Category Archives: Travel

California Dreamin’ Part 1

Despite being gone for 5 nights we really didn’t take all that many photos during our trip, so I’ve got a jumble of photos from both of our phones and cameras and pictures were taken by both Josh and I and a couple of other random people. Off we go!

The trip got off to an interesting start. We left the house surprisingly on time and were all happily on our way when about halfway there Enzo started making whimpering sounds, so I turned around and asked if he was okay only to have him say that his tummy hurt. Just as I was about to ask him something else, he vomited. Quite a bit. Of course I had just cleaned out the car and had absolutely nothing on hand to help him out and we now had to find a gas station as fast as possible to clean him up. I had a few wipes, but that wasn’t going to do it. I also only had a short sleeve shirt as backup for him because we were headed to California and usually I don’t have to worry about backup clothes for him. Did I also mention that he had thrown up on the only hoodie/jacket we had brought with us? Also, the gas station we stopped at? No paper towels in the bathroom. We finally got him cleaned up as much as possible and changed (I gave him my hoodie) and did our best to clean up his car seat with Subway napkins. He seemed okay, so off we went.

About 5-10 minutes later, he started crying again. I turned around and in a panic looked for anything that he could throw up in… I grabbed his winter hat. It might have worked had he not tried to block his mouth with his hand and had he not projectile vomited everywhere. I really started to panic now. Was he sick? Were we going to miss our flight? If he was sick were we going to be awful parents and make him get on a plane? We stopped again and this time I had to get into the luggage in the trunk. We did the best we could to yet again clean everything up and continued on our way once Enzo happily got back in the car. He no longer looked pasty and seemed to be in good spirits. We got to the airport, got to cut in line at security, made it in time to use the bathroom and then hopped on our flight. (This may be my wordiest post yet!)

The kids really did great on the flight. Enzo looked out the window now and then, but really just though it was awesome to watch a movie on his little DVD player with his own headphones. Also, they thought the beverage service and pretzels and cookies were kind of fabulous. I brought plenty of snacks and activities to keep them busy, but even though Phoebe was bored she wasn’t fussy – just squirmy, and then about halfway through the flight she settled down for a nap.

My mom and step-dad met us at the airport and then it was a matter of getting our rental minivan, getting the kids (and adults food) and then getting settled in our rental condo, which was within walking distance of the grandparents’ condo. We stayed close to home the day we arrived and the next day as well. Did some driving/exploring and picked up some necessities for the kiddos. The weather was amazing! Beyond amazing!

Enzo really wanted to be adventurous and keep walking, but was still pretty nervous about how high up we were and felt more comfortable being held. I was a tad nervous as well… heights are not my favorite. Ha ha.

Phoebe was asleep in the car, so our family portrait is incomplete. You know what they say, though… never wake a sleeping baby.

She did wake up in time to go see some sea lions, and more importantly (to her) lots of pelicans and seagulls.

Short sleeves in February? Yeah, that might be enough to make me move. Part 2 next week! We went whale watching and we pretty much confirmed that Enzo is a Highly Sensitive Child. That is a whole different post, though.

Surprise Travel with Kids

Last month we decided it would be a great idea to plan a last minute weekend trip to Duluth with the kids. Not only that, but we decided to buy tickets for a short holiday train excursion, the only tickets available being for an evening ride. Right after we made plans and bought tickets, Phoebe started sniffling and coughing and we second-guessed ourselves, but decided to press on anyway. It was incredibly foggy, and both kids were not themselves – acting out a bit more than usual and when we arrived at our hotel we found out it wasn’t ready and we couldn’t check in. So, to dinner we went.

Understandably, the kids were wriggly and didn’t want to sit still after a 3 hour ride in the car. We questioned whether or not we should continue with the night, quickly ate dinner, and drove back to the hotel crossing our fingers that the room would be ready. Thankfully it was, however, it was also right next to the very noisy pool. Oh boy. The kids were bouncing off the walls and being naughty, but we had those tickets, so off we went.

Both kids seemed excited about the lights and the train itself. It wasn’t a long ride, but enjoyable nonetheless. We arrived at the train depot and they got to look at a few trains before we were rushed over to the reading. Enzo and Josh sat on the floor, but Phoebe wasn’t having it. She wanted to crawl and move and was tired and fussy, so I walked around with her while everyone else listened to the story. I would have loved to look around the train museum, but we didn’t have much time.

