California 2017

We took our first vacation as a family of three this past week! Last fall, Amanda and I started talking about taking a Disneyland trip and it quickly turned into a whole family trip! It was so fun to take a trip with Brian's whole family before we take off for the other side of the country for the next few years. We started out on Tuesday, May 2 and headed to Las Vegas. Tatum did so good in the car and we only stopped once on the way there to feed her and change her diaper. We grabbed some food also and were on our way again! Once we got to Vegas we hung out and swam in Kevin and Amanda's pool, had a yummy dinner, and relaxed before the bigger part of the trip!

Wednesday morning, we got up early and headed to LA to hit Universal Studios. It was so much fun finally getting to ride all the rides now that I'm not pregnant (I was last time we went and wasn't able to go on much). I'm definitely getting to be more of a pansy the older I get because those virtual reality and 3D rides totally made me sick if I wasn't careful and took a break in between. We rode both Harry Potter rides (Dylan insisted I ride the Hippogriff ride with him), Transformers, Revenge of the Mummy, Jurassic Park, and Minion Mayhem to name the best ones. We grabbed dinner at Universal's City Walk and then headed to Anaheim to check into the hotel. We stayed at Kevin & Amanda's timeshare at Worldmark by Wyndham and it was so nice. We were right off Katella so we were close enough that Brian and I walked to the park one evening. 

Thursday, we spent the whole day in Disneyland and it was probably my favorite day. Coincidentally it was May the 4th (Star Wars Day) and it was a little busier but not too bad. This was totally the best time to go because it wasn't peak season yet pre-summer and the wait times weren't bad at all either day. We got fast passes for Hyperspace Mountain, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad, and Splash Mountain. We also hit up Haunted Mansion, Matterhorn, Star Tours, and some of the smaller rides for the kids. Tatum rode her first rides, Buzz Lightyear's Astro Blasters, Pirates of the Caribbean, and It's A Small World. We were going to take her on Jungle Cruise but she and I went to get dole whip while everyone else went on that. I basically ate my way through the park being sure to grab my faves: dole whip, churros, jalapeno and cheese stuffed pretzels, and frozen lemonade. The best part about going with all the nieces and nephews was the leftover cotton candy, slushies, and treats! (Ok not the best part but a definite perk haha).

Friday, we spent most of the day in California Adventure and wisely used our fast passes for Radiator Springs Racers and Soarin' Around the World. We had a great system of sending one person to grab FastPasses while the rest of us ran to another ride. When we first got in, Kevin went straight to Radiator Springs Racers to grab the passes while the rest of us basically walked on to California Screamin'. We worked our way around the park riding pretty much everything. It was fun being in Disneyland and California Adventure because there was a lot more rides for Ella and Dylan to ride, so we spent a lot of time in A Bug's Life Land for them. Cars Land was a big hit with Luigi's and Mater's rides, but Toy Story Midway Mania was probably a bigger hit. That one is always fun and Brian and I were in close competition with that! But Amanda kicked both our butts haha. The kids were getting tired so we grabbed some dinner and headed back to the hotel to swim in the pool and hot tub. Brian, Kirk, Lindy, Tatum and I went back that evening to see the World of Color show and I'm so glad we did because Brian had never seen it. Also, we got to see the fireworks in Disneyland which was great since they weren't able to have them Saturday night because of the windy conditions.

Saturday, we headed to Huntington Beach for a bit and the US Volleyball Open was going on so that was fun to see. It was really windy and a little chilly so we didn't stay long with Tatum. That evening we went out to the Cheesecake Factory which was right next to our hotel and then Brian and I went back to Disneyland to see the Main Street Electrical Parade and grab some more dole whip (you can never get enough!). It was nice to have some time just the two of us and it was nice of Kirk and Lindy to watch Tatum so we could bob and weave throughout the park and to rides without a stroller! It was a great end to a great trip.

Sunday, we made the long trip back to Utah. With Tatum, we had to stop a few times but for the most part it lined up with either meal times or a need to stop for gas and she did so good. Overall travel time with the stops wound up being about 12 hours so it was a great trial run for the looming Florida trip!

We are so lucky to have such a happy little girl that's so easy to please! I sat in the back with her for a little bit of the drive home Sunday but she was so happy most of the ride and either slept or just looked around. I'm happy we have a baby that likes her carseat and doesn't just scream for 12 hours hahaha. Anyway, it was a fabulous trip, and I'm adding some photos below! 

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East Coast Trip: May 2016

We booked our flights at the beginning of March to go home and spend some time with my family, and I had a countdown on my phone. 

We strategically planned our vacation, taking 7 days off of work to spend a full 11 days traveling in total, with an extra day to recover (Memorial Day) before we had to get back to work.

We started our adventure by going to Las Vegas on Thursday, May 19th when Brian got out of class. In case I haven’t mentioned this before, flying in and out of Vegas is WAY cheaper than flying from Salt Lake City, and it gives us an excuse to go see Kevin & Amanda. We were greeted by 3 enthusiastic little boys who were more than excited to show us their new pool. Kevin & Amanda are cool parents who wound up letting them stay up an extra two hours when “just showing us the pool” turned into night swimming. 

Friday, we woke up early and hung out with the kids before Braxton and Corbin had to head to school. Then Amanda took Brian and I, Dylan, and Ella hiking at Red Rock Canyon State Park, which was totally beautiful. I’ll upload some photos of that because the rocks are incredible and they have some cool slot canyons. Mid-afternoon we had to head to the airport for our nonstop 4 PM flight. Because of the time change, we were scheduled to get to Baltimore at 11:45 PM, but made it in a little early and my dad was there waiting for us.

Saturday, Brian and I were seriously jet-lagged and slept until noon. To be fair it was only 10 AM for us, but we never sleep in that late, so we felt like our day was super short. But that day was the real reason we began planning our trip for the end of May, it was one of my best friends from college, Shanna’s, wedding day. So that afternoon we headed to Winchester, VA for their quaint, country-themed wedding. It was absolutely adorable and totally Shanna in a barn with hay bales for the ceremony, removed for a big dance floor after, and the best BBQ food. Our mutual friend, Sam, was a bridesmaid so we got to see her and her husband Jake, as well as my college best friend and roommate Erin and her boyfriend. Much fun was had by all.

Sunday was a relaxing day spent with my dad and stepmom, before my cousin Kimmy came for dinner. Because I have the greatest dad ever, my request of steamed Maryland crabs for dinner was upheld and I ate about 13 on my own. Literally the greatest thing on earth, and if you ever find yourself in Maryland, you should seek them out. But you’ll probably need a native to show you how to pick them, like we had to for Brian and Kimmy. It was quite amusing watching Brian pick 2 crabs in the same amount of time it took me to do 7.

Monday my Fitbit was in Heaven as we romped around Washington DC and I racked up over 12.5 miles. We took the metro in from the closest stop, bought day passes (which always winds up being the cheapest at $15ish if you’re traveling a lot like we were), and headed to the National Zoo. Last year when Brian came back east with me for the “meet the parents” trip, we briefly stopped at the zoo, but it was the last stop of our day and we mainly just went so I could see the elephants. But this time, we spent 3 hours leisurely exploring the entire zoo. The National Zoo is (in my opinion) hands down the best zoo in the United States. For starters, it’s FREE. Completely free if you take the metro so you don’t even have to pay for parking. Second, it has about every exotic animal you can think of. It’s about a half-mile walk from the metro, so it’s a no-brainer stop.

Next, we made our way back to the metro and took it into the heart of DC to go to some museums. My all time favorite (and most heart-breaking) museum is the National Holocaust Museum, and I really wanted to take Brian there, so we went.

I had to get my Panera Bread mac & cheese as well, so we stopped there for lunch. I don’t care what anyone says, Paradise Bakery does NOT compare to Panera. Then the rest of the afternoon was spent walking around to various monuments, before we met Kimmy for a Washington Nationals vs. NY Mets game which was a nice end to our day. I miss major league sports, majorly, considering Utah has like nothing. At least the Jazz are good to get cheap tickets to see other teams play hahaha.

On Tuesday, we headed to West Virginia to spend some time with my mom and stepdad. Every time I go back to my childhood home, I go through these stages of revelation. It’s like I’m back where I was in high school planning my life and I spend so much time thinking about how to improve myself and what is happening in my life. Whatever life changing thoughts I had while I was there seemed to carry over into the next day when a very exciting opportunity was extended to me. (But this I’ll save for a surprise post in a few weeks).

Wednesday and Thursday we spent time with my family, went and picked strawberries with my mom and made lots of strawberry jam, and went kayaking and boating down the river.  Oh! And my mom's cat had kittens! I'll definitely add photos of them because they are SO CUTE. And the baby goats :)

Thursday was my stepdad’s birthday and two days later on Saturday was my mom’s, so on Friday night, a lot of their friends came over along with two of my aunts who came for the weekend, and we had a huge dinner and fun night together. Saturday we had to leave, but we got to see my grandma and great-grandma before we had to head back to Maryland, and got to spend a little time with my dad, stepmom, and 3 of my nieces before we hopped back on the plane. 

Coming home always takes longer, so a 5 hour flight later and we were back in Vegas! Kevin & Amanda graciously let us house-sit while they went camping for the holiday weekend, so we got to wake up and hop in their amazing pool for the morning. I think I finally started getting a tan! 

Vacations are never long enough but it does feel good to be home. The 6 1/2 hour drive home was definitely a long one after a 5 hour flight the night before. Since we’ve been home, a lot of things have been changing and I am so excited to announce some changes in the next few weeks! In the meantime, I will attach some photos to this. Can’t wait to head home again at Christmas!

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