Motherhood

(ad) MUST-HAVES when staying in a hotel with kids: 1. Free continental breakfast 2. An awesome pool. Everything else is icing on the cake. We loved our stay at the @hamptonbyhilton in Destin, FL! It was such a relief to be able to wander down to the lobby in our pajamas for breakfast. And while the adults couldn’t wait to hit the beach and do some sightseeing, the kids didn’t want to leave the pool. Thanks for a wonderful stay, @hamptoninndestin ! What do you look for when staying in a hotel as a family?

19 weeks today! (Had to check the app...4th pregnancy got me like 🤷🏼‍♀️) Still a little bit of nausea every now and then. Headaches about once a week. I’m already out of breath all the time. And I’m stretching out this non-maternity rash guard as far as it will go. Traveling with 3 little kids while pregnant with my 4th isn’t easy, but it’s so worth it! We really needed the family bonding time this weekend in the midst of a busy school year. So much of my attention has been on trying to survive the early part of this pregnancy and still keep up with my work. It felt good to spend some quality time with the kids...even though travel is technically my work. Almost halfway to meeting baby! Can’t wait to find out if baby’s a boy or a girl in just a couple weeks 💗💙

This picture perfectly sums up our last 24 hours of family travel: a little bit of chaos, and a lot of love. Just add salt water and it all adds up to amazing family memories. We love Destin! 🌊 🐬 ☀️

This is the story about a sloth named Lucky...🎶Early Morning, he wakes up... Just kidding. I won’t type all the lyrics to that song. But this sloth really is named Lucky. And he’s really cute. And our family got to hang out with him for like 10 whole minutes at Discovery Cove Orlando. Was I more excited than the kids? I think it’s safe to say I was. What’s the best animal encounter you’ve had? #hosted

Putting together a (hopefully) epic blog post on the best photos to take at Disney World so you can go home from your trip with amazing memories and keepsake photos. This ranges from photogenic snacks to spots around the park and fun character meet-and-greets. I love this spot in the the Germany pavilion (well, all the World Showcase pavilions) and the Mickey Mouse rice crispy treat with caramel that you can find at Karamell Kuche. My kids love looking through all my photos of great snacks we’ve eaten around the parks What are your favorite photos to take in the Disney parks?

Ever feel like you can’t decide what kind of traveler you want to be? One moment I’m plotting out how we can visit all the National Parks in the United States, then the next I’m daydreaming about city breaks and sipping a latte at a sidewalk cafe. Next I want to spend a month in South America immersing my entire family in Spanish. Sigh. I’ll just have to settle for doing everything. 😂 How do you decide how to spend your family time and money resources when it comes to travel? Do you have a list/theme/specific goal, or do you go where the spirit moves you? (📸 cred goes to my 6-year-old. I’ve been training her to be my photographer and social media content director since day 1)

Living our best life by eating 100 Layer Donuts at Five Daughters Bakery was just one of the many amazing things we experienced in Nashville. We did some typical country music-related activities, and of course parks and trolleys were involved. If you thought this city was all bachelor and bachelorette parties, you’re kind of right, but there’s also a TON for families to do. We barely scratched the surface during our 3 days there, and I would love to go back and do more! I have a blog post with 11 super fun things to do on a family vacation to Nashville (link in bio). Have you been to Music City with your kids? Are you planning on going? It’s been one of our favorite destinations so far!

Would you take trips with just one or two of your kids? This summer we left the toddler at home with Dad to enjoy a weekend in Hollywood, FL at one of our favorite hotels - @diplomatbeachresort ! At first I was really sad not to have the whole family with us, but quickly got over that when I realized how much easier travel was without a toddler in tow 😂 It made me think that as the kids get older I would love to do one-on-one trips with them. Maybe it will start with just weekend getaways, maybe it will grow into international destinations of their choice. Either way, I think it’s a really fun way to get to know your kids better and create individual memories with them. Now that we’re about to add a 4th child to our family, I know this will be easier said than done to implement. But I think it would be totally worth it! What are your thoughts? Would you do it?

I lived in Wisconsin and Minnesota for most of my life, so being at the beach in October is still a novelty for me. I may be a little jealous of the sweaters and boots and hot beverages and fall foliage, but then I remember how thankful I am to be able to drive down to the beach with my toddler between preschool drop off and pick up. What’s something you love about where you live?

October is here! As Pippa declared to her little brothers at dinner last night: “Guys. I need you to listen. THIS IS THE MONTH WE GO TRICK OR TREATING.” She’s looking forward to the candy, and I’m looking forward to stealing the Kit Kats and Reeses Peanut Butter Cups when the kids are in bed (Mom Tax). But I’m also looking forward to some fall travel we have planned this month. Especially a scenic Florida road trip! Do you have any fall travel planned? Mickey’s Not-So-Scary Halloween Party at Disney? Cozy cabin getaways to see fall foliage? I want to hear it! And a trip to the apple orchard or pumpkin patch totally counts as “fall travel” 🍁 🍂 🎃

We’ve been living in FL for almost 5 years and NEVER made it to the panhandle until this summer. I didn’t know what I was missing! We got to spend 4 days in Pensacola this past June, and it was one of my favorite family trips. Seeing the Blue Angels practice then visiting the Naval Aviation museum we’re definitely highlights, and of course playing on the gorgeous white sand beaches was amazing, too! Thanks to morning sickness that seems to be a permanent part of my life now (thanks, Baby Number 4), it took me a while to write about @visitpensacola , but here it is! What to do with kids in Pensacola- link in bio. Have you ever been to the area? What’s your favorite thing to do there?

Petting a sloth, interacting with a dolphin, snorkeling, floating in a lazy river...yeah, those were all really memorable experiences. The kids can’t stop talking about our day at @discoverycove . But what I’ll remember is the family time. A magical day when the kids didn’t fight or whine, we weren’t stressed or rushed, and everyone had a smile on their face the entire day.

If you could make a wish in the wishing well and be anywhere in the world right now, where would you be? Right now I’m dreaming of Puerto Rico. Has anyone been?

TRAVEL IS NOT A CONTEST. I’m preaching this to myself more than anyone else. When I started my work as a travel writer and blogger, I was mostly just happy to show up. I felt unqualified yet very lucky to have a job that lets me travel and write while staying home with my kids. The longer I worked in the industry, though, the more I felt the urge to compare myself to the writers and bloggers traveling the world. (Writers and bloggers who work so hard for everything they achieve and who have WAY more experience than I do). And I began to get caught up in it all. I wanted to do more than just cover local spots around Florida. I wanted to get all the opportunities everyone else was getting. I was jealous of people with more freedom and flexibility. Then I got pregnant with our fourth baby. I don’t know if it was the morning sickness and fatigue, or just a reminder of my blessings and priorities, but I suddenly relaxed about everything. This trip to Finland happened to fall in the midst of this realization and in the midst of my first trimester. Everything about Finland felt calm. Finland is proud of what it is. Beautiful nature. Healthy & happy people. Thoughtful. Slow. Intentional. This stunning spot in the Turku archipelago is a reminder of what it felt like to be somewhere so peaceful. So confident in its identity. It reminded me that I can be at peace and confident in my identity and season of life, too. And right now my season is babies, toddlers, school drop off & pickup, grocery shopping, running a household, squeezing in day trips and weekend trips and holiday road trips. Writing about our experiences in my spare moments. Hopefully inspiring other parents of little ones to know that international travel and exotic trips will come again, but in the meantime, travel does not have to cease. It just might look a little different. So I’ve stopped counting how many countries I’ve been to and comparing opportunities and wishing for more and more and more. Because travel is not a competition. It’s a way to make your life experience richer, to learn more about the world we live in, to make memories with those you love.

Food and Wine Festival with Kids major takeaways: - It was crowded, but the wait times for rides and character meets wasn’t too bad! We barely waited in line 5 minutes to meet Anna and Elsa- a first for our kids! - It’s SO hard to choose what to try at the different booths. Pao de Queijo from Brazil and Belgian Waffles were big hits with our whole family. - Definitely do Remy’s Hide and Squeak scavenger hunt with the kids. Super fun. Kept us all engaged even when we tired and our feet hurt. A few were REALLY tough to find. The prize is a Disney tumbler! - The Disney Du Jour dance party for kids was a blast. Teddy was scared of the dancing rats (Remy and Emile) so he hung back by dad, but Lewis and Pippa were really into it. I even got in on the dancing! We had so much fun! Now I want to go back and try more food around the world. #hosted #tasteepcot #foodandwinefestival #epcotfoodandwinefestival

Hurricane Prep At some point we just had to get out of the house and enjoy the fresh air before we’re trapped inside for 3 days straight ⛈