There were a lot of people and older kids, but Enzo managed to play a little before it was time to get back on the train and go. At this point, however, he did not want to go. He was having fun, and proceeded to lie on the floor underneath our seats and make known his displeasure to all.

He gave up once everyone was aboard and decided to strike up conversation with the gentleman behind us, who was only semi interested in having a conversation with our 2 year old. Enzo was not to be deterred, however. Eventually we made it back to our hotel and all 4 of us ended up in bed together due to the pool being too rowdy and loud for the sleeper sofa and Phoebe refused to stay in her pack n’ play.

We had breakfast in our hotel room the next morning before deciding to just head home a little early. Enzo was in full on toddler terror mode and Phoebe wasn’t feeling 100%, so we figured it was for the best.

I’m still not sure what had gotten into them that weekend. A full moon perhaps? Change in routine? Let’s just hope that if we continue to surprise them with spontaneous jaunts it will eventually go more smoothly.

Weekend Away at the Company Cabin

One of the very nice perks about Josh’s new job is that the company has cabins that are available for employees to use. Because of Josh only being recently hired we didn’t think it was something we’d get to take advantage of this year, but lo and behold a free weekend came up, he put his name into the lottery and his name was chosen!

“Cabin” we discovered was an understatement, so we invited Josh’ sister and brother-in-law and their kiddos to join us. There was plenty of room for all of us to spread out and it had plenty of amenities. We knew a lot of things were already provided, but still brought more than we needed to ensure our bases were covered (and now we know for next time what we don’t need). I wasn’t sure whether or not to bring Phoebe’s jumper at first, but in the end I’m glad we brought it because Lady likes to jump.

While lots of space is nice, I could never live in a place that big long-term. You know how sometimes at night when you want a glass of water, but it feels like such a long walk and you don’t want to (even though the walk really isn’t that far)? Well, in this house, the walk really was that far. Plus, you have to yell to be heard and I could hardly see Phoebe from the kitchen if she was in the living room and I didn’t have my contacts in. Yeah, yeah, first world problems.

It really was a nice place, located in a quiet community on a lake with a nearby restaurant and playground for the boys. One of the really nice things were all the dragon flies during the day keeping the mosquitoes away. I don’t know if they’re always there, or if we just came at the perfect time, but it was so nice not having to worry about being eaten alive.

We did get some rain on and off, so it was a little hard to plan any day trips. The cabin was located near Brainerd, so it was tempting to go visit Paul Bunyan Land, especially since we stopped there on our mini-moon after we got married, but instead we stuck around and played outside and in. There were plenty of cars and trains and books and movies for the boys to keep them busy when we weren’t outside.

Overall both kiddos did well in our home away from home, and I think we’re going to see about switching Enzo’s toddler bed out for a full-size bed one of these days considering how well he did in a regular bed. It was also nice being able to lay down in bed with him when it was time to read books. He didn’t typically want to go bed while on vacation, and for the most part we let him stay up later than his normal bedtime, but even he started to realize that he did actually want to sleep – he just didn’t want to be left out of any fun. Considering both of our kids wake up at 6:00-6:30 during the week so we can leave the house by 7:00-7:15, they don’t typically sleep in on the weekend, so the lack of sleep and lax routine started to take their toll a bit by the time Monday morning rolled around.

It was nice to have a lazy weekend, though, and even Josh and I got a nap in each. It was a very nice luxury, even if Enzo doesn’t always realize right away how lovely they are. I’m kind of glad we can count on naps for at least another year. Toots is also starting to fall into a more regular nap schedule, which day care will probably help with as she gets even older. She naturally seems to nap around 9:00-9:30 and then again in the afternoon, sometimes even three naps if they’re short.

Anyhoo, it was a nice family getaway. Enzo got to play with his cousin every day (which made him very, very happy), Josh got to go fishing with his brother-in-law at least one time, and I even stayed up late (way past my bedtime) one or two nights having some nice chats with my sister-in-law. I’m hoping that one day I’ll have more to chat about than kids and parenting, but probably not. Ha ha. Nah, one day I’ll have more time and energy, but watching a baby grow into a person is just fascinating. You learn so much about yourself and your entire perspective changes at times. That, however, is discussion for another day since this post is probably much longer than it should be.

