Fire Wife Real Talk: Beyond the Hollywood Hero

In this conversation, Amanda and Katie Kada discuss the unique challenges and misconceptions faced by fire families. They explore the realities of being a first responder spouse, the importance of self-care, and the impact of parenting on personal well-being. Katie shares her journey of prioritizing her health through the '75 Soft' program and the joy of rediscovering reading. The discussion also touches on the dynamics of maintaining relationships and finding connection amidst the busy lives of first responder families.

Transcript

Amanda (00:00.92)
Hello, welcome to the Fire Family Collective. I am Amanda Ellis and I am so excited to talk with Katie Cotta today. She is joining us from Virginia and we have some very similar backgrounds. So I'm very excited to have some time to chat with you today. Thanks for being here, Katie.

Katie Kada (00:19.828)
Thanks for having me.

Amanda (00:21.39)
Awesome. So tell us a little bit about yourself. You're a fire wife. You used to be a teacher. You have three kids. Let's hear it.

Katie Kada (00:29.384)
Yes, so I have been married for seven and half years. When my husband and I got married, he was in the Fire Academy. And so it was a tough time in a way because he was in a strict schedule and whatnot. There was no honeymoon because our life was the Fire Academy. A year later, we had our first daughter.

And then two years after that, we had our second daughter. And about a year and a half later after that, we had our son. So we have three kids. And I taught for about 12 years here in Virginia. I taught kindergarten, first grade, and I taught special education. So I stopped teaching when our second daughter was born, just to save on childcare, but also to accommodate the fire wife schedule.

It just was what was easiest for us. So I am still at home with our kids and contemplating going back to work once our youngest gets back into school.

Amanda (01:34.402)
That's awesome. So I can relate. I was a classroom teacher myself for about five years before having our first son. So 12 years is a long time. And I applaud you. Teachers are incredible. And now homeschooling our kiddos, I have a different appreciation as a parent than I did as a teacher, just without kids yet. And then three kids, I mean, I'm barely hanging on with my two.

Katie Kada (01:44.904)
Yes.

Katie Kada (02:01.034)
Thank

Amanda (02:03.822)
kudos to you holding down the fort and doing it all and being a part of this community to just be here with one another. So I'm super grateful for that. One of the things that I love that you've shared is your propaganda you're not falling for. So can we chat about that? as you know, it's like a funny social media thing, but it's also like real. And I'm curious, you know, why you shared

Katie Kada (02:22.75)
Last step.

Amanda (02:33.474)
what you did with the, only works a certain amount of shifts and you must have a supportive village, which I've come to really realize now as a mom means a lot. And at least you have consistent, which is crazy.

Katie Kada (02:44.436)
Right.

Katie Kada (02:50.34)
Right, Yeah, I think, you know, there's a lot of these social media trends, right? All these TikTok trends and videos and things that come up. But I thought that one was interesting because I feel like, you know, being a fire wife is one of those things that's really misunderstood. I mean, even being a first responder is very misunderstood. And I think people, their understanding comes from TV shows, it comes from books, and it's like this glorious

life and you you only have to work a couple hours and that kind of thing it's very misconstrued and so I think when I talk to other people they're always shocked like oh they're gone for 24 hours like they don't just go at night or they don't just work 12 hours and I'm like no he works 24 hours and you know I think people just have a big misunderstanding of of the life just in general um and I feel the same way about teachers you know people always said oh you have your at least you have your summers off and you're like you know it's like the one that

biggest eye rolls, right? It's like, it's very misunderstood. So yeah, I wanted to kind of jump on that trend just because I think that, you know, it's not just the hours, it's the schedule, it's the people think, well, you know, that's so nice. He must work like the same schedule. It's really predictable. And I'm like, that's the one thing it's so unpredictable, you know, it's almost the opposite of what people think. So even just good friends of mine, they're like, you know,

he's off for this many days and you're like, well, hopefully, you know, right. So like, well, he's home for the holidays. I'm like, no, not at all. Or, you know, it's just one of those things that's very misunderstood. So I thought that was kind of an interesting trend to kind of try and hop on just to kind of shed light. So.

Amanda (04:22.424)
Baby.

Amanda (04:36.556)
Yeah, I think that we have this consistency idea of what their set schedule should be for the rest of time if they stay on that schedule, if they don't promote, if they're not in training, if they don't get mandated, if, if, and not other traditional careers have that, right? You just have your set teaching schedule, you have your set Monday through Friday schedule, you don't have all these if, if, ifs, and people

Katie Kada (04:46.984)
Right.

Uh-huh.

Katie Kada (04:59.786)
I'm

Amanda (05:04.929)
don't understand that. And I think that is just something to inform people of because they're not these like heroes personified in these Hollywood dream stories that we see on TV and whatnot. So it's hard sometimes to kind of shatter people's glass, right? So you don't want to like be such a downtrodden person, but you're like, this is the harsh reality.

Katie Kada (05:11.017)
Okay.

Katie Kada (05:31.358)
huh.

Amanda (05:34.004)
of our life and it's not all beauty. yeah, and then go ahead. No, go ahead.

Katie Kada (05:34.878)
Right, right. Yeah, like they, sorry. I was just gonna say, yeah, like it is great. They can have like, my husband has four day weekends here and there, right? And that's great. But that only happens if he doesn't get held, know, he doesn't sign up for overtime, like you were saying all these ifs. And I don't think people realize that they hear, they work 24 hour shifts. They only work nine times a month, that's great. And you're like, well, that is it.

everything falls into place, right? Like that's just on a lucky day, know, lucky week if he only works those three shifts, you know, or he comes home on time, that kind of thing. yeah.

Amanda (06:13.44)
And when you average it out for us here at the department, husband works at, it's 10 shifts a month and that averages to about 60 hours a week. And most people aren't typically putting in 60 hours a week. So there's that other side of it where you're like, you see just this number of like, it's only 10, that's not that much, but it's like, okay, in 60 hours times four, that's already 20 extra hours a week. Like they're already working above and beyond what a typical, you know, salary.

Katie Kada (06:16.958)
Uh-huh.

Right.

Katie Kada (06:30.218)
Please, please.

Amanda (06:42.914)
whatever scheduled person is, and it just adds to what we as a family face at home of our reality of he's gone that much more. And it's just, it's a challenge.

Katie Kada (06:48.136)
you

Katie Kada (06:53.906)
Right, right. Or like my husband's schedule is kind of crazy. It's one day on, one day off, one day on, one day off, one day on, four days off. And people hear, they're off all those days. And I'm like, yeah, but he also hasn't slept those three days that he's at work. those days in between aren't necessarily wonderful days off. They're like him trying to catch up on sleep so he can go to work again the next day. And so.

It's not just what's on paper and on the calendar. It's kind of all those things behind the scenes, you know, and that on those days off, they're not the typical day off, you know.

Amanda (07:29.846)
Yeah, it's the decompressing, it's the gearing back up to go, it's the processing, what calls they ran, it's catching up on family stuff at home they missed out on. It's so many layers of things and it's not just what's on paper. Yeah. Yeah, cool. Well, that was fun.

Katie Kada (07:38.014)
Exactly.

Katie Kada (07:42.814)
Right, right, exactly, exactly.

Katie Kada (07:51.449)
Thank you.

Amanda (07:53.998)
I also wanted to chat about your prioritizing you, which I'm so freaking excited to hear. Your 75 soft, which I absolutely love. When we first had our son in 2019, my husband decided to do the 75 hard, which was insanity. And I can't even remember if he finished it to be honest with you because I was in newborn blur. But tell me about that.

Katie Kada (08:12.564)
Well, yeah.

Katie Kada (08:17.63)
Right. Right.

Amanda (08:22.958)
I'm prioritizing you, I freaking love that, I'm cheering you on, I wanna hear about it.

Katie Kada (08:27.754)
Thank you. Yeah. So the soft 75 I saw somewhere and I was like, Oh, that's something I could possibly do. Right? Like the hard 75 just isn't for me. Um, you know, the hard 75, I think you're supposed to work out twice a day and one has to be outside. And we live in Virginia, which is like, you know, could be 50 one day and it could be like 85 the next day. And so, yeah, and it's been raining for like four days here. So the hard 75 was not for me, but, um, the soft 75 I was trying to do of just

moving more, exercising when I can. I've kind of realized over the years, like I can't commit to something and be super hard on myself about that and not flexible because things come up, holds happen, right? And so you can't make it to that exercise class. So yeah, I was just trying to find something that I could do that was manageable. Just getting more steps in, drinking more water, little things that like...

I apparently don't do enough, know? Yes, yes. And I liked the idea of the 75 days, because again, it's not limiting yourself to like one month or saying, I'm gonna do it five days a week, that kind of thing. It was more of just trying to get in the habit of doing things more regularly, exercising, walking. I ended up buying one of those like walking pads for inside because again,

Amanda (09:28.568)
but they add up.

Katie Kada (09:56.138)
I could walk outside if the weather always cooperates, know, but it doesn't here. So the walking pad has helped. I will still watch my reality TV, but I will do it while walking or I'll read a book and try and walk while my son naps and things like that, just to get more movement in. Because after, gosh, three kids and six and a half years, I just wasn't doing that. You know, I wasn't, I think in my mind, I had a hard time, you know,

signing up for like a gym membership, knowing I'm not gonna make it every day or I'm not gonna be able to go as many times as I would love to because of childcare. You know, I can't, we still have one at home, so I can't always go to cycling class like I would love to, but when my husband's at work, I have to watch him. So for me, it kinda, I had to find something that was manageable, that I could still do. I still go to cycling classes if I'm able to, but I'm not gonna, you know, get upset if I can't do that every day.

I would love to, but yeah. it's kind of my thing, just trying to get to find something after, you know, three kids. I was like, okay, I need to get something back, do something.

Amanda (11:04.491)
Yeah, I can so relate. So we had this incredible fitness center when we lived in Sacramento and then trying to keep having that after having kids. First off, after you have them, they have to be a certain age to be able to put them in the childcare. But it just didn't work for us. And I miss that because I had found community there and it was a part of my self-care and making me feel like

Katie Kada (11:13.054)
Mm-hmm.

Katie Kada (11:23.23)
Right.

Mm-hmm.

Amanda (11:34.4)
Amanda and losing that after having both kids, didn't, excuse me, I didn't realize how much it was affecting me. And it's very interesting being back in this phase where now I'm like a year into consistently taking care of myself. And finally, like, my gosh, I can't believe that I went without this for however many years I did. And I talked to my sisters and some other friends about

Katie Kada (11:35.242)
Thanks.

Katie Kada (11:44.339)
Mm-hmm.

Katie Kada (11:53.62)
Mm-hmm.

Amanda (12:03.928)
you know, growing up and playing sports. And I didn't really think about all of the layers of that side of it as well. Like I went to yoga a few weeks ago in person with another fire wife and I haven't done that since before my kids were born. So over five years, like that's insanity. Why have I not gone to one single in-person yoga class? I can't even tell you, like there's nothing good, excuse-wise I can share.

Katie Kada (12:05.894)
Thank

Katie Kada (12:20.905)
Okay.

Katie Kada (12:30.388)
Mm-hmm.

Amanda (12:33.12)
It's just hard when our village is or isn't there and showing up for ourselves in the way we can. Like for me, I mean, it was literally just hard enough to brush my teeth those first few months as a new mom. I couldn't imagine anything else besides changing out of the clothes I slept in and brushing my teeth, let alone realizing that I lost this huge part of me and movement and drinking water and all of those other things. Like that was so off my radar.

Katie Kada (12:46.313)
Hmm.

Katie Kada (12:51.103)
you

Amanda (13:03.27)
so again, kudos to you. You have three kids and figuring out how it does work in our unique dynamic fire first responder life is challenging. And it looks different for all of us because maybe some days all three kids are home and the weather is great and you go for a family walk and maybe some days the weather isn't great. And now you have a walking pad and you are getting to move and enjoy something you love like reading or

Katie Kada (13:16.905)
Mm-hmm.

Amanda (13:31.864)
watching a show and just going to a different place outside of what's really happening around you. And it's just, I applaud you because I can really understand with empathy how it feels for myself to have that again. And I am very excited and encouraging you. I don't know where you're at on date, what day you're on. didn't do the math, but.

Katie Kada (13:38.098)
Yes. Yeah.

Katie Kada (13:57.384)
Yeah, I think it's been 75 days, but it's interesting because it's like, I'm not necessarily noticing, I've lost all this weight or things like that, but it's like the mental piece, I think.

one thing that I've started doing is reading. I haven't read since, like when I was a teacher, summers refer my reading, right? Like I love to go to the pool and read a book, like read books during the summer. And then once I started having kids, I was too tired to read. Like I remember a couple of times opening a book and literally falling asleep, sitting out trying to read, you know, after my kids went to sleep. And so that's another thing that I've gotten really into. And it's been so nice because I think what's hard too is when my husband's away, I have lots of little kids to talk to, but I don't have adults.

So reading has been kind of like a nice escape. I don't have to scroll my phone. I don't watch TV as much anymore. And I love it. I love the reading aspect of it. I love being able to read again, having the energy and the mental space to do that and not fall asleep. But yeah, it's been like I didn't think I was a reader. And I've read, I read two books in the last week. I'm like, who is this person?

Amanda (15:07.692)
Isn't that amazing?

Katie Kada (15:08.91)
fun yeah it's been really nice so not just you know the health habits I guess but just kind of like the mental piece of it too because I like when my husband's gone for 24 hours this the reading and the movement just makes the day go by so much faster just in general so

Amanda (15:24.173)
Yeah.

I think that the reading is similar. Last fall, one of the Firewives groups got together and they were talking about Akatar. And I was like, I'm not really a fairy tale fantasy type person. I don't really know. They're like, well, just start with romance. so I was like, OK. Back in the day, John freaked out when I read Twilight. He was like,

Katie Kada (15:31.72)
Mm-hmm.

Mm-hmm.

Katie Kada (15:38.937)
uh-huh.

Katie Kada (15:45.706)
Thank you.

Amanda (15:56.674)
too far, you can't read that and I loved it. It was great. So anyways, it's just been really fun and there's different groups outside of the fire department of women that I've connected with and reading and sharing books and we pass books along to one another. We like send each other audible links to listen to books together and then we can chat about it. And it just is nice, like you said, because I'm with tiny humans all day and I can't always.

Katie Kada (16:08.487)
Mm-hmm.

Katie Kada (16:16.317)
night.

Amanda (16:24.534)
talk to adults and so even just listening or reading words on a page and then texting a friend about that and feeling like I have some connection outside of my crazy mind and my children, it's really nice.

Katie Kada (16:28.362)
Okay.

Katie Kada (16:39.849)
Yeah.

And yeah, and I think another piece of it too is my oldest has just started reading. And so we would go to the library before anyways, but she's now like watching me read and she'll be like, what is your book about? I'm like, that's an adult topic. She'll be like, can you tell me what's going on in your book? So it's kind of funny because I wanted just to read so I wasn't scrolling on my phone as much. wasn't, you know, but then I was like, the other part of this is she's seeing me read all the time and she's really into reading. And now the library trips are more fun, you know, and things like that.

Amanda (16:53.037)
Yes.

Katie Kada (17:10.768)
books and so it's been really like a neat I think a positive change just in general but yeah not talking to other adults is is crazy I mean even being a teacher at kindergarten teacher for years I was surrounded by little kids but you still had those other adults right to talk to and kind of you know least make eye contact with and stuff and so I think part of state being a state home mom you're like wow if you know if we're at home and it's just us you miss that you know other adults so

Amanda (17:15.864)
first career.

Amanda (17:38.134)
Yeah. Yeah. And that's a really great point, like you said about modeling for our kids, right? So with you drinking water, you know, it just brings all these conversations up, like with you moving, with you doing a family walk, whatever it looks like is just that example for them that we're setting so they can actually see us taking care of ourselves and the different ways it can look like for me versus my husband.

Katie Kada (17:45.406)
Bye.

Amanda (18:05.26)
compared to other people, they're just showing them different ways that light them up, that make them feel better. And we're telling our kids all the time, like my husband went to the gym yesterday and they're like, why are you leaving? And he was like, because I need self care. And this is the way daddy takes care of himself. like I said, I went to yoga a few weeks ago. So like the kids knew I was actually leaving the house to go work out and be with another human.

Katie Kada (18:19.742)
when

Katie Kada (18:30.27)
Mm-hmm.

Amanda (18:30.35)
And showing them that like this brings me joy like you like going on playdates you like going to ride your bike at the bike park whatever it is and like showing them the connection of how they find joy and taking care of themselves and how we find it for ourselves, too

Katie Kada (18:45.098)
Right. And I think that was so hard for when my kids were, I mean my youngest is two, but for those first couple years it's so hard to leave the house. You know, like they were attached to me and I mean sometimes like my husband would be like, go, go, they're not looking, like just go for it, you know, because I mean I really did have to like pry them off me to leave the house. And now the more that I do it, they're like, all right, see ya, bye. And like months ago they were like attached to me or they'll say like, I don't want you to go.

Amanda (19:07.587)
Yes.

Katie Kada (19:12.808)
That's valid, but I'll be home soon. You know, I'm going to be on one hour and then it's my hour and then I'll be home and I'll probably be a little bit like nicer and have more energy, you know? So yeah, it's funny just the change and just going a couple months like on a regular basis. It's easier for them to like they're not they know what to expect. They know I'll be home. It's not a big deal for them. You know, before it was like, we don't want you to go. And I was I was like sneaking out of the house.

Amanda (19:23.086)
100 %

Katie Kada (19:41.77)
But even, I mean, even last night I was going to a cycling class and my husband was like, why don't you just go now? Because it doesn't start for like 45 minutes. He's like, just go sit in your car, just enjoy the peace. And I'm like, well, I'm just gonna be sitting in a parking garage. He was like, it's a little more peaceful, don't you think? And I'm like, great, I will go do that, you know? But it's funny, I find it, I felt it was so hard to leave the house, you know, for so many years with little kids. Because you are, you're home with them for 24 hours. And now it's like.

Great, yeah, I'm gonna leave. I'm gonna get out while I can.

Amanda (20:11.948)
Yeah, it's that mom guilt. It is so pervasive in so many aspects of life and being able to just work on it internally is the only way and then actually making action like you did last night, right? Like leaving early, getting that extra time that you deserve just to be and that's it.

Katie Kada (20:29.704)
Right, right. Right.

Yeah, and I think for so long too, even as our kids were babies and stuff like that, when he was a... When my husband came home from work, I would think to myself, we have to be home, we have to spend time together. He's finally home, I don't wanna go to a class, I don't wanna be away from my family. And now I'm like, it's one hour. And it will benefit me, it'll benefit everybody, but...

I don't feel that guilt, guess, as much anymore about taking that hour to myself when before I would have been like, no, he's finally home. Like we have to go to the playground as a family. Now my husband's like, I'll take them to the playground. You go work out. know, so it's kind of, it's changed over time, but it's nice. It's a good shift.

Amanda (21:19.372)
Yeah, it's hard not to feel like you need to do everything together when you have that limited time. Like, okay, let's all go to the grocery store. Let's all do this together. like, well, let's divide and conquer. So then when we do come back together, we actually have more time.

Katie Kada (21:24.958)
Yes. Yeah.

Katie Kada (21:33.002)
Right. Or yeah, my husband would be like, I'll take them to the playground or, you know, whatever. And I'm like, are you sure? you like, are you sure? He's like, yeah, I'm positive I can take them to the playground. Like you can go do something else or like I'll take them to the grocery store. Yeah, it's funny. It's realizing like, yeah, like you said, you don't have to be together for everything. It doesn't make sense half the time. So.

Amanda (21:43.595)
Yeah.

Amanda (21:53.154)
Yep. One more thing I wanted to chat with you about is kind of just like dating your husband again, right? Like you mentioned going out without the kids, you guys took a cycling class together. I love cycling. I have a Peloton bike and have a Peloton treadmill now and they have changed my life. I did cycling back at that fitness.

Katie Kada (22:15.368)
Yes.

Amanda (22:19.19)
center I told you about back in Sacramento and I miss my live classes for sure. There's nothing like that beats that energy. It's like you're in a dance club, you know? And everyone just the vibe is just incredible. So even something that looks like that, right? You're not like at a romantic dinner and holding hands like going to a movie, but you're doing something together and connecting and just how does that look for you with three kids? You mentioned it doesn't happen that often.

Katie Kada (22:21.32)
Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Katie Kada (22:27.666)
Right, right, right.

Thank you.

Katie Kada (22:46.154)
No, so we probably go out once a year, which is not a lot, but we don't have help with our kids at all. And so, and we don't have like a regular babysitter. So my in-laws live out of state. So like if they come in state, they're more than happy if they come to visit to watch the kids and that kind of thing. So we did, we went to a volunteer fire department, had their centennial celebration.

and we got dressed up and we went out for that and it was fun. But yeah, other than that, I think we've kind of realized too that's not necessarily our like our favorite thing to do, especially having little kids. Like we don't mind being there for bedtime and like, you know, our kids are still really little, so they're a little bit needy and that kind of thing. So we'd rather just not have to like plan for a babysitter for the bedtime and that kind of thing. We'd rather be home for it. So we'll go. We went to a cycling class like

before dinner. Like it was, you know, early afternoon, but we're like, this is such an easy time of day for our kids. They're playing, they're happy, like they don't even need dinner yet. So let's go do it. And I think that was like the first class we had taken together in ages. I mean, since we were dating probably. But yeah, I think it's just changed my idea of like, like our date nights are not necessarily what other people would do for date night. But again, when he's home during the day, like we might go out to lunch or

