Category Archives: Travel

Family Travel // Kid Travel Packs

September 16, 2015

Tips for Traveling with