Vacation Recap Part Four, Five and Ten

The last few days of vacation made all of the complaints from toddler one and toddler number two my husband worthwhile. We took a hike through a local forest-park-trail for about 2 miles. There were several deviations and forks in the trail, but we eventually found our way out of the wilderness, right before the core of the sun started to beat down on us. By this time Anabelle had fallen asleep and my husband had a little pep in his step since the hike was over. 

After our hike, Anabelle wanted to paint again, so I let her go crazy. And crazy she did! She was covered in blue paint all over her hands, legs, and an eye patch. I'm thinking we may be a family of pirates for Halloween. What do you think? Arr matee! 

We found a pretty fantastical section of the lake (without menacing seashells) and enjoyed several hours out there. It was magical :) 

My husband enjoyed fishing without his sandals malfunctioning, and we spent a lot of time in the water. The day was perfect, the sun was shining, Anabelle kept pushing me in the water and dunking my head. How are toddlers hulk strong? Please tell me. She destroyed my trendy fedora. I'll have to mark that down the running list of expenses she's costing me. 

A man on the beach called Anabelle the Coppertone Baby. Well, yes sir, she is a baby model in the making. 

She was even feeling pretty ballsy climbing over the rocks on the shore and went on her own little hike, maybe to do a little toddler mediation and pondering herself. I had to keep chasing her down. She's a quick little nugget!

Hands down, this was the best family vacation ever! At the end of 24/7 family time, I always feel like we function so much better as one unit, instead of three individuals. When I got home, I felt so blessed and thankful. Our life here is so incredibly short, and I find myself getting caught up in doing everything I should be doing as a mother, and less time enjoying it. 

Until next time, vacation. I'll be missing you. At least I have a three day weekend to hold me over.

Happy Friday!

Vacation Recap Part Three

Urban Outfitters Fedora - similar here // Cat eye sunglasses - similar here //  Charlie Banana Swim Diaper

We finally made it to the lake four days into our vacation. We found a park with a lot of seashells, so our city feet were tip-toeing around on the shore trying to figure out how to walk, but we made the most of it and enjoyed the sun. Anabelle and I played in the sand (dirt?) while my husband got some fishing in. I feel like the pictures speak for themselves :)

This face makes my heart melt every time I look at it. My husband was making Anabelle laugh while I was trying to load everything in the truck. He made me stop and get a picture of her face, since it was priceless!

Funny story I have to share with you. When we got out of the truck, we took a survey of the area, and thought, "Oh this looks lovely." My husband took the first load down this steep, uneven embankment to the shore. He came back up and mentioned the ground was rocky and decided it would be best to use the stroller for the rest of our stuff. We loaded the stroller with our beach bag, chairs, toys and Anabelle. I pushed her down the hill on tons of gravel, and by push, I mean push against the forces of gravity. Did I mention that these stroller wheels don't work on gravel? (And my husband thought it would be a good idea to use the stroller to go jogging with Anabelle. Ooohhhk...) I managed to get us down the hill without toppling the stroller and my child over. Intense, I'm telling you.

My husband chastised me for not bringing shoes that I could get dirty at the lake. Hello, we're at the lake! I haven't been to the lake since college, and I don't remember the terrain being so rough! Maybe it's just a Canyon Lake thing? When he came back into shore from fishing, he was carrying his broken sandals in his hands muttering a lot of cuss words under his breath. His sandals were completely destroyed, and he didn't bring an extra pair with him. 

When we left, he had hike back up the hill twice, barefoot with all of our lake luggage. I offered to help him with trips two and three, but he didn't let me. He put on his brave man-face, and dragged all of our junk back to the truck. You know those stories your parents tell you about walking three miles to school, in the snow, with no shoes? Well, now we have a story of our own to share with Anabelle when she gets older. 

Gap Marled Shorts

We took a toddler-friendly hike, too. You see that ground? Rough, I'm telling you. We visited a park near this gigantic dam to take a short family hike. Anabelle absolutely loved it! She looked like she felt so accomplished for walking that hike down and back up! I was so proud of my baby girl.  

Her daddy showed even showed her how to skip rocks. She was feeling incredibly brave by this point and started walking into the water. It's amazing how fearless kids are. Amazing and inspiring.

The last vacation recap will be published tomorrow!

Vacation Recap Part Two

On our third day at Canyon Lake, we went to a drive-thru zoo called the Natural Bridge Wildlife Ranch. It was literally one of the most unique and thrilling experiences we've ever had as a family! Basically, you get to experience the zoo in your vehicle while a variety of different animals walk up and ask for food. We grabbed two bags of food and rode through about 6 miles.  

We thought this would be a good idea to teach Anabelle how to drive. I mean, you can never learn to early, right? She did a great job and she seemed pleased with her new set of skills.

There was one particular zebra kept sticking his head in the window for more food and my husband was wrestling the food bag away from him (it? her?). They both put up a good fight, but when my husband rolled up the window. I wish I could have videotaped this escapade because it was the funniest thing ever to watch my husband duke it out with a zebra. 