Overnight Trip with the Kiddos

Two weekends ago we decided to take the kids out of town to see a friend of Josh’s get married. We really had no expectations since we knew anything could happen on the kids’ first hotel stay, and first long car ride. The trip actually went much better than we had hoped all things considered, but we also didn’t get that many photos either.

Thanks to the Kindle, the drive wasn’t bad at all since Enzo was able to watch ‘Frozen’ and “Jack Frost” (aka ‘Rise of the Guardians). It was a 4.5 hour drive, so we stopped once to feed Phoebe and let Enzo run around a bit and the rest of the time he napped. When Phoebe wasn’t sleeping, she was happy just playing and looking around, although close to the end she did start to get more vocal, which was her way of showing us she wanted out. Ha ha.

When we got to the hotel we were glad to see there was a microwave and a fridge (both really helpful with kids), but the AC didn’t work all that well and as far as cleanliness goes… yeah, not really that great. Both of the kids were in good spirits, however, and really just wanted to get all of the wiggles out. We got to the hotel right before dinner, and decided to just order in since we figured neither kid would want to get back in the car again.

Not surprisingly, bedtime was pushed back a tad, but Phoebe went down with little difficulty. Rather than bringing the pack n’ play we decided to just each sleep with on the of the kiddos and use pillows to keep them from rolling out. Enzo was thrilled to get to hang out with Daddy, and I only got feet in my back half the night. Unfortunately, though, Little Miss did not sleep the best and woke up early with a nasty cough, which also meant that everyone was up at 5:30.

We gave in and let Enzo watch TV, and despite the lack of sleep he was ready to run around. We were the first at breakfast, which was helpful with the munchkins. Enzo was all too happy to greet everyone as they came down to eat, but soon got a bit too rambunctious and Josh took him upstairs while I finished with Phoebe, who then decided it was time for a nap.

We had a few hours to get ready, and now that I think about it we probably should have planned to do more out of the hotel room, but with Phoebe needing bottles on a regular basis and eating mostly purees… the food part of things can be tricky. We had a car bottle warmer and a thermos of hot water, but making bottles in the car and then feeding a very easily distracted baby is just not fun.

Thankfully the ceremony and reception was held in a nice location in a large park that had plenty to drive around and see, so we were hoping Enzo could get some wiggles out before the ceremony.

There were several other families out enjoying the day and Enzo desperately wanted to interact and play, but… how do I put it… most of the families were not there to interact with anyone else, so I told Enzo there would probably be other kids for him to play with at the wedding. (Thankfully I was right).

The wedding itself was lovely and Enzo had a ball. We were that family, though. You know the one – the one with the toddler running around and not really sitting still during the meal. We knew we were toeing the line on a potential meltdown, though, since he was missing his nap and had been up early. We did our best to keep him from getting in the way and just let him run around like a crazy toddler. Phoebe was exhausted as well and literally fell asleep while I was feeding her, so she snoozed in the Ergo while I ate and Josh kept an eye on Enzo who was making friends left and right.

I think our first little road trip was a success, and we definitely know what we’ll do the same and what we’ll do differently next time around. Honestly, it’ll just be easier when Phoebe is eating more solids and we don’t have to worry about bottles, so we probably won’t do too many hotel stays until then, but really that’s not that many months away. I think we’ve got some good travelers in the making.

A Day at the Zoo

Getting a zoo membership was definitely one of our better decisions. At first we weren’t sure because of the drive, but we’ve already used it three times and considering toddlers sometimes only last a couple hours, you don’t feel like you’ve wasted any money by leaving early.

Last Sunday ended up being just perfect for a visit to the zoo. The weather was nice and we got there a little earlier in the day, so it wasn’t super busy yet. Most of the animals were snoozing, but Enzo seems to enjoy people watching just as much (if not more than) animal watching.

This time his favorite animals were the prairie dogs, and he tried to climb out of Josh’s arms into their enclosure, which would have been adorable, but probably frowned upon. We also had another big first – he actually held my hand to walk for a bit. This soon ended once it got more crowded, though, and hand holding was no longer appropriate, but running was.

The other favorite of the day was the draft horses. We ventured over to the farm area because we figured it would be a good place to eat lunch (and it was), plus Enzo got to pet some cows, was freaked out by the goats, and fell in love with the horses. When we started walking away from them, he headed back and was a little upset that he couldn’t stay longer or touch them. Guess we need to find someone with a horse. :p

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures