Travel – Page 2

Our Mini Road Trip to Biloxi

September 26, 2016

This past week I had the rare opportunity to go with Ryan on one of his business trips. It was a very spontaneous decision for me to go. It was a really quick little road trip (only one night) but it was so nice to get away for a little while and recharge. We went to Biloxi, Mississippi and while Ryan has been several times, it was my first time to visit. Ryan’s parent’s kept the kids for us and we were able to enjoy conversations that didn’t involve “how dirty is this sippy cup” or “when did they have a snack.” I think we both really needed that and it did us a lot of good. A few hours into our trip I started missing the kids, but I guess that’s what happens when they are your life, right? I almost don’t know what to do with myself when I’m away from them anymore.

Family Beach Trip 2016

August 23, 2016

Last week we took our family of four (and a half) to Destin, Florida with some of our best friends and their little girl! It was so bittersweet taking one last family beach trip as a family of four. With me being 28 (almost 29) weeks pregnant, I doubt we will be doing a lot more traveling this year. We had so much fun, but I will say, when beaching it with kids, it is definitely more of a trip than a vacation. Camp decided he didn’t like the sand and water this year, while Sophie wouldn’t quit eating the sand. So, you know. Early naps and lots of snacks got us through the days.

Beach Bag Essentials for the Over-Prepared Mom

August 3, 2016

This shop has been compensated by Collective Bias, Inc. and its advertiser. All opinions are mine alone. #MyPureRelief #CollectiveBias

Hampton is starting a Mother’s Morning Out program in 3 weeks, so we are about to be thrown into all of the back-to-school hoopla for the first time. We are excited and I am feeling all of the emotions. But, first, we are going on one last summer vacation to the beach with some good friends of ours! We are beyond excited. Sophie has only been to the beach a couple of times for little day trips at my grandmother’s house, so I am excited to let her explore a little bit more. I think this is the first time we are going on an actual beach trip as a family of four, so we are thrilled to make new memories. One thing I have already been planning and packing is our beach bag. With two little ones, you can never be too prepared. I like to have all my bases covered when it comes to our beach bag essentials and be ready for every possible scenario – sunburn, sickness, irritated eyes, etc.

Lake Day

July 11, 2016

Happy Monday, dolls! I hope you had a fantastic weekend! We had a great time at the lake with Ryan’s family on Saturday and spent the day yesterday recouping and recharging for the week. Meaning, we were super lazy. Lake days are so much fun and absolutely wear us out which is great because for our family, that means excellent naps. Thumbs up! Our lake day began at breakfast and we stayed for a while after dinner and it was perfect. Honestly, I think my favorite memory from the day was being caught on the boat in the rain a pretty god ways from the house. It was pelting us and we were all laughing so hard trying to get back. Our poor Pop Pop couldn’t hardly see through the ran so we paused under the bridge for a couple of minutes and then went the rest of the way. It was hilarious and we were soaked. Towels and all.

Beach Trip in Destin

April 25, 2016

As I mentioned in Friday’s post, it had been a while since Ryan and I went on a vacation – alone – in over 3 years. Yikes! Heading to Destin was the best semi-spontaneous decision we have ever made and it was exactly what the doctor ordered for both of us. Sometimes, getting away from your every day life is exactly what you need to recharge, and that is exactly what we did. We relaxed and ate…a lot.

Summer Travels: Destin, Florida

July 22, 2014

Destin is my favorite beach to visit. No offense to Gulf Shores, but Destin’s waters are so clear (most of the time). I am really funny about getting out in the ocean. I’m not trying to get eaten by a shark. No thanks. This trip, I actually felt comfortable being out there. I could see the bottom of the ocean at shoulder length deep water, so I felt okay about it…until the one day when the life guards ran frantically down the beach blowing their whistles and yelling to get out of the water. It turned out to just be a school of fish. haha It was still exciting, though.

This was Hampton’s first time to see the ocean. He loved the sand (and may have eaten some), but he wasn’t a huge fan of the waves. He definitely prefers the pool, but he will get used to it and learn to love it if he is anything like his parents.

We enjoyed a lot of sun, and food, but my favorite part of the trip was walking on the beach with Ryan and Hampton our last evening there. The sunset was beautiful. I hope to go back to Destin before the summer ends, but I don’t know if it will happen. We will see!

Where have you traveled this summer? Do you have any other trips planned?

To see more photos, follow me on Instagram!

Summer Travels: Chicago

July 1, 2014

Last week, Ryan and I traveled to Chicago for 3 days for a conference. We went a day early so that we could explore this city. It was our first time there and so we were pretty excited to travel to a new place. After we checked into our hotel, we went to Giordano’s for pizza. It was delicious. They don’t skimp on their pizza. It’s much thicker than ours at home, but I’m not complaining. It was delicious.

After lunch we headed to Millennium park where we saw the bean and the beautiful amphitheater. It was pretty neat.

We went to Wrigley field for the cubs game Wednesday night and it was really neat to see the ball park. They still use the original scoreboard which is pretty cool. It was definitely a lot different than Turner field. Also, we packed shorts and tanks thinking it was going to be in the 70’s, but when we arrived in Chicago, it was in the low 60’s. By the time we got to the game, the temperatures dropped into the 50’s and so we froze our tails off…until Ryan bought me a sweatshirt. It was a bit shocking coming from our 95+ degree weather to that. Also, they aren’t kidding about the whole wind thing.

Our second night was spent in a different hotel (the one that Ryan’s company paid for) and it was absolutely beautiful. It was right in the middle of downtown Chicago across from the Trump and Chicago Tribune buildings. The Hotel Monaco was wonderful. It was so clean and luxurious. My favorite part was this window seat. While Ryan was in his meetings, this is where I hung out. I read, blogged and did a lot of people watching. Some tourists even took a picture of me from the ground which was pretty awkward. Whatever works, I guess. They were probably jealous of my window seat.

We walked all through downtown and loved seeing all of the buildings. We did a lot of shopping, and I bought my very first Kate Spade bag! I just love my little “”Kate” as I call her. She is beautiful.

Friday morning we woke up early and walked down Bellevue Street because I just had to see Giuliana and Bill’s house! This is it! It was really cool. Their house is only a block away from Lake Michigan so we also walked down by the lake which is so big it looks like the beach. It was really foggy that day.

We ended our trip by one last stop by Millennium Park!

That’s “Kate” at the bean!

Kate touring Chicago.

Here are more pictures from my phone: