These ridiculously adorable subway shirts were courtesy of our besties, Fiona & Jake.
Welcome to the final installation of our time in NYC — Days 4, 5 & 6. They were chock full, and I will do my best to edit, but honestly, we all know I love a good photo. Here’s what we got up to.
Day 4: Prospect Park, Pizza & Baseball
We had tickets to see the Mets play (and beat!) the Phillies on Tuesday night, so we had a bit of more relaxing day. We took Simon the Pup to Prospect Park, had stoop-side pizza for lunch and even managed short catnaps.
We felt like a real Brooklyn fam, with our wagon and our cute pup.Poor Simon sure would have loved a romp. Of course there was no way I was letting that happpen!Pizza!! Now that G has discovered her love of hot cheese pizza, it’s literally allllll she wants to eat.And who can blame her.A favorite activity on this trip was sitting on Carla’s stoop, waving and saying hey to everyone passing by. Not one of them didn’t smile and wave back <3YUM!
After a quick rest, Chris ran over my friend’s place to pick up their car so we could drive to the game. We paid about $50 for parking up in the VERY front, but it was worth every. single. penny. No regrets at all. The ride was about an hour there and 40 minutes back (minus the traffic), and being on our own schedule was priceless. We weren’t sure how long we’d be staying. Turns out … the girls love baseball! Or at least the fanfare involved with it.
We’re off! We’ve arrived!It was such a beautiful night for sitting out and watching some baseball.Ice cream was a big hit, obviously.As was Emilia’s slushy.She was blue for days after!Nosebleed seats were the way to go with this gang. We didn’t feel bad getting in and out 20,000 times, the kids are up and down and all over, and it was pure delight.Thanks for putting on a great first game for these girlies, Mets!
Day 5: Playgrounds, Fiona’s play, Lunch dates with Mom, DUMBO & Jane’s Carousel
Grandpa came back into the city to see us Wednesday night and we headed over to Dumbo for Grimaldi’s pizza, rides on Jane’s Carousel and to check out the Time Out Market. Before that, though, Chris took the girls on a playground hunt, Lotte and I saw Fiona perform a play at her school, and I took my three little ladies out for a special lunch in the neighborhood.
City playgrounds just hit better.Love for Fiona after her school play.Lunch with my best ladies <3We went to Sweet Chick which, once I figured out how to use the online menu, was SO GOOD.That night we stopped at Grimaldi’s to pick up our pizzas before heading over to Jane’s Carousel.Which was every bit as magical as I imagined it would be.I mean … look at that face!It was way too much.And my <3 explodes.The Time Out Market was also very cool, and had a ton of great food and drink options.Besties for life.And look at those views!There’s always room for ice cream.And the sun set on our second to last day in the city.
Day 6: The High Line and the Color Factory
Thursday was our last full day, since our flight out was 7 a.m. Friday. Sadly, Chris had to work, but I took the girls to visit the High Line, we met up with Fiona and Jake at their favorite place, the Color Factory, and Faye and her kiddos and my sister and Rosalie met us back at Carla’s for a farewell dinner that night.
The High Line never disappoints.Finding a food truck nearby with vegan smoothies that Emilia could also eat was a total score!These cuties walked a ton this day, I was so proud of them!Come for the nature vibe, stay for the food and artwork.Oh and the views. Definitely also come for the views!
After the High Line we walked about 2.5 miles (with Grace and Lotte swapping out of the second seat of Carla’s double stroller, but really, Grace basically walked the whole thing!) to the Color Factory. This place is crack for kids. They had the best time running around like crazy and, of course, I didn’t mind the opportunity for super cool pics 😉 They actually give you a card with a QR code on it when you enter, though, and there are spots to take pictures throughout that get emailed to you. For free. Can’t think of any other place that does that!
A riot of colors from the very entrance!Drawing their partner on the other side.As you can imagine, the confetti room was a big hit!A blur of color!This is the quiet dance room, where everyone puts on headphones with the same music and dances around <3Lotte is in a big dancing phase, so this room was definitely a favorite!The photos from the Color Factory in this room — shared later — were amazing.And the final room. The ball pit. OBVIOUSLY another huge hit!Even though Emilia couldn’t even stand in it without being completely submerged, she was in love.Plus ice cream to round out the visit — what an awesome place!Ball pit photo via the Color Factory <3Confetti room photo via the Color Factory <3More confetti!The Wheel Room!More wheels …Ugh with these cuties!Final wheel photo … I swear 😉Such a fun experience, and so great we got to share it with friends!
After the Color Factory we met everyone back at Carla’s for our final dinner. It was the perfect way to end our perfect NYC trip.
Watermelon outside for all!The love I have for this gang is … a lot.
And that was our trip in a nutshell, friends. It was full of so many amazing and fun things. We had the perfect weather. And Grace found/was covered in no less than five ladybugs, so my mom was absolutely there in spirit.
Until next time New York …. we sure do love you!
We’re onto summer things now (camp, swim, play dates, etc.), and we have a press trip coming up in August that I’m super excited about. Then we have an awesome Europe trip planned for Christmas. I’m trying not to wish the year away for that trip to arrive, but it’s hard because dang I’m so excited! But until then, you know what I say … bis bald, friends! I hope you all have wonderful summers planned.
Welcome back, friends! After our first day of welcoming summer by galavanting around New York City, we really kicked it up a notch for Memorial Day. Adventures included:
It was the sweetest of days with some of our besties <3
American Museum of Natural History
With so many amazing museums in NYC it can be hard to pick just one for kiddos, but I’m sure glad we went with this one. We only had time for our two extra experiences, the dinosaur exhibit and the Room With the Whale, but gosh was it worth it.This Invisible Worlds exhibit was giving Meow Wolf vibes, but with a much better story and on a much more tame scale.How small do your problems seem in an exhibit like this, though. I mean, really.The girls LOVED it!Dinosaurs were a huge hit too, obviously.Rawwwwwring like dinosaurs!Even Em was intrigued <3I wasn’t sure how the 30-minute planetarium show would go over, but the girls loved it! And Carla, Fiona & Jake were able to join us, too.The whale room never disappoints.Cuties.
Alice’s Tea Cup
After the museum we walked over to Alice’s which, while thoroughly expensive (it was a full tea service that, let’s be honest, mostly got thrown out) was a true NY experience, as well. I’m really glad we did it!
“What’s this stuff?!”The whole gang. And how gorgeous is this room?!
Central Park
We left Alice’s around 2:30 and had reservations at 4 for Top of the Rock, so we took our time wandering through Central Park to get there.
Good ole’ Uncle Brizz.Enjoying live music at Strawberry Fields in Central Park.
Top of the Rock
This is one of Chris’ favorite spots in the city, so it was fun to take the girls there to experience the city the way that birds do <3
Walking through the Rockefeller Center area is always a joy, too.Chris had some extra help pulling the baggage.Gotta love a girl who only loves her snacks, no matter where she may be!More cuteness <3So much love for this girl of mine <3And this one <3And all of them!Plus this one. Carla. My freshman year roommate at JMU, whom I’ve known for 22 years (yikes!). We’ve been to Germany & Salzburg & Nashville together, survived college and our first years as babies living in NYC. She’s a doll and I love her immensely <3
After a very long day, it was back on the subway to head to our home away from home.
Seeing the sites is one thing, but catching up with your loves … that’s everything.
Ah friends, welcome to summer! Or at least, it’s summer for us! The school year ended the week before Memorial Day, so we decided to head on out! For as often as we visit New York state, we had yet to actually stay for multiple days in the city itself.
So we decided to change that.
Through the incredible generosity of a good friend of mine from college, we were able to stay in an awesome Brooklyn apartment for free, and spend our money on all. the. activities. And we did activities, friends. Boy, did we do activities 😉
I’ll break down our days into a couple of different posts so as to not overwhelm, but here are a few overarching highlights:
We miss our friends and family in New York like crazy. Trips like this are beyond memorable, especially now that the girls are getting old enough to remember them.
Taking the subway with three littles is … interesting. Hah. One day is was just me and a double stroller and three children. When Carla joined it was five children. We got onto the subway at one station and the (heavenly) woman who gave up her seat for the kids turned to me and Carla and said, “You’re doing amazing” and I could have kissed her right then and there. Or cried. Or probably both.
Both older girls really loved their time in the city (so did Em, but you know, she can’t talk a lot yet, soooo …), but I foresee a future where G goes to school there, or lives there after school … basically makes the city a bigger part of her life story.
On our last full day Grace must have walked over a mile from the High Line to the Color Factory, while she played a game of “veterinarian” with Lotte, who was in one of the double stroller seats. Em was napping in the other. It was an amazing moment I’ll never forget, and damn was I proud of her!
Without further adieu, here was our Saturday and Sunday, Manhattan Style!
Saturday
Because of multiple snafoos that I won’t get into, we didn’t end up arriving in Brooklyn until around 3 on Saturday morning. As such, I didn’t have the highest of hopes for our Saturday plans … but as is usually the case when it comes to my kids, I was proved wrong! These girls slept a cool four hours and woke up ready to explore! My friend Faye and her two kiddos met up with us. On the agenda were:
There is also a fun playground in this area, too, if you’re looking to spend more time there.
First subway ride! The girls started out fascinated. Then they took it upon themselves to chat with anyone who would chat. Then they decided to use the poles as swings. And finally, by the 5th or 6th ride, they were content to actually sit and ride. The evolution of a subway ride, courtesy of a 6- and 5-year-old 😉This carousel is expensive, but it’s a MUST if you’re here! It’s beyond gorgeous, and so fun to watch.I mean, look at that face!Stunning.After the playground and carousel it was onto the ferry! The kids were more excited about snacking on a ferry ride than they were to take in the views of Manhattan and the Statue of Liberty, but that’s okay. It’s all part of the fun!Ah, the joys of forcing your kids to take memorable photos 😉At least G was very taken with the water!Love ya, NYC!Love ya Brooklyn friends!We missed the first ferry back to the city and had to wait 30 minutes to catch the next one, but that was okay because it gave us time to do more fun things, like get ice cream …And have a stranger take this picture!Thanks for a fun ride, ferry!
Back in Manhattan my friend ordered up some pizza and we ate it on her rooftop. It was the perfect ending to the perfect first day in the city.
Sunday
We had plans on Sunday to catch the train from Grand Central into Cold Spring to meet up with our family for lunch at the Cold Spring Depot. That also meant that Chris got a chance to give the girls his world-famous Grand Central tour when we arrived back 😉
No matter how many times I’ve ridden in and out of Grand Central (hundreds), she never ceases to amaze me.The glory!The history!In Cold Spring we met up with these loves of our lives, and it was a delight.The waterfront was a big hit too, naturally.Sissy <3Grandpa & MojoAll four of these faces were asleep about 20 minutes into our ride home.Back in Grand Central, Chris’ tour was a hit!<3<3<3The end.
And those were our first two days in a nutshell, friends! They also included Grace discovering that she does, in fact, like cheese on pizza (duh), and only a handful of tantrums and slight frustrations 😉
Next up … a packed Memorial Day! Until then … bis bald, friends!
Glacier National Park, in all her beautiful glory … plus my little bubs <3
I feel like I should start this post by writing: “And just like that, I was 40.”
It’s what almost everyone says about turning 40, but it doesn’t actually feel that way. On the one hand yes, I feel like I turned 21 just yesterday. But on the other hand … holy hell a lot of work has gone into reaching this decade!
Between 30 and 40 I became a whole new person. I entered into my first year of marriage, started my business and moved across the country. I added countries and states and continents to my travels, bought a house, sold a house, bought another one. I had two miscarriages and three babies. I lost and gained friends. I lost my Mom.
It’s been a ride, friends!
Anyway, all of this is to say, entering my 40s does feel like a milestone, but not in a “oh my God I’m so old!” way. More in a, “Wow, that was a whirlwind. I wonder what’s next?!” kind of way.
So to kick off this new and exciting decade, I thought it would be nice to celebrate in a place that’s been on my Bucket List since I wrote a geography report about it in 8th grade: Glacier National Park.
And I was right — she did not disappoint.
Although traveling at the end of March/early April meant that most things (restaurants, hotels, sections of the main road) would be either closed or covered in snow, it also meant that we literally had the entire place to ourselves. It was magical, friends. When I tell you the park was our playground, what I mean is that we probably saw about a dozen people the entire time we were there, and the majority of those were on the final day when we visited one of the most popular lakes in the entire park.
We’ve already made plans to go back when the weather is nicer, now that we got to have our initial trip all to ourselves.
Here’s a little bit of what we got up to on my 40th birthday trip.
Day 1: Arrival
We didn’t arrive until mid-afternoon on our first day, which was a nice way to ease into the trip.
These little muffins are becoming quite the travelers 😉Bluey for the win!When we landed we had time to kill before we could check in, so we headed to The Montana Club in Kalispell (about 20 minutes from the airport) for lunch. It was the perfect Montana introduction.And the perfect way to toast an introduction to my birthday weekend!At 4, we checked into our tiny cabin. While this place was fine, there ended up being a few quirks (spider! broken fireplace! hot water that doesn’t last for very long!) that would make me not recommend it for big families like ours. Still, it was a fantastic location — at about 15 minutes to the West entrance of Glacier — AND had one of our favorite features ….A hot tub!Em couldn’t go in for long, but she did get a dip, which she was VERY happy about 😉
We knew we wanted to get up early on Friday to start the exploring, so after dinner we hit the hay (the girls did enjoy their loft beds in this Airbnb, that’s for sure!) and called it a night!
Day 2: East Glacier
On our first full day in the park, we hit the road! We were staying near the West Glacier entrance, but we wanted to head over to the East side to check out Two Medicine Grill for breakfast on our way to St. Mary Lake.
Hard not to take picture of EVERYTHING you see in Montana.Driving over the continental divide!Only one child was awake for the event.Breakfast at Two Medicine Grill was everything we could have ever hoped for in a diner.See what I mean 😉Chris took this photo of me from the car, because ….I will always stop on the side of the road for horse photos. Always.The park entrance photo of my dreams, on the way into the St. Mary Lake area!It was definitely chilly on Friday, so we didn’t actually do any hiking. But driving around and stopping for photo opps was just as good, in my mind.See what I mean 😉There were a lot of road closure on this trip, but we definitely got the gist, and definitely plan to come back when we can see the whole thing!All told, we drove about four or five hours on Friday around the park, and the girls were ROCK STARS. I love my little crew…We stopped at the Glacier Distilling Company on the way home, which happened to be about five minutes from our Airbnb and AMAZING.Delightful tasting flight!Delightful cocktails!Then it was back to our Airbnb for more HOT TUB TIME!
Day 3: Polebridge Mercantile
On our second day in the park we traveled over dirt roads and through rivers (basically) for … HUCKLEBERRY BEAR CLAWS!
The Polebridge Mercantile & Bakery is a Glacier institution, and we were so lucky that it just happened to open for the season on April 1st!
Chris didn’t let on how nervous he was driving to Polebridge until we got home — but he did an awesome job and we arrived in one piece!While Chris fretted the drive, I took photos 😉About an hour later, we arrived!I mean … HOW CUTE IS THIS PLACE?!AND THEY HAD PUPPIES!!!!! (that were actually for bear control …. yikes!)And so many treats! And a coffee that I loved so much I got two of. PLUS …Don’t ask me how many Huckleberry Bear Claws we purchased …How adorable is this Lego version of the store?!Running from a family of Sasquatches. Naturally.We tried to drive into the park from the store, but our car got stuck in a trench of water. So, we nixed that idea in favor of ….More hot tub time!Hot tubbin’ in the cold and snow really can’t be beat <3It was the PERFECT last day of my 30s, and I wouldn’t have had it any other way <3
Day 4: WELCOME TO 40!
And then there was the One Where I Turned 40 …
Yikes!
It was honestly a good day, friends, filled with Facetimes and family and fun and Huckleberry things. I felt very loved and special on this day, and there wasn’t anything else I could have possibly wanted.
Starting your birthday off with waffles covered in Huckleberry jam and ice cream is ALWAYS a good idea!For my birthday, we decided to head over to the famous Lake McDonald, which afforded us some glorious views along the way.Plus this picture-perfect park entrance sign <3It was a cloudy morning, but look at this splendor …So incredibly gorgeous.AND WE BASICALLY HAD THE PLACE TO OURSELVES!It was a special moment.How Mom throws …How Dad throws.Gorgeous.Serene.For dinner that night we headed into Whitefish (about 30 minutes away) and ate at The Firebrand Hotel, which was magnificent. After dinner the skies had cleared and it was nearing sunset, and Chris had the idea to head back to Lake McDonald. I’m so incredibly glad we did …Because these views …Are breathtaking.We have no fun 😉Thank you, Glacier, for putting on a show.Birthday pie that night was … you guessed it! … HUCKLEBERRY!Plus one more hot tub/star gazing soak.
Oh, Montana, you stole my heart. This was the trip of a lifetime, and I’m so happy I got to spend it with my crew.
On Monday it was …
One final hot tub soak and …One final Huckleberry cocktail, then home.
That was my 40th birthday adventure in a nutshell, friends. I hope you enjoyed following along.
I can’t wait to see where my 40s take me in this crazy beautiful world, and I can’t wait to bring you along.
Happy Thursday, my friends! The above photo perfectly encapsulates what you should expect when heading to the Colorado mountains for a spring break that takes place during the third week of March.
Lots and lots (and lots and lots) of snow!
I’ll start by saying this: I wasn’t into this trip. I mean, I planned this trip, don’t get me wrong. When I knew the girls had some time coming up for break, but that Chris wouldn’t be able to take time off from work, I knew that getting out of our house, even for just a couple of days, would be a necessity.
What I didn’t count on was a massive storm heading in for the two days we would be in Grand Lake, and the absolute FOMO I would have from watching our friends head off to sunny and fabulous locales, like Hawaii and Colombia.
I mean … how do you compete with Hawaii? Or Colombia?
I decided you don’t. Instead, you lean into the snowy Xanadu, buy all the hot chocolate, wine and comfort food you can get your hands on, and decide to make the most of it.
Or at least, I tried. We stayed in this tiny cabin which, while appealing, is a bit close quarters for a family of five, during a snow storm, while one parent is still trying to get some work done.
Cabin was cute, with beautiful views, but still … small is small, people!
Still, we absolutely made the most of it. At the end of the day, I’m so glad we got up to the mountains and spent a couple days in the fresh air. Here’s what we got up to!
Day 1: Our Arrival
We arrived after dark on Monday after making a pit stop in Winter Park for dinner at Hernando’s. Even in the dark, you could tell from the outside that the cabin would be charming. (And that this trip would be … ahem … an adventure!)
After my anxiety driving over Berthoud Pass and one carsick-induced puke (poor Emilia), it was really nice to stop off in Winter Park for dinner and a breather.See? So cute and charming!At least the girls are getting way better at sharing a bedroom! Bunkbeds are always preferred, but this worked, too 😉Emilia made herself right at home, testing out all the furniture and climbing over everything possible. These little muffins sure are the cutest adventurers <3
Day 2: Grand Lake Adventures
Our first full day in Grand Lake called for snow, but we lucked out and got only a few flurries, combined with a mostly gloriously sunny day!So we took advantage of our nice-weather luck and headed over to Grand Lake. If you’ve been here a while you’ll recall that we made a similar trek last spring break — with Nan and Poppa! — and it was just as much a hit this year as it was last!This mom will interrupt the fun for selfies. Always. #sorrynotsorryJust a coupla cuties, having a snowy blast!I’ll never get over the fact that we were walking on a lake. Although this time parts of the lake were definitely more thawed than I would have liked, which was terrifying ….Snowmen and snow angels were a must.So full of love for these ladies.Chris had to work while we were away, but the girls and I made the most of our lady time <3<3<3This little one definitely doesn’t remember her trip out here last year, but she just might have a few glimmers from this one 😉The rest of our day was filled with equally as essential snow day necessities, including lunch at The Hub …Couch snuggles …Family reading ….And (very competitive!) family games!
Oh, and we also had to get our car towed out of our driveway when it got stuck on ice.
Never a dull moment, friends.
Day 3: Rocky Mountain National Park … and SNOW!
We woke up Wednesday morning to alllllllll theeeeeeeeee snowwwwwwwwww!So up we suited and out we went … again! We spent the morning in our front yard before heading out to Rocky Mountain National Park, where our first stop was the Kawuneeche Visitor Center. Snow, snow, and ….MORE SNOW!Made for some cute pics, like this one (don’t mind Emilia … she had just stuck her hands in the snow without gloves on …)And this one 😉
After our early morning snowcapades, we loaded up the car and headed to Rocky Mountain National Park and the visitor center.
At first we thought the visitor center was closed because of how absolutely deserted the area was, but luckily it was open (guess we were the only intrepid blizzard travelers), and it provided us with about 45 minutes of activity, which was priceless. (Insert exasperated/exhausted face here.)
We wanted to try for a short hike after the visitor center, but it had started snowing pretty heavily again by then, so we scrapped that idea and opted for lunch in the town, instead.
But not without stopping for a RMNP sign photo first, of course!If you don’t take a selfie … were you really there?!
Lunch was at Sagebrush BBQ & Grill, which was delightful, and I would highly recommend (as would Emilia)!
Back at home, the girls spent our final afternoon riding sleds and climbing up to the roofs of the cabins because THAT’S HOW TALL THE SNOW WENT.
My little adventurer. (This was obviously a Chris activity. I would have been WAY to nervous to let her do that!)
After one final night in our tiny cabin we were up and at ’em at 5 so we could get home in time for Chris to start his work day. Grand Lake, you ended up being a gem, despite my initial hesitation 😉 I’m so glad we went.
The gorgeous (and at times terrifying!) road home.
And that was our trip, friends! Next weekend if my birthday (!), and we’re off again, this time to tick off a bucket list adventure that I’ve had since an 8th grade report. Any guesses?!
Happy Monday, friends! We celebrated the holiday weekend with a visit from one of my oldest friends and her husband and kids. Another one of my high school friends moved to the area recently, and this little mini-reunion between the three of us — along with my kids getting to hang out with Faye’s kids — was everything my soul needed.
Highlights included sledding in Majestic View Park, a trip to the Butterfly Pavilion, checking out Meow Wolf Denver, lunch at Avanti in Denver … and of course all the extra special bonding time. It’s sappy but true — old friends make the best friends.
It snowed quite a bit the day our NY friends arrived, so hanging in our back yard and having snowball fights was a highlight, as well.The cuteness between these two is off the charts <3Love this girl.And this whole gang!
Here’s a bit more of what we got into — hope you all are having a happy weekend, as well!
Majestic View Park Sledding
Sledding down slick hills is THE BEST!Snow cuties.<3 <3 <3
The Butterfly Pavilion
My friend Moe is not a fan of butterflies, but she faced her fears for the sake of the kiddos 😉Lotte held a tarantula ….Grace gave her a “high five”!This place is so interactive and hands-on, it’s amazing for kids.Butterflies!This particular butterfly was in love with us and kept coming back …Such a friendly butterfly!
A Day in Denver
On Saturday we headed into the city to check out the interactive Meow Wolf experience (AMAZING, if not somewhat overwhelming!) and have lunch.There were four floors (I think, it was honestly hard to keep track!) and SO MANY interactive, amazing things to check out!The exhibits all bled into each other so you spend the entire time in these realistic “worlds”.I can definitely see how it would be overwhelming for some, but our kiddos all loved it!This was OBVIOUSLY my favorite room … BOOKS!We had a big group and we got separated for most of the visit, but we all met up for the lunch after and agreed that it was well worth the trip!I told them to make faces like aliens were coming to get them.My loves <3Lunch after was at Avanti, and the weather was so wonderful we were able to sit on the roof with views of the city.
It was a fun visit with some very sweet moments that we’ll always treasure.
I can’t even <3We had a birthday celebration for Faye’s husband after our Denver day, and the mini cowboy hats were a big hit.So were the moustaches.Come back real soon, friends <3
What’s a trip to Australia without a proper visit to the beach?!
The final leg of our Australian holiday journey was a trip to Forster, the beach where Chris almost every post-Christmas holiday with his family and two groups of family friends growing up.
But before we headed to the beach, we flew from New Zealand to Sydney and hopped right quick on a train to catch up with the kids in Circular Quay and take some necessary touristy shots of the quintessential Aussie sites:
The cutest twins!We have a similar photo of these two from our trip back in 2019. Time. Sigh.Emilia obviously had no idea what she was seeing, but I wanted her to see it, nonetheless.Just a couple of cuties 😉Also cute <3The girls did surprisingly well with all the photo taking, considering ….Train rides are fun.
I also forgot to mention that while Chris and I were livin’ that kid-free life in New Zealand, the girls did some pretty fun things with their fam back in Sydney, including a visit to the Simbio Wildlife Park where they got to SEE KOALAS AND PET KANGAROOS!
So incredibly grateful to this crew for watching our own little zoo for a couple days, allowing us a very much appreciated solo getaway!While getting away by ourselves was the main objective of our New Zealand trip, obviously, Chris and I were both so incredibly grateful that the girls got to spend some one-on-one time with this delightful family of theirs that they don’t get to see very much.They unsurprisingly had a blast, plus …FED KANGAROOS! An experience that at least Lotte and Grace will, I’m sure, always remember <3
We were also finally able to catch up with Chris’ grandmother — and all of his other family members on his mom’s side — after missing them on Christmas when Nannan got Covid. Thankfully she was doing much better, and getting everyone together before heading off to the beach was absolutely the best.
Absolutely priceless.The best there is.The (absolutely incredible) gang <3
We decided to head straight from dinner to Forster to make the most out of our few days left. That meant a three hour drive, but the girls did incredibly well, and Chris and Vince volunteered to take ALL THREE with them so that Cath and I could drive and chat in silence.
I mean, how sweet is that?
We arrived after dark, obviously, but once the morning hit, it wasn’t hard to see why Forster has meant so much Chris and his family. Here’s what we got up to during our few short days there.
Our cute little condo is the same place Chris’ family has been staying for years!Vacation necessities.Our girls would have slept in the water if we left them. Other than a few terrifying moments where we lost Grace (which, bright side, afforded us the opportunity to discuss what to do when you get lost!), we had THE BEST TIME at the beach!Lives here now, thanks.Beach treasures.Lotte & Nan <3They had a blast together in the water!<3Chris’ best friend even drove hours from his home to stay at the beach with his own family while we were there. That was so special and sweet!This was the first time these two had ever had their families together, so that was a lot of fun for us <3His daughter became fast and adorable friends with Lotte and Grace <3Too. Stinkin.We had a cookout on the beach the second night we were there, which is another one of Chris’ families’ traditions.Another mediocre dining view 😉Having family around was the. best. Chris’ mom took Lotte and Grace for a walk on our second morning, which gave me and Chris a chance to take a walk with just Grace. It was so delightful.Walks with Nan.Morning beach walks for the win!My cutie.This little beach “pool” was so great. It was a sectioned-off area of water separate from the actual ocean, which meant there were no waves/riptides contend with. The girls did have fun splashing around in the actual ocean for a bit, but we spent most of our time here, which was a nervous parents dream come true!Fearless.So much fun with all these adorable people!Fun and more fun.Cute and more cute.See? Adorable!That beach life.Emilia wasn’t totally convinced on this trip that she loves water … but I have faith that she’ll get there!We ordered fish & chips for dinner and went out for ice cream on our last night, which is also a Connor Clan tradition!Our last day before heading back to Sydney was cloudy and rainy, but that didn’t stop the girls from a beach trip!Breakfast at a restaurant on the beach was also a highlight!Some members from one of the other families that used to vacation with Chris while he was growing up also stopped by for lunch and a beach hang, which was yet another amazing highlight of this trip.Lots and lots of cousin time was the other major perk. (I have no idea what this is, by the way, but I am HERE FOR IT!)
And that was Forster, friends. It was the most amazing beach time, and I’m so glad we were able to make it work.
Then we were back in the car headed to our final night in Sydney before flying out the following morning.
It’s absolutely impossible to sum up what this trip and all of its parts has meant to us. I have 12,000 photos to relive the memories, of course, but I’m hoping to hold on to the feeling for as long as I possibly can.
All the feels.The best aunties.Can you even?The best Nan & Poppa.
The excitement began before we even got off the plane, friends … look at that view!
After spending Christmas and the next few days at Chris’ parents’ house in Bathurst, we loaded up the car and headed off to Sydney, where the girls would be staying with their grandparents and some aunts, uncles and cousins, while Chris and I headed off to New Zealand — BY OURSELVES — to celebrate our 15-year meet-a-versary, our 10-year anniversary of being married, New Years Eve (which just happens to be the anniversary of both of those aforementioned things) and the upcoming year of our 40th bdays.
But really, you don’t understand. We never leave our kids, and we especially don’t leave them overnight. In fact, we’ve only left Lotte & Grace overnight once, and that was the last time we were in Australia.
In other words, this was long overdue!
Despite knowing how much we’d enjoy the trip, we definitely waffled. Leaving three kids with any number of adults is bound to be a lot, and flights and accommodation during the holidays are astronomical. After going back and forth on it, we finally decided to JUST GO FOR IT, and we settled on spending our three-night getaway in Queenstown.
