This year we decided to do a few things close to home for spring break. With a 5 year old and a 2 year old traveling can be quite an adventure of its own. We didn’t want to go anywhere that would be notoriously over crowded so we opted for a few adventures in our comfort zone.
We started the week by driving up to my husband’s grandmother’s lake property on Lake Fork. The area itself is pretty quaint, which was the vibe we were going for. We just wanted to relax by the lake, do a little fishing, enjoy the outdoors and of course make s’mores. It was just what we needed to start off spring break. Bonus: we found an awesome little park in Quitman, TX that was built by the Sabine River Authority. It was perfect, I highly suggest you check it out if ever on the area!
Next on the agenda our favorite, Huntsville State Park. All the camping spots were booked of course, but that didn’t stop us from enjoying the numerous trails and beautiful spring weather. (One of these days we will take the boys camping!)
We really wanted to do something new so we decided on the Ellen Trout Zoo in Lufkin, TX. I knew ahead of time that this was a much smaller zoo, however we heard great things.
It was definitely small, and honestly, a little underwhelming. A lot of the bigger animals were hiding and there were quite a few exhibits under construction. Overall it was a pretty little zoo, and we did enjoyed our visit (especially seeing all the peacocks that freely roam the grounds).
And that’s a wrap for Spring Break 2025…we’ve got plenty more adventure on the agenda for this year 🙃
We knew we’d be laying my grandma to rest this summer in Saint Louis, MO, and in order to get there, we had to plan.
To get to St. Louis from our home in Texas we were looking at an 11 1/2 hour drive one way. With a 2 year old and a 4 year old that task seemed almost impossible so we decided to break it up in to multiple days.
Our first day of driving was supposed to be about 5 hours but of course took much longer;we knew it would. We took into consideration potty breaks, bathroom breaks, and honestly the occasional snuggle breaks for our sweet toddler.
We stayed in McAlester, OK the first night and it was just okay. The hotel was decent, the area was fine, the biggest letdown was the dirty pool. I intentionally booked every hotel along the way with the pool in mind and unfortunately that didn’t work out as planned. But we made the best of the situation and had dinner and ice cream at the Braum’s next to the hotel.
Day two we planned to see my little brother and family in the Kansas City area. We really had such a great time. Nothing makes my heart happier than seeing our sweet boys enjoy their family, especially their cousins. We stayed in Lenexa, KS the second night and in hindsight we definitely would have stayed with family. I did not pick a good hotel, it was a tad sketchy and the bearded one got stuck in the elevator! (Which of course we can laugh about now).
Another 5+ hours in the car on day 3 and we finally arrived in St. Louis. I picked my favorite hotel for our 3 night stay, Hilton Home2Suites. If you’ve never stayed, I highly suggest it. The rooms are huge and have plenty of space for the littles to run around. They have a large kitchen area, pool, breakfast everyday, and so much more. It’s our go-to hotel on long vacations. The first night there we picked up some groceries and used the hotel grills for our dinner.
While in STL we attended my grandmother memorial at the Jefferson Barracks National Cemetery. It was definitely difficult, but I was happy to be around my loved ones.
After the service we all went to a pretty good restaurant, Three Kings Public House. Once again our boys got to see more of their family.
We didn’t want to rush back home to Texas so we decided to do some sightseeing and explore STL a bit. First we picked up my older brother and went to see our old house, my grandmother’s house, and hit up a few favorites like Ted Drew’s and Imo’s (you can’t go wrong with frozen custard and pizza).
The next day we wanted to check out the science center but it’s closed on Tuesday and Wednesdays so we went to the zoo instead.
Fun fact: The STL Zoo is free! My brother and I have so many great memories of the zoo and it was the perfect place to take the boys. We stayed all day, saw all the animals, and road the train a couple of times. It was the perfect ending to our whirl wind road trip.
After we left STL we traveled home a different way, which took us through Arkansas. We stayed in North Little Rock in a hotel downtown. The hotel was good but once again the pool was closed. We did however find a cute little park on the river and let the boys run off some of that energy from the long hours in the car.
Our last day in the car was the longest at just over six hours (before all the stops). But at last, we made it home safe and sound. After 4 different hotels, 6 days on the road, and ridiculous amount of hours in the car, we finally made it home.
My biggest takeaways from this road trip would have to be
Go with the flow, stop often, don’t get stuck on the minute to minute plans, you will eventually get to you destination
Pack snacks, lots and lots of snacks, our boys have their own snack boxes
Keep them entertained, we bought dual DVD players which we used a lot
The Bearded One and I have enjoyed camping since we were kids. We’ve always camped in a tent, cooked over an open fire, and all those other seemingly baffling outdoorsy things some people just don’t understand. We really want our boys (currently 4 and 2) to experience and love all the same adventures as us, but we decided they’re a little too small to sleep on the ground and run around an open flame. We desperately wanted them to experience the spirit of camping but in a safer, less taxing kind of way. So I did my research and settled on Jellystone Park in Waller, TX.
Of course I’ve heard Jellystone before but I’ve never experienced it for myself. After reading reviews, checking out fellow traveler pictures and blogs, and looking for discount codes, I settled on the perfect cabin.
If you’ve never seen or heard of Jellystone do yourself a favor and check it out. Their website gives so much information on the lodging, amenities, and overall experience. They have everything from tents sites, to multi room cabins. Activities and amenities include a fishing pond, pillow jumper, gem mining, restaurant, and my favorite, the thing that sold me, a pool and waterpark playground.
The night before our Jellystone adventure we packed up and hyped up the boys about their first camping trip. I didn’t realize camping required so much, but it definitely was quite a bit to pack.
The Bearded One and I took a half day off work in preparation for grocery shopping before our arrival. About 30 minutes before we were supposed to leave I received an email from Jellystone Waller saying they had to cancel our reservations due to the previous night’s storm and massive power outages!
Of course I was in panic mode, but long story short, I was able to cancel for a full refund and rebook the Jellystone Tyler location (which was an extra 2 hours away).
The boys did pretty well in the car, and it honestly wasn’t as bad as I was anticipating.
We arrived around 5pm and still had plenty of time to check out the waterpark, which the boys absolutely loved. The waterpark stayed open until 7pm and opened the next morning around 11 (the sign said 11 but it was open at like 1030ish).
After a night of s’mores and late bedtimes we were excited to wake up and explore all the park had to offer. We started with the pillow bouncer, then drove around to find the playground, and finally did a little gem mining for treasures. You have to buy the bag of gems which was about $9 but it was totally worth it.
I think the waterpark was our favorite, our boys love the water. We spent hours at the water playground, enjoying the waterslides, getting ice cream and of course purchasing a few adult beverages at the bar (yes the campground has a bar!).
There was so much more to explore and do at the park but we just didn’t have the time. They have an app that you can download that gives you a play-by-play schedule of events happening around the park. It was very family friendly and we will definitely be back. Despite the unexpected turn of events, I give our first experience at Jellystone a 9/10.
Travel Notes:
Packing with toddlers is no joke, here’s an example of my packing list for reference.
As always we had a fabulous time. Beautiful location, fabulous weather, and my boys were happy.
Chapter 2: San Antonio Hyatt Resort
Of course one vacation just isn’t enough so I had to find something else to do. The bearded one and our boys are happy as long as they are near water and the San Antonio Hyatt Resort is known for its lazy river. After extensive review reading, I book us a suite for a couple of days and we headed on down to SA. The drive wasn’t bad, our 3 year old and 1 year old are surprisingly great car riders. After loading up on snacks at Buccee’s we finally arrived and hurried on down to the pool and river. To be honest I was slightly underwhelmed. Yes the resort had a beautiful lazy river to float around in, but that was about it. They did have a few other features like a water slide and tiny kiddie pool, I think I was just wishing for a larger pool to hang out in, or an indoor pool would have been nice. Prices for everything (food, drinks, souvenirs etc…) we’re expensive, as to be expected at a resort. All in all we did end up having a great time. I’d probably give it another try in the future. https://www.hyatt.com/en-US/hotel/texas/hyatt-regency-hill-country-resort-and-spa/sanhc
Chapter 3: Road Trip
Our finally adventure was to Bartlesville, OK. I know what you’re thinking, …why?! Well we had the best reasons, to see family of course! It was the perfect in-between stop to catch up with relatives. Before we headed to good ole Bartlesville we made a 4th of July pit stop in Dallas to visit more family and celebrate the holidays. This road trip was pretty long for the boys but they did great. We stopped frequently for snacks, potty breaks, and lunch. When we finally arrived our room was ready and so was the pool (of course we had to swim). Bartlesville is actually a cute little town. It has lots of yummy restaurants and original shops downtown, which were all within walking distance to our hotel. I also found a cute little kiddie park with amusement rides which was super fun! If you’re ever in the area you also have to check out the aquarium in Jenks, OK. It was one of the best we’ve ever visited (hands on exhibits, not to crowed, lots to do). All in all, we enjoyed our little stay in Oklahoma.
This summer was full of great memories and lots of laughs. No matter where we go I know I will always have the best time because I’m with my boys. My favorite place in the whole wide world will always be wherever they are.
This was a well deserved, much needed, beach vacation. After a tremulous end to our year, full of change and the unknown, we throughly enjoyed our stress free week away from it all. I honestly feel that the salty ocean air and sand between my toes, brings new perspectives on what is truly important in our lives. There’s no where else I’d rather be than on vacation with my boys.
I know Texas beaches get a bad rap but we really do love Corpus Christi. We’ve spend countless hours on the murky beaches of Galveston, which are nothing compared to the clear, clean beaches of Corpus.
We stumbled upon our vacation spot by chance a few years ago. We were looking for a place to take baby O and had already attempted Galveston. I researched beachfront condos on the coast and found El Constante Condos on North Padre Island in CC. We were presently surprised with the locations, amenities, and cleanliness of our condo and have been returning ever since ( this was year three).
It can be kind of daunting taking a toddler and baby to the beach but I think we pretty much have it figured out. The most important aspects of baby beach travel are 1-sunscreen 2-shade 3-snacks and 4-toys. Once you have those four figured out it’s smooth sailing.
We did our best to stick to a schedule and our boys loved very minute of beach, pool and family time. We can’t wait for our next end of June vacation! Stay tuned for something new.
We tried something new for Christmas vacation this year and decided to book a few nights at the indoor water park, Kalahari. The park is advertised as the largest indoor water park and it’s not too far away from us, about 2.5 hours. It’s located in Round Rock, TX which is just outside of Austin. On the day of departure we loaded up the car and the boys and headed off on our little adventure.
To be completely honest I didn’t have very high expectations, I am not a water park fan. Kalahari completely changed my mind, I absolutely loved it! More importantly, our boys loved it too!
We were a little nervous that there wouldn’t be many activities for the littles but half the park was designed just for them. My toddler went down so many slides, floated the lazy river, and enjoyed all the water table activities with his baby brother. We spent hours splashing around and playing in the water. I do have to say it was a tad bit chilly but we acclimated quickly. The water is kept at 84* but good ole Texas was having some pretty cold weather and we could tell while in the park. Anytime the boys seemed chilly we just hopped in the giant hot tub for a few minutes. Overall it wasn’t too bad.
The water park is the resorts biggest attraction but it also has an enormous arcade and adventure park with rides and activities such as rock climbing, bowling, escape rooms and several other things. We spent a good amount of time in the adventure park playing kid friendly games with our toddler. He’s never been to an arcade and absolutely loved all the games. He was even able to pick some pretty cool prizes with all the tickets we won.
Kalahari also has several resultants and shops which we took full advantage of. Before we left I followed the advice of my fellow travelers and we stopped at the store to pick up snacks and easy meals for the kids. Our room had a microwave and fridge so we were able to do simple breakfasts and lunches in the room. We did however grab pizza at the Italian restaurant, cocktails at the lounge, coffee and desserts at the cafe, and on our last night we had dinner at the resorts burger place. The food was pretty good, priced as you would expected for a resort. I’d definitely eat there again, it was super convenient and there were quite a few restaurants to choose from.
This place had any and everything you could possibly need to have a wonderful family vacation. Since it was the holiday season the resort was decked out in beautiful Christmas decor and made our trip that much more magical. I would definitely recommend Kalahari Resort to anyone looking for a family vacation. As a matter of fact, I’m already planning next years trip!
Every year for the past 3 years we’ve been celebrating the holidays in our favorite little tiny Texas town, Gruene. We meet up with our friends and enjoy the shops, food, and holiday festivities. The kiddos take pictures with Santa and the parents enjoy each others company. We sip, we shop and we end the evening by watching Santa ride in to town and light up the Christmas lights.
If you’ve never been to Gruene, I highly suggest you check it out. It’s a small little town right by New Braunfels. It’s famous for Gruene Hall which has hosted numerous famous musicians over the years. Since having children we go we rent an Air B&B. Before kiddos we stayed at Gruene River Inn, which is perfect for couples (I honestly miss staying there!). We get garlic fries at Mozies, blackberry wine at The Grapevine and listen to live music at Gruene Grove. If you need tips or advice about things to do and see in Gruene, just ask! We literally love everything place there!
This was the first year we traveled with two little ones and overall, they did fabulous! They napped in the car, enjoyed snacks at Buc-ee’s and were minimally fussy.
Our little pre-Christmas vacation made me so excited for the future and all the adventures we will plan.
We can’t wait to take our sweet boys on many more adventures!
Up next Kalahari Resort in Round Rock, TX ! We can’t wait!
Our first family of four trip was a success! 4 1/2 hours on the road and 3 days at the beach seemed a little daunting but we all survived and had a great time.
We decided to stick rather close to home and adventure down to Corpus Christi. I know Texas beaches get a bad rap but we visited last year and found the perfect little condo on the beach. The water was much clearer than good old Galveston and we were steps away from the ocean.
I have to admit I was nervous about taking our 3 month old on a 4 1/2 hour road trip but he did amazingly well. We stopped frequently, I occasionally had to crawled in to the backseat to entertain the boys but it all worked out.
ProTip: stop frequently, don’t rush the trip, provide snacks and entertainment
Our second concern was taking a 3 month old and a toddler to the beach. How long would they last? How do we protect them from the heat? The sun? Well, we figured that one out too! We lathered them up with sunscreen and threw on protective swim wear. We decided to just stay in the beach for about 90 minutes at a time, which was pretty much all the boys could really handle. We also found a company that you could rent beach gear from. They came at 8:00AM to set up a canopy and beach chairs. It worked out perfectly. All we had to carry down yo the beach were toys, towels, and the babies. We spent mornings and afternoons splashing in the waves, napping in the beach, and building sand castles for little O to knock down 🙂
ProTip: Rent beach equipment, it might cost a little more but it’s so worth it! You have more time to enjoy with your kiddos and you don’t have to worry about carrying all the extra junk to the beach.
Overall we had a pretty great time. Baby L enjoyed his first beach vacation and Little O soaked up the sun and sand.
I’m not ready for summer to be over, not even a little bit. After spending so much quality time with my littles I am devastated to return to work, especially given the circumstances this year. The passion and drive I once had for my careers is minimal in comparison to the passion I have for my little boys. Some days I dream about just staying home with my boys but I have so many great adventures and plans in the works for this upcoming year. I pray my boys stay happy and healthy and I make it through this school year to enjoy our next greatest adventure.
Stay turned, I’m booking our Christmas vacation as we speak 💙 🎄
It’s hard to put into words the overwhelming emotions you feel as a mom. Pure joy, immense anxiety, constant uncertainty, a sense of accomplishment and most of all the inexplainable, unconditional love just to name a few. Over the past few years I experienced all of these and more; being a mom is the oughest and most rewarding role I’ve ever played and I wouldn’t change a second if it.
On April 13th we welcomed sweet baby L into the family and our party of 3 became a party of 4. I am now officially outnumbered because, surprise, it’s another boy! I knew in my soul I was destined to be a boy mom and I’m okay with that. How can I not be when I look at my sweet, perfect little boys?!
When we welcomed baby O into our world a few years ago everything was so fresh and new. We were terrified and excited to become parents and had no idea what to expect. It took a lot of adjusting but we figured it out (and are still figuring it out daily with our wild toddler !). Surely we would have it all figured out with baby #2…
While I was pregnant with baby #2 I constantly worried about being able to divide my time between 2 little humans. How could I possible love someone as much as I love baby O? How will baby O feel when he’s not the center of our universe? All of these self-doubting questions and more popped up while we prepared to become parents one more time.
I expected baby #2 to arrive early because baby O did but boy was I mistaken. After almost 2 weeks of doing EVERYTHING to induce labor naturally we finally made the decision to be induced on April 13th, bright and early.
I dreaded labor and delivery but it honestly wasn’t nearly as bad as I remembered. I went in pretty confident in my birth plan and better prepared for postpartum recovery. After a full day of laboring and a few minutes of pushing, baby L finally graced us with his presence at a whopping 8 lbs 15 oz. We were blessed with another happy, healthy baby boy and it was time to figure out the new normal.
I remember holding baby L in the hospital, looking at his cute little chunky face and I still had that nagging question that filled me with mom guilt what would baby O think? I was ready to go home and introduce my sweet boys but the hospital had another plan. We had to stay an extra night, which meant one more night away from my O, I was not happy.
Thank God for my husband because the next morning he went all the way back to the house to pick baby O up from my mom and bring him to meet his baby brother.
Their first meeting couldn’t have gone better. O was a little nervous but determined to hold and kiss his new “brobber”, and of course we let him. We spent the whole morning together and O did great. There were minimal tears when we had to take him home but I knew watching them together that it would all be fine.
We still have some adjusting to do but 3 weeks in we are finding our new normal. O gets plenty of mommy and daddy time and is learning the ropes with his baby brother. He helps bring him his blankie, sings him songs, and does his very best to snuggle baby L gently. I know my boys will forever have each other and share the same unconditional love.
To all the moms out there with unanswered questions just know it will all work out 💙
Without further ado, meet the newest member of The Beam Family.
They say that traveling is good for the body, mind, and soul and I overwhelmingly agree. We knew from the start that we wanted to instill our love of travel and adventure into our children and in order to do so we started right away. At 6 months baby O was on a 14 hour road trip to Colorado. At 12 months another mini road trip to see Santa. And at 18 months, we decided to take baby O on his first international vacation to Mexico.
The unpredictability of traveling with a little one had me not only apprehensive but very anxious. So many unknowns, would he be okay? Fussy? Sleepy? Throw a fit? I was pretty confident in my ability to calm him down in any situation so we packed up and headed to Mexico with a dozen of our favorite people.
When I planned this international family vacation to celebrate our 5 year anniversary, I wasn’t anticipating a pandemic and I was completely unaware of how traveling with a toddler would be. Overall I was pleasantly surprised! Our first big vacation with our little one was a complete success! 1800+ miles away from home, 4+ hours on a plane, and zero meltdowns; he did so well!
Here are a few things I learned on this trip:
When traveling with a baby/toddler:
Pack snacks ! Not just for the airplane but for the resort/hotel as well. Baby O eats a lot and frequently. Snack are a necessity at all times of the day!
Keep them entertained. Whether your little one needs screen time, toys, or books, pack them all!
We took advantage of baby O being under 2 and he sat in our laps on the plane. Next time he will definitely get his own seat.
If possible, book the plane ride during baby’s nap schedule. Baby O slept on the plane both ways!
Pack extra necessities such as sunscreen and diapers. We packed enough but if we needed them, they were expensive at the resort.
When traveling to Mexico for the summer stay on the pacific side. The other side is swamped with seaweed from May to September. If I would have known this in advance I would have booked Puerto Vallarta instead of the Riviera Maya area.
Book a local photographer for family photos! It was inexpensive and easy to do.
We couldn’t have asked for a better first big trip with baby O. We soaked up the sun, enjoyed family time, and were able to watch our sweet boy enjoy vacation as much as we do.
The Adventures of Messy Bun and The Bearded One 