We might even go out to breakfast as a family. And like to me, that's no different than like someone else's date night. You know what I mean? We might have a kid or two or three in tow, but it's just easier, I think. You know, we don't have those sitters. We don't have family to help with that. And that'll change, I'm sure too, as our kids get older, you know, we'll be more comfortable leaving them at bedtime and that kind of thing. But for us right now, I think it's just easier like to take those hour, like go get coffee, go get lunch.

go do an exercise class together. So yeah, it's not probably most, you know, most people wouldn't have that as like their ideal date night or date idea. But for us, it just is what works, you know, at the moment. And like I said, it'll probably change as our kids get older. So what do you guys?

Amanda (24:59.606)
Yeah, for us, we really probably a similar mindset. We don't have family that lives close in the area. My in-laws are also out of state. My mom has five adopted of my cousins. So her plate is very full. And so it just looks really different to get family support and then being comfortable with the babysitter took us a very long time. Now our kids are.

Katie Kada (25:10.718)
Mm-hmm.

Katie Kada (25:23.806)
Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Mm-hmm. Right. Yeah. Mm-hmm.

Amanda (25:26.712)
four and five, so our comfort level is a little bit different. The same thing with bedtime though, we're not comfortable with that yet. So if we do late night, like we usually come back to do bedtime or we have family here, but that is rare. And a lot of our first dates early on were like breakfast and coffee dates, the same type of a thing. So.

Katie Kada (25:40.874)
Mm-hmm. Yeah.

Great.

Katie Kada (25:50.364)
Mm-hmm.

Amanda (25:54.508)
It's just, it's very different evolving in your relationship and then becoming a parent and figuring out what you're comfortable with and what the other partner is comfortable with. And we also have cameras in the house and we tell all our babysitters that like, you know, the few that we now have that, you know, we will check in on the cameras. And if you need anything, let us know. We're, you know, in touch with them the whole time that we're gone, but.

Katie Kada (26:15.155)
Mm-hmm.

Amanda (26:21.676)
I think it's also just part of being like first responder family. Our fears are very real. And so our comfort level is very different than other people. And we've also done like swapping with our friends before, like other fire couples or other friends where like we've watched their kids and they've watched ours so that we could do, you know, dates, which has been really nice.

Katie Kada (26:27.858)
Right, right.

Amanda (26:47.982)
because then our kids have like a built-in playdate too and they're super stoked to be with their friends. And yeah, it just looks different, you know?

Katie Kada (26:55.708)
of yeah I think for us too it's like

It's almost easier sometimes. I remember when our oldest was born, when she was a baby, she was in daycare because I was still teaching. And I happened to have like a teacher work day or a random holiday off that her daycare was open. And I was so torn on, do we send her? I'm home. And we went to a winery that day. And I was like, this was the best decision. She doesn't know any different because it's her normal routine. He's off because it happens to be one of his days off.

So we've had those like very rare, like what do we do? But yeah, I'd say most of our like dates now are just, our two oldest are in school full time. And like it'll be our youngest son, he's with us, but we'll go out to lunch and things. And in the moment, I don't think of that as like a date, but that's kind of like just how it pans out, I think.

Amanda (27:53.005)
Yeah, it's just having that time to connect with each other again and find how you can, even if it doesn't maybe fit the ideal, like you said, but it's what you can have and you make it that special, you know, time together.

Katie Kada (28:02.088)
Mm-hmm.

Katie Kada (28:06.898)
Right. Yeah, I think the last time when we went to this volunteer fire stations centennial celebration, was like a big thing. know, everyone was dressed up. It was very formal and it was really fun. But, you know, we came home to our two year old like still being awake, still had to be, you know, put down for bed because he wouldn't go down for my in-laws. And, you know, we're all dressed up and we're like, OK, that was fun. But like, I'm glad we don't do that often. This is not this is not our normal.

you know, our normal routine. So, yeah, I think it's fun every once in We've had like weddings here and there, but again, it's a lot different after having kids. So.

Amanda (28:46.22)
Yeah, for sure. Well, thanks for sharing all that, I enjoyed getting to chat with you more. I love your energy. And I know this is just the first of many times we'll chat. So feel free to check us out, Fire Family Collective. Thank you, Katie. And we'll talk soon.

Katie Kada (29:03.646)
Thank you.