Mt. Whitney 2007

Eight years ago today, we started hiking just after midnight (when our permits were valid) with two friends to the top of Mt. Whitney. It's the tallest peak in the lower 48. We took 16 hours from start to finish, hiking 22 miles. We'd been engaged just two months at this point and were loving life.

I'm only bummed we didn't know there was a geocache up there when we hiked! We would've totally found it!

One Off Tucson

We just returned from a 4-day trip to Tucson, tagging along with Elliot to a nice hotel in the middle of the nice, warm desert. We love these trips. The actual travel and sleeping parts are often stressful, but so much fun to visit a new place and share these experiences with the kids. My parents also love Arizona and booked themselves a flight from California and took three days off work to spend time with us while the husband was at work meetings all day. With winter overstaying its welcome here in Illinois, we were looking forward to our Tucson trip for awhile!

Some people call me a little crazy for choosing to travel with kids. No, it's not always fun. But, there are always redeeming qualities from these trips. Sarah wrote a little about making memories that last recently and it totally made me think of this trip. Even if we have an uncooperative kid for a few hours on an airplane, we know there will be some excitement that will make it all worth it. We really want our kids to have these explorations so they know there is a big world out there to see and enjoy. It's there for them and they just have to prioritize their interests. We just don't want it to be us who didn't plant the seed of interest.

With all that said, this trip was just a little off. Nothing catastrophic happened. We are all alive and still happy we went. But just about everything we did, we encountered some kind of issue.

My parents have a timeshare in Tucson they've stayed in before. It was booked. It's never booked. I was sort of banking on them being able to take the kids overnight or something. Didn't happen.
They booked a hotel local to ours and were still able to come and relieve us for breaks like a date night and hike.

Benjamin came down with a serious stomach virus the day before our flight that lasted the entire trip. The worst virus he'd ever had and the longest lasting one, too.
Miraculously, we still managed.

Elliot dropped us off with all our luggage at Midway Airport ticketing. Me + the kids solo. In that 15 minutes of time, Benjamin starts to gag and in the knick of time, I made it over to a garbage can where he vomited into the trash at 5:00 in the morning as ticket agents watched. Before our flight.
Miraculously, this was the last vomit of the trip. Lethargy and diarrhea took over from there.

Our hotel room might has well have been in New Mexico, it was so far away from the main hotel and parking.
But, it was nice. And clean. And spacious. And we brought our double stroller to transport.

All six of us got suited up to head down to the pool for hot tub time. It was too cold for the pools or the waterslide. There were three hot tubs. Two were cold for some reason and the third had just closed because someone vomited into it. No hot tub for us. Then, Benjamin had to use the bathroom and told me he was done, but he wasn't. Diarrhea all over us both.
Hot shower followed.

We stayed for four days. The first two days were rainy and in the 50's with weather before and after our trip in the 80's with no rain in the forecast.
We did have a full day of perfect weather and the day we left was nice, too.

On our first nice day, we planned a zoo trip. Elliot accidentally took the keys to the car into his important meeting, so we were stuck in the hotel room without a way to get the carseats out.
We made the zoo trip an hour late, but still saw all of the attractions and animals, with time to spare.

We were supposed to have a date night beginning at 3:00 and his meeting didn't let out until 4:30. (Kids were still on CST, so our bedtime was still early for them and thus we had to return early.)
Date night was still nice and we ate delicious food, had delicious drinks and a nice drive after. Short, but sweet.

There was so much traffic from Tucson to Phoenix that we barely made our flight.
We made it by 12 minutes. With dinner in hand (nevermind that we didn't have lunch!) and the very last 3-person row on our Southwest flight.

The rental car people took ages to check us in when we returned. Then, the shuttle to the airport was about 100 people long. Only for our airline. Of course.
We still got on a bus and people gave up their seats for us with the kids.

Benjamin dealing with a stomach virus the entire time we were there and sleeping terribly.
He didn't fall out of the bed (haha) and only managed to wake Claire once (who went back to sleep easily).

There were great memories made though:
- Getting to spend 4 days with my parents and having the kids spend more time with them.
- Enjoying the wonderful 1.5 days of sunshine we got!
- Eating delicious Mexican food, homemade tortillas and some fun gems recommended to us by friends.
- Having a date night at a restaurant we used to eat at in El Segundo, California (we just found out closed!) thats original location is in Tucson.
- Driving by to check out the Air Force boneyard and enjoying fun drinks without the kids
- A nice zoo day with my parents (even if the kids slept the majority of the time)
- Making memories. Even if it would've been easier staying home in our bubble, it's so nice to get out, explore, find some fun gems and share as much of the world as we can with our kids.

Arrived at the Westin and Benjamin was chipper... until the sicks hit again. On our way to the pool and it rained.

He wanted to go down the water slide. He wasn't allowed.

That bathing suit is a 6/9 months! Score on two seasons!

Delicious.

Lemon/pina colada/strawberry mix + veggie sandwich is where it's at!

We love Grandpa. This was when we all attempted to hit up the hot tub... that was cold. All three out of commission.

Tucson Tamale Company for dinner one night. Yum

Zoo baby. Dirty knees because, no interest in walking but LOTS of interest in moving about.

Zoo selfie with a peacock. Both kids were asleep and we were walking the zoo in peace.

Hello Mr. Giraffe.

Date night. We went on many dates to this restaurant in California... visited the original and ate delish food again!

After drinks at dinner, we got more Eegee drinks and headed on a little drive to the Air Force boneyard.

Claire was not a good kiddo on this flight, but Benjamin was great for both flights. I think 3yo + iPad is the easy zone. Claire was crying and we were drinking. Thank you, Southwest Airlines for serving such a quality beverage. 

Little sister was happy to be on that flight out, but also happy to be vocal about her disapproval on the way home.

Finger Rock hike the day of our departure. Left the kids with the grandparents for about 5 miles of beauty.

*Most photos taken by Gawbee and Grandpa and these were the ones I managed to get uploaded from my phone! I have more, but this blogging app is driving me bonkers, so I'm done.

The Happiest Place on Earth

I grew up going to Disneyland throughout my entire childhood and into adulthood. I probably went more in high school and college than I did in my entire growing up even. I know the layout of the park quite well and even went on casual group dates to Disneyland. Most of my friends in Los Angeles have season passes and even go after work on Friday nights. We went on our first wedding anniversary with good friends just before we left California for our month long road trip to Illinois (then to Germany two weeks later). Here's a throwback blog post of that Disney trip. We even drove right by Disney Paris while living in Germany and on our road trip to Paris with my parents, but didn't go or even really have the desire. I might have had a different outlook if it wasn't winter in Paris when we visited.

We always swore that if we had kids, we wouldn't consider taking them to Disney World (hello expensive!) before they were about third grade because we wanted our expense and effort to pay off in memories they'd actually keep. But, when your husband has a work conference for five days in Orlando on the Disney property with a free shuttle to all the Disney parks and a hotel room all paid?

You buy two tickets to Disney World and make some of your own memories with kids who won't remember their first trip to the Happiest Place on Earth at all. Both kids were free and I know you might not believe it, but Benjamin lasted the entire 10 hours of the park exploring without tantrums or naps and totally rallied to the end. I swear they sprinkle magic fairy dust all over that joint.

It was my first trip to DW and while I definitely enjoyed it, I missed some obvious favorites that are part of DL. Though, I've never been to Epcot, Disney Studios or Animal Kingdom either, and I do believe some of those differences are evened out by visiting all of the parks... if you have that kind of time and money, of course.

Taking kids was a whole other experience. Even though it was technically a new park to me, they are very similar in layout and have the same overall rides or something equivalent to the Disney park I'm used to. It didn't feel like a very new experience. It was crazy passing by Space Mountain with less than a 10 minute wait in favor of The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh instead. We went on none (except Pirates) of the rides we would normally hit up and favored the rides we would never go on before. It was actually quite fantastic seeing the park through the eyes of a small child, unlike the teenager and adult-without-child I had last been when visiting a Disney park.

We worked the Fastpass system to our full advantage while there and even used the child swap system a number of times that granted Benjamin back-to-back rides with each of us while the other hung out with Claire (which was perfect when the toddler immediately requested "again, again" after every ride... was nice to actually say, OKAY sometimes!). We used all three fastpasses early and continued to add another on immediately after, allowing us to wait no longer than about 5-10 minutes to get on any ride. When Elliot left to head back to the hotel for a the conference kickoff dinner, I stayed the final two hours with the kids and used both fastpasses (his and mine) to get on two rides immediately. I highly recommend selecting your first three fastpasses strategically and as early as you can to get rid of them so you can use more and more of them throughout the day. Plan this at home before you get there. I also recommend keeping all of the fastpasses separate so you have more flexibility to take different kids on different rides at different times. Being connected means all people 3yo+ are forced to be on the same schedule when Child 1 might want to go on Splash Mountain and Child 2 might prefer Big Thunder Mountain. If you play your cards on the fastpasses properly, you can get a lot more rides in with very little wait time.

