Life with My Traveling Mom: Husband Edition

Several blogs and articles talk about motherhood and raising children and are usually written from a mother’s perspective. Many mothers have read these and found comfort knowing they are not alone in the universe. They are able to unite with women around the world that they don’t know, yet share life stories and experiences. Well, this post is a little different. As a husband, I would like to share what it’s like journeying through life with my traveling wife, while balancing work, children and my love for the Houston Rockets!

Lacy Dagerath Photography

Lets be honest from the jump, it’s more difficult with our two boys when she is away traveling. It was hard before we had kids. Ashley is nothing short of amazing and when she’s away, her presence is definitely missed and the tasks of caring for the kids and holding things together are more difficult. What I’ve learned along the way is to suck it up, get it done and do so with a smile.

Ethan and Blake are nothing short of joys in my life. I cherish the moments spent with them and as Ethan gets older, there are lessons in life that I’ve been able to teach him. I have had the opportunity to see both kids have a respect for me and the things that I do to make sure they are safe, happy and feel loved. When Ashley first began frequent traveling, Blake wasn’t with us yet and even with 1 child, it was still difficult. I wasn’t accustomed to doing this on my own, even despite her efforts to try to make everything as easy as possible while she was gone. Honestly, before Ashley, I struggled taking care of myself! Ashley could tell the stress I allowed myself to endure and it affected her. She already said she felt mom guilt from being away, but she began regretting her trips and not enjoying being away. Overtime, I realized that the real issue was me.

Now, it’s not easy to admit that the root cause is yourself. Accountability is something we all need to have, though. One day, I had the opportunity to speak to an older gentleman in my Bible study small group, who expressed something that would change so much. He was having trouble at home with his wife and kids who needed his help when he arrived home from work, but in his mind he worked a full days work and all he wanted to do was rest. He didn’t want to wash dishes or bathe the kids. Just grab a beer, watch the game and relax in his recliner. God touched his heart one day and told him, “Serving isn’t something we are born wanting to do, it’s something that requires purpose and sacrifice”. This message hit me deep. My dad always talked about and walked the walk of a servant, so I already had an example set before me. It was time to be what God wanted me to be, to serve my wife and family.

Lacy Dagerath Photography

WOW! That made a huge difference. I began taking things off my wife shoulders. Even when I knew I was dead tired, I found myself sacrificing and placing her and our kids before my own selfish desires. Now I’m no where near perfect and there have been recessions, but I’ve seen the positive affects this has had on my family and I. Stress levels have decreased. Ashley now goes out of town knowing I have everything under control. I know I’m really serving well when she says she feels like she isn’t helping enough (which is never the case)! Now that’s a medal I like to hang! Plus the more I do it, the more I am used to it. We have a good routine for the kids that I am actively apart of on a daily basis, so when she is gone, I am not like “a deer in headlights”.

Before I go, I want to add one more thing about traveling with the family. This is by far one of the best times in our lives. Ethan loves everything airplane related. Blake needs some patience…okay a lot of patience ha! He isn’t a fan of planes, car rides, being in the stroller, or sleeping anywhere that’s not his bed. Ugh. Ashley is pretty self explanatory, she loves traveling so much she blogs about it. When we travel we like to make sure everyone gets to do something they want to do. Sometimes its a restaurant, a dinosaur park or just relaxing on a beach (well as much as you can with kids).

I’ve heard through the grapevine, some husbands restrict or produce negativity towards anything that takes their wife away from being with the kids and leaving them alone with the kids. I pray they are given a servants heart and understanding that they are equally a part of the parental pair. We must always continue to lift each other up and make sacrifices for each other’s happiness.

Lacy Dagerath Photography

I leave you with a motto I live and work by: “Teamwork makes the dream work!”

Written by Paul Lilly

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XOXO

Featured Post: The Land Down Under

Let me introduce myself, not just as Ashley’s friend, but also a partner in travel-loving crime.  I grew up abroad, studied abroad, lived and worked abroad as an adult, and I have been traveling extensively around the globe since I was my toddler’s age.  Heck, I even built an education and career around being able to travel! So when I found out I was pregnant, not only did I go to nearly every continent with my son in utero, but I knew it would never stop.  People always ask, why waste the money when he won’t remember it?  But the travel is for me, for us, for training, for life, for spirit and teaches us all so much more as we evolve through it.  Plus, we have pictures, those count as memories, right?

So I am here to tell of one of the more daring trips I took with my son, Nikita, when he was 18 months old—all the way to Australia from Texas.  Yes, the trip was 24 hours, and yes, we arrived with a 104 fever.  Lessons I learned on that trip:  United doesn’t actually reserve the bassinet seat for you, it’s a fight to see who in that row gets it, and always hoard antibiotics for hard travel. My son at the time had chronic ear infections, so prior to our departure, I reached out to the pediatrician to see if he could call in a prescription for us for just in case purposes. I am so glad I did this!

The upsides are, it is FREE!  His seat is FREE!  This is amazing.  We found a way out of the double booking of the bassinet, and arranged to switch seats with others so we and the woman with the newborn could each have one. And we had antibiotics on hand so he was fine after we got them in him.  The other great thing about long trips is there is plenty of nighttime hours and thus sleeping time!  Once you get them cozily in the bassinet they can play there for hours on end and mommy can relax!

We enjoyed Melbourne, we saw the aquariums and the festivals and all the sights and sounds, he loved.  We moved on to Sydney and decided to take the short 13-hour train ride to minimize flights—thinking it would be a fast train and he would like it. It was not fast.  He did not like it.  And they only took cash so we had limited wine we could purchase to offset the pain…this was much, much, much worse than the plane rides, so I highly advise thinking through logistics since at the end of the day, those are everything! I recommend for any international trip to bring a carrier, it is a lifesaver. It is easier to use as the stroller can be difficult to navigate on rough terrains and difficult in crowded spaces.

But once there, we enjoyed the opera, and the architecture, and the Asian influence, and Nikita was the highlight of all the older Asian ladies, with whom he took hundreds of posed pictures, batting his eyelashes for them.

The bottom line is was it hard?  Yes.  Was it at times seemingly not worth it?  Yes.  But, it is always worth it.  If not now, when.  If not when, never.  And without travel, we don’t grow, and it’s a wonderful way to enrich and teach our kids about how big the world is around them.  And the longer the trip, the more time they can sleep on the plane….so don’t let the distance be a deterrent!

Written by Jenee Andreev

Thanks for stopping by!

XOXO

The Grand Canyon State and all it's Glory!

Out of all the trips that I have taken, the trip to Arizona, was one of my favorites. The places we visited were AWEsome and quite breathtaking!

When planning a trip, I like to start by choosing a date range, not exact dates. For this trip, we flew Southwest, which to me, is one of the best airlines to fly on with kids. I go to the southwest site, then search by low fare calendar. I searched arriving into Phoenix, as I know it is a hub, for the entire month of March. (Travel tip: you can get the best deals on flights flying into hub cities, especially when flying from hub to hub). From there I base my dates of the trip around the dates that give me the lowest rates. For this trip, the tickets were $69 each way, WINNING! Typically we fly in on a Thursday and out on a Tuesday.

This trip was a birthday gift to myself. My sister, Mandy, flew in from Dallas to join in, my husband, mom, and Ethan came! Blake had not yet been born by the time we took the this trip (I got pregnant with him later that year). Once we touched down, we loaded up and immediately began to make our way from Phoenix to Flagstaff (approx. 3 hour drive). On the way there, we saw a sign for Montezuma Castle National Monument and thought this would be a perfect place to explore and take a break from being in the car. Bonus as kids under 15 are free. It was very cool and is home to one of the most well preserved cliff dwellings in all of United States. It’s called a castle, because it is huge containing about 20 rooms inside. The grounds were beautiful and full of sycamore and cottonwoods trees, among other lush landscaping. This place is stroller friendly, but after being stuck in the car, Ethan wanted to be free and run around.

As we approached Flagstaff, the weather change was DRASTIC! We went from 60 degrees in Phoenix to freezing cold (prob 40s) with tons of snow on the ground in Flagstaff. There are places you can actually stay at in south rim grand canyon, but we decided to stay in Flagstaff, which is 1.5 hour away from the Grand Canyon, due to the need for a multiple room hotel and budget friendly rate per night :). We booked a 2 bedroom hotel room through Sonesta.. (Travel tip: The north rim is only open during the summer from May 15 - October 15).

As we are headed over to the grand canyon, we made an unplanned stop at Marble Canyon. This was like the appetizer to the grand canyon. We were totally amazed at the beauty. There was no fee, just a stop and look place with some descriptive signage providing facts about the overlooks. There were multiple outdoor vendors, mostly local Native Americans, that sold completely handmade items such as jewelry, keepsake boxes, shoes, purses and so on. These were mostly cash only from what I remember and the items were gorgeous!!!! I got a cool feather for my hair and cute earrings.

As we roll up to the grand canyon, I felt like a giddy pre-teen about to meet her favorite pop star (best analogy I could come up with ha). All I can say is that the Grand Canyon was WOW!!! The snow covering it was the icing on the canyon, it made it all that much more beautiful. Once you get there, you can literally plan an entire day or more of fun there, it has everything, including multiple places to dine. If you are planning to stay on top and not hike down, it is totally stroller friendly. There are even guard rails lining the pathway. The weather was not as cold on the day we went there (March 3), but we still needed a jacket. Next time, we go, I think I want to stay at the El Tovar. It is located within South Rim of the Grand Canyon grounds.

Make sure you stay until sunset, it is magical!!!

This trip, I really wanted to checkout Havasu Falls, but it is a strenuous hike down that is probably better for no kids or older kids. Check out pictures of there here. There is a helicopter option but priority is given to the local natives of the area first.

The next day we headed to Page, Arizona to see Horseshoe bend and the slot canyon. It was a 2 hour trek (by car) to Antelope Canyon. There is upper Antelope Canyon and lower Antelope Canyon. It was hard to decide between the 2. Upper is the most popular and has sand falls, and beautiful light beams. This is the more photogenic canyon, but it is also more expensive and harder to get a tour due to its popularity. For both, you have to schedule a guided tour and there are 2 companies who conduct these tours - Ken Tours and Dixie Ellis. We went with Dixie Ellis and decided to do the Lower Antelope Canyon. The deciding factor is that we mostly hoped to have smaller crowds and wanted to take advantage of the lower costs. One day we will go back to do Upper Canyon. They are both kid friendly, but the kiddo has to walk or must be worn. The Lower canyon was fun, it had lots of narrow spots and areas where you had to climb up or down (via ladders). While we waited for our tour, we had snacks at the check-in center. The tour was approximately an hour and our tour guide went the extra mile by helping us all get the best shots of the canyon (I only had my iphone). This place is a MUST SEE!!!

Within a few miles from here (we actually passed it on the way to Antelope), we stopped at Horseshoe Bend. There was no fee, you simply drive up, park, and look. There are no rails and getting close to the edge was terrifying for me! I am so scared of heights. I was able to get close enough to get a few “money shots” though. If you have a wild child who loves to run and is totally fearless, beware. It’s a long way down. It was cool to see below the boats pass by. You are able to take a tour if interested around the bend as well.

While driving, there were some awe inspiring sights, so we stopped, took it in, took pictures, then went back on our way.

The trip continued on to Sedona. We stayed one night at the Courtyard Marriott (I highly recommend this hotel, beautiful courtyard). I think Sedona deserves an entire trip of its own. We compacted as much as we could into the day we spent there. In Sedona, among the beautiful red rocks, there are these things called “Vortexes”. We checked out Bell Rock and visited the vortex site (all are easy to get to) and I can say I felt energized. That could have been partially from the adrenaline running through me as I experienced a new place, or it worked. There are tours dedicated to these. We attempted to stop at all the most notable rock formations. It is best to wear the baby/toddler or allow them to walk with close supervision. Bell Rock is the easiest trail of the rock formations. We dined and shopped at Tlaquepaque Arts & Craft Village.

We finished up the trip heading back down south the Phoenix. I am typically more biased to Marriott, but I found a cool Hilton Resort with tons of activities on property to partake in - lazy river, golf, resort pool, basketball and tennis courts, family friendly dining options, and list goes on. They also have multi-room casitas, which was important for us as we were traveling with additional family. It was cooler than expected for early March, the temperatures peaked up to 70s, so we did enjoy some pool time.

On the last day, we went to Old Town Scottsdale to eat and shop. It was the perfect end to an incredible and adventurous trip. Ethan ended on a high note finding himself a cool new toy in the local toy shop to bring back home with him.

This was a long post, but I appreciate you sticking around to read it all. I’d love to hear your thoughts!

XOXO

Why We Travel....with (Our Small) Kids

I know most people think people who travel with kids are nuts. And maybe we are…a little, but I think there is some sanity in our insanity. I do realize that at the ages my kids are, 4 and 9 months, they will not remember any of these trips, and that’s okay. The reason we do it, is not for them, its for us. We NEED the trips, well I can only speak for myself, I need them. So here we go….

1.       Travel for me is like therapy (even if bringing the kids along creates an extra level of difficulty). I crave new experiences, a change in scenery, and I cling to these memories, on some days they keep me going and having a trip to look forward to is motivation. When I was growing up, we did not take trips at all. We struggled quite a bit financially and the priority was simply surviving and making ends meet. I did not take my first trip until I was 18 and it was to LA to see my favorite cousins. (Correction: My mom did say I flew on the plane a few times when I was super small.) After the LA trip, that was when my wander lust started. I vowed that I would see the world before it’s my time to go and that’s exactly what I am doing. The trip choices we make are based on what we want. I think the kids are too young to plan a trip solely for them. When we went to Disneyland, it was because my husband wanted to celebrate his birthday there, and my son was simply just reaping the benefits of his decision. We do try to incorporate kid friendly activities for the kiddos, but again, that is partially for us too because we are both big kids at heart. 

2.       We do not have someone to watch our kiddos for an extended period. This is a big one! We could pay someone, but that gets very expensive. For the people who have loads of support, God has truly blessed you. Keep on traveling kid-less lol. But for people in my boat, it’s possible to still enjoy travel and bring your kids along. That is one of the main reasons why I wanted to start this blog, to show people that you can take trips and still have fun, even if the kiddos are coming along. We do still try to take at least 1 trip without the kids, and that is usually around our anniversary. We welcome the break from the kiddos and as they get older I am sure they will welcome a break from us. Plus, like dating, the time spent with just each other helps to keep our marriage in good health. We are guilty of spending a large chunk of the time talking about our kids and how much we miss them though.

3.       Traveling with kiddos under 2 is basically FREE. Most airfare tickets are free, there is no extra person fee for hotels, most of the entries to places are free at this age, and they do not even require a lavish meal. It’s the best time financially to take a family trip! You do kind of pay for it in other ways due to all the stuff that comes along with traveling with a kid under 2, but that is just a minor detail. It’s also worth mentioning that before school age, you can take trips during non-peak times, which is another way to save money. In case you have not noticed, airfare and cruises, in particular, have fare spikes during spring break, Holy week, the holidays, and the summer.  Non-peak times also means less crowds, more time to enjoy the place you are traveling to.

4.       Train up a child! We are training our kids how to be great travel companions. Like anything, the more you do it, the better you get. My 4-year-old has it down packed and he has been traveling since he was 8 months. He understands the security process, the boarding process, how to behave on the plane, and he even enjoys the shuttle from the off-airport parking to the airport. He knows what to expect and what we expect. It also helps our kids become more adaptable and flexible. Routines are great, and we are all for them, but let’s face it, things come up so its great skill to be able to be flexible and adapt when needed.  

5.       It creates memories - the good ones we smile about and the bad ones that we later laugh about. Even though my kids may not remember all the trips we take, we still have pictures to show them and stories to tell. Memories are the only thing we can take with us until the very end. My husband and I often find ourselves reminiscing on past trips we took and looking fondly through old photos. The more experiences kids have, the better chance they succeed. I read an interesting article, check it out here.

Thank you so much for stopping by and reading! I’d love to hear your experiences and perspective on traveling with kids, especially with small ones.

XOXO

Essence of a Travel Companion

While traveling (for leisure) on my own is on my to-do list for one day, I’ve had the pleasure of finding my perfect travel buddy. I’ve also had the misfortune of traveling with people that were not my favorite. But like with most unpleasant things in life, there’s always a lesson and an opportunity to learn from these experiences. I am blessed to be married to my favorite travel buddy, Paul. It was not always so great, in the beginning, while I thought I was perfect (duh), he told me I over-planned the trips making it somewhat stressful. On the one hand, he doesn’t plan at all, still doesn’t (love you anyway). As time progressed, mostly due to the fact that I’m downright burned out 90% of the time, I’ve eased up on the over-planning, but still definitely plan. If you don’t have a plan, then your plan is to fail, right? Ha. I know the one time I didn’t plan anything, my husband felt like he was in an alternate universe and had no clue what was wrong with me. Despite this, the trip still turned out okay. It was a beach trip, those are probably the trips that you don’t have to plan a lot for. For the single and mingling people, if you’re wanting to get a better idea of the essence of the person you’re dating, take a trip with him/her, it will give you a great insight on if this is who you can deal with long-term. There’s always mishaps on trips, whether it’s lost luggage or a canceled/delayed flight, and you can learn how he/she handles pressure and measure the person’s resilience. You can gauge interest by how much attention you get...is she on her phone? Is he looking in your eyes during conversations? This undivided attention or unplugging, should allow you to dive deeper into getting to know him/her. Most importantly, it will tell you how well you compliment each other. I think life is often about trying to find balance. The balance between everything else and personal stuff.

Let’s get to the essence of what makes someone a great travel companion. Of course this is based on my opinion, and I got a little help from my fam-bam. I would love to hear your thoughts too ( comment below). It doesn’t always have to be your spouse or significant other. I also love traveling with my big sister, Liz, and even my son Ethan. He has such a fun imagination and sense of wonder and amazement at everything. It makes my heart smile.

1. The ability to be flexible - Whether you are driving by car, plane or train, things are always at risk of not going as planned. There may be heavy traffic or flight delays/cancellations, train delays, etc. You have to able to adjust, adapt, and get a new plan. It’s understandable to be frustrated, but frustration will only get you so far. Things can also change at any moment on the trip. I am a big planner and if anything I have learned from planning, it’s that plans often times do not work. Back-up plans and new plans are your BFF, esp when it comes to traveling.

