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Final Summer 2026 Things: Universal Studios, Snow Mountain Ranch, D.C. & the Dominican Republic. Yup.

Published on August 16, 2026August 16, 2026 by Cheryl LockLeave a comment

Universal sure was magical for a 10-year birthday celebration!

Hello, friends … happy Sunday!

Welp, the girls are back in school this Wednesday, summer vacation is officially over for us, and man did we live it up in those final few weeks. Here’s what we did …

Universal Studios & Islands of Adventure

Lotte turned 10! I can hardly believe it. It’s so weird to be able to say you’ve been a parent for 10 years. We celebrated our little Lottster in the best of possible ways. First up was a trip to Harry Potter: The Exhibition, an immersive experience in Denver that was a lot of fun! (Way better than I expected … )

I wasn’t sure what to expect, really, but it was so in-depth and had so many original things from the movies. It was very cool.

So many fun, interactive things for the kids to read, play, try, and ride!

The day after her actual birthday, we surprised Lotte with a trip to Universal Studios! Grace, Lotte and I flew out to Florida to check out The Wizarding World of Harry Potter. This included The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Hogsmeade (which is in Universal Islands of Adventure) and The Wizarding World of Harry Potter: Diagon Alley (which is in Universal Studios). Grandpa and Rosalie even surprised her by meeting us there!

You only turn 10 once … why not do it in style?!

Because I was so totally confused by everything when I was first researching what we should do, I’ll break down what we actually did a bit more here for you.

Where we stayed: Hard Rock Hotel
Why I picked it: When you stay at a Universal-affiliated hotel (which Hard Rock is), you can walk to the parks (or take the free ferry), and you can get into Islands of Adventure at 8 a.m., which is earlier than it opens to the public. Your room keys also act as Express Passes so that you can cut the lines on every. single. ride. — which is worth its weight in gold. The only exception was Hagrid’s roller coaster. For that, you’ll wait in line. Probably for at least two hours, like we did. WORTH IT! The Hard Rock also had an incredible pool situation (with a slide and beach area), and nightly pool entertainment like movies, fireworks, and a drone show. You can order food and drinks to the pool, or rent a cabana, as well.

Our passes: We got the 2-day, park-to-park passes. That allowed us to pass between both Universal and Islands of Adventure throughout the two days. This was important because we were mostly there for two very important things:

In Islands of Adventure: This is where you’ll find Hogsmeade Village, Three Broomsticks, Hagrid’s Magical Creatures Motorbike Adventure, the Harry Potter and the Forbidden Journey ride, the Flight of the Hippogriff rollercoaster, and the Hogwarts Express, which is a fun train ride that, with a park-to-park ticket, takes you between Universal Studios and Universal Islands of Adventure, and back again. It’s interactive so while you ride, a story plays out on the window of the train car you’re in.
In Universal: This is where you’ll find the Knight Bus, Diagon Alley (and the equally fun but tucked away and hidden Knockturn Alley), the Leaky Cauldron, Ollivanders Wand Shop (where you can have a wand pick you), and Gringotts bank multi-dimensional thrill ride.

We spent all of our first day exploring everything Harry Potter, and there’s no way we saw it all, but we did make a dent. There’s a whole other Harry Potter universe in Universal Epic Universe, but ya gotta save something for another trip, right?

On our second day in the park, we tackled all the other things we wanted to do see and do. That included Jurassic World stuff, Minion stuff, Marvel stuff (including a character dinner at Cafe 4) … and lots more.

I LOVED Butterbeer. I know there are others who don’t, and to them I say … ya’ll are crazy 😉 It’s butterscotchey goodness, and it comes in slush, regular, and ice cream form. Do yourself a favor and try all three.

The Knight Bus was a real treat! The floating head has a real conversation with you, and the girls were agog.

The dragon breathes fire every ten minutes or so above Gringotts Bank in Diagon Alley. It is so much fun.

Grace and Rosalie had a sleep-in on our second day, so Lotte and I had the park all to ourselves in the morning <3

This Velicoaster ride was EVERYTHING. And I say that as a person who doesn’t even necessarily like roller coasters all that much.

The Marvel Character dinner was expensive … but grandpa paid (!), and the kiddos loved it!

Wolverine was pretty cool too, I guess 😉

All in all, it was such a fun trip, and a really wonderful way to celebrate my big girl’s big milestone.

YMCA of the Rockies in Snow Mountain Ranch

Lotte and Grace went to overnight camp for a week! We came home from Universal on a Friday, headed to the mountains on Saturday, and the big girls started overnight camp on Sunday. Emilia went to the day camp for that week, as well, while Chris and I worked in a cabin on the property. It was delightful.

So proud of how brave these kiddos were! I never did an overnight camp, but I imagine I would have been somewhat nervous.

You couldn’t ask for a prettier place to camp.

And Lotte proof-of-life <3 We wrote the girls emails every day, and got two back from Grace and one from Lotte. They were, of course, adorable.