We arrived at the park at 9:08 a.m. and left around 6:45 p.m. (open 9a-7p that day). We breaked shortly for lunch, but the rest of the time was spent walking about, riding rides and meeting characters. The entire first hour was basically devoted to meeting Mickey Mouse and making our way to the first fastpass ride. The character lines were the longest lines all day we waited for, thanks to the fastpasses and off-season!

We experienced the following rides/attractions/shows/character meetings:

Meeting Mickey Mouse at Town Square Theater (a must-do! Mickey talks to you personally!) - longest line of 35min.
Barnstormer (x2) "A little bit scary, SO fun"
Buzz Lightyear's Space Ranger Spin (fastpass #1)
Meeting Buzz Lightyear
Dumbo the Flying Elephant (x2)
It's a Small World (x2) - more info below, but such a crazy thing happened!
The Magic Carpets of Aladdin
The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh (fastpass #2)
Meeting Winnie the Pooh and Tigger - second longest line of about 25min.
Mickey's PhilharMagic - Benjamin's first interactive 3D show. It's great!
Monster's Inc. Laugh Floor - super funny!
Peter Pan's Flight (x2) (fastpass #3)
Pirate's of the Caribbean - only has one drop at DW and two drops at DL! Better at DL and significantly longer.
Prince Charming Regal Carrousel
Swiss Family Treehouse
Tomorrowland Speedway
Tomorrowland Transit Authority Peoplemover - "more escalators!"
Under the Sea, Journey of the Little Mermaid

The only rides Claire was not allowed on that we took Benjamin on were the Barnstormer and Tomorrowland Speedway. She was even allowed to ride in the Ergo on some of the rides and handled the drop on Pirates of the Caribbean just fine.

Now for the photos:

On our way to Orlando! The kids were basically perfect the first leg and the way back, decent. Just before I took that #familyselfie, Benjamin was saying, "I coming Mickey Mouse!" Benjamin caught in the act of hitting his sister on the hotel room bed. Sunset boat cruise at Downtown Disney.

We met Buzz Lightyear after our first ride (the Buzz Lightyear ride). Second longest line of the day: Meeting Pooh & Tigger. They took two "breaks" while we were in line. There was an awesome Make-a-Wish family in front of us in line and that was so wonderful. One thing is for sure: Disney does an incredible job making each child feel so special by not rushing families along and even using our cameras to take pictures with the characters.

A bit of a reverse order here, but our very first thing we did in the park was head to the Town Square Theater where we waited 35 minutes (longest line all day!) to meet Mickey Mouse. He talks, you guys! I didn't know this and Benjamin was thoroughly thrilled to meet his idol. Well worth the wait as we watched Mickey walk Benjamin around the room doing an elephant stomping dance, telling him he'd been waiting for him all day and that it was so nice getting to see him. A kid's dream! Minnie Mouse and Goofy were in Times Square as we left to the rides, also taking photos. That's a standard schedule for them.

Best family Mickey photo we managed & a washed-out photo of us on Main Street.

The first ride (Benjamin's game face!) & the only spotting of Benjamin wearing his Mickey hat. Basically ever. 

Benjamin went on the Barnstormer 2x in a row, thanks to child swap. He went on with Dad first and was apparently drinking a chocolate milk (!) when he took the photo of them going up on the roller coaster. Apparently he took the milk away right after. It was a pretty fast roller coaster and he was tall enough (35" required; he's 36ish). He did think it was a bit scary, but wanted to go on a second time. And yes, he totally has his hands up as Dad encouraged him to do! Also, Tomorrowland Speedway, which I'm pretty sure is called Autopia at Disneyland.

We all went on Dumbo twice. Once Claire was sleeping in the Ergo and they were in front of me, and a second time as a family in one elephant. Benjamin was a fan of the flying elephant. Shortly after, we had a Mickey Mouse ice cream sandwich. Of course!

The Many Adventures of Winnie the Pooh tends to have long waits (in addition to Peter Pan & Buzz Lightyear, hence the first three fastpasses), so we hit that up with our fastpass. Dad took him on the first time and then I took him on with my fastpass the second time. All children under 3 (free) tag along with the fastpass holder on the rides. They themselves don't count. We also managed some ridiculously delicious mac'n'cheese in Fantasyland and were approached by some random (?) characters. Benjamin absolutely loved It's a Small World and that's his cheesy little grin when on the first time with Dad and his fastpass. The second time, I managed both kids by myself (fastpass use #2 so B could go twice!). In line, the woman in front of me told me she thinks she recognizes me and asked if I had a friend named Laura ____. Um, yes I do! Turns out they are friends and both live in Toronto. She remembered my face from an Instagram post of Laura's from TWO YEARS AGO! We chatted and rode the long It's a Small World ride ... how's that for irony ... and said our goodbyes. And now we're Instagram friends. More Canadian friends, check!

We caught the tail end of a few parades, but didn't manage to sit through a full one ourselves. We did see fireworks, some favorite characters and lots of dancing.

Elliot had to head back to the hotel and start his work dinners and conference, so I stuck back with the kids for the two remaining hours of the park and hit up three more things in addition to treating ourselves to a Dole Whip. We went on Ariel's Under the Sea ride, saw Mickey's PhilharMagic, went on the Carrousel & eventually headed back on the boat (instead of Monorail this time) to our shuttle bus. Benjamin loved the 3D show and kept putting his hands out to grab things. He even grabbed my leg at one point and Claire was content playing on the floor. We felt the water spray and wind, but didn't smell whatever we were expected to smell? It's not nearly as cool as the Soarin' experiences, but it's 2003 technology and was still quite fun. It made me so excited to eventually take Benjamin to a 3D movie.

A few things to look at here from the boat ride back: The boat's captain waving and the progression of Benjamin's faces. Claire is overall unamused and rightfully exhausted.

Other things that happened: We rode the Monorail just for fun one of the days because my kid loves transportation (and elevators and escalators, but not seatbelts), one of the two double stroller naps because these kids don't nap in hotels, a sleeping Benjamin at the LEGO store in Downtown Disney, and a very cute little girl hanging out with Mama near the pool.

Most stupid thing I did while there? Spent $20 on an inflatable gator at the Hilton pool. You see how big that thing is resting on top of my Double BOB stroller? So big and underused that I insisted on bringing it home to get more use out of it. He did find a friend to play with at one point and enjoyed the alligator back in the hotel room. Seriously, you guys. I thought it was a good idea to buy this to go through the lazy river (that shoots water, so baby hated it), but it turns out it's impossible to be 5'3" and manage getting off an alligator in fast moving water with a toddler who cannot swim and a small baby without capsizing the stupid reptile. I had a complete stranger help get Benjamin off and pulled a muscle getting Claire and myself off that stupid thing. Scarred for life. In that last photo, Benjamin's reciting something we say at storytime and I just thought it was too cute that I needed to share. 

And there you have it, folks. Benjamin's second major theme park (Cedar Park first) and flight # we've lost count by now. Claire's first amusement park and fourth flight, ironically, both to/from Florida. Her next flight? Whistler, baby!

My Phone Took a Bath + Maryland Trip to Grandparent's House

We are back in action at the Wilson abode after a super fun weekend. The getaway started off a little rough, however, with me hurriedly stuffing a quick laundry load into the machine last Wednesday, only to realize 5 minutes into the FULL CYCLE that my phone was probably at the bottom of the washload. Yep, indeed. A morning of blowdryers and rice and filing down a bobbie pin to make a suitable Pentalobe screwdriver to open my phone and then leaving it for 4 days in the rice I prepped that did nothing for the cause.

I went along the entire trip and finally visited the people at the cell phone store to tell me my phone would be replaced for a mere $400. Ehm, nothankyou. What Benjamin doesn't know, is Mama is now using "his" phone. When I replaced my old iPhone3G with the iPhone4G, I loaded a bunch of educational apps on there for him like Hooked on Phonics.

But Mama needs to be able to communicate with the outside world. And my own mama is sending me her old phone to use that's better than the one I'm currently stuck with and all will be well again. That's the phone debacle in a nutshell.

Did you know there's a case called Lifeproof that is water resistant? Yeah, me neither. I'll be owning one of those bad boys when I upgrade to a new phone next year.

Last Thursday, Benjamin went to preschool and then we picked him up and headed straight for the airport. We found ridiculously low prices flying into Delaware (2hrs away), so hopped on those tickets. I packed minimally to avoid checked bag fees on the low-cost carrier and it turned out to be an excellent decision. We even came back with a few articles of clothing that weren't even used! It also helps that we ran a load of wash (minus the cell phone addition) during our short 3.5 day trip. We literally took on board 3 backpacks and a diaper bag. The carseats were checked and the BOB double stroller was gate checked. It survived, but a chunk of the handlebar foam was compromised.

We saw old friends that the husband has known since childhood, went to a county fair, a harvest festival, had delicious dinners and even more delicious desserts, went on a brewery tour, had an evening to hang out with friends, introduced Claire to her great-great grandparents, spent lots of great time with the grandparents and aunt "Mansa" and shared the husband's childhood home for the first time with our kids. Benjamin had never been to Maryland in his 31 months of life until this point! Well, except in utero. It's just so much easier when people travel to him, but he definitely found it beyond special to sleep in Aunt Mansa's bed, go on an airplane (despite having been on many before) and explore a new place.

Overall, they both were excellent travelers on the plane and in the car. There were a few moments, but to be expected. I think the ages they are now make for better travelers than crawlers or early walkers, no question. Benjamin did not try to escape his seat at all this trip and only really had an issue when he was instructed to keep his seatbelt on (of which he knows how to unbuckle himself).

#familyselfie and small airports in Delaware don't have jetways when only 2 flights come in a week.

He's now an airplane-obsessed kid (despite having been on tons already in his 31 months of life). I rented two books from the library on airplanes and when at the park playing with other kids the other day (yes, playing with!), he was telling them about the airplanes in the sky and pointing them out as they flew by us. He talks of how his blanket went on the airplane and how he went to see his grandparents and how he will go see "Mickey House" on the airplane next month and how Gawbee and Grandpa will come see him via airplane. Airplane luv in the house.

We spent a morning (and then an evening) with old friends. Jeff & Erin were in our wedding. Jeff came by Erin's house and Erin's two kids played with Claire & Benjamin while Erin baked up some delicious bread and whipped cream. And coffee. Most important when traveling with kids, especially an 8mo who does not care to sleep well on the road (yet). I sure hope she changes this habit! Benjamin, on the other hand, slept like a rock every single day.

I've never been to a county fair more worthy of the title. I saw (and smelled) more pigs than I could count. Was enough to keep me vegetarian for an afterlife!

Off to the rides... the grandparents may have purchased THREE sheets of ride tickets for Benjamin in advance, so we skipped a nap and went wild! You know your 2-year-old is exhausted when he requests "go home, tired" after an epic day at the fair. He was out within minutes of being in the car.

These are the best photos ever, so I will share ALL of them. This ride goes in an oval but whips you around each curve. He went on with a stranger girl who had the best expressions and hogged the entire handle bar. Her mom was standing next to me, yelling for her to give him some space. They both looked happy as can be.

Right photo: favorite photo of the day. Month even? The best.

Claire meeting Great Gramie & Great Papa for the first time ever. 

Aunt Mansa is always a favorite. 

Aunt Mansa got us into Flying Dog Brewery for a tour and we had a great time. Also, lots of delicious dinners with family, including a ridiculously good peanut butter brownie cake thing.

Funny progression of Claire. Looks at each person and then... SCOWL. Haha!

Long Weekend in St. Petersburg, Florida

Claire has officially and successfully checked off her first flight. She was 12 weeks for hers and Benjamin was 6 weeks.

Benjamin also had a first. A first time sitting in his own seat. Logically, he only wanted out of it nonstop.

One of my children managed a peaceful flight both ways. And the other one... well there have been worse, but not by much. Turns out 25-month olds can still be annoying in their own seats. It didn't help that our flights were during his sleeping times for both leaving and returning.

But you know the Wilsons... nothing stops us from getting out of dodge to warmer temps and sunshine! The husband had a work conference and I usually tag along for this one as it is somewhat spouse/family-friendly. They have a suite setup just for wives to chit-chat, and even plan events for the wives to attend while the husbands are away listening to speakers and networking. I attended some of these events last year in Carslbad, but this time I had two kids with me and no grandparents to help. We managed to attend the first dinner reception with the kiddos, but the rest of the formal dinners had me flying solo.

We had some pretty great highlights of the trip and some not-so-great ones... let's start with the not-so-great:

• Leaving our backpack with Elliot's work laptop (read: very important), iPad (loaded with all of Benjamin's flight entertainment I was banking on), all of our snacks, camera charger, and all of Benjamin's stickers/books/toys that I meticulously packed. It was recovered where we left it in the airport parking shuttle bus. Too bad we noticed just as we were putting our things on the TSA security belt (because we didn't have a laptop to take out). It was just too late. 
• Leaving Benjamin's very favorite monkey Aden & Anais blanket & Claire's brand new bee Aden & Anais blanket along with my nursing cover and a bottle of breastmilk in the children's play area at Tampa Bay's airport. I've called twice and they have not been returned. Possibly discarded. And it feels sort of violating. I know they're just blankets, but my kiddos love them and they're worn in all the right places and theirs. Not to mention the monkey blanket was a gift for Andrew we received from good friends just before he was born. Bummed. 
• This forgetting business frustrates me so much. I'm so organized and when I forget something, it takes awhile for me to get over it. I remember the moment I forgot the blankets because Benjamin was running over and attempting to pull the airport fire alarm and ugh. If we weren't busy chasing him in a fury, I would've checked. Also, it seems to be a trend with these business trips. I forgot the iPad in our hotel room in Carlsbad back in October. Thankfully, that was recovered and returned.
• We hit up a farmer's market that had amazing potential, but both of the kids were at their melting points. It was past lunch, everyone was hungry, and it was Florida hot. I don't regret going, I just wish emotions weren't so... ugly.

Now for the great ones:

• We stayed at the Renaissance Marriott Vinoy Hotel in St. Petersburg. It was phenomenal. It's a gorgeous hotel, but the room was the best part-- enormous and just perfect for what we need with two kids in tow. We ordered a rollaway for Benjamin and he slept great in it for two nights and one nap. The third night was in the crib (also ordered for calm-down time and used!) because he was being an escapee way too many times at like 11 p.m. He did fall out of the rollaway once, but it's only a foot drop compared to the large beds which are like 3 feet from the ground. We just lined the ground with pillows. And the rest of the naps were stroller naps on the go.
• Claire slept in her carseat with the Ergo infant insert and her Halo Sleepsack Swaddle and slept through the night all three nights (for the first time!). I had to wake her after 10+ hours to feed her! Now she is back to waking. Wuh wuh. We put her in the bathroom as not to wake Benjamin and it worked.
• Ordering room service with Benjamin. His first experience and I was not about to let the food go to waste. He's so picky, so I ordered what I hoped would be a hit: chocolate milk, french fries, mac'n cheese, pasta marinara with broccolini (which I ate... wasn't sure what he would choose of the two). I did ask him what he wanted for dinner and he told me "cake". While we did not order any, he had his fair share of treats on this trip, don't worry. As hoped, he loved room service. 
• I spent our second day there with Darcey and her rainbow toddler, Layton. We went to Lowry Zoo and had a really nice time connecting. They're definitely a family I could see us being good friends with if we were more local. Margaritas, beach days... 
• We visited the St. Petersburg Children's Museum and Benjamin loved it. No surprise there, of course.
• Lots of sunshine, warm temperatures, beach and regular walks, poolside relaxation...
• They had a red trolley (just like Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood!) that made a stop in front of our hotel. For $.50, you could ride a few miles before it drops you back off at the hotel. Benjamin loves transportation vehicles. Especially buses/trolleys. We rode it to dinner one night, the farmer's market the next day, and on our last day, we rode it just because! The trolley driver was super nice and Benjamin was contained and happy. It was relaxing for me because he couldn't escape and Claire would sleep soundly.

trolley + hotel

hanging out poolside

zoo with friends

a couple rainbow 2-year old terrors doing their thing.

children's museum action-- rubber pellet sand! super cool and a blast to play in.

room service + sibling love

at the children's museum: news desk, fire truck, enormous tree house/slide, grocery store with registers!

Now we're back to Chicago where the high won't even break 40 degrees today and I'm staring at SNOW on my deck that fell yesterday. It's flurrying right now. Next year this same conference is being held in Napa Valley, CA. To say I am excited about that trip is a huge understatement. I'm hoping to get a few of my BLM friends on board for a little meetup and I'll definitely be dropping the kids with the grandparents to have some adult wine tasting fun.

Puerto Rico Getaway

In the summer, Ray booked a work flight to Seattle. That's one of my favorite cities and located in one of my most favorite states in the U.S. I was totally jealous, but the thought of a very short visit and dealing with two long flights with Benjamin just didn't appeal to me at the time. I also think I was still feeling icky and exhausted from pregnancy that it was just not happening.

But man did I want to go. If we had local relatives, I'd have been on that plane in a heartbeat. When he arrived home, we declared a trip needed to be planned because it's rare we don't have something travel-related on the books. That night, we booked flights. I had been researching flights to Puerto Rico and round trip they were coming up under $300. You read that correctly. They climbed above $300, but not by much when we booked our tickets. They were to be our last flights with Benjamin during my pregnancy with Claire. It's really discouraged for me to travel much at this point with all my pregnancy issues, so this was it. And in case you're curious, Benjamin was a perfect gem on the 4-hour flight there (thank you iTunes downloads of Daniel Tiger, raisins and M&Ms!) but received an F for the 4.5 hour return flight. Such a bad baby. Though he did learn how to say sorry after hitting so much on that flight. Silver lining? Ugh.

While we love traveling with the wee one, we're excited to travel back someday (we never say that!) to drive through the island and hike through the rainforests-- you know, without a needy toddler and big ol' belly that inhibited us from really getting into things this go around. If you've ever traveled with us (sorry parents!), you'd know we're not the type to just sit around. We are always go-go-go because we want to see everything. Perhaps that wasn't the best method to travel through Europe with our family, but we really wanted to share as much as possible. A little zany, but the husband and I are good together.

We did see the city, a rainforest and even did an island hop with the locals. Here's our trip in days:

Thursday arrival: We grabbed a taxi to our hotel. We checked-in and headed out to the beach and dinner immediately. We didn't really intend to go to the beach, but to walk near it and maybe touch the water. Except, that didn't happen. Once B got sight of that water, there was no turning back.

Clothing had to be removed because it was soaked after our toddler decided he had no inhibitions.

Consulted Yelp for a walking distance local food joint and found Bebo's. We had Mofongo-- meat/veggies topped on mashed yucca and covered in sauce. Good and super heavy.

Friday: Our hotel room was insanely small and if both Ray and Benjamin put out their hands, they could be touching from their beds. Needless to say, sleep wasn't optimal. But... it's travel and we already assume that possibility. But what we don't assume is our son waking up with a fever (101.8) for the first time ever at 3:30 in the morning. And staying up. But, like we always do, we treated the baby who was in good spirits after some liquids and meds and carried on about our day. We decided to head to Old San Juan because we thought that day would be the safest to avoid the big crowds from cruise ships. We were right. Other than the humidity and heat being so intense, it was a nice day of exploring. We explored two parts of the fort (located about a mile from one another), had lunch in the middle of a big quad area where B was able to roam, and took the city bus from our hotel with the locals for $.75-- costing us a grand total of about $3 for transportation as opposed to a $20 cab each way. Not to mention having to schlep the carseat through the city with steep inclines and cobblestone streets. The bus proved to be a fantastic decision because Benjamin was thrilled to be on one and repeated bus over and over again with sheer joy on his face. You'd have thought we gave him a pony. When we arrived back at our hotel after a long stroller nap, we headed out again to the beach (this time with proper clothing) and for a dip in the pool before grabbing dinner.

Castillo de San Cristóbal

Empanadas for lunch in the open square near the fort. Bought from another locals joint. Bus ride back and more water fun.

Saturday: This day started off interesting. We decided to rent a car because we wanted to get to this port area and it would've been so much more expensive to do so by taxi. Ray took a morning jog to the rental car agency and unfortunately, they were sold out for some big event. The morning consisted of some local park time and in the afternoon, we took a taxi to the airport where we finally rented a car. We then did some exploring and traveled to the El Yunque Rainforest. We brought B's carseat and this was the first (and last for awhile) time he had ever been forward-facing. It was just easier because we forgot the floor strap/latch which makes the carseat rear-facing safe. He was in the center seat and saw everything... including the chips in the front seat of which he requested every 2 minutes.

Unfortunately, we arrived at the rainforest just a couple hours before closing (though free for Veteran's Day weekend!), so we didn't get to experience all we could've if the sun remained high longer. But really, this pregnant lady and her toddler were not making any major hikes this go-around... so it was fitting. We walked around the visitor's center and drove to see a waterfall. We drove a bit more to see if we could get a glimpse of the other waterfall, but were told it was a 30-minute hike. It had just rained, so the ground was slippery and there was just no way we could make it with the sun setting. It was a beautiful drive, but definitely didn't meet our full quota of rainforest credit. We'll just have to go back. :)

Park right on the beach.