2. Being in sync (or it’s Bye Bye Bye…get it? Okay lame, I know) - It is important to be on the same page or at least on the same chapter, that’s a good place to start. Are you both going to check bags? I am not a fan of checking bags. When I travel with the kiddos, there is no escaping that, but when it’s just me or me and the hubs, we squeeze as much as we can on our carry-ons. Do you both want to spend most of the time relaxing or do you want to squeeze every ounce of adventure you possible can out of the trip? (Take a guess which option I want.) Who wants the window seat or the aisle seat? It’s a good idea to discuss this prior, or for some people they just flow together naturally.

3. Be positive - We get enough negativity in our day to day lives, no one wants that on their hard earned, much needed trip. Let’s try to limit the amount of complaints to 5 (per week…too hard? too bad!).

4. There must be mutual respect - This is probably a no brainer but you would be surprised. Some people tend to be more selfish, especially when the trip is for them (more on this for 6). A great travel companion relationship consists of people who are considerate of each other bearing in mind allergies, finances, and even pet peeves. No one is perfect, so someone’s toes are bound to get stepped on, but the intent if for this to not done intentionally (I hope).

5. Help must be reciprocated - Work together on the trip to make it as easy as possible for each other. Be it just saving a seat, or helping each other with bags, or looking for nearby food places, don’t let it all fall on one person.

6. Understand the purpose of the trip - Be mindful of why you are taking the trip. Is it solely for vacation or are you going to celebrate a birthday or bachelor/ette party? If you’re going to celebrate someone else, it’s okay to take part in the festivities planned. This goes in hand with mutual respect, if you are being asked to do something you are not comfortable with, it’s okay to say no. However, it is also okay to do something you would not normally do (within reason) for the sake of celebrating someone else.

For me, my husband meets all of these. I’d say it comes pretty natural for us to travel together, but with each trip, it keeps getting better. Travel is very important for us and there are many benefits to doing so. I am so thankful for my favorite travel companion!

Gaylord and Dinosaurs...Oh My!

During Christmas, we decided we would try something different and get away. Plus our oldest son loves planes, so a plane ride was a bonus gift to him. My youngest, Blake, is a high maintenance baby, so I had concerns that he may “cut up” on the plane ride. We had to pick something quick with big fun potential, preferably with an overload of Christmas. I needed to hold onto the season just a tad longer, it is after all, the most wonderful time of the year. I had heard of the Gaylord hotels before, but once I realized it was affiliated with Marriott, my interest was spiked (for my work travels, I almost always stay at Marriott hotels…more points + maintaining my status). The Gaylord Texan in Grapevine, a suburb of DFW, was the perfect spot for us. The flight to Dallas is only 40 minutes and this would be a great trial run for Blake.

We thought evening would be best for Blake, with hopes that he would sleep on the plane. You will find this poor decision in the lessons learned section. Let’s just say the 40-minute flight felt like a 4-hour flight with no air conditioner. Blake screamed, not cried, but screamed for most of the entire flight. As soon as I set him down in the chair, in a matter of seconds, I find him sucking on the germ-infested arm rests. I did not even have enough time to wipe down the area with baby organics wipes. Once we landed, we had an over-tired baby and a wired-up toddler with too exhausted sweaty parents. As soon as we got to the hotel, the exhaustion dissipated and we were in awe of the beauty of the resort. It felt like we were in a snow globe – there was Christmas decor and manicured landscaping everywhere! We were upgraded to a balcony room which gave cool views of the atriums. The hotel rooms themselves were just standard in my opinion, but the big-ticket items were the atriums. I feel like they could use some updating. The hotel is a one-stop shop for everything, it’s a great place to travel with kids for this reason. There is entertainment, shops, restaurant options, and activities such as ICE exhibit, waterpark (open during summer) and ice skating (in winter). All of this does come at a pretty high cost. Our hotel reservation included the ICE exhibit so we got to check this out (more to come on this later in the post).

Lessons learned/Tips:

1. If your child prefers to only sleep in his crib, unless you can bring the crib, prepare to not get any sleep (happened to us). We brought his play-yard and a mattress but he was not having it.

2. Bottle or nurse baby on the ascend and descend to avoid potential ear popping on the plane ride.

3. The hotel has plenty of restaurants but they can be pricey. I was not thrilled with the idea of paying $25+ for my 4 year old to eat at the buffet.

4. If you want to enjoy one of the restaurants for dinner, make sure you place reservations in advanced (day before if possible).

The next day, we went to LEGOLAND Discovery Center and Sea Life, which is attached to Grapevine Mills mall. This is within very close proximity to Gaylord, less than 10 minutes away. The Legoland discovery center was great for Ethan, but Paul and I even enjoyed it for different reasons. I was amazed by the detail of the Dallas Lego structures, and Paul grew up on Legos, so he was like a kid in a candy store. There was lots of stimulation for Blake, so that kept him busy. We even managed to talk Ethan, who is very cautious, into riding rides. The Sea Life was better than I expected. I have been to some great aquariums and this one compares nicely against some of the best. My current favorite Aquarium is the one in Moody Gardens in Galveston. I got to sneak away to do a little shopping, which was a bonus for me.

Lessons learned/tips:

1. This is stroller friendly

2. Check Groupon for deals

 The most enjoyable part of the trip was our adventure to Glen Rose, TX. I did not expect to enjoy it as much as we did, even my husband was pleasantly surprised. Glenrose is a little over an hour away from Grapevine, located southwest of Fort Worth. It was my first time going out this way and it is quite scenic. Our first stop was Dinosaur Valley State Park. It costs $5 per adult and kids were free. The park contains real dinosaur tracks that are over 100 million years old in three locations. We only got to go down to see 1 set of tracks as the others required a trek across the riverbed. We were not prepared for the water trek and it was a chilly. It was a pretty easy trek down to the first site which includes several “stairs”.  There were some parts that were off the path and required a little maneuvering around the limestone rocks. I had no clue that real dinosaurs once walked in this region of the country. These are some of the best dinosaur tracks in the world according to sources. Here is a good article that contains more details about the history of the park.

Lessons Learned/Tips:

1. In the summer, you are able to swim in the Paluxy river, so plan accordingly

2. Bring rain boots or water friendly shoes to trek to the other dinosaur sites

3. Definitely pack a carrier for baby as it is not stroller friendly

4. Pack light

5. Bring Snacks and water as there are picnic areas

Just a few minutes away from the park was our next stop, Dinosaur World. Once you head out back to the dinosaur area, it feels like you stepped into the Jurassic era, a more peaceful one. There is a trail that leads you around to see an array of life-size dinosaurs. Each stop comes with cool facts about the dinosaurs on display. My son has been really into learning more about dinosaurs and was able to name almost all of them as we passed. That was a proud mommy moment for me. Blake, like most babies, loves being outside, so he enjoyed himself… for the most part.

Lessons Learned/Tips:

1. Bring snacks as the place does not sell food. There is a picnic area.

2. This is stroller friendly.

3. There is a bone yard that you can purchase access to, which is basically a giant sand box, so plan accordingly as the littles will get dirty.

This was a great trip that the entire family enjoyed. In Glenrose, they also have the Fossil Rim Wildlife Center, but we were unable to go to this as well since we only planned a day there. We will be back for more fun. We hope to checkout more Gaylord Hotels as well. Maybe Colorado or DC area Gaylord next.

Krause Springs, A Texas Gem

While surfing the internet, I found a “hidden” gem called Krause Springs. If you love clear water and nature, then this is the perfect spot for you. It is located in Spicewood, TX and the bonus, it is only 30-40 minutes northwest of Austin. The springs is a historical site that is family owned and operated. It is such a peaceful and serene setting, you will feel like you stepped into an Enchanted Garden. The butterfly garden is full of lush and colorful plants. This is a good place to unwind, relax, and become one with nature. Camping is allowed, however, we stayed in Round Rock for the night and spent the day at the springs.

What to do there?

1. Swim/float/relax in the swimming hole

2. Swim in the man-made pool

3. Stroll through the butterfly garden

4. Hug the trees, they’re huge

5. Hang out in the holes of the trees

6. Explore the nature

7. Picnic – there are picnic tables

8. Camp - tent or RV friendly sites

9. Enjoy 32 springs on property

There is a small entrance fee of $8 per person and good news, kids under 4 are free. All other fees, i.e. camping are listed here.

What to bring?

1. Swim clothes

2. Floats

3. Towels, blanket, portable chairs

4. Water toys for the kiddos

5. Tennis shoes

6. Picnic food and snacks

7. Cash for the entrance fee

8. Camera

Pets are not allowed and it would be difficult to get down to the swimming hole with a stroller due to all the stairs.

We went in October and so it was a bit chilly out. The water is cool and refreshing, so this makes for a great summer mini get-a-way! They even do weddings or this would be an awesome place for a family reunion. If you are in Houston, San Antonio, or DFW area, this could easily be a day trip. If you are out of state or on the other side of Texas, plan a few days and enjoy nearby Austin. It is one of my favorite cities to visit in the US!

P.S. On the way to Krause Springs, we passed the Narrows. We have not yet been but it seems like it would be a great place for older kids or kids (adults) who are decent swimmers. It looks beautiful!

New Mexico, the Land of Enchantment

My oldest son, Ethan, was born to travel. While pregnant with him, I flew a ton, multiple times a week, and had no issues. My other son Blake…that’s another story for another post. Let’s just say he is not a fan of being in anything that goes – car, bus, plane, etc. – and I realized that from the moment I got pregnant. So, for Ethan, instead of having a birthday party when he turned 2, we decided to take a trip to New Mexico. We did it just before his birthday to take advantage of the free travel. If you do not know, airlines do not charge for flights for kids under the age of 2. You must bring a birth certificate or similar document to show proof of age and they will provide you with a lap child ticket. Some parents opt out of this for a flight and purchase a seat for their baby (utilizing an airline approved Child Safety Restraint) but Ethan liked to sit in our lap and look outside the window.

New Mexico is a very small state, so for this trip, we were able to do multiple cities over just 5 days. We flew on Southwest Airlines to Albuquerque. I am a fan of National Rental Car for many reasons – 1. It has a large selection of vehicles 2. If you sign up to be an Emerald Club member, you get the benefit of selecting your vehicle if you book the midsize rate and above. So typically, a midsize vehicle is an Impala, but emerald aisle selections vary widely from corollas to explorers. We selected a Jeep Grand Cherokee from the aisle choices at the same midsize rate. 3. All you have to do is show ID (card is already on file when you set up an account) at the exit kiosk and boom, you are on your way. 

We headed straight down to White Sands National Monument.  It is in Alamogordo, NM, which took us roughly 3.5 hours to get to from the ABQ airport. We did stop to grab some sandwiches and snack so that we could picnic in the dunes. When we arrived, all I can say about this place is WWOOOOWWWW!!!! It is elevated at 4,235 feet and is comprised of gypsum crystals. This dune field is the largest of its kind on this entire EARTH, right here in the US. When you arrive, you must pay an entrance fee of $5 per adult (kiddos under 15 are free), unless you have a national parks and federal recreational Land Pass (which is $80 per year).  I do believe in 2019 the fees are going up to $10 per adult. They provide you with a map and we purchased snow saucers for sledding. They were available for a very small fee. I cannot recall exactly, but I believe it was less than $15 for 2 saucers. We went on a weekday, so the park was quieter. There is a sandy, but paved road, that you can easily drive your vehicle around on.  Just make sure you stay on path, we have gotten a vehicle stuck in sand before (in Pensacola, not fun). The first place we stopped at had a beautiful board walk, that was stroller friendly. This is the only path that is stroller friendly in the dunes. It gives you amazing views of the mountain range in the distance and views of seemingly never-ending fields of sand. From there, we dusted ourselves off, and hoped back in the car to find a good spot for sand sledding. This was our first actual contact with the sand, and let me tell you, it was HOT. We opted to take our shoes off. We put Ethan in closed toe sandals due to the hot temperature of the sand. Sledding down the sand hills was exhilarating. Ethan even took a slide down on his own, with supervision of course. There are covered picnic pavilions near the parking area that we took advantage of for lunch. There is about 16 miles of road round trip, so due to the heat, we ended up spending the remainder of the time in our car driving around, stopping for pictures, then hopping back in. 

Lesson learned: 

1. Do not go in August in the middle of the day, nor on a windy day

2. For small non-walking babies, bring a carrier

3. Bring lots of water; it is very dry

4. The sand loves you so much, that it’s hard to get rid of. I recommend bringing squirt bottle with water to spray your legs & arms, towels for drying, and plastic bags for sandy shoes

We ended up staying at a nearby Resort called Inn of the Mountain Gods. It was an uphill drive from the White Sands National Monument, that took an hour to get to. There are closer hotels, but this Resort is beautiful. We got a 1st floor room that was right on the golf course with views of the lake. Since we had the baby, we wanted some place where we could entertain ourselves without having to spend too much more time in the car. They have a casino, restaurants including a buffet, gorgeous resort grounds, pool, lake activities, and nearby hiking trails. We got a very low rate for overnight stay; $110. After Ethan went to bed, Paul and I grabbed a drink and relaxed on the patio and enjoyed the beautiful views of the resort.

We live in Houston, which is right at sea level. We are not used to the high elevation. My husband and I were able to adjust, but Ethan struggled. He has had allergy induced asthma issues since birth. Thankfully we did pack his inhaler and used it as needed to help open his lungs.

Lessons Learned:

1. Do not push your stroller on the golf course :), they will come get you.

2. Bring a jacket as it is cooler at this higher elevation

We were off to our next adventure, so we trekked (by car) to Albuquerque. On the road from the resort to ABQ, we passed quite a few national & state sites/parks. We stopped at one called Valley of Fires. There was no fee and it had a boardwalk out into the field that allowed us to push the stroller. The park is full of molten rock that has various flowers, cactus, and trees within the rock. 

My brother, his wife, and niece live in ABQ, so that was the bonus and the main reason we picked New Mexico. My mom flew in to join in on the fun as well. My boys call her Bubbie.  We got to spend time with family, ate good, went to a minor league baseball game courtesy of my sister-in-love, visited the Indian Pueblo Cultural Center, and my absolute favorite thing was the Sandia Peak Tramway. The Tramway was another activity where kids are free, under the age of 5, so this was another win! Adult prices are a bit steep (you will learn that I am very frugal 😊), at $25 a person for roundtrip ticket, but if you eat at the Sandiago’s grill, which we did, you get $5 off your meal. The ride is 15 minutes each way and you are going up over 10,000 feet. Once you get to the top, you can stay up as long as you want and enjoy the enchanting panoramic views of the valley. The other side of the peak is a ski area, but we were not going to partake in any skiing in the middle of August. 

Lessons Learned/Tips:

1. Do it anyway, even if you fear heights like me, it is WORTH IT. 

2. Make sure you smell nice; the tramway cars are packed tight with people. 

The next day we went to Kasha-Katuwe Tent Rocks National Monument. This was the most EXTREME hiking (mind you, it was not really extreme for an experienced, well-prepared hiker), that I have ever done. I ALMOST DIED…getting to that part in a few!!! It’s about an hour north from where we are staying, a bit closer to Santa Fe. There are cone shaped formations and has 3 trail options. We picked the 1.5-mile, one-way trek Canyon Trail. This is the most difficult of the three and it takes you through a narrow slot canyon and up to the mesa top. As difficult as it was, it was BEAUTIFUL trail from beginning to end, especially at the top. You can see all the ranges of mountains and the valley. We did not have our hiking carrier, but we did bring the ergo baby 360 carrier (bad idea). There is a wheel chair accessible trail that would allow for a stroller, but this one is definitely not stroller friendly. When we went through the narrow slots, we could not even have Ethan on our back due to the small width. Here is where things get interesting. There was one extremely uphill part with lose gravel, this is where Paul and Ethan could not continue. It is a narrow and curved area, that is just the last big feat before you get to the top. BUT one slip or mis-step, could have you off the ledge. Coming down, I had my niece with me, age 7 at the time, and our feet were slipping on the loose gravel; we froze in panic. At this point, my whole life flashed before my eyes and I did not know how I was going to get us down. I was trying to pretend to be ok for my niece, but I do not think I did a good job at that. Thankfully some experienced hikers were headed down with my mom and they helped us down around the curvy narrow edge. It is important to note, they had hiking sticks and proper shoes. After the brush with death, downhill was an easy trek as we knew what to expect, as it is the same trip coming, but backwards. We stayed with the experienced group all the way to the end. 

Lessons Learned/Tips:

1. Bring a real hiking carrier, similar to this one: Clevr Cross Country Baby Backpack Hiking Carrier (ours is discontinued)

2. Pack light, but a water canteen would be helpful, especially if you go during a hot summer month

3. Wear shoes with good traction, bring a hat, and hiking sticks would be helpful 

The last and final day of the trip, we went to Santa Fe, NM. It took a little over an hour to get to from ABQ. This was a lot of driving for Ethan, so we tried to keep it fun with…the tablet (no judging please haha). The amateur artist in me, was in heaven! We spent most of our time on Canyon Road, but also ventured to Santa Fe Railyard for lunch. There are several art galleries in this area and they are free to visit. There are several parking options when you get to downtown. When Ethan was over the museums, he spent time at a local café with his Bubbie and ventured to a park in the area. There is a magical church called Loretto Chapel, that has a unique spiral staircase built by an unknown person who disappeared, some believe it was built by an angel. It is worth the visit! It is also free (donations welcome). 

Lessons learned:

1. Bring comfy shoes for walking

2. Bring the stroller

We spent our last and final night at Hilton Buffalo Thunder in Santa Fe. The rates were low, under $150 per night, and the grounds are beautiful. I love the New Mexico architecture; its pueblo style. 

We drove back to ABQ and flew back to Houston. I cannot wait to go back, to see my family and I would love to see the Hot Air Balloons during the festival. There is so much more to do in this beautiful state.  Another bonus, the dry weather was amazing for my hair! We compacted a lot in 5 days, but that’s how we roll! We believe in making the most of our trips and usually need a day off before returning to work to rest from our vacation.