A Camping We Will Go

Bryan has been on vacation this past week and it has been so great! We decided to take a little camping trip (actually, with three kids it's never little!) since we had a couple of free days. After packing everything up and getting to the camp I decided that a Surburban is in my future for sure! Our little van was packed so tight. As Bryan was getting the kayak tied down he said, "It's our own Griswold family vacation!" It's a good thing we decided not to take the dog. I don't think we could have stuffed her in!

The kids were in heaven. They had so much fun. Bennett pushed this thing around everywhere and loved being outdoors.

While we were packing to go Chloe tried putting her 'fancy' clothes in her bag. I explained to her that you can't wear fancy clothes when camping because they will get dirty and ruined. It was a hard concept for her to grasp! She loves to be dressed up and looking pretty. Once we got there she got the hang of it and didn't mind being dirty- as long as her shoes were clean and dry. As soon as we got home she went up and put on her skirt and a 'fancy' shirt!

Here's our camp. It was very green and pretty, but not very secluded. I guess we are used to camping in Utah where you have lots of space and mountains to hide away in! Being 50 yards away from your neighbor is not really Bryan's favorite way to camp.

The kids loved cooking our food in the fire. We made tinfoil dinners, s'mores, and the kids new favorite fire treat- banana boats!

Their was a lake close by so we decided that we needed to go take an evening swim to clean up and get all that sticky humidity off. After a night and morning of rain the heat was very welcomed!

Benny is saying cheese for the camera while testing out Daddy's boat. We rented a canoe and Bryan took his kayak out on the lake. It was a beautiful sunny day. Niah was a champion paddler and really helped me in the canoe. I was highly impressed!

Bryan built us some great fires. I think he could have done without the wood that caused so much smoke though!

I had forgotten how much fun camping is. It's a lot of work with kids, but worth the effort. We had some great family time and it was nice to escape from life for a couple of days and just enjoy being our little family. It's always a good reminder to keep life simple and to enjoy the small moments with your kids. Sometimes I forget that.

I hope we can make this a family tradition because I think the kids now have a love for camping!

DisneyWorld: Part One

The kids and I joined my family in Disneyworld for a week right before Christmas. Bryan had to work so we left him home alone, but we couldn't pass up the chance to go to the Happiest Place On Earth! My mom got there the same day as us and then everyone else got there the next day. We got to go to Animal Kingdom with just my mom, and boy did we have fun! It was a beautiful day and the park wasn't that crowded. Chloe saw the face painting booth and just had to have her face painted like Tinkerbell. (that's her favorite character!) She sat up in the chair and was so relaxed while they made her beautiful. My mom and I got the giggles watching her. It looked like she was asleep in the chair!

My pictures are out of order for some reason so this is Chloe admiring the finished product in the mirror. Doesn't she look gorgeous?!

Here are the kids at the entrance to Animal Kingdom. Every park had a HUGE Christmas tree all fancied up to the theme of the park. Disneyworld was amazing at Christmas time.

Chloe looks like she is asleep, doesn't she?!

She couldn't stop looking at herself in the mirror. She also couldn't wipe the grin off her face.




We got to meet lots of characters. Chloe is meeting Terk. The kids were a little nervous with the first few characters, but by the end they were giving them big hugs.

Bennett liked Terk's mohawk!

Bennett liked the characters from a distance. If we got too close he made sure to have one arm touching me and then he would reach his other arm out to touch the character.

And if the character tried to touch Bennett, he would get nervous and want me to hold him!

"This is too close, Mom. Too close!" is probably what Benny was thinking here.

Pluto and Goofy were a big hit with the girls. They were pretty funny characters and the girls got a kick out of them! Again, Benny is trying to push Goofy away so that they aren't touching! So funny.

Dinoland was a hit with Bennett. We went on the Dino ride (it's like the Dumbo ride, but with dinosaurs instead) and when we got off he threw a huge tantrum because he didn't want the ride to end. So, thankfully, there were no lines. We got right back on and rode again which led to another tantrum when it ended!

The girls did not like the show "It's Tough To Be a Bug!" It scared them pretty bad and as Chloe buried her face in my Mom's neck she yelled out, "I want to go home!!" My mom and I were cracking up.

The safari was awesome this time around. So many animals were out. Every time we'd see an animal Bennett would wave and then clap. He loved it.


I loved seeing the kids' reaction to the park and all the characters. They make it so much fun!

Stay tuned for Disneyworld: Part Two. I have a lot of pictures.

Cancun

Bryan and I headed to Cancun for a little graduation vacation. My mom was nice enough to stay in Vermont with the kids while we were gone. This was the first trip we've taken just the two of us since our honeymoon and it was fabulous! Mexico was beautiful. We had perfect weather the entire time. Bryan got to swim with a nurse shark. I wasn't brave enough to get in the water! Bryan enjoyed it though.

This is the view we had from our room. We were about 30 yards from the beach, it was so great. Thanks to my grandpa for getting us an awesome place to stay!

We visited a lighthouse on Isla Mujeres. There was a true 'island' feel on the island. I loved it.


We sent my mom this picture of us on the beach and she said that when Niah saw it she said, "Gross, they're falling in love!" She is such a crack up.

This trip was so much fun but we did learn a few things about Mexico:

1. Don't talk to the guys at the airport, even if they tell you they'll give you free breakfast and free tickets to an activity. We ended up wasting our whole morning on a time share presentation that took over three hours, and even after we told them we weren't buying they wouldn't let up. We got free breakfast, free tickets to Isla Mujeres, and free Pina Coladas. I still would have rather bought all of those myself than sitting through the presentation when I could have been on the beach!

2. Make sure you take plenty of money with you whenever you go somewhere. We ended up doing some shopping and didn't have enough for the bus ride or taxi ride back to the hotel. So, what did we do? We walked along the beach to our hotel. It was exhausting walking in the sand. When we got back we googled the distance to see how far it was- it ended up being over 4 miles! No wonder my feet hurt so bad.

3. When purchasing tickets for the activities always do something that seems a little more family friendly. We went to Isla Mujeres on a boat- we didn't know it was a party, tequila drinking boat! We saw things that we didn't really bargain for. Let's just say that we'll never be the same!

4. Make sure when you are buying Mexican sunscreen that it is waterproof! We bought some that we thought was waterproof. Knowing how to read Spanish would have helped. Being sunburned is not so great.

We had a great time. I forgot what it is like to just hang out with Bryan and enjoy each other's company. We are so thankful for my grandpa and mom for making this trip possible. We couldn't have done it without you!