El Yunque Rainforest walking...

Sunday:
This was our big adventure day. We read on Trip Advisor that there are a few accessible islands just off the coast of Puerto Rico. And of course we wanted to check that out! These islands are heavily visited by the locals and since it was a Sunday, we knew we had to get there early and be diligent. We visited Culebra as it was well documented by past tourists and the beach sounded great!

All of the information we read said we needed to be there at 7 a.m. (our hotel was an hour away by car... which means we got up at 4 a.m. Chicago time!) to be in line for ticket sales. The ferry sells out and if you're not in line, you may have driven an hour to get there for nothing as there are limited ferry boats. What's awesome is that the ferry was something cheap like $2.25/adult for an hour ride over. It was just a matter of getting there. And so we did. We were there, in line by 7 a.m. When I asked a police officer if I was in the correct line (with at least 100 people already in front of me), he told me that once the ticket booth opens, I would have priority because I am pregnant. Thank you, Claire! Belly for the win! We knew we were safe even 100 deep in line, but it was sure nice not to stand in the hot sun with our toddler waiting to buy tickets.

And then, when we got into the waiting area building, we even had a special seating area and didn't have to wait in the line to board the boat-- either direction! Serious score on the belly bump. While we waited, we had some local fried pastries for breakfast and then endured the boat ride that had me feeling a bit woozy in the end. Benjamin was not in happy spirits either, so we're assuming he was feeling a little seasick.

Once off the boat, we grabbed a taxi and were off to Flamingo Beach for the day. It was beautiful and we had a great time. It was definitely the highlight of the trip and also the only place Benjamin ate an actual meal other than raisins, peanut butter spoons and granola bars. He had a sandwich and tangerine sitting on the beach and a beach nap to complete the day. It was full of sand castle making and ocean enjoying. I even had a chance to write down Andrew's name... since we don't live near the beach anymore, it's always something I try to do while we're on vacation. The boat ride back was SO much better, quicker, and the boat was crazy-nice! Trip Advisor also tipped us off that we needed to run back to the parking lot and get in line to pay for our parking ticket, as some people had to wait over an hour to pay their $5! We were the first ones there and had no issue. Great day.

Line we were able to skip out on due to the belly - happy Benjamin on a boat - Dad drinking a local beer - Benjamin drinking some 7-Up... cured that seasickness right away. Of course.

Ferry boat - Andrew - pina colada helado while waiting for the ferry back - sand castles with Dad

Monday - Final Day: We spent this day packing, walking and relaxing. We headed back to the park we spent some time at before, walked the beach, and checked out this great deli/bakery I found on Yelp. Even the President has eaten there! It did not disappoint.

Cute beach boy - playing at the beach park - eating more helado (tried all three: passion fruit, pina colada, coconut-- coconut was the best) - Mallorca sweet bread roll - breakfast at Kasalta was carb heaven - independent toddler on a (Hertz) bus back to the airport for our flight from hell

Video was taken at a splash pad next to our hotel. B managed to find an elevator nearby and required I come assist him in pressing the buttons. He managed these steps up and down because they were so shallow.

We enjoyed this trip thoroughly and totally recommend it for a quick (and cheap) getaway. Even with a toddler who was way less-than-pleasant on that last flight, it was worth it.

Some things that surprised us about Puerto Rico:

• They're on Atlantic time! That's two hours ahead of Chicago.
• Lots of police in high tourist areas. It makes you feel both safe and skeptical.
• While not a foreign country (yay, no customs!), they did have an agricultural check for all of our luggage before we were allowed to go through security.
• The humidity, even in November is out of sight!
• Prices are on-par with mainland. It was really no different price-wise than traveling in the U.S. In fact, our hotel was really inexpensive!

Tips:

• Rent a car. They're quite cheap compared to taking taxis everywhere and you can find self-park at most hotels or hotels near yours.
• If you don't rent a car, figure out local transportation because it is cheap!
• Buy helado from street vendors-- it's the same company for each vendor and it's quite clean.
• Hit up the local grocery store (we had one across the street from our hotel) for quick deli meals and basics. We even hit one up for some local candy to bring back. We always visit the local stores on trips to save a little cash on water/snacks and also to taste some local fare we may not have mainland.