Hi, I’m Kristi!
What I’m About
Let me start with what I’m not here to do:
– I’m not here to tell you I have all the answers
– I’m not here to pretend I’m a perfect mother who knows it all
– I’m not here to show off some “Instagram perfect” life
Okay, so what am I about?
I believe life is one big, messy journey, and it’s better when we share it!
We can learn so much from other women — especially when we let go of competition and encourage each other.
I’ve always loved the phrase “perfectly imperfect” because it makes it sound almost cool to not get it right all the time. As a hardcore planner and goal-oriented person, it helps me accept the real, the messy, and the unexpected.
Because I grew up with all sisters, I wanted all daughters. And honestly, it’s the only thing that’s gone to plan! When we’re young, we have these ideas of how our lives should turn out. I never imagined being 27 years old — and mom to 6 daughters. (Okay, so I got all girls, but double what I planned for!) Married with kids, yes. But who expects quadruplets?! More on that later…
I always wanted to raise strong, independent daughters. As they grew up, I also made it a personal mission to teach them to always be on the lookout for anyone who was alone or left out, and to include them.
With social media, movies, ads, and everything else telling girls how — and who — to be, I was determined to help them see the power of kindness, compassion, and inclusion. For my daughters to decide who they wanted to be. And it’s led me right here, to you reading my website.
I’m a newly published author, stepping out in faith on my next trip — to become the courageous & adventurous woman I know I can be. I want to make my daughters proud, lead by example, and show them how to go after their dreams.
And you’re a big part of this. If something I share helps you, I’m happy! I write because I love it, and because we need more voices like mine in an ocean of online perfection. I’m letting go of the inner control freak and embracing my messy, true self. No “Insta-perfect” images here.
Just real life, real stories, real photos — meant to support other women in their journey. My hope for you? To feel you aren’t alone in being perfectly imperfect. Join the club!
Some of My Early Journey
I was born, raised, and still live in my childhood home in Sioux Center, Iowa. (Never planned on that either.) You probably haven’t heard of it, so picture small-town Midwest, with mostly conservative folks and tons of corn.
Growing up, I tried to fit the mold. Some of my friends were scared to go other places, yet I loved to travel. See, our family was different. My parents managed to keep our values at the forefront AND encourage us kids to explore. As I saw other types of people and ways of living, I realized that I could be different. Cool even.
The travel bug gave me a real career. After travel school, I married my college sweetheart and started work in an agency. At 20, we dreamed of a life where we could start a family and still both have careers and adventure.
All that felt like it came crashing down with my third pregnancy. Instead of one more daughter to make us a nice family of 5, Korey and I got the surprise of our lives: QUADRUPLETS. At 27, I delivered 4 beautiful, healthy baby girls.
Being a ‘quad mom’ got me into the local news and really standing out in my community. GONE were my aspirations of being the cool mom in a sporty car, playing rock music with my kids jamming along in the backseat. Instead, our massive Suburban felt like a clown car with 6 girls spilling out wherever we went.
If you’re a mom, I can imagine slight panic if you’re thinking, “what if that happened to ME?!” You’d be okay. We adapt. We’re so resilient, it’s pretty incredible.
Fast forward several years, when the quads were old enough for school. I picked back up with my travel career. It gave me a little sanity and outside stimulation amid the chaos of mommyhood. I fell back in love with helping people plan their trips and pushing myself to excel.
As a type-A personality, I could feel some control with work. There, I was in charge of how I did and what I built. At home when I’d do something imperfect, my joke was, “well, there goes the mother of the year award — again.”
But at an annual conference, I actually DID get recognized as one of the Top 10 agents! That lit a fire for me to keep pushing myself to achieve that status year after year. Until it got too hot and started to burn…
The Beginning of My New Trip
Spoiler: I can be a slow learner. If you have to learn a different version of the same lesson a few times before it sticks, I’m right there with you. I had to learn that blazing my own path and doing things my way was really important to me.
Here I was, killing myself at work to earn top honors at events and conferences — looking put together on the outside and feeling miserable inside. I had to come to my own realization that I didn’t really care about the awards anymore, and it just wasn’t worth it.
I’ve always admired women who did their own thing. Having the quads helped me break free from some of the pressure to fit the mold. As a mom of 6 with 4 all the same age, I literally couldn’t be like the other moms in my small town. So I started shedding layers of “shoulds” in that area of my life.
At home with the girls, I was teaching them to let go of “I have to be, dress, feel, think, talk, blah blah blah, like this.” But at work, I’d put myself into my own corporate box. It was hard, but I’d redefined what ‘having it all’ looked like when they were born — and it was time to do that again.
I figured out what I really wanted and went for it! I left that job and joined a business partner to start our own travel agency, Travel Savvi. I love it! I’ve grown so much as an entrepreneur and mentor for new agents. And when our last 4 girls graduated and left home mid-2020, I took another big leap for myself. I dusted off my old college dreams of writing — and here I am!
You’ve probably noticed that I’m an open book (pun intended). I’m not afraid to share my failures, shortcomings, and stupid stuff that’s gone wrong. Too many people try to put on a show like they’re perfect — and after trying it, it’s pretty miserable. Let’s not!!
The bottom line for both of us:
You’re not selfish for going after what you want.
If your intentions are there, the best is going to come out of you.
You don’t have to be like anyone else.
I want to inspire other women, like I’ve been inspired, to not fit the mold.