At the end of the hike that Chris and I did on the Friday before we left, I was SO LUCKY to catch two moose living their best life swimming in the reservoir where our car was parked. I. Was. Enthralled.

Lotte went rafting on the Colorado River!

As much fun as they had, I was happy to have them home <3

Washington, D.C.

When we saw that we were going to have a layover in D.C. on our way to a press trip in the Dominican Republic, we decided to make an extended two-day stay of it and check out the area with Grandpa. I hadn’t been in several years, and it really was the most fun. What a great place to take kids! Here’s what we did:

The National Museum of Natural History: Free/no timed entry
The National Air & Space Museum: Free/timed entry necessary by booking online
The National Portrait Gallery: Free/no timed entry
The Smithsonian Carousel: $6 per person per ride
The National Museum of American History: Free/no timed entry
The International Spy Museum: Timed tickets necessary starting at $34.95 depending on age
We also walked several monuments, which are all free/untimed

The Smithsonian Natural History Museum was a blast! Honestly, it could be a little overwhelming, but I suggest taking it slow, doing what calls to you, and definitely letting the kids lead the way, if you’re visiting with them.

From the Natural History Museum we walked about 10 minutes down the National Mall to the National Air & Space Museum, which was ANOTHER incredible spot. You honestly can’t wrap your head around all the things that people have accomplished in this world.

The IMAX movie about moon travel was definitely a hit!

After the two museums we were pretty cooked, but we decided to power through and check out a few of the other monuments and places we wanted to see to close out the day.

The U.S. Capitol is visible at one end of the Mall, which is closest to the Air & Space Museum.

The Washington Monument always takes my breath away.

The World War II Memorial is so beautifully done, and it’s the first time that I think the older girls really started to understand the gravity of what our soldiers and our country have been through. It was really powerful.

The Lincoln Memorial is an absolute must if you’re in D.C. Incredible.

We had dinner at North Italia after our insane day, and everything was beyond. That especially included this peach Aperol Spritz.

The National Portrait Gallery wasn’t actually the art gallery I thought we were going to, but it turned out to be pretty incredible.

The Carousel was cute, even if the girls DID fight over this dragon, causing Grandpa to purchase us TWO rides so each could have a turn.

We saw the original American Flag at the National Museum of American History and while we saw a lot of amazing things on this trip, that one MIGHT take the cake.

The spy museum was expensive but it was so worth it. They give you little cards to use throughout the museum to solve a case (this was Emilia’s alibi!), but aside from that, there are tons of other real-life things throughout it that will absolutely blow your mind.

We finished our second day with dinner and drinks at The Grill on the waterfront. It was perfect.

It was a quick two-day trip, but so incredible. I’m glad we got to share some history with the girls.

The Dominican Republic

And for our final trip of the season, we headed to Punta Cana in the Dominican Republic. I can’t share all the details because it was for a magazine story that will come out in the fall, but let’s just say that it was so beautiful and a lot of fun was had.

This place truly does feel untouched, which is what the resort uses as their claim to fame.

This was the first trip where the girls slept in their own (adjoining) bedroom! It worked pretty well, actually. Will definitely be trying that again.

We found a crab and released her back into the water.

But beware of jellyfish. Grace got stung. Never a dull moment.

Thanks for the most incredible end of summer, Punta Cana. It was a delight.

And that was it! School is back in session on Wednesday, and we are ready for fall!

Bring it on, 2026-27 school year. Let’s do this!

Until next time, bis bald, friends!

From New York to Philly to Virginia & Back — a Trip East With My Little

Published on March 28, 2017March 28, 2017 by Cheryl Lock1 Comment

^^ The most amazing turnout — with the most amazing group of women — for the MS fundraiser in honor of my Mom.

Heya friends,

So we’re back from our monster trip east, and Lotte & I had an amazing time. We saw so much family and so many friends, we covered miles & miles & miles in the car together (one of these days I’ll have to actually sit down and see how many miles we really drove), Lotte saw her first monuments in D.C., she spent tons of quality time with her Philly cousins, she was the hit of the MS fundraiser my sister & I held in honor of Mom at Wine & Design in Warwick, she attended her great-grandma and great-aunt’s 95th birthday party … and oh-so-many more important and amazing things.

Before we actually had Lotte, we weren’t exactly sure how much traveling we’d do with her. Traveling with kids is hard and at times very stressful, and let’s be honest, it’s not like she’s making lasting memories here. But you know what … we are. And I’ve come to realize as Lotte grows and goes through babyhood that that is just as important. These trips we take with her are some of my fondest memories, and I will never forget them. (Neither, luckily, will she, since I take extensive notes to put in her baby travel diary — complete with pictures! — and of course she’ll always have this blog to refer to, as well.)

The point is – yes, traveling with kids can sometimes make you want to pull your hair out, but so far, I am never sorry for the trips we’ve done with Lotte, and I only hope that continues.

