USA TRAVEL

I’m a Florida girl now, but I was raised in Wisconsin. As a tomboy growing up, I lived and breathed all things Green Bay Packers. I even cried when they lost that playoff game in 1999. Nowadays, I don’t care as much about the wins and losses, but it was still amazing to visit and tour Lambeau Field with my whole family. So much history there. Go Pack Go! Have you had the chance to visit a sports destination that felt sacred to you?

Our family makes it our mission to find the best sweets in every city we visit. We take this work v seriously. The 100 layer donuts from @five_daughters_bakery in Nashville were some of the best I’ve ever had. Now please tell me where you’ve had an unforgettable pastry or donut so that I too might make a pilgrimage there!

Walking this pedestrian bridge in Nashville was a win for the whole family. I got some great photos of the skyline, the kids worked off some energy, and we got to have a picnic on the banks of the Cumberland River when we were done. One of my favorite memories of our trip!

{ #sponsored } We love a hotel pool! It’s an added bonus when it’s on a rooftop with an awesome view of the city like the @omninashville 🏙 We had the best time walking everywhere in Nashville, so the Omni’s downtown location was perfect for us. Do you prefer to stay in the heart of the action with kids, or on the outskirts of town?

We love a good photo op! As we wandered the Gulch neighborhood in Nashville, we noticed a huge line for the angel wings mural, but then spotted the colorful walls right across the street with no line and plenty of space. The kids had a blast posing and finding different patterns, and we could just take our time getting some shots without feeling rushed. Travel with kids can be like that. You can’t always do the cool things the youths are doing, but you can make your own path and your own special memories 📷

NASHVILLE 🤠! We loved our long weekend in Music City, and found tons of kid-friendly things to do! (See Nashville IG Stories highlights in bio). (#ad) We stayed at the @omninashville hotel and it was just what we needed! They had these incredible floor-to-ceiling windows with the best view of the city. It was right downtown so we could walk almost anywhere. PLUS the Omni Hotels have a Kids Crew program where kids receive a backpack full of activities and milk and cookies on their first night. The hotel was so amazing that we almost didn’t want to leave our room! It got me thinking: when you stay in a hotel with your kids, what features do you look for that make it family-friendly?

Can I make a confession? I don’t *get* robes. Like they’re comfy and all, but I rarely lounge in them. I shower, then I get dressed. I don’t luxuriate in the in-between. If there’s ever a situation where I’ll give it a try, though, it’s at a fancy hotel. Please explain robes to me if you feel so inclined.

Had to share this adorable dessert creation from Beaches & Cream Soda Shop at Disney Boardwalk. It was basically a meal for our entire family! What must-eat desserts are your favorite at Disney?

The best part about my job? Testing out beaches for a living. We take the work very seriously.

My busy bee, my social butterfly, and my very hungry caterpillar rocking out at Animal Kingdom to celebrate @philippakrause 6th birthday (a couple weeks ago). I’ve never actually thrown any of my kids a birthday party- it’s just not my thing. But giving them a fun experience? That I can do. What does your family do to celebrate birthdays?

THEN VS NOW Then (second photo):I was 20 years old on a 6-week Spanish immersion trip to Ecuador. Our last week of classes was spent on the beach, and I remember frantically studying el pluscuamperfecto del subjuntivo but honestly not really caring how I did on the test because BEACH. I remember the smell of these huge baskets of warm, freshly baked bread (PAN) for breakfast mixing with the salty ocean air and always the scent of lime or coconut mixing with everything. My nose and chest were getting tan and freckles, and I felt freer and more like myself than I ever had. I knew travel was something I wanted to keep doing for the rest of my life. Now (first photo): I’m 31 with 3 little kids, and I don’t think I’ll ever feel as carefree as I did that week on the beach. But now I feel a different kind of joy and freedom watching my 3-year-old bite into a fresh, warm piece of bread while he watches the ocean waves from our hotel balcony. One of the most amazing things about parenting is sharing the things we love with our children. Sharing freshly baked bread, ocean views, and a love of exploring with my kids...that’s another memory I hope I’m treasuring a decade from now.

ANIMAL KINGDOM 🦒 🦓 🐘 - LOVE IT OR HATE IT? I always kind of thought of this as the worst of the 4 Disney World parks- but this past trip there with the kids completely changed my mind! There are not a *ton* of rides for little kids, but the shows and the safari totally make up for that. We’re still talking about how cool the Lion King show was a few weeks later, and if you get your fast passes and do rider switch, Avatar Flight of Passage is one of the coolest rides at Disney for adults and big kids. So what do you think? Love it or hate it? I’m now on team Animal Kingdom with kids for sure!

We’re better together 💕

Expectation: When we're on a boat watching the Blue Angels practice in Pensacola the kids will be in awe and so thankful for that experience. We'll even bring the noise-canceling headphones so they don't complain about the noise! We're so prepared and great parents for giving our children this experience. Reality: The kids kept asking when we could go back inside the boat's cabin. I was asked for a snack approximately 397 times throughout the half-hour experience. For the majority of the time, the kids didn't even seem to notice that there were planes in the air. One parent was continuously hustling around the boat making sure the toddler didn't go overboard or hug a stranger's legs. I barely got any video or pictures of the Blue Angels, much less the idyllic Instagram shot I had in mind of my 3 kids looking over the side of the boat at the planes in the background. Redeeming Moment: in the hours and days following the Blue Angels practice, the kids kept talking about how cool it was to see planes flying upside down. So maybe they paid attention after all? I could go on and on with examples of how I thought travel was going to go, and how the reality of my children as real human beings with real desires and emotions made it a completely different experience. I'm learning to embrace the reality. That's where the true family memories and vacation lore happen. Those are the stories we'll tell around the Thanksgiving table or on long road trips for years to come. "Remember that time..." stories are usually about what went wrong, not about how we all posed perfectly for an Instagram shot with no whining or complaining, then had a scholarly conversation about what we learned. And honestly, that's why I want to travel with my kids. There's no quicker way to bond with people than to be stuck in a car or hotel room with them. There's no surer way to create a bond with people than to struggle through tough moments together and laugh about them later. Travel deepens our family bond and makes our story richer.

It’s not often I get to spend time with just the two oldest. Even better that we got to hang out in this beautiful setting. 🏖🌴☀️ @diplomatbeachresort #atthedip @floridashollywood #hollywoodfl