I’m so glad we did.
The Details
With so much to celebrate on this trip, we decided to just really go for it. All of that is to say — we splurged in a way we don’t normally … and I don’t feel badly about it one little bit 😉
The largest expenses by far were the flights ($2,515) and the lodging ($2,243).
Even the airport had stunning views!QT Queenstown lobby views.
We stayed at the QT Queenstown and would highly recommend it! Besides the fact that they treated us royally (with the sweetest welcome/happy anniversary package of champagne, chocolate, bath bombs and free drink tickets at their hotel bar), the (absolutely spectacular) breakfast was complimentary and in a gorgeous dining room, the location was perfect, and the views were out of this world.
We also went all-out with our meals (besides breakfast, which was always free and always at our amazing hotel). Because hey, you only have a 10-year-anniversary and you only turn 40 once!
Day One: Arriving
Here’s a little pro tip from me to you — when you’re an American traveling from Australia to New Zealand (ie. me), you do need a travel Visa, and it’s best to get this sorted before you head to the airport. Also, Quantas and Jetstar both have weight limits for carry-ons (not sure about other airlines, but these are the two that we traveled). Both of these are fun things we learned the hard way.
After our initial hiccups, we landed in gorgeous Queenstown, checked into our hotel, then set out to take in the town at twilight and have dinner at The Bunker, a romantic hidden gem offering a prefix menu and wine pairing situation that we were all too happy to enjoy.
Also delightful was the fact that Queenstown was still all dolled up for the holidays.This place is a must if you’re looking for a romantic and low-key dining experience!I mean … yum.This view was a short walk from our hotel.Queenstown is probably one of the cleanest, most picturesque places I have ever been, and it certainly has some of the nicest people I’ve met.Cute when kidless!Delight.Stunning water ….
Day 2: Biking Around Queenstown
Renting bikes has become a little tradition for us while traveling (see Japan, Iceland, London, Rome, New Orleans and Manhattan, to name a few), so we knew we wanted to do that in New Zealand if we could, as well.
Of course, I’m never one to let a little biking come between me and a cute outfit. (Please also refer to Munich.)
Anyway, we woke up whenever we wanted to on our first full day in New Zealand, had the breakfast of our dreams at our gorgeous hotel restaurant, then rented our bikes and hit the dusty (and sometimes very narrow and very close to the side of a cliff) trail. We traveled 18 miles out to the Queenstown Golf Club for a drink, then back via a stop at Altitude Brewing.
I basically had to re-learn how to use the gears properly — as well as remind myself to ride on the other side of the road — but it all worked out in the end!More than worth it for these views!Plus my riding partner was cute <3Quick beers at the gold club before turning around!It was even prettier on the ride back!See?!Altitude Brewing was a delightful highlight.As was the jack fruit bao bun from the food truck!
After our ride we were more than ready for our dinner/adventure with Skyline Queenstown. This included a ride up the mountain in a gondola, dinner at the Stratosfare and three Luge rides (which I was incredibly nervous about but which turned out to be basically adult go-karts down a hill and incredibly fun!).
Again with the views!My very chill Luge face 😉Stratosfare dinner views.Happy.I kept saying that I felt like Frank Costanza on this trip, wearing my travel resort gear!
Day 3: Burgers, Gardens, & New Years Eve
After a fairly intense Day 2, we were happy to lay low on Day 3 and do some more relaxed activities. We tried out the famous Fergburger (my mushroom sandwich was to die for, but Chris said his actual burger was only okay), took a stroll around the Queenstown Gardens, HAD TWO NAPS and had dinner and watched the fireworks/welcomed 2023 from the restaurant in our hotel.
I did eventually dip my feet in, just to say that I had 😉
And that was our short-but-sweet New Zealand trip. It was absolutely everything we had hoped for and more. Thanks for being awesome, Queenstown. You’ll have a special place in our hearts forever.
I’ll be back tomorrow with the final part of our trip — a visit to the beach where Chris and his family grew up vacationing.
Welcome back to my Holidays in Australia series, including a surprise 24-hour layover in San Francisco, Christmas in Australia, our anniversary and New Years Eve in New Zealand, and a visit to the beach that Chris visited every year growing up! We saw friends and family that we haven’t seen since before the pandemic (I blogged about our first trip out with Lotte & Grace in 2019, including here), and friends and family got to meet Emilia for the very first time. Emotions were high (in both the best and saddest of ways … traveling, and especially traveling with children, is never not fraught), but while I sit here typing this up, I honestly can’t believe it’s over. So very much planning and buying and packing (and stressing!) went into this trip, and it was definitely one for the books, friends.
I have, as you can imagine, approximately 12 million photos to add here and to look back on for years to come. I’m going to break the trip up into sections. First up — Christmas at Chris’ parents house in Bathurst. We were so excited to be spending the day with Chris’ NanNan, but she sadly came down with Covid (on Christmas Day, no less!) so our plans had to shift. Still, we spent the day with all Chris’ siblings and all of our Aussie nieces and nephews, and it was magical, nonetheless.
Swimming, sleeping, eating all the tasty treats and getting in as many cuddles as possible topped our list of priorities for this first half of the trip. We also managed to get in some kangaroo and cricket viewing.
After we spent the holiday in Bathurst we all packed up and drove to Sydney, where Chris and I would be leaving the girls before we headed off to our own separate little holiday in New Zealand to celebrate the New Year and our anniversaries (10 years married, 15 years knowing each other!). We stopped off at the Three Sisters in Katoomba along the way.
And that was the first third of our trip in a nutshell, friends! It was filled with all the love and fun that we imagined, and then some. Next up was our SOLO trip to New Zealand … until then, bis bald, friends!
Happy New Year, friends! I hope everyone had a fabulous and fantastic holiday season filled with all the fun things.
We sure did.
We arrived back LAST NIGHT from our holiday trip. It included Christmas in Australia, our anniversary and New Years Eve in New Zealand, and a visit to the beach that Chris visited every year growing up! We saw friends and family that we haven’t seen since before the pandemic (I blogged about our first trip out with Lotte & Grace in 2019, including here), and friends and family got to meet Emilia for the very first time. Emotions were high (in both the best and saddest of ways … traveling, and especially traveling with children, is never not fraught), but while I sit here typing this up, I honestly can’t believe it’s over. So very much planning and buying and packing (and stressing, if I’m being completely honest! I was SO SURE someone would get sick! Spoiler alert: WE DID NOT!) went into this trip, and it was definitely one for the books, friends.
But first, we had to get there.
Things started optimistically enough! We knew that weird weather was rolling into Denver, and our flight out to San Francisco was scheduled for early evening, with a layover of only about an hour to make our connecting flight to Sydney.
Needless to say, that didn’t end up happening.
We sat for about 2.5 hours on the tarmac before finally taking off and landing in San Francisco around 1 a.m. United Airlines, to their credit, gave us two hotel rooms for two nights, since the next flight out they could get us on didn’t leave until 10:45 p.m.
Instead of looking at it as a lost day in Australia, we decided to find the silver lining and consider it a free (Kind of. Well, the hotel rooms were free, at least) and unexpected day in San Francisco.
Ordered in pizza to our hotel room/showered/repacked
Headed back to the airport around 8 p.m.
You know what’s great about catching a 14.5-hour flight at 10:45 at night after spending the day running your kids ragged around San Francisco?
They. Are. Zonked.
Seriously, the flight from San Francisco to Sydney was probably one of the best we’ve ever had, courtesy of exhausted children who slept seven to eight hours and then watched tv/snacked/did crafts the whole rest of the time. I was BEYOND impressed with my kids’ travel abilities and their willingness to go with the flow and find adventure in every little thing (even the snags) … but more on that later.
For now … bis bald, friends! See ya when we’re in Sydney!
Edit Note: I wrote this post on the Monday after Thanksgiving, as we had just spent the weekend at the second YMCA of the Rockies location. Since the trip was a sponsored press trip, I waited to post this until the story for the publication that sponsored me went live. You can find the complete Good Housekeeping 2023 Family Travel Rewards story here!
Happy Monday after Thanksgiving, loves! Our little family was lucky enough to try out the second YMCA of the Rockies location — this time in Estes Park — the weekend after the holiday. (You can find information on our stay at the Granby Ranch location here.)
While similar in many ways, and with many of the same amenities as Granby, the Estes Park location did feel slightly different. There is less property at this location, which means the cabins and activities are closer together. This is nice if you’d like to opportunity to walk around more easily, but the vastness of the Granby location also had its perks. Whichever you visit, you honestly can’t go wrong. Grace spent the entire first-day-back-preschool-morning-check-in walking up to her little friends and her teacher and saying, “I went to the YMCA of the Rockies!”
It obviously had a lasting impact. Here’s a little bit why …
Even the check-in area was charming!We had a real fireplace at this cabin, which you just KNOW Chris loved!Games were another big part of our stay.So glad we got to check out the pool on this trip!The most fun!Who doesn’t love a good air throw?Just like in Granby, the cafeteria was a big hit.Me and my cute little crew 😉We took a cute, short guided nature walk that involved hugging trees!Borrowed some clubs for some mini-golf!The library — and more specifically the story time at the library — is a MUST if you come here!Grace did some rock climbing on the scrambling wall, while Lotte …… gave the big wall a go!Nature Center cutiesWe made ice cream!We explored some trails!We made art!We made a mess 😉We tried out the playgrounds!We got cozy and colored by the fireplace in the lobby!We made smores in our jammies back in our cabin!And on Sunday morning, we woke up to gorgeous, snow-dusted vistas.
And that was our action-packed, amazing trip in a nutshell, my friends! Check out the YMCA of the Rockies in the Good Housekeeping travel awards here.
Happy Thanksgiving week, my friends! We have been battling all the illnesses over here lately (just like literally everyone else in the world, I know), but we did manage to pull it together this past weekend for a quick press trip out to YMCA Snow Mountain Ranch in Granby, CO.