Here’s a look at what we got up to over the past 10 days in photos. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t give another BIG shout-out to my husband for flying out and surprising us last Friday to be there for my Mom’s fundraiser, my Grandma’s 95th birthday party and, of course, to help on the flight back home with Lotte. Funny how four hands are so much better than two when it comes to flying with Littles 😉

^^ All prepped and ready for our first solo flight as Mom & baby! In all seriousness, though, I know how lucky Chris & I got with Lotte. She’s a pretty solid, amazing little traveler, so things might be a tad different is she were more difficult …

^^ We don’t have a dog at home, so Lotte’s only real interaction with them so far has been at my stepdad’s house with Ranger. Honestly I wasn’t sure how Ranger would react to Lotte at first — he can be a bit of a loose cannon — but especially in his older age, he tolerates her quite nicely, which is nice, because she is obsessed!

^^ Quick pit stop at Aunt Steph’s & Uncle Brian’s on Saturday to pick them up on our way into Pennsylvania for Rory’s 4th birthday party.

^^ These two together = major cuteness! Peyton, on the right, is actually three months younger than Lotte, but she’s almost the same size. It’s really only when she gets with other babies that I’m reminded of what a tiny nugget Lotte is!

^^ Dad’s fancy omelette bar on Sunday morning.

^^ Jude!

^^ Rory seriously loves Lotte, and it’s pretty much the sweetest.

^^ Cuddles with my babe on our first day in Arlington, Virginia, to visit Lisa. I think I honestly was just so relieved the car ride from Pennsylvania went well!

^^ This bear was pretty amazing to use as a backdrop in many-a-Lotte photo!

^^ Driving into D.C. to take in the sites — don’t let this innocent face fool you, she screamed the entire way in and the entire way out! Those two car rides — which must have amounted to about 20 minutes total — and the one back to Newark airport to head home were the only ones she fussed (or should I say threw a tantrum) for. I guess that was … lucky?!

^^ Patriotic Baby.

^^ In front of the Reflecting Pool … not impressed!

^^ At the World War II Memorial … not impressed!

^^ Heading to the Lincoln Memorial … not impressed!

^^ At the Washington Monument … not impressed!

^^ Visiting good ole’ Abe … not impressed!

^^ I mean … you get it. Lotte was not impressed! But it was a gorgeous day, and I hadn’t been back to these places myself in many, many years, so overall it was a pretty fun day!

^^ Tuckered out from all her touristing. Is there anything sweeter than a sleeping baby??

^^ We were back in the car on Wednesday and back with Rory and Jude in no time (well, in about three hours, to be exact).

^^ I particularly love this photo from our trip. I took this after I opened up the back door of the car after our ride from PA back to New York (our FOURTH long car ride, mind you), and Lotte was just chillin’ in her car seat, giving me the BIGGEST smile when she saw me. Oh Lotte … how I love you.

^^ Deep conversations back at Aunt Stephie’s house.

^^ When your husband surprises you and flies to New York for the weekend and you can breathe because you finally have full-time help again. Single parents … I have never had more respect for you than I do after this trip! Oh and Lisa also got into town this day, too, so it was almost more than my little heart could handle, all my lovies surrounding me 😉

^^ Delicious crinkle cookies Lisa made for the MS fundraiser.

^^ Making sangria for the party!

^^ I seriously love this photo of Lisa, after we picked up balloons for the party.

^^ Lotte was a tad grumps during the fundraiser — girlfriend deserved to be! — even when seeing her future boyfriend Miles again.

^^ Between the paint & sip fundraiser and online donations, we raised more than $2,000 for MS research. Speechless. And oh-so thankful.

^^ After the fundraiser it was on to my Grandma and Great-Aunt Vicki’s 95th birthday party, which my aunt did a fabulous job setting up.

^^ Ugh these two cuties!!!! Can you imagine knowing — and liking! — someone for 95 years?!

^^ Lotte frequently gets this look on her face when she’s around her Great-Grams. I can’t help but feel like she honestly understands what this woman means to our family, and to her.

^^ Kisses after a little speech I made. I love my Aunt Vicki wasting no time before she downs her Prosecco!

^^ Not pictured: Aunt Stephie cracking Lotte up by blowing into a party noisemaker. It. Was. Amazing.

^^ As if that weren’t enough partying for you, everyone surprised me with an early birthday cake back at Steph’s house that night. Sigh. The love.

^^ Headed to the airport on Sunday.

^^ These two.

^^ So many toys to keep her occupied, and all she wanted to do was play with the free airplane cracker packet.

^^ Home. That makes six plane rides for this little 8-month-old.

And those were the highlights, my friends. Usually trips like these tend to feel like a whirlwind (I feel like I use that word a lot when describing my trips!), but this one actually didn’t. Sure it was busy and hectic and hard at times, but overall I felt really good about everything we did, and so happy about everyone we got to see. It was a trip I’d repeat over and over again, with my Little by my side.

Bis bald, friends! Till next time …