Category Archives: travel

home sweet home

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We’re finally home from our trip out to Utah! The wedding was beautiful, we went some fun places, and made some great family memories. Hopefully I’ll be recapping everything and sharing my photos in the next few days, but here’s a little sneak peek (our first photo in front of the temple as a family of three)!_MG_7674

We took a redeye flight back to Virginia at 1 am on Tuesday morning, and then visited with my parents for the rest of the day before driving home. We finally drove into town around 11:30 pm. Our internal clocks still seem to be on Utah time (which is strange because after my last trip out west, I had no trouble at all adjusting either way).

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on the last plane home!

A certain four-legged someone didn’t do so well without us home… Thankfully, Ben and Brittany (who were puppy-sitting) are probably two of the most patient people ever and went above and beyond to help us take care of Jax. We ended up boarding him at the vet (after he chewed through his crate and a few other things…), and I was so excited to go pick him up this afternoon. He is definitely happy to be home._MG_8811Kaya is also loving being back in her own space and playing with her own toys. This is the first time that we’ve come back from a trip where I can definitely say that she knows this is our home and is happy to be here. It’s so fun to watch her enjoy everything she loves again.

nine travel essentials

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Tuesday Topics this week is on “nine travel essentials” and since we are just getting back from our trip out to Utah, I’m excited to share a few things that we found useful (especially with a 10-month old baby)!_MG_8596button

1. Some kind of GPS. We used the maps on our smartphones all the time when we were out west. I’m not so good at following directions when people just tell them to me, so I love that the GPS has step-by-step instructions.

2. A snack for the road or flight. We always seem to be driving at lunchtime, so we usually bring something to tide us over until we get wherever we’re going. When we’ve flown, I like to bring granola bars as a snack (especially when it’s early in the morning)!

3. Books/magazines to entertain the baby and yourself (especially when flying).

4. Baby bibs, spoons, sippy cup/bottle. Pretty self-explanatory, but for some reason I was so worried I’d forget these things before we left.

5. A water bottle. I have a pink Nalgene that went pretty much everywhere with us on our trip. It was especially appreciated when we were walking around the zoo for about three hours!

6. Comfortable walking shoes. (Photographing a wedding in heels is not the most comfortable thing ever…)

7. Sunglasses and sunscreen.

8. A camera! It shouldn’t surprise anyone that this made it on my list 🙂

9. A travel buddy! Having a buddy makes juggling a baby and luggage a whole lot easier. And of course, having Michael around made everything about a thousand times more fun 🙂

Linking up with Tiffany and Lauren!

journey (back) to utah

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Kevin and Tori are tying the knot on Friday, so we made the trek to Utah yesterday! Luckily, modern transportation actually means the “trek” is a drive and a flight (or two) that can all be accomplished in one day.

We tried to help Kaya wait for a nap until we got in the car and on our way. She did nap, but only for an hour. She was happy for a short time before she was fussy and needed a nursing/play break.
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My parents live close to the airport, so we visited with them for a little while before my dad dropped us off. My mom even made us dinner (and muffins to take on the plane)!
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Last time we flew, Kaya was mostly easy to entertain and put to sleep, but this time, she was even better! She loved looking out the window, staring up over the seats and just smiling and waving at everyone. She slept for most of the second flight (about 3.5 hours) all cuddled up with me. I soaked in all her precious baby snuggles.
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By the time we got in and settled, we didn’t fall asleep until about 2 am (which is 4 am back east)! Today has mostly been about relaxing and goofing around with Michael’s parents. (I might have also had a Greek gyro… And Kaya tried her first French fry!)
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two places I’ve traveled

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I’m pretty excited about the subject for Tuesday Topics this week… travel! Four years ago, I was blessed with the opportunity to study abroad in Europe, so here are a couple of my very favorite places from my experience there. (I do wish my photos were better, but the camera I had back then was probably worse than the one on my current smartphone. Yup.)

1. Riva San Vitale, Switzerland
This is where I lived, had classes, ate meals, and most importantly, made new friends with people I will never forget. This was our villa:

DIGITAL CAMERAAnd here was our backyard!  Aren’t the palm trees beautiful? (Not all of Switzerland is snow and mountains like most people think)!DIGITAL CAMERA

Although there really isn’t much to see there from a tourist’s point of view, Riva was our home base during our stay in Europe, and it will definitely always hold a piece of my heart.

2. Santorini, Greece
I didn’t know anything about Santorini before arriving there, but out of all the places I saw in Europe, it quickly became my favorite. We were there in March, which is the off-season, so it wasn’t busy and we were able to enjoy having the island mostly to ourselves!

I love the buildings on the coast.DIGITAL CAMERA DIGITAL CAMERA And the architecture…santorinicollage1As well as the sunsets…DIGITAL CAMERA We ate SO MUCH in Greece, and I am always on the hunt for authentic Greek food in the States now.foodgreeceWe drove four-wheelers all over the island, visited beaches, and even hiked up a volcano! I hope one day to be able to go again and do it all with Michael.DIGITAL CAMERA

Linking up with Lauren and Tiffany!