As you’ll recall, we are already big fans of Granby, but the YMCA property took that love to a whole other level. I won’t go into a ton of detail here (because all of that is covered in the actual story that the press trip was for, which you can find here), but I’ll just say, this is the best, most upgraded camp experience you could ever have, dropped right in the middle of the most majestic mountain setting.
Some of our activities included:
Meeting the sled dog team and going on a little ride
Checking out the Kiva/Rec Center
Making crafts in the Craft Center
Smoresing and bonfireing
Building a float for a mini Thanksgiving Day parade
Enjoying our SPECTACULAR mountain views
We feel so grateful to have had the opportunity to visit this iconic spot.
We stopped off in Idaho Springs on our way home, as well, and had lunch at Beau Jo’s <3
I hope you guys are staying healthy and have some relaxing and fun holiday plans ahead. Until next time … bis bald!
Dads work on their birthday weekend trips, don’t get it twisted 😉
Happy Monday, friends! Back to yesterday, when we were spending the second part of Chris’ birthday getaway at Garden of the Gods and on a cave tour at Cave of the Winds.
We’ve been to Garden of the Gods a number of times (like here, with my bestie), but yesterday was magnificent. The weather — while windy — was remarkable in all her fall glory, and we got there basically as the park opened to avoid the (always) crowds.
The girls basically love anywhere they can run unencumbered. Happiness is …Fall foliage AND these spectacular rocks <3YOU try getting a photo of an almost-two-year who is NOT in motion!Cuties.Lotte’s new favorite thing is asking me to take specific photos — often with specific poses — and it is just delightful.Emilia was over it by this point, but here’s a photo of me and 2/3 of my ladies.
After Garden of the Gods, we hopped back in the car and drove 10 minutes to our Cave of the Winds cave tour. It was about 45 minutes long and the girls were so great during it! I definitely think there were moments that were scary/hard for Grace (like when they turned the lights completely off and we were plunged into darkness — to show us what the cave used to be like before they added electricity — or some spots that were slick to walk in), but she was such a champ, and I was so proud. They both asked awesome questions (Lotte about stalagmites and G about bats) and, I think, had a really fun time.
It’s hard to take a ton of photos in a dark cave, as you can imagine, but here’s what I did get:
So pretty! Do NOT take this tour if you’re claustrophobic! Cute little cave dwellers!Emilia was great throughout, as well!More formations whose names I forget but that still look beautiful.
And that was that, my friends! A successful birthday trip all around, made all the more fun by the tons of leftover birthday treats we had to bring home 😉
Happy Monday, friends! We just got back from spending Chris’ birthday weekend in Colorado Springs, where we stayed at this Airbnb in Old Colorado City, to be exact.
Even though we’ve been to Colorado Springs a number of times (like this special trip, for example), we had never stayed in this part of town, or done the activities that we came to do this past weekend.
Let me start by saying, our Airbnb was magnificent. The place itself was very nice, newly remodeled, etc., but really, it’s the location that sets this place apart. It’s right across the street from a great park (which just happened to be the main stage of the town’s adorable fall fest on Saturday afternoon with live music, face painting, plant potting and more), and is right on the main street, making it walking distance to tons of restaurants, bars and activities. The places that we visited on our stay included:
This is a long list for having only been there for two nights and one full day, but even so, there were so many other fun places we wanted to try! (And hopefully will, sans kids, one day.)
Grace is me when it comes time to pick treats … GIVE ME THEM ALL, PLEASE!Even Emilia got a vegan chocolate treat to devour 😉Air throws are all the rage these days <3We grabbed breakfast early on Saturday and took a quick walk in town before heading for the main attraction of the day. These sweetest little farm owners were setting up their stand for the fall festival later in the day and gave the girls each a free pumpkin — what a fun way to start the day!My favorite pictures are the ones that girls request, like Lotte, with this one 😉
The main reason we picked this particular Airbnb, though — even though all the other perks were top-notch once we arrived — was its proximity (about seven minutes) to the Manitou Cliff Dwellings. These ancestral Puebloan Ruins date back 800 to 1000 years, and they’re so well preserved that you can walk and explore in them which, naturally, the girls were obsessed with. It was so fascinating learning about their way of life, and it really makes you realize how smart they were, especially given the fact that their habitats are still standing today despite having so little to work with.
I mean … incredible.These cuties LOVED exploring! (Chris, too .. hah.)Hi!Never goes anywhere without her tiger these days <3The surrounding area is so picturesque, too.These two.The museum did a great job explaining more about the daily lives these people led. Not entirely sure Lotte should have put her tiger inside the fake fire pit, but sometimes ya gotta pick your battles.Emilia loved it, too!Love a good stranger pic!
After spending a few hours at the cliff dwellings, we headed back to our Airbnb and spent some time on our front porch listening to the live music of the fall festival before heading over to partake in the festivities.
It was Emilia’s first “concert,” and she was HERE. FOR. IT!
After a couple hours at the festival, some down time, some snackin’, and a partial viewing of The Addams Family (for me and Chris, not the girls, although I do think they would actually find it hilarious), we hit the streets again to check out The Michael Garman museum, which turned out to be even more fun than I imagined. Michael Garman was a sculptor who created Magic Town, a square-foot miniaturized neighborhood with hand-made buildings and sidewalk scenes, which became The Michael Garman Gallery and Magic Town Museum with more than 500 of his sculptures.
Emilia was fascinated!The older girls were enraptured. Chris and I were pretty impressed, too!
After the museum we hit up Westside Cantina for Chris’ birthday dinner, complete with multiple tacos and multiple margh’s …
One of everything please …Emilia also approved 😉
And that was the gist of our Saturday, the day of Chris’ birth. It was so much fun, and the girls had a blast. Sunday was another adventure, but I’ll get into more on that tomorrow. For now … bis bald, friends! I hope the fall is treating you well <3
The secret to smiling faces? Skittle bribes, all dang day long.
Happy August, friends! The month started out on not such a great foot for us, so we weren’t in our normal headspace when heading out on this quick getaway. (Well okay, I wasn’t!) At the end of the day I’m so glad we did go. It’s always a good idea to take some time to get out of your own head, recognize what’s so special about your life, bond with your kids, show them new things and, as one friend put it, nature is always healing 😉
The Details
Lodging (Price: $692for 3 nights)
We stayed at this Airbnb in Cañon City, which was a sweet little three-bedroom place with a large dining area and kitchen. It might have been a tad overpriced for the location (it was about 20 minutes from the Royal Gorge Bridge and Park, which was our main point of interest for this trip), but we still had a blast. It was all one floor (no scary stairs for littles!), and the layout actually allowed us to put Emilia in her Pack and Play at the back of the house so Lotte and Grace could have separate rooms if they needed them (which one night they did).
The backyard was cute, too, with a grill and little table area under a covered patio, where we grilled out and had dinner on our final night.
Entertainment
The kids have a book called Good Night Colorado, and the Royal Gorge Bridge makes an appearance as one of the MUST SEE places in Colorado. When we were planning a final farewell to summer trip (the girls start school on August 16th!), we knew we didn’t want to go any farther than 2.5 hours (exactly how far Royal Gorge is from us), but that we wanted adventure on a low-key, kid-friendly level which, despite the RIDICULOUS photos, the Royal Gorge offers.
This is an amazing place for families … as long as no one is afraid of heights! Travel tip: Most of the attractions, the playground and the visitors center, etc., open at 10 a.m., but the bridge itself is open at 8 a.m., and tickets are cheaper then. (We paid $83 for the four of us over 2 years of age.)
There was also no one there early in the morning, which was delightful, and the weather was so lovely. By the time we ended up leaving around 10:30, it was getting pretty busy and incredibly hot. Honestly, it wouldn’t have been the amazing experience it was if we waited until 10 a.m. to get there.
As it was, we had the best time.
Grace and her insects 😉 She was besides herself to find two HUGE butterflies on the way in!Despite our children’s faces here, we all had fun <3Makin’ herself right at home <3Man, oh man.This girl was spottin’ tiny green frogs in the grass and slithery lizards running in the opposite direction. She’s a gem at this age, and so easy to please!Feeding the fish.They have every kind of adventure activity you could imagine here — zip lining across the gorge, climbing the gorge, white water rafting in the gorge, riding a train through it, etc. We didn’t do any of those with the kiddos, but the Gondola is included in your entry ticket price, so we did take that, and it was thrilling!
We give Royal Gorge Bridge a big ole’ thumbs up! They have a campground, “glamping” cabins, a dinosaur museum … honestly, we could have spent a week here and not been done exploring. We definitely hope to get back!
Our Friday afternoon was spent hitting up Centennial Park, which had a fantastic splash pad and playground and access to the Arkansas River and was about a mile from our Airbnb. Then it was ice cream at You Scream Treat Emporium.
On Saturday we hit up Skyline Drive — a very narrow 2.6-mile drive with the most amazing views and … wait for it … DINOSAUR PRINTS! — and then did a short hike — the Royal Gorge Overlook Loop — to take in the Royal Gorge bridge from a distance.
Nothing to see here, just a mom trying REAL hard not to drive off a cliff!More skittles bribery in action.Dinosaur prints! (And yes, Lotte does have dinosaurs on her outfit and she is also holding a stuffed dinosaur, so you can imagine the happiness this activity brought!)Chris ran up a steep, short trail to snap this pic. (Insert Wow emoji here.)We accidentally ended up taking the road for drivers for our hike (the hiking trail runs right next to it), but it turned out for the best because there was no way our double stroller would have fit on the other trail.This girl lives for a Dada snuggle <3This gorgeous view. So humbling.Back at the parking lot we had a quick picnic — with this ridonc view — before packing up and heading home.My crew. They super cute.
We stopped for coffee at The Bean Pedaler in the cute little downtown area before heading home. All-in-all it was a very successful — and beautiful — trip, and I’m so glad we did it. It’s a good reminder that it’s often worth doing something to get yourself out of your head. And travel memories are, for the most part, never a bad idea.
And now it’s back-to-school mode over here! This is the girls’ final week before heading back, and I’m so grateful for our summer trips to Seattle and New York, plus this one. I’m grateful the girls had fun experiences with camps and playdates with friends and neighbors and lots of unstructured playtime at home.
We also celebrated a 6th birthday.
The birthday girl requested a trip to the Denver Aquarium on her special day.
It was one for the books. Hope you guys are having an awesome summer, as well <3
Last Saturday was our final full day in Seattle, and we sure did make the most of it! We shopped and ate and wandered around with the best of ’em. Highlights included:
The ferris wheel was the perfect way to end our trip, because the girls (and especially Grace) were OBSESSED. Seriously, you’ve never seen more excited kiddos! Here’s a bit of what we saw on our last day …
Just SO MUCH gum.
And that was our trip in a nutshell, friends. Our car service picked us up at 5:30 the next morning to head to the airport.
Phew.
It was a whirlwind, but a wonderful one. One of our main objectives when we moved out to Colorado was to explore this side of the country more. So glad we are finally able to tick Washington State and Olympic National Park off the list.
Have a great week, friends — and happy summer, for those of you who are in it already, like we are. I hope yours is safe and super fun <3
Back to our second day in Seattle, where we rented a car and hopped on a ferry (with our car!) to head on over to Olympic National Park.
If you’ve been a visitor of this blog for a while, you already know that we’re big fans of National Parks! (See Great Sand Dunes, Rocky Mountain National Park, Moab, Grand Tetons, Yellowstone, Yosemite and Sequoia!) It’s always a goal of ours to introduce our kids to these beautiful places in America, and to help them gain an appreciation for nature and their surroundings.
We sure are lucky to have these things available to us.
Anyway, back to Day Two. It’s a trek to head to Olympic National Park from Seattle. We caught a 30-minute ferry to Bainbridge Island and then drove another 90 minutes to the visitor center and then to do the Moments in Time Interpretive Trail. That’s a lot to do with three littles, but the car we got was comfy and they snacked and watched videos (and, shockingly, napped on the ride back to the ferry at the end of the day) and all was good. We almost bailed on the trip when the weather looked iffy (it turned out perfect!) and seemed like too much effort, but I’m so glad we didn’t!
Chris and I were discussing how, in most cases, the things we almost bail on usually turn out to be some of our favorite memories. It’s a life lesson, for sure.
Anyway, here’s a bit of what we saw!
Back on the ferry!And back in the car!And a short two hours later, we arrived!Grace’s love of insects is contagious, so these slugs on the way to the visitor center were obviously a highlight!The visitor center at Olympic National Park is so kid friendly and amazing — it’s a must-hit!
After the visitor center it was about a 30-minute ride to the Moments in Time Interpretive Trail, which was unbelievably gorgeous. (And, by the way, FREE! Entry into the park was totally free, too, but you can — and should — make a donation online!) The bluest water, the mossiest rainforest, and all the bird chirping you could ever want in life.
So incredibly serene.
Nothing better … am I right?!Oh it’s just Emilia, livin’ that ferry life 😉
Back at home we made dinner for the girls to eat out on the deck, while Chris and I ordered sushi from Umi Sake House, which was every bit as sensational as advertised.
After Emilia was down, Chris took the older girls for a jaunt on the pier (which we could literally see from our living room window), where they took in the sunset view and played a bit of soccer.
And that was our Day 2 in a nutshell. Our third and final day is comin’ at cha tomorrow … and it was also a big one 😉
We’re back from our long-awaited trip to Seattle and Olympic National Park, and I can confirm … if you’ve had Seattle on your bucket list for a while, BOOK THAT TRIP NOW!
We had the absolute best time on our little 3-day stay. We planned to fly in late on Wednesday, after the girls got out of what was supposed to be their last day of school before the summer. The school ended up closing two days earlier, though, for renovations. We tried switching to an earlier flight but they were booked out. So we didn’t end up getting in until around 9 pm (on what was NOT our best flight), but luckily the Airbnb where we stayed was only about 20 minutes from the airport.
The Details:
Accommodation: We stayed at this Airbnb, which had very many amenities. It was right on the water, and was walking distance to literally everything a tourist could want. There was a 24-hour doorman, garage parking, a pack and play and highchair and childproof locks on the doors. There was a small balcony facing the waterfront, a shared hot tub and a rooftop. All the things you could possibly want for an awesome stay. Price: $1990 for four nights
Airport transfer: We set up a car service from Starline Town Car & Limo Service to pick us up at the airport and drop us back off, and it was totally and absolutely worth it. With the five of us, three carseats, a double stroller and all our bags, it was a lot less stressful knowing that we’d have door-to-door service in a car that would definitely fit all of our things, and that we would definitely have a ride for our 5:30 a.m. pick-up to head back home. Price: Approximately $300 (this included tip, taxes and other fees.)
Car rental: We rented a car on Friday to drive into Olympic National Park. We had to get a big one, obviously, so that’s always a bit more pricey. Price: $260
Food: We spent about $500 for food,most of which was coffee. (Not really, but we did do a bit of a “coffee crawl” around the city, which I would highly recommend.)
Coffee from La Panier in Pikes Place.Fresh ingredients Chris picked up from Pike Place Market to make ….This insanely delicious meal!
In other words, it wasn’t the cheapest trip for three days, but we were prepped for that going in and had saved up. We knew we didn’t want to scrimp, since neither of us had been before, and knowing that ahead of time helped us not feel guilty spending while we were there.
It was also the first time the girls traveled with their own money from their allowance. This was clutch when Lotte would point to a $20 useless trinket and I could say, “Sorry, you don’t have enough money for that!”
Day One:
You know who doesn’t sleep in after a late travel night? ALL THE CHILDREN!
We knew we’d all be dragging a bit on our first full day, so we decided to take the morning slow and walk around the neighborhood, including seeing the waterfront and Pikes Place Market.
Seeing the original Starbucks is like a celebrity sighting 😉There is a lot of construction happening around the waterfront right now. We definitely want to head back in a few years to see how it all turns out!
After a short rest (and Chris shopping at the market for fresh ingredients for our dinner), we grabbed a ferry to walk to Alki Beach.
We took a bit of a detour on our walk back to the ferry from the beach, but we did get to head down this gorgeous road, so bonus?!Emilia discovered her love of ferries on this trip <3
After our afternoon walk/beach trip, it was back to the Airbnb, where Chris cooked up his delightful pasta dish for dinner and the girls hit the hot tub with Chris. Friday morning we would be heading out to Olympic National Park … can’t wait to share that adventure with you tomorrow!
This past weekend was my birthday, and Chris really stepped up the celebrating. We’ve had a visit to the Paint Mines Interpretive Park in El Paso County on our bucket list for a few years now, so we used my birthday as an excuse to finally make it happen. After all the fun we had over the past two weeks with the Connors visiting, I wasn’t sure we had it in us to keep up the celebrating, but boy was I wrong 😉
The Farmhouse Airbnb
We started the festivities on Friday by staying at this farmhouse Airbnb which included, much to the girls’ delight, a bunch of farm animals (Starling the Goat was a family fave), a hot tub, a pool table and a swing set. It was the perfect spot for cupcakes and revelery.
Starling the Goat was so happy to greet us.The girls discovered a love of hot tubs when we stayed at the Airbnb in Winter Park, so it sure was lucky this place had one, too.Happy birthday to me! Love these cute faces the most.
Paint Mines Interpretive Park
Saturday was my actual birthday, and we were up early to have breakfast, take the hot tub for a spin, pack up and get on the road for the Paint Mines, which was about a 30 minute drive from where we were staying.
We didn’t really know what to expect with this visit, but it turned out to be even better than we could have imagined. There are multiple loops to pick from, and even though I wouldn’t call the trails stroller “friendly,” per se, Chris was able to use our beloved Strolley (aka the off-road Radio Flyer) throughout, which was especially helpful since Grace isn’t necessarily into 2.5-mile walks these days 😉 I carried Emilia in the Ergo, and we had tons of snacks and sunscreen and water at the ready. We got there around 10:30 in the morning and ended up leaving around 1, which seemed to be when the park was really starting to get busier. Admission is free, so I can imagine it would be quite the destination. My advice would be to get there early if you plan to go.
Here’s a bit of what we saw …
Always up for adventure, this crew of mine.Just the most gorgeous, open-air, expansive views!I was all too happy to snuggle up with this one for a couple of hours <3 Lotte’s poses are all some version of dances from her ballet class, which I thoroughly enjoy.Grace wasn’t quite about the posing for most of the day, but Lotte was all too happy to oblige her mother on her birthday.Despite her sassiness during our visit, Grace said that the Paint Mines was her favorite part of our trip. Oh, preschoolers — try to figure ’em out, I dare ya!According to the website, “The Paint Mines are named for their colorful clays that were collected by American Indians to make paint. Brightly colored bands, caused by oxidized iron compounds, are found in varying amounts throughout the many different layers of clay.”The next photos are part of a series I like to call: “Me and my Emilia” <3Chris really took his role as picture-taker very seriously for this trip, and I’m not mad about it!
You guys, if you think this was too many photos … well I really did my best to edit down what I posted, which was HARD! If you’re in the area and have the time, a visit to the Paint Mines is well worth a stop. It’s free and beautiful and can take as long or as short and you’d like. It’s kid-friendly (enough!), and will provide with you the backdrop necessary for 12,000 awesome photos. Go, I say, and be prepared to leave in awe.
And that was my birthday weekend, my friends. I’m sad the past two weeks are coming to end, because they have just been so much fun. Luckily, we have a trip to Seattle coming up at the end of May that we’re very much looking forward to.
I know — we all end up saying the same thing every year. The time flies, and suddenly your kids are so old you can’t believe it. It always amazes me.
Anyway, I digress. The REAL news to report this week is that WE FINALLY GOT TO SEE OUR AUSSIE NAN AND POPPA! After far too many years of Covid-induced distance, Chris’ parents were at last able to hop on a plane and fly back to see us. Lotte & Grace had not seen their grandparents since October of 2019, and Emilia had never met them. So to say that this was a monumental event for everyone is an understatement.
The Connor’s trip coincided with the girls’ spring break, which was lovely because we were able to spend a week in Winter Park together, as well as have them experience taking the girls to and picking them up from school.
In other words, we’ve simply had the most amazing time and I refuse to believe that it will be ending soon. Our plan is to head out to Australia for Christmas this year to catch up with all of our Connor family, so we’re all very busy keeping our fingers and toes crossed that that can still happen.
In the meantime, we have no less than 20,000 photos to keep on loop from our time over the past two weeks.
All the happy faces <3This little one has thoroughly fallen for her grandparentsChris and his dad cooked a yummy traditional Australian bread for dinner one nightNan & Poppa bought us ice creams in the park BEFORE dinner one night — doesn’t get better than that 😉Lotte had two ski lessons while her grandparents were here, one of which they attended and cheered her on throughoutPizza tasting at Crosscut in Nederland before skiing in Eldora was a highlight, as well
Besides having Nan & Poppa here to just live our lives with us for the past two weeks, the trip out to Winter Park was so much much. We stayed at this Airbnb, which was the perfect location for viewing the best times to visit the hot tub and swimming pool (a favorite activity amongst our group), and it was a short walk to the sweetest little sledding hill with community sleds to share. The girls also had an absolute blast hanging out in the bunk beds together.
Our itinerary included a visit to Grand Lake, as well, which was one of our stops on our first-ever vacation as a family of five last year. Chris cooked delicious food, we played games, explored a new-to-us ski town, and generally had a delightful little getaway.
Grand Lake is so much fun in the winter!Chris and I snuck away for lunch and margaritas at The Ditch, which was SO TASTY
You might imagine that two visitors from Australia would be exhausted after all of the above, but that’s just not how my in-laws roll. They are up for absolutely any and everything, and they are happy to do as many activities as possible when visiting their grandkids. So, we thought taking them to visit the Denver Museum of Nature and Science would be a fun activity for the girls’ last day of spring break. This place is so fantastic for kids, since it’s created for them to be able to run around and touch whatever they’d like. We had the best day, followed by a lovely dinner at Jack’s, one of our favorite neighorhood joints.
Dinners out with three kids is SO MUCH BETTER with grandparents 😉
And now we’re staring down the final few days of our visit with these lovely people which, to be honest, we’re all a bit in denial about. Seeing family is always the best thing in the world. Saying goodbye … not so much. To have something to look forward to — like our trip in December — does help soften the blow, I’ve found.
I hope you all are having a wonderful start to your spring season. Until next time … bis bald!
Welp, friends … there goes another year. As the photo above indicates, we’ve had our highs and lows. I think the year didn’t quite pan out the way most of us were hoping it would, but still, there were bright spots to be found.
Here’s hoping 2022 brings you and your family all the happiness and cheer that you deserve! And here’s what we were able to get up to in 2021 …
April
We dusted off our travel boots for the first time in more than a year (!) this past April for a trip to the mountains. We headed to one of our favorite low-key spots — Granby Ranch — and the older girls even tried their hand at skiing for the first time.
Rocky Mountain National Park, ColoradoLotte, Grace & Emilia cuddled up on our couch in the cabin.Chris and the big girls posing on frozen Grand Lake.They look a little weathered here because this was after their lessons … but I HAD to get a pic of the two of them with their adorable little set of skis! We wrangled the kids to take a quick selfie when we got out on the lake in Grand Lake.
Grandpa came for his first visit in more than a year!Lotte started track!Evergreen Lake, Evergreen, ColoradoMe and my JMU girls 😉We sure do love a good splash pad!Just a dad and his trio of ladies.
July
The end of June and beginning of July was a busy time for us, as we packed up the car and hit the road for our trip out East! We started in Colorado and made out way out to New Jersey and New York and then back, stopping in a number of states along the way. (You can find all the gritty details here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.)
Cody Park, NebraskaThe Bean in Chicago!Brigantine Beach, NJThese cutie cousins <3With Atlantic City in the backgroundStaying at a real, working farm in Pennsylvania was … interesting!One of the best stops on our trip home!The Gateway Arch, St. Louis, MissouriColorado State Line
As the holidays rolled around, we were really looking forward to spending Christmas and New Years with family back in New York. Unfortunately, Covid had different plans for us. Perhaps we’ll have better luck next year. Still, we managed to get a day in Manhattan, and we did get to spend actual Christmas Day with family, which was an upgrade from last year, so we’ll call it a win.
Times Square is never not entertaining!Grace was very taken with the Rockefeller tree 😉Snow on Christmas Eve was a perk!Christmas Day cutiesMerry Christmas to you and yours!
And that’s 2021, my friends. We’re looking forward to a quiet New Years Eve (and wedding anniversary, for myself and Chris <3) and planning for (hopefully) some fun travels to come in the New Year.
Hitting above the tree line on the way up when hiking Mt. Belford.
Chris and his friend from New York have made it a tradition to climb 14ers in Colorado together, and while the pandemic derailed any plans for that tradition last year, they were back at it in full force this year! Below, Chris shares all the deets!
While 2021 is far from fantastic, thank goodness there are some freedoms restored from 2020. One of my best friends from New York traveled out to Colorado in early September and joined me for two days of hiking 14ers in the Sawatch Mountain Range. We had our eye on three 14ers, specifically:
*Mt. Elbert, which we tackled on Friday with some fellow running club teammates
Here’s our itinerary, in case it helps anyone else interested in doing something similar:
Wednesday
I picked Gavin up when he flew in on Wednesday and we drove straight to Buena Vista, a little town that’s about 2.5 hours west of Denver. Buena Vista is a great central location that gives you access to a wonderful mountainous playground.It was fun to spend the time in the car catching up and making up for lost time. We stayed at this great one-bedroom Airbnb (I crashed on the couch), and we checked out the Eddy Line Restaurant, a local brewpub I had remembered from a birthday lunch years ago. We prepped for the hike on Thursday by getting our food, drinks and gear ready and went to bed early. The AirBnB actually didn’t have a smart TV (the horror!) but they did have one of the best DVD collections I have come across, and we were able to rewatch some classics like Snatch, Fight Club and Dogma.
The view from our apartment balcony was gorgeous to say the least.
Thursday
We woke up at 4:30 am and left to hike at 5:00 am. The trailhead for Mt. Belford and Mt. Oxford is just a 33 minute drive from Buena Vista. The road to the trailhead is a pretty intense dirt road, but the All Trails directions got us directly there. We were hiking by about 5:45 am, which is way darker than I remembered. Still, a lucky flashlight in the car made it less intimidating (bringing a headlamp or flashlight is a must).
It was too dark to take this photo at the start, so here it is with a couple of busted dudes at the end of our hike.Following the signs is essential when hiking 14ers!
This hike was IMMEDIATELY hard. Usually, there is a gradual climb or a chill portion, but this hike was pretty hard the entire way. It also didn’t help that we somehow got off the trail and ended up semi-rock climbing up a waterfall and steep, rocky surface of a mountain. It was hectic, to say the least. Finally, we were able to find the trail, and almost kissed the ground when we did.
Pointing to the top of Mt. Belford on the way back down.Mt. Belford geographical marker.Well thought-out hiking infrastructure 😉
The rest of the summit was a slog made up of steep switchbacks, as it goes with 14ers, and we reached the top … only to see a thick, heavy cloud cover and some light sleet.
Cloud cover at the top of Mt. Belford.
Feeling a little defeated by what we dubbed “the situation,” and seeing the sleet/cloud cover, we decided to bail on Mt. Oxford, the second peak we had planned to hike. Luckily, there was a truly mellow trail off the back of the mountain that was a Godsend. There was even a pretty magnificent rainbow that showed up around 13,000 ft.
Nothing like a good rainbow to make up for a cloudy view.
The rest of the way down did feel never-ending, but it was very rewarding when we got back to the car.
Details: All told, we hiked 9.5 miles. This was the hardest 14er we have hiked to date (and it is only a Class 2). I would also do this later in July or early August to help avoid any cloud cover. We have unfinished business with Belford and Oxford, so we will be back!
Friday
We packed up and left the apartment at 4:30 am and made it to the Mt. Elbert parking lot by 5:20 am Friday … and it was already packed! We were lucky to snag the last parking spot (!) and began hoofing it with our running team friends, Joe and Zach.
Mt. Elbert was two miles longer than Mt. Belford, but the trail is better marked, and is very easy to follow, some hikers refer to it as the ‘gentle giant’. The weather was also incredible on the way up, chilly but sunny. We hit the summit by 8:50 am and took the obligatory pics, though there was some cloud cover that had rolled in.
Sun rising above the tree line at Mt. Elbert.Just a couple of guys, ready for a hike.Obligatory top-of-mountain photo, with clouds.Not to brag, but … Mt. Elbert is the second highest mountain in the continental U.S. No big.It was pretty.From whence we came!
After that we booked it back down, and we made it back to the lot by 10:50 am. From there we drove to Idaho Springs and stopped at Westbound and Down Brewing for some delicious (and well-deserved!) sandwiches and beer.
Details: All told, we hiked 11 miles and it was well worth it. It is certainly long, but the effort is paid off by the achievement.
After our hikes, Gavin hung out for some fun adventures in our hood including a pool and barber visit, a tap house, and a canoe ride. Overall, these hikes were hands down the hardest we have done to date (we’ve now done TK), but it was terrific to spend some time in nature and catch up on life after 2020.
Taking canoes out on Standley Lake is an annual tradition of ours that we missed last year because of the pandemic.
Happy Labor Day weekend, loves! I hope you were all able to find some kind of rest and relaxation over the past few days.
Chris had a friend visiting from New York and the two of them hiked a couple of 14ers over the week (more on that, later!), then came back to hang with us for a couple of days before Gavin flew back. On his last day, we all headed over to our local lake — Standley Lake — to rent some canoes and take them out on the water. We had been making this a tradition of ours each summer, but last summer they were closed because of the pandemic.
This summer, however, they were back open for business, and it was better than ever! We met some other friends of ours over at the lake and got one canoe and one kayak and spent two hours out on the water. The big girls lovedit, while Em loved hanging out and supervising.
Supervisor extraordinaire 😉
Rentals were $40 each for life jackets and the kayak and the canoe, and you get two hours out on the water. It was time well spent, friends!
Little Grace tucked between Chris’s legs here … let’s just say she had more fun once we trusted her enough to sit in an actual seat!Mira holding court. So grateful for friends with amazing kids.This one <3 Never not smiling.Chris and Grace paddling on Standley Lake.
Happy Labor Day, friends! Sending all the sunshiney, mellow vibes your way!
One of our favorite spots in Colorado — the Frisco Bay Marina
Friends. How is it that no one told me how hectic life gets when you have kids in school?! And in activities?!
O.M.G.
Lotte started kindergarten a few weeks ago (sob!) and Grace is back in preschool, while little Em continues to delight us from home. Lotte also started ballet/tap, and Grace is starting up with swim lessons and music classes in the month of September. And honestly, at this pace, I’m not sure how long I can handle it!
Sweetest little dancer, who forgave me for the fact that I didn’t have her ballet outfit ready in time for her first class 😉
I mean, I know we’ll get used to this as our life, and so-on-and-so-forth, but sheesh, I’m way more exhausted than the kids. I think the fact that we’re still coming out of a pandemic (which is so not over yet) adds to the exhaustion.
Anyway, I’m rambling. The point is, life is crazy busy right now, so when we get a chance to break away from the madness, I’m all-the-more grateful. This weekend we took a day to head into the mountains. We hadn’t been to Frisco in years, and I’m dying over the photos of itty bitty Lotte and Grace in this post! It was Em’s first trip to Frisco (only second trip to the mountains ever, actually, with this trip to Granby being her first), and it was an all-around success, I’d say.
I’m not usually one to climb on the playground equipment with the girls (I have Chris for that!), but something about that mountain air changes me, friends 😉We adore the Frisco Bay Marina — it’s the perfect, low-key spot for families!It’s also the perfect spot to live vicariously through people who rent things there, like kayaks and canoes. Just look at that happy Frisco face!Em is happiest checking out her surroundings … the older girls are happiest when snacking.Checking out new places is exhausting!
After hanging in the bay for a while, we walked into town and headed straight for our favorite outdoor lunch spot, right next to Foote’s Rest Sweet Shoppe (because ending a trip to the mountains with ice cream is a must, obviously).
Em has started standing (with help), and even though it literally pains me how quickly she’s growing up, I’m so, so proud of her.Like I said … ice cream! It’s a must …Ending the day with laughs.
After our busy Sunday in Frisco, I wasn’t sure how I’d feel about actually getting out the door on Monday with all three girls like I planned, but Lotte happened to have the day off, and I was determined to make it work. So we packed up the car, and I headed to the Denver Zoo with my girlies.
Lucky for me, Lotte was more than happy to help push Grace, since I had Em strapped to me the whole time.
We had our ups and downs on this little outing, but overall, I’m so grateful that I have a flexible job that allows me to do fun and spontaneous things like this with my girlies.
Heading to the Zoo first thing in the morning is without a doubt the best time, we’ve found. It’s less busy, of course, but also the animals are always out and about!We did something new on this trip, which was to feed the Lorikeets! So. Much. Fun!Gorgeous!We road the train, too, which as you can probably tell by these faces is one of our all-time favorite Zoo activities.Happy place.
Anyway, a very happy and healthy start to the week to you, my dear friends! I hope whatever craziness you’re getting up to right now, that your able to take a beat and enjoy the little things, too.
As you can see from that first photo, most of us were unhappy about this …
Actually, Chris and I went back and forth quite a bit about extending our trip. We had booked refundable places to stay on the trip back, exactly for this reason. Ultimately, though, we decided to keep things as they were. We had jobs and summer camp and track practice and a home to get back to, as much as we would have liked to have stayed for longer.
It was Em’s first Fourth of July, and she spent it in the car! She didn’t seem to mind 😉
After saying goodbye to our family (we hope to see you soon!), it was a “short” four-hour trip to our hotel in Pennsylvania. Even though we arrived late, a super-wired Grace caught some fireworks at the end of the night with Chris. The next day we took advantage of the awesome indoor pool and grabbed some breakfast before heading out.
One of my favorite photos from the trip was taken at a gas station on our way to a hotel … go figure.This random pic at another quick rest stop was another gem <3We love hotels! (And are also very excited to be out of the car!)I mean, look at this awesome pool!So fun!Naturally, I enjoyed from afar 😉Fun with luggage trolleys.
After pool time and breakfast in PA, we loaded up the car again and headed to our next stop — a playground/picnic and then a splash pad, both in Ohio.
This playground in Ohio was so cute, and totally empty!We only stayed here for a quick run-around and to have a picnic, but Emilia approved. We drove about an hour from the playground to this random splash pad in Ohio. It was on the smaller side, but on a 90+-degree day, it definitely got the job done! Splash pads and playgrounds really take it out of ya! And we were off … again!Thanks Ohio … we’ll see ya later!
World’s Biggest Things — The Stop We Never Knew We Needed
The rest of the trip — about four hours — to our Airbnb in Vandalia — was a bit rough, if I’m being honest. We were all pretty over the car, somehow both tired and wired, at the same time. Luckily, about an hour outside of Vandalia, we saw a sign for some of the Big Things in the Small Town of Casey, Illinois, and made the split-second decision to pull over.
Man, oh man am I glad we did … because how much fun are these?!
Who knew big things could be so much fun?!It was late, and starting to get dark, so we couldn’t see everything, but what we did see was so. much. fun!World’s biggest rocking chair! (Allegedly …)This is the world’s biggest wind chime!Next was the world’s biggest golf tee!Then onto the world’s biggest mouse trap?! I don’t know, but we loved it all!What would it be like to write with the world’s biggest pencil?I don’t think this was part of the actual attractions, but at this point in our trip I sure didn’t mind seeing my kids contained somewhere I wasn’t 😉Checking out the world’s biggest mailbox!There was a fountain behind the mailbox where you could throw in coins and make wishes. Bet you could guess what my wish was! (Hint: Getting to our next destination quietly was involved …)Such an adorable town, and definitely worth a stop on your way by it!
Coffee, Dragons and Arches
After our pit stop in Casey, we still had a couple hours to our Airbnb in Vandalia, but luckily the stop did what it was meant to do — wear the kids out! They all fell asleep on the ride to Vandalia and, luckily, this Airbnb was glorious. Three bedrooms, two full bathrooms and a fully stocked kitchen with drinks and snacks. It was exactly what we all needed after a full day of travel.
This cutest little drive-through coffee shop — Shimoji Coffee — on the way out of Vandalia was so lovely!The Kaskaskia Dragon is easy to visit on your way out of Vandalia! You can grab some coins at the store across the street to make him actually breathe fire!About an hour later, we were at The Gateway Arch in St. Louis. Chris and I visited the Arch on our drive out to Denver from New York when we moved here, but it has since gotten an upgrade to National Park status. The museum is amazing now, and the grounds have even gotten an upgrade. It’s definitely worth revisiting if you haven’t been back in a while!The museum is so much fun!There are a lot of fun things for kids to do and see, too.
After our Arch pit stop, it was back in the car for a few hours, until we stopped for gas and went for a quick detour for treats at the Ozarkland General Store…
One of each, please!After Ozarkland it was on to Topeka, Kansas, where we stopped for dinner at The Pennant. This restaurant was perfect, because it had games and bowling and plenty of run-around space for the girls. Plus, it was right downtown, which was fun to check out!
Downtown Topeka, Kansas fun!
After dinner we had a couple hours to our hotel in Oakley. We picked that particular hotel because it was just a few hours from there to our home in Colorado, and we needed to leave early Wednesday to get back.
Grace, exhibiting perfectly how we all felt waking up early on Wednesday to head home after our whirlwind trip.
And that, as they say, was that, friends! After countless miles, five hotels/Airbnbs and 11 states, we were back where we started! Being home felt lovely and completely odd, all at once. We are so grateful that we were able to have this experience, to see our people and to check out so much of the U.S.
At the end of the day, we wouldn’t have done anything differently … except maybe pay more attention to the rules of Dramamine earlier on in the trip. Sorry, Grace!
The Details
Here’s a quick look at all the places we stayed, visited and ate at during this leg of our trip:
Now for the super fun part … the money! We likely would have spent less money on this trip had we flown, even factoring in the cost of the flights. Gas is incredibly expensive right now, which was one factor. We also decided ahead of time that we didn’t want to scrimp on this trip. After not traveling for more than a year, we wanted to stop where we wanted to stop, eat what we wanted to eat, and stay where we wanted to stay.
And it worked out because, like I said, we wouldn’t have changed a thing. Here’s how our finances broke down. We spent:
Hotels: $1581
Gas/Tolls/Parking: $770
Food/Groceries/Entertainment: $1112
Miscellaneous: $250
The grand total on this trip was almost $4,000 which, of course, is a lot of cash. Considering everything we did, though — including places stayed, food ate, things visited — for five people, it really wasn’t all that bad.
Plus, as the kids say, YOLO, my friends … YOLO.
And that was our trip! I hope each and every one of you — who has made it this far in this post! — has something equally as adventurous and amazing planned for the summer. Until next time, friends … bis bald!
