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Mel Ice

@melissaice

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Traveling with our kiddos 👩🏿‍🤝‍👩🏽✈️ Founder @thenetfw 🙏
Cofounder @theworthy.co 💖🕯️
Owner @casadecamino & @casa_de_ice ⛰🏠
Speaker🎤
My❤️ @jameyice

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Turns out we’ve been doing family travel all wrong. 🏔️‼️

We’d never actually booked a family hotel before and after a few nights at Hotel Albion in Ortisei, none of us wanted to leave.

Here’s what sold me: it actually worked for all of us. The girls had a blast, and I still got the gorgeous views trip I was hoping for. Our days looked like early breakfast at the hotel, a 15 minute drive to the best hikes, afternoons at the pool, and dinner back at the hotel with those views. On non-hiking days, we explored Ortesei, the most charming little alpine village. Simple, and somehow perfect for everyone. 🫶

A few things we loved:

💛 The setting: hillside views of the Dolomites from basically everywhere
💛 Half board (breakfast + multi-course dinners) easily worth every euro
💛 Kids club with actual childcare, a playground + a zip line the girls were obsessed with
💛 Indoor pool and a heated outdoor pool
💛 Family rooms with actual space for everyone, no one stuck on a pullout
💛 Staff that made us feel like regulars by day two

10/10, would book again tomorrow. Our first family hotel set the bar dangerously high.

📍 Hotel Albion Mountain Spa Resort, Ortisei – Val Gardena, Italy

#travelwithkids #europewithkids #familytravel #familytravelitaly taken in Hotel Albion - Mountain Spa Resort Dolomites by @melissaice

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3 months ago

If you’re like me and trying to find ways to help your kids see human beings as just that…human beings I thought I’d share what we did this summer.

Our girls kept noticing people who were experiencing homelessness, asking a bunch of questions and more importantly asking what they can do to help.
So we made care bags that they picked out & filled themselves. 💛
It gave us a way to show dignity to the people we would see around town or at red lights, and helped us *look for friends in need* rather than ignore them or feel helpless. Obviously toiletries is not going to fix the social problems and systems that houseless individuals find themselves in, but it created a tiny window of opportunity to show care for our neighbor.
💛 To say hello.
💛Acknowledge a person who might feel invisible
💛 Smile
💛 Wave
💛…and help my kids find value in *seeing others.*
To attempt to restore someone’s dignity with a child’s kind eyes, even if just for a moment.

I will say the conversations around the gifting of the bags was important, maybe more important than the gift itself. Empathy is being curious about someone, so conversations looked like asking what someone might be feeling or experiencing. With almost zero focus on us as a family. We aren’t the hero of the story. Paternalism is lurking behind every good deed, so we tried to steer the conversation towards curiosity and solutions beyond the simple one we had in our car. What should cities do, what should churches do, to help others in need.

1 John 3:17-18 talks about what to do if you see your brother in need… it says “Little children, let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth.” 🙏 by @melissaice

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3 years ago

Kind of a bittersweet one to post... we’re selling one of our Santa Fe houses.

Casa de Camino has done around $205k in revenue three years running, and it’s on track for the same this year. That puts it in the top 5% of all Airbnbs in Santa Fe County.

It goes on the MLS in the next couple of weeks. Wanted to put it out here first.

It’s a 6-bedroom we did a massive remodel on back in 2022, and it’s been an amazing house ever since. For our guests and for us.

And those numbers are with our family and friends using it a good amount. (Probably more than a smart investor would.)

We’re selling because an opportunity came up to buy another property, and this is how we make that work. We’re keeping its sister, @casa_de_ice , so we’ll still be out there plenty.

It’s a killer lifestyle property if you’ve been wanting a second home or a vacation spot in Santa Fe... one that pays for itself and then some.

It can come fully furnished and turnkey, with a great local crew already running it. Fully permitted for Santa Fe County.

If you or someone you know is sitting on 1031 money, it’s an easy place to put it too.

Happy to share the P&L.

Gonna miss this one.

Link in bio ☝️ taken in Santa Fe, New Mexico by @melissaice

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3 days ago

Most sisters catch up over coffee. Apparently we need choreography. 😂💃🏻

It’s always a treat when I get to spend time with my sister and her family. Before dinner she sent me a DM with this dance and said, “Should we learn this tonight?” Naturally my response was, “Duh. Like there was ever another option.”

Our families proceeded to walk directly through our “set” with absolutely zero regard for the performance happening in front of them. And honestly, at this stage of life, we wouldn’t have it any other way.

HAHA just kidding. We’d absolutely prefer a stage, professional lighting, and a captive audience. But you do what you can with what you have. 🩷😂 by @melissaice

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23 days ago

It was about 100 degrees the whole time and honestly I’d do it again.

There’s just something about getting out of town, even if it’s only 4 hours south, a long weekend with the people you actually want to be around. We slept in, spent most of the weekend in the rooftop pool, ate endless popsicles provided by the concierge, 😜 and had a steak dinner that was worth every bit of the drive. Good for the soul, all of it. 🩵

Comment SANTO for our exact 72-hour itinerary
@kimptonsantohotel @deanssteakandseafood @tenfoldrooftop

#sanantoniotexas #kimptonsanto #familytravel taken in San Antonio, Texas by @melissaice

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a month ago

Summer, you were a good one 🌄 Dancing our way through Santa Fe and Colorado, mountains, waterfalls, all our favorite people. 🫶 Already missing the slow mornings and empty calendars… wondering why we let the rest of the year move so fast. Goodbye summer, we’re keeping every one of these moments.

📍 Where each clip was filmed:

• @casa_de_ice Santa Fe, NM (Airbnb)
• Big Tesuque Trail, Santa Fe, NM
• Nine Mile Trailhead, Santa Fe Rail Trail
• Piedra Falls, Pagosa Springs, CO
• Riff Raff on the Rio, San Juan River, Pagosa
• Aspen Vista Trail, Santa Fe, NM
• Nambé Falls, Nambé Pueblo, NM taken in Santa Fe, New Mexico by @melissaice

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a month ago

Got home from Santa Fe last night.

Met the teachers tonight.

Rough 24 hours.

Three weeks up there, same as every summer. Wake up, read our Bibles, work out, then drive up to the Ski Basin and hike where it never gets above 76.

Wander the plaza in the evening and dance to whatever band is playing. Shop. Eat too much. Do it again tomorrow.

I spent a good chunk of the trip losing a war with a bear.

W drilled holes in the trash bin. Installed latches. Added carabiners. Felt pretty good about it.

He worked on it for thirty minutes and ripped the whole thing out.

Four nights in a row.

Italy, France, late nights, mountains. It was a really good summer.

The part I didn’t see coming is how much I just like them right now.

They want to be around us. They’re easier (most of the time). They’re funny. Rosie and I are three movies deep into Lord of the Rings and she has strong opinions about gollum and Frodo.

And in a few days we hand them off for eight hours.

Then they come home and we make them do more school. On a screen. Because at some point Fort Worth ISD decided the fix for a long day of learning was a tablet and a login….and more work.

I’ll die on that hill another day.

The teachers are lovely, by the way. Amazing and sweet people. That’s not the problem.

I think the problem is that summer is the only stretch of the year where we get them first. Where we’re not at the mercy of the tardy bell.

School starts Monday.

The bear’s probably in the trash again tonight. Nobody up there to stop him. by @melissaice

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2 months ago

Some memories just hit different 🤍 @hiforrest returning to DFW had me thinking about the Dickies show last year, and out of the many concerts we’ve taken our girls to (we’re a music family through and through), it’s still one of our favorites.
Watching a room full of every age and demographic dancing and worshiping together isn’t just special, it’s rare.

Two magic moments: ✨Forrest high-fiving Rosie’s little hand, ✨and the whole arena singing “what can wash away my sin, nothing but the blood of Jesus,” a song I’ve sung over my girls since they were babies. Nights like that stay with you. 🙏🏽 taken in Dickies Arena by @melissaice

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2 months ago

A darn good time on a summer Thursday 😎✨ courtesy of the following:

Dinner: @walloonsrestaurant
Fit: @esther_penn
Date & personal driver 😉: @jameyice
Venue: @balconyclub
Talent: @itsaaronhines
BFF’s: @heather_essianfineart & @jimessian
Vibes: @visit_dallas by @melissaice

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3 months ago

What you don’t see in this video: the meltdowns, the sweating 🥵, the delayed flights. 😅

Two full-time working parents here. During the school year, “together” gets squeezed into the cracks, and we feel every minute we miss. So time away, far from the laundry, our inboxes, and the endless to do list, feels almost sacred.

But it’s not all rainbows. There were heat waves, travel hiccups, and at least one kid melting down off camera. But you press record on the good stuff for a reason. These silly little dances in every city are the part that lasts. 🤍✨

Worth the squeeze. Every time. 🇮🇹

📍Florence → Malcesine → Lake Garda → Dolomites

#FamilyTravel #ItalyWithKids #TravelingFamily by @melissaice

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3 months ago

Venice.

Limone.

Gardaland.

A white-knuckle drive to Florence.

Our last couple days on Lake Garda turned into a lot.

First, Venice. Venice is wild. So many people it got a little overwhelming. But the city itself is just crazy. I have no earthly idea how it exists. How they built it. How anyone lives there day in and day out.

No cars. Just water. Taxis cutting across the canals everywhere.

It’s beautiful. It’s mind-blowing. It doesn’t make sense.

Really glad we experienced it. Though one day was all I needed.

Then Limone for our last day. The lemon town. And they do not play around with the lemon thing.

Lemons everywhere. Lemon soda, lemon gelato, lemonade, lemon pasta. I think we dared the place to run out.

On our way out, we took JJ to Gardaland.

Insanely confusing, overstimulating, overwhelming... and so much fun. Felt like that Chevy Chase movie where the whole family treks across the country to Wally World.

Highly recommend hitting a theme park in another country at least once in your life. It’s its own special kind of chaos.

And then the drive to Florence.

Somewhere along the way I apparently toggled my GPS to “no tolls, no highways.” Our two-and-a-half hour drive turned into four and a half.

It also routed us onto the windiest road I’ve ever seen in my life. Turns out it’s some famous motorcycle road. So it was us... and a pack of speed-demon motorcycles ripping past us on every blind curve.

White-knuckled it the whole way to Florence.

We made it. Barely. taken in Venice, Italy by @melissaice

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3 months ago

Lake Garda! The biggest lake in Italy.

Pretty photos, lots of swimming, fun memories…..but Not shown:

-JJ puking in the hotel lobby as soon as we got to Malcesine. In her defense the drive from the Dolomites was rough.

-The Girls practicing their British accents every where. I might have told them it’s polite to speak to British people in an accent 🤣

-Me accidentally stealing a German couples paddle board (I thought it was the hotels)

-the girls clothes reeking of truffle because Rosie truffle powder she bought went every where.

-sweating in the hotel for 1 night because I didn’t realize it had AC

-A few late night induced melt downs.

-spilling lemon gelato all over a new shirt

🤘🇮🇹 taken in Malcesine, Lago di Garda by @melissaice

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4 months ago