
It's amazing.
Okay.
And like, you know, I still drink plenty of regular water.
I want to be like so clear with that.
I don't know, I feel like there's such a stigma around like flavoring your water.
Like you're not a grown up unless you drink regular water.
And I do drink a lot of regular water.
But in the afternoons, I used to reach for like a cocktail or a soda.
And I'm not doing that anymore.
Okay.
So I'm, yeah.
So sometimes I just Jolly Rancher water.
Sue me.
I think, I mean, I do think that there are people's entire Instagram accounts dedicated
to like making a fun, funky water.
And people get hate for that.
And sometimes those people are a little crazy.
But I'm just saying like, before you like, I'm just saying there's a,
there's a way to flavor water without just electrolyte packets.
And I think we've kind of been gaslit into thinking like electrolyte packets are like
so healthy and so amazing.
And then like you're insane because you put a little meo in your water.
Okay.
I feel you.
I, I, I can understand that.
And then sometimes you can take like that meo and you know what you do with it,
then you take it to the restaurant and you order a club soda with vodka,
and then you can DIY your own cocktail there.
Yeah.
For sure.
Yeah.
And you just toss in your bag.
You just toss in your bag.
And then I think that's, I think that shows forethought.
Someone who thinks ahead, someone who is trying to elevate their everyday life.
Like they know that the bar is not going to, you know, because sometimes you're not always
going to like an artisan craft cocktail place, you know, sometimes you're drinking well drinks.
I know.
And you know what, I've gotten so like snotty now that it's like,
I can't even, I can't just do like a vodka and soda with a lime anymore.
Like I need, I like to add a little crayon to it.
Like I need, you're right.
I need, maybe I need a meo.
So I've just been in like, I'm telling you like a Stanley ice cold, a ton of ice,
a little flavor packet.
Sorry.
All right, girl.
It's like a little sweet treat.
Well, I'm insanely into those bubblers that you turned me on to.
Speaking of drinks.
Speaking of drinks.
So that's a good point.
So there is these energy drinks.
Bubbler.
Google the can be you BBLR.
You've seen it, but you've never reached for it because the marketing is I think so bad.
I think the marketing is so bad.
They say like antioxidant sparkling water.
So they're like five calories.
And you're thinking, you're, you're seeing the can.
You're thinking it's going to taste like a spin drift.
It's going to taste like a La Croix.
It's sparkling water.
No, it tastes like an Elani.
It tastes like an Elani.
I was before I got pregnant.
I was so onto the Elanis like borderline to onto them.
And then I had to stop because of pregnancy.
And now these have 65 milligrams of caffeine.
So I have my cup of coffee and you can have like 150 to 200 milligrams of coffee a day
when you're pregnant.
It's fine.
Can you?
You know, I think spread out.
You're fine.
Spread out.
And so I think they say 70, but you know what you do.
No, I don't think they do because a cup of coffee is 95.
I actually looked it up the other day to make sure this was okay.
I think it's, I think it's a choose your, I think it's a choose.
That's a discussion for you and your doctor.
But yes, Elizabeth, that's the point.
They're only 65 milligrams.
We need to stop these Elanis.
And that's why I also like to clean simple each energy drinks because they're,
they're only a hundred.
You Elani and Celsius people having 200 milligrams of caffeine.
I don't know how you do that.
How do you not have heart populations after?
Anyway, the bubblers taste like an Elani.
So they're like scratching that itch.
They're so delicious.
They've got a lot of flavor.
They give you like a little bit of caffeine.
And they are, they're delicious.
Did you know Elani and I have been having so much fun like trying the flavors?
Yeah.
They are so good.
Well, I have a base model luxury.
Oh, let's hear it.
It's kind of niche.
You have to have a truck.
But I think a lot of families have trucks.
And that is truck pizza, truck dinners.
Maddie did this the other night when he was solo parenting.
And then we did it on Mother's Day as well.
Truck.
Yeah.
Truck.
Yeah.
He has like a box, a box on the back of his truck,
which is the perfect height for children to like eat a meal standing on.
And he also just through his years in the Marine Corps and stuff,
like he has a lot of like pop up furniture.
So he's this pop up table that fits perfectly in the butt of the truck.
Maddie, me and Maddie and the kids were all sort of like sitting in the truck,
having our pizza on paper plates outside.
Love.
It was also contained like we have a puppy.
So he was able to be outside without, you know, trying to like jump up on us.
And we didn't have to like constantly correct him to like,
you know, not jump up while we're eating dinner.
So that was another nice layer to it.
But with the truck, you don't care if some, you know,
grease or pepperoni or whatever falls on the truck bed,
you're going to go through the car wash.
It'll fly out like a bird will get it.
Like the cleanup is so minimal and it is just like a fun and new different thing
for the kids to do.
So we have had truck pizza twice now and we love it.
I think something we can, I think like the kind of tangible takeaway for this,
who can apply to anybody is you need to let's work on our outdoor eating space
and not in a formal capacity.
And in an unform, informal capacity.
Because this summer, I think you'd like the tool in your tool box.
And maybe it's just you grab a blanket and you put it on the driveway.
Maybe you get like a little kids table.
Maybe you do a truck pizza.
But I agree.
I think we should all be introducing eating outside.
And also you don't just have to eat breakfast, dinner outside.
You can eat any, any meal of the day.
Like Elizabeth is doing these like breakfast walks.
You could just send the kids out there for lunch this summer.
Or you have dinner outside.
I think we should all just kind of, you know,
nap time kitchen on her pitch.
She always talks about like resetting your home for the season.
I think something we could all reset for summer is how to,
how to have a meal outside in a fun way within moments.
What do you need?
Yeah, because you know, we're not, we're not paper plate pizza or paper plate people year round.
Summer, especially a pregnant summer.
I'm going to really lean into the paper plates.
And I think that there's, that's just like the season for, for paper plates, you know,
sue me, whatever.
And the other thing that I'm really going to try and figure out this summer
that I'm excited about.
So we're getting like our patio redone because it was just,
it was horrible from when we moved in.
And so we're going to be eating a lot outside.
I'm really excited for it.
I want to figure out what I need.
Like I need a tray.
I need a basket.
Like because when the kids need ketchup, we need paper plates.
We need whatever.
I need my basket to like bring everything out and then bring everything back in and one trip
because I can't make, I need a caddy, but like, what's the caddy?
Yeah, I don't know.
I'll have to, yeah, or a tray.
I'm with you.
I need my, I need my serving tray.
You have it.
Here's what you don't need to do.
Buy something new.
You have it in your home.
I might.
I might, even if it's literally just like a giant cookie sheet or a giant plastic box,
whatever it is.
But I do think like something that could spark joy for me is like,
maybe it is like a cute wicker basket or something.
And like that's my aesthetic.
Oh yeah.
No, that is cute.
But yeah, you're right.
I need to, I need to figure out how big it needs to be before I go and buy something.
And I can certainly workshop different things in my house because I don't think a cookie
sheet is going to be big enough.
Okay.
I get what you're saying.
And like you probably saw it with a little bit more of an edge to it.
Right.
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