Category Archives: attractions

California Dreamin’ Part 2

Wednesday was the warmest day of our trip, and we started the day off with a walk. The kids were waking up around 5:30-6:00 each morning, so around 9:00-10:00, Phoebe was generally ready for a little nap. Enzo got to play on a playground and tip toe in the sand while I found shade and let our lady nap on my back.

Wednesday was also the day that Josh and I went whale watching courtesy of my mom and step-dad. We went on a catamaran, which promised to have a really smooth ride that would cause less seasickness, and only held about 6 people. I loved it. There were a few moments where I felt a little fear creep in (hello, out in the ocean on a tiny boat), but overall really enjoyed it. It was a gorgeous day.

Josh also enjoyed it, but more so after he puked and was done being seasick. While the great thing about a catamaran is that you don’t have as many people on the boat, we also didn’t quite as close to the whales as I would have liked and it was really hard to get pictures with the constant movement. It was still an amazing experience, though, and a beautiful day. We were also lucky to have a great captain and friendly passengers with some really good conversations that got me thinking… a lot.

Thursday morning brought more exploring, and yummy coffee and treats, but also made it apparent that Enzo was definitely missing his routines and was not getting enough sleep. Phoebe was able to still get her naps in just fine, but Enzo has always been harder to get to sleep anywhere but his bed.

Since the kids had gone to the beach the previous day while we were whale watching, we thought Thursday would be another good day to stay close by and venture out to the pool. Phoebe was not a fan of the water (it was a tad chilly) and while Enzo did dip his feet, stood on the steps, and let us hold him briefly in the water, he decided that his dream to swim like a turtle could be put off for a while.

With Enzo’s mood being a little off, we found it best to just enjoy the nearby beaches and fantastic weather and just walk around. Both kids preferred being able to walk everywhere instead of driving around, so the California weather made both of them very happy. Phoebe could often be found running to the door demanding to go somewhere and now knows exactly what “outside” means.

Granted, while there was plenty of time outside, they also made themselves perfectly at home in the rental condo. We actually rented some things from Toddler’s Travels to make things just a tad easier (booster seats for eating at home, some toys, bed safety rails, etc.). While we could have probably managed without, it really did make things easier and was totally worth it.

On Friday we went to visit with Randy’s parents – one broken duck and lots of yummy snacks later we headed to a park for Enzo and kind of played the rest of the day by ear. Our little traveler Phoebe probably would have been up for anything, but poor Enzo was just still not himself after lack of sleep and a disturbed routine. Saturday brought a busy morning of packing and tidying up, but thankfully we were able to sleep in for quite a while.

We made it through security in great time – hardly any lines anywhere only to find that our flight was delayed half an hour, which thankfully gave us even more time to have lunch and get some wiggles out. The gates next to ours were completely empty so the kids were free to run and run and run.

The flight home definitely felt longer than the flight to California, but only because Phoebe couldn’t quite get comfortable. Enzo fell asleep on my lap, so of course as soon as that happened, Phoebe decided she needed to be on my lap and we had to keep her from throwing a tiny tantrum and kicking her brother. Josh ended up walking her around a bit and we did what we could to keep her happy. No one was happy when we felt that first bit of cold weather, but we all managed to make it home and get to bed at mostly reasonable hours. The week since has been interesting, but we’re doing what we can to get things back to normal. Vacation is always so hard to come back from.

California Dreamin’ Part 1

Despite being gone for 5 nights we really didn’t take all that many photos during our trip, so I’ve got a jumble of photos from both of our phones and cameras and pictures were taken by both Josh and I and a couple of other random people. Off we go!

The trip got off to an interesting start. We left the house surprisingly on time and were all happily on our way when about halfway there Enzo started making whimpering sounds, so I turned around and asked if he was okay only to have him say that his tummy hurt. Just as I was about to ask him something else, he vomited. Quite a bit. Of course I had just cleaned out the car and had absolutely nothing on hand to help him out and we now had to find a gas station as fast as possible to clean him up. I had a few wipes, but that wasn’t going to do it. I also only had a short sleeve shirt as backup for him because we were headed to California and usually I don’t have to worry about backup clothes for him. Did I also mention that he had thrown up on the only hoodie/jacket we had brought with us? Also, the gas station we stopped at? No paper towels in the bathroom. We finally got him cleaned up as much as possible and changed (I gave him my hoodie) and did our best to clean up his car seat with Subway napkins. He seemed okay, so off we went.

About 5-10 minutes later, he started crying again. I turned around and in a panic looked for anything that he could throw up in… I grabbed his winter hat. It might have worked had he not tried to block his mouth with his hand and had he not projectile vomited everywhere. I really started to panic now. Was he sick? Were we going to miss our flight? If he was sick were we going to be awful parents and make him get on a plane? We stopped again and this time I had to get into the luggage in the trunk. We did the best we could to yet again clean everything up and continued on our way once Enzo happily got back in the car. He no longer looked pasty and seemed to be in good spirits. We got to the airport, got to cut in line at security, made it in time to use the bathroom and then hopped on our flight. (This may be my wordiest post yet!)

The kids really did great on the flight. Enzo looked out the window now and then, but really just though it was awesome to watch a movie on his little DVD player with his own headphones. Also, they thought the beverage service and pretzels and cookies were kind of fabulous. I brought plenty of snacks and activities to keep them busy, but even though Phoebe was bored she wasn’t fussy – just squirmy, and then about halfway through the flight she settled down for a nap.

My mom and step-dad met us at the airport and then it was a matter of getting our rental minivan, getting the kids (and adults food) and then getting settled in our rental condo, which was within walking distance of the grandparents’ condo. 😉 We stayed close to home the day we arrived and the next day as well. Did some driving/exploring and picked up some necessities for the kiddos. The weather was amazing! Beyond amazing!

Enzo really wanted to be adventurous and keep walking, but was still pretty nervous about how high up we were and felt more comfortable being held. I was a tad nervous as well… heights are not my favorite. Ha ha.

Phoebe was asleep in the car, so our family portrait is incomplete. You know what they say, though… never wake a sleeping baby.

She did wake up in time to go see some sea lions, and more importantly (to her) lots of pelicans and seagulls.

Short sleeves in February? Yeah, that might be enough to make me move. Part 2 next week! We went whale watching and we pretty much confirmed that Enzo is a Highly Sensitive Child. That is a whole different post, though.

To the Theater!

I recently saw tickets for Sesame Street Live! on Groupon and decided we should take the kids, knowing it could be hit or miss since the show was on a Friday evening. The kids usually have a busy/fun day at day care, but that can also mean they might be worn out by the time the evening does roll around.

We told Enzo what the plan was, and he was definitely excited. We got there a tad earlier than we needed to, however, so the kids started to get a little squirmy as seats filled up and we tried to keep them occupied with souvenirs while we waited.

I wish I could have captured the look on both of their faces when the show started. All of the sudden the main lights went off and spotlights turned on and there were different colored lights and music. They were in complete awe. I don’t either of them really knew what to think at first.

Overall, the kids had a good time. We had a few moments where there was some crankiness because Enzo wanted to go talk to Elmo and he couldn’t or when they both wanted to wiggle around in front of the seats but there wasn’t enough room (not a lot of leg room in this theater) and they couldn’t see what was happening due to their unfortunate heights.

To me it seemed like intermission came quick and then Enzo wanted to walk around, or rather he wanted to go get one of the big balloons they were selling, so we all got up and went to procure one. He had about 5 minutes to enjoy it before I had to find a way to keep it on the ground and out of the way because the show was starting back up.

The kids were happy to dance for a while, but they were quickly becoming cranky and squirmy and we noticed several other parents leaving early. When Enzo got mad because he couldn’t have his balloon, we decided it was probably time to sneak away as well. We had one more BIG meltdown on the way to the car, but made it to the car and got everyone home and then got two very tired kids to bed. I think next time, we’ll try for a daytime show, but we had to give it a try. Overall, it was a fun time, though and there were a lot of happy kids and parents (we’ll ignore the unfortunate number of really unhappy parents who didn’t want to be there). It was fun watching both kids dance and hop around to the music, especially since Enzo is often really shy about doing so around people he doesn’t know.

