It’s time for a life update!
You guys, I have a lot going on.
I don’t take a ton of time to share all that goes on behind the scenes at The Car Mom or in my personal life because 99% of the time, I know that I am so blessed to have my dream job and and a happy, healthy family. Things are moving fast around here and I wanted to take a second to catch everyone up and let you know what you can expect to see from me in 2024. We’ve got a big move, two babies, and an Auto Show date announcement just a name a few!
First things first - The Carpoolers hear just about everything in detail as it happens. Lizz and I podcast two times per week sharing our personal updates, industry news, and learning some Gen Z slang along the way. A favorite segment right now is Ditch the Drive Thru where we share what our families are making for dinner this week. It’s lighthearted, fun, and if you love to hear sister banter, we’d love to have you!
I’m back an a Ford Expedition Max.
You thought I wouldn’t talk about a car in this post? I’m back in my Ford Expedition Max as our demo car. This is such a win because it’s hands-down my favorite SUV for our family and our current car seat setup with 3 kids in car seats.
Specifically, it’s a 2021 version with 71k miles on it - what I’d call well-loved with a whole lot of life still in it. Although over the next 9 months (wink wink), I’ll be re-evaluating as our family expands!
To read exactly why I chose the Ford Expedition, click here.
The Auto Show 2024 is HAPPENING!!
Get ready, The Car Mom Auto Show is back and going to bigger and better than ever! It’s going to be on July 20th, 2024 at Greensfelder Recreation Complex, Manchester, MO.
We heard your feedback and moved the show to Saturday this year, have even more activities for kids and families, and will be hosting another exclusive happy hour.
Tickets will be on sale very soon, but book your travel because we want to see you there!
Lots and lots of travel.
The year kicked off with quite a bang. I had the honor of being a keynote speaker at NADA in Las Vegas, NV! NADA brings more than 23,000 dealers and managers, OEM execs, allied industry and international guests wrapped up four days of education, networking and event programming.
Stepping on this stage to talk about building a brand to such a large audience was a true pinch me moment with my husband and parents in the audience. When I started The Car Mom, I knew almost nothing about growing a brand of this size and I can’t tell you what an honor it is to have a voice in such a male-dominated industry. I’m proud of myself and our team, but I’m also so proud of all of the moms and families who care deeply about our message.
I felt in my element on stage sharing a topic I’m so passionate about. A major career highlight, for sure!
Then we headed to Montana!
Lizz and I also traveled to Montana with eBay Motors and it was the COOLEST (and the coldest). We tested out winter tires and learned SO much about safely driving in the snow. I will add the recap to my IG story highlights because it’s worth seeing!
For a little bit of fun (and should have been a break from the cold), we visited my parents’ new home in Arizona with the kids. Don’t worry, they didn’t move, but they do plan on spending more time in Arizona this year. Truthfully, this trip was almost a total bust. Both Tyler and the kids got sick and it rained the entire time. Most days, it warmer in St. Louis than in Scottsdale which should be illegal. We will have more opportunities to visit and enjoy the sunshine but for now, we are happy to be HOME.
I’m in love with The Truck Dad.
I feel really busy until I look at Tyler’s schedule.
The long awaited debut of Tyler, The Truck Dad, has arrived! We’ve been promising you all for months to finally get Tyler in front of the camera, but with everything going on, we just kept pushing it off.
His first car tour of the 2024 Toyota Tundra Platinum is up and ready for you to read. I still break down the car seat set up, but he’s got a lot to say about the features and capabilities.
Speaking of Tyler…
The Stumpes are MOVING!
Eeeek!! Do you know we have been trying to move for months?? Like I said, The Carpoolers hear it first!
We bought a property sight unseen a few months back and Tyler has been working 24/7 to get it ready for us. If you aren’t following him @thetruckdad on IG, he is sharing all of the behind the scenes of getting this house move-in ready. If you keep up with his stories, you’ll know more about the current house projects than I do.
“Kelly, why would you buy a house sight unseen?”
Because it was in our dream area and has a significant amount of acreage around it! Properties like this are hard to find and when we had the chance to put in an offer on this house, we just couldn’t pass it up. We knew it was a risk, but one worth taking to get this land in this location and at this price.
We aren’t moving too far from where we live now and have the perfect blend of suburban and rural living.
Tyler has been working around-the-clock at the house since it was not in great shape when we bought it. Tyler is extremely handy and can either tackle these big projects himself or knows how to hire someone to get the job done right. This house needed so much work - more work than you even imagine - and the transformation as it stands today is almost unbelievable. We are so grateful and I’m trying to keep that top of mind even as our days feel a bit unmanageable in the short term.
Remodeling this house has been fun, but also very time consuming with more decisions and details than I really care to consider. It’s just not my personality to obsess over all the minutia, but I want our house to feel like us and it’s taking all of my brain power to get it move-in ready.
With the first three months of 2024 being such a whirlwind, I cannot wait to just settle in and start to make it feel like our home.
Best of all, I’ve got a Car Mom headquarters in the garage full of car seats and strollers to put future vehicles to the test!!
The best surprise for last… our families are growing! Yes, Lizz and I are BOTH expecting!
I saved the best life update for last… I’m pregnant!! AND SO IS LIZZ!! We are three weeks apart and beyond thrilled to go through pregnancy together again and this time have overlapping maternity leaves haha.
Did we plan this? Well, we both knew we were going to have more babies but the timing being this close is just a God thing. Thank you so much for all of the well wishes on our announcements.
Beginning 2024 with the news we’d be a family of 6, I was definitely nervous but obviously so excited. With all the trips and home plans going on, it put a lot of stress on me to make sure I was taking care of myself and the kids without sacrificing all the opportunities for the Car Mom this year.
Tyler has been the most incredible rock to lean on during the whirlwind of these three months and I’m happy to say I’ll be home for quite a while prepping the house and the business for another maternity leave in the fall.
And… It's a girl!
I could lie and say that I didn’t have a preference this time around, but we are sooo excited that Hattie will have a sister. Two boys and two girls?? It just doesn’t get better than this.
I grew up with three sisters who are my very best friends and I had to do everything I could to give that to Hattie, right??
It’s lot, I know. But in addition to all of the fun and chaos, we have so many amazing resources coming your way to help you choose the right car for your family! You can expect more content, more car tours, and more hot takes about family cars throughout the year. I hope you’ll stick around to see it!
Do you want to see more Car Mom (aka Kelly, me) life updates? Let me know in the comments! And to see the latest family vehicles on the market, check out my recent posts:
