Tag: perfect weather

Spring Break-Staycation 2025

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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 🙃

Camping Chaos

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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.

Every Summer Has A Story

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Chapter One: The Beach in Corpus

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.

Chapter Four: Let’s Stay Home

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.

Much Needed Getaway

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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.

Baby O’s First Big Trip

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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.

Baby O’s First Adventure

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“Let’s drive 14 + hours with a 5 month old. It will be fun!”….said no sane person ever. But, that’s exactly what we did.

After packing up the entire house (mostly baby stuff) we loaded up the car and headed to Colorado for baby O’s first big adventure.

We had no idea what to expect. Would he sleep? Would he scream? How many times would we have to stop? Just like every other first time parent challenge, we jumped in head first and winged it.

I’m not going to lie, there were times in the car he was inconsolably upset, but those were few and far in between. Overall, he did pretty well, especially when I crawled in the backseat and kept him entertained.

Baby O’s loooonnnggg car ride

Other then the minimal stress of the car ride, Colorado was stunning as always.

The first few days we were there we had crazy weather. It snowed…in June. This was not just Texas slushy snow either. This was beautiful, huge snowflakes that actually stuck to the ground for a bit. We of course had to take all the mandatory snow pictures and let baby O experience his first snowfall!

Snow in June

Once the snow cleared up we were able to do what we do best, hike and enjoy the outdoors. In previous years we never really contemplated our hikes, we just lightly packed and headed to the mountain. Not this time. We thoughtfully and throughly packed for all of babies needs. We even bought a pretty neat hiking backpack for O….he lasted an hour in it…. Although we didn’t make it to the top of Hoosier Pass, we still enjoyed our time together and being able to witness baby O’s fascination with the great outdoors.

Baby’s first big vacation was a success and I can’t wait to travel the world with our little adventurer. First stop, Colorado, next stop….

St. Augustine Beach, FL

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Our first time in the Atlantic Ocean and it did not disappoint.

Here are some key observations from our St. Augustine Beach adventure:

  • The beach was not at all crowded, it huge and we had lots of space to spread out
  • The beach and town were clean and well taken care of
  • The food was delicious (Sunset Grill & Antonio’s)
  • Old Town has great shopping and historical sites
  • Everyone was friendly, great customer service
  • Lots of activities, parks, museums, trolley rides, historical tours, etc (we went to old medieval torture museum)
  • Drive A1A instead of the interstate for better views (we took it down to Daytona Beach)

The Beach

St. Augustine Old Town

Pensacola, Florida

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Pensacola Beach was absolutely stunning. It claims to be the “whitest sands in the world” and I wouldn’t argue with that statement. The white sands and crystal clear water compares to the beaches we’ve fallen in love with in Mexico.

We stayed in a beautiful little AirB&B (Casita Sage) in Pensacola then made the short drive to Pensacola Beach for the afternoon. Beach parking was free, chair rental were free (I think we just got lucky) and the water, views, and beach were indescribably perfect.

After spending a few hours on the beach we ate at a delicious little place called The Shrimp Basket and we were not disappointed.

Our overnight stop in Pensacola exceeded our expectations and we are already planning a summer vacation there for next year!

Los Angeles Summer Adventure

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Once again we knocked out another fabulous trip. We laid on the (cold) beach, we explored downtown, we visited museums, but most importantly we allowed ourselves to relax!

Everyone knows we love the beach, even a chilly beach like we experienced on this trip. I refused to go in the water but the bearded one was fearless and jumped right in. Once we warmed up, we walked around the Santa Monica Pier. I know it’s overly touristy but I just love the pier. There’s so much to see and experience, it’s a must if you’re in LA.

We spent the next few days of our trip exploring the city. We visited art museums, a beautiful bookstore, and the local farmers market (which I could have stayed at all day!). We literally walked miles on this trip and I still don’t think we saw enough. There’s always something to do in Los Angeles; around every corner and down every street you will find museums, art galleries, restaurants, and so much more!

Other then spending time with my brother, my absolute favorite part of LA was this pop up experience we decided to go to. It was called the I Like Scary Movies Experience and it was fabulous! We were able to experience interactive art exhibits that represented different horror films such as Nightmare on Elm St., The Shining, and quite a few more. The creativity and interactive art was the perfect way to end our first summer adventure.

Spring Break- So you want to go on a cruise?

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We’re Back!

Roasted crickets, slaughtered pigs, and dancing in the street…we found it all!

This was our second time on a cruise and we’ve came to the conclusion that we are just not cruise people.

We had the most fun when we were OFF the ship and able to soak up the sun and culture of Cozumel and Progresso Mexico.

Don’t get me wrong, there are plenty of activities on the ship (including a hairy chest competition that The Bearded One partook in). There’s just so much more to see and appreciate off the ship!

Cozumel

Our first port was Cozumel, which we were slightly familiar with because of our first cruise. Once off the ship we grabbed a taxi and headed straight to Chankannab Beach for some much needed sand and snorkeling. The beach was beautiful, the snorkeling not so bad ( better than my first experience) and the staff attentive. We spend the whole day laying in the beach, watching the other tourists and chatting it up with our waiter Angel. He was so pleasant and beamed with pride when we asked him about his family (3 grown daughters all at university!). It was definitely a challenge to leave the beauty that is Cozumel and head back to our ship.

Progresso

Cozumel is the ‘fan favorite’ but personally, I love Progresso. It may be a little run down and impoverished but it’s full of authenticity and friendly people living their best lives. The Bearded One and I occasionally like to stray and explore when we’re out and about (no worries we were perfectly safe) and on this particular trip we wandered in to the markets and it was quite the experience.

We saw fresh fruit and beautiful flowers, butchered pigs and sharks, and so much more! We also enjoyed multiple buckets of beer on the beach, fun little gifts from numerous beach vendors, and a couple of crunchy cricket snacks 😉

All in all we had an amazing vacation (we always do). The cruise staff was great, the activities plentiful, the weather fantastic, the food decent, but making memories with my forever date was the best part ❤️