Anabelle absolutely loved the safari zoo. She kept sticking her head out of the window, waving and saying "hi" to every animal that passed by. When we would run across a new animal, she would squeal with delight and jump up and down on top of me. My husband and I took turns holding Anabelle, or rather she took turns climbing across the console to each side. 

Being able to watch the animals in their "natural habitat" was amazing. When we would pass parents with new babies, they would stare us down until we moved passed them. Nothing to see here, move right along. It was kind of creepy.

You could literally stick your hand out and pet the animals. I didn't let Anabelle pet any of the animals, because I wasn't sure who would unexpectedly bite or harm her. They still are wild creatures after all.

Gap Pleated Dress - similar here // Salt Water Sandals in Gold (also seen here)

Gap Retro Sunglasses - similar here

By this time in our adventure, Anabelle was slowly starting to lose steam. We were running on nap time and she didn't really care about any of the animals anymore. She also didn't care to hear anything I had to say. We went to the petting zoo and she didn't want to touch pet or feed any of the adorable baby goats. Clearly, she doesn't hide her feelings.

My husband took advantage and was one with the animals. He's a softy at heart. 

 

After Anabelle woke up from her nap, I asked her if she wanted to go swimming. She immediately shook her head and said, "niet" which means no. I sometimes wonder if she knows Russian. This was day three of our vacation and we hadn't been to the lake by then, even though we could see it from our patio! I know she was exhausted from the constant up and down from vacation, so we took a break and did some finger painting.

This kid loves to paint. I bought a cheap drawing pad from Hobby Lobby, which is super easy to tote around with us. She painted for a solid 30 minutes while I relaxed and enjoyed the view :)

At 18 months, she's able to match all the paint lids to their correct colors! I was so excited when she did this without any prompt from me. This kid is growing so fast and amazes me everyday with her hidden talents. I love her so.

We take a late vacation every year, and it makes it so much more enjoyable because the crowds have usually dissipated by then. It makes our vacation very quiet, which is exactly what we look forward to.

More vacation recaps to come! 

Vacation Recap Part One

For our second family vacation, we went to Canyon Lake and rented a house on top of a hill. You guys, the view from our patio was breathtaking. You could see water, and hills for miles. Even the air smelled different. I wish I could live there on a permanent basis. 

Even on a cloud day, the view was still rockin.

The first couple of days we were there, we caught up with our family and attempted to take a nice family photo. This was the last shot we took. Clearly, my husband and daughter were not interested. Story of my life. 

Kimchi Blue Bow-Back Romper // Birkenstock

Can I digress for a quick second to show you my wardrobe ensemble? You guys, the 90's are back. Birkenstocks are back. I'm in love. Hardcore. I love chunky sandals, bold mismatching prints and grunge in a clean way. Anyways, back to our vacation. 

Cat Dress // Salt Water Sandals in Gold

Gap Sunglasses 

My dad bought a splash pad for Anabelle, and she was pretty hesitant to try it out. He didn't air it all the way so every time she tried to slide down the slide, it would topple over. Bless his heart, he sure tried. Anabelle had so much fun for about three minutes, then she was over it.
Actually, let me back track a bit. I didn't bring Anabelle on vacation. I brought her doppelganger, Anabella. Anabella thought vacation meant she could complain about nearly everything (oh, and so did her daddy), she didn't have to listen to a word I said and she could throw tantrums every half hour. We had several  heart to heart talks about this issue, and she finally agreed to magically turn back into my beloved, sweet child on our last day there. No joke. More on that later.

I went on a solo hike while Anabelle and my husband took a nap. I have never taken a real hike, much less alone. I've lived in the city/in the suburbs all my life, so hiking areas around here are scarce. When I told my husband I wanted to take a hike around our property, he was like, "ok, then go." Just like that, no big deal. It is a big deal! I would be out in the wilderness alone. With just my thoughts. I'm so glad I overcame my fear, because it allowed me to mediate for a while and enjoy the scenery and nature without a toddler and husband in the background complaining it was too hot. There was no one to tell me they were ready to head back or sigh out of boredom. I hiked for a good hour and half. I took a lot of pictures and practiced my photography skills (or lack thereof).

The terrain was rough and rocky. I climbed this steep hill because at a dead end because it looked challenging. I walked along the top of the hill and I saw something out of the corner of my eye scurry out of this indentation in the rock. It looked like a fox. I stopped frozen in my tracks, heart pounding, thinking I was going to be mauled by a wild animal. I wasn't. I ascended further up the hill and continued my trek. I was pretty proud of my little city self. 

When I got back to the house, I enjoyed a swinging session with my best girl. It was so lovely to be able to relax and watch nature's magic without the whir of a vehicle or bustling city life. So lovely. I took this picture with my phone that I posted on instagram. T-Mobile sent my replacement phone the night before we left for vacation. Thanks, T-Mobile! You saved me.

I'm thankful the house had a gigantic tub Anabelle could play around in with knobs that were too tempting not to experiment with. It's the only thing that made bed time at a strange house bearable for her.

My husband couldn't resist giving her a faux double mohawk. Her hair is growing so quickly. Soon, she'll be ready for double top knots. Oh yeah.
Stay tuned for Parts Two and Three!