I’m looking forward to more experiences like this with the kids as they get older.

Belated Pumpkin Fun

Now seems like as good of a time as any to relive our corn maze/pumpkin patch fun since the high for the day is whopping 15 degrees (with a real feel of -2). We won’t dwell, though. Onward to pumpkins and corn mazes!

If there’s one thing to say about Minnesota in the Fall it’s that there are no lack of corn mazes and pumpkin patches. We decided to go with one that seemed to have more included in the price and hoped it wouldn’t be too crowded. We also figured it would be a great time to break in our new wagon rather than bringing a stroller.

It was our first corn maze, and surprisingly the kids didn’t even get bored – I think they were too excited about the wagon to care about anything else. Phoebe usually likes being carried, but LOVED getting to sit facing her brother… even though he was being a little cranky. Thankfully there was a helicopter flying around that made him happier. The kid loves helicopters unless they’re the remote controlled kind, in which case he doesn’t even want to be in the same room with even if it’s turned off.

Aside from the corn maze, there were a few attractions like a bouncy house, slide and pony rides as well as food. Once again, though, we had to deal with some hornets (sigh) and Enzo had a minor meltdown. Seriously, what was with all the hornets this year? I’m actually a little glad colder temperatures have hit if only because there are no more hornets/wasps and spiders. Anyhoo, oh yeah, there were pumpkins!

Our front stoop is generally really boring and lacking in decoration (especially since we also never finished our whole landscaping plan), so pumpkins were a must this year. We figured it would be fun to have Enzo help pick them out and he thoroughly enjoyed the process. He’d copy his dad and brush off the dirt and attempt to pick them up to get a better look. All in all, we got some fine pumpkins… that are now covered in snow. Whoops.

At Como

So far this Fall has seemed fairly mild, and I’m okay if that is a continuing trend. It just gives us that much more time to get out and do things before the cold weather sets in and all I want to do is hibernate.

A few weeks ago we decided to go to the Como Zoo for a change of scenery, and managed to get there early enough so that while still busy, it was manageable. We didn’t get many pictures of the day, however, and have kind of decided that Como would be better off charging a small admission rather than relying strictly on donations. It wasn’t terrible by any means, but it also could use work in areas.

The last time we went we were childless, so a lot of things we were kind of oblivious to. This time around, though, we stumbled upon bathrooms with wonky changing tables that weren’t in very good shape. More importantly, though, some of the habitats just seemed too small and sad at times. We also had a run-in with some hornets that swarmed us for whatever reason… this happens on a regular basis, and poor Enzo is terrified. We were setting up lunch when suddenly Enzo started screaming and I saw several hornets flying around him and his sister and hanging out on their food. The last thing we wanted was a kiddo being stung, so while Josh tried to grab everything, I quickly tried to shoo the hornets away from Phoebe’s food (which she was still trying to eat) and quickly lead Enzo away. We finally found a table that seemed decent , but little man would have a meltdown whenever a hornet came to investigate. Considering I have my own phobias when it comes to wasps and hornets (I am okay with bees), it was incredibly hard to sit still and try to carefully guide the kids away from them or to cautiously shoo them away from us in a calm manner while comforting Ezno when inside I was having my own mini freak-out.

Seriously, though, what is it with hornets and us? Are we just genetically more appealing or something because wherever we go they just hone in on us while other people are just happily eating or hanging out. They must smell fear.

Anyhoo, the day wasn’t a complete bust… it was absolutely beautiful and the kids got to see a few different animals than usual. We didn’t really stop in Como Town (the game area for kids) even though Enzo might have enjoyed it. At that point we decided a nap was probably in order for both kids, considering Phoebe fell asleep while strapped to my front in the Ergo and Enzo had only had a short nap in the car on the way there. Will we be back? I’ll think about it. I do like the conservatory, which we didn’t see and I think the kids would enjoy all of the flowers, but considering what a long drive it is we will most likely stay closer to home.

Dino and Bunnies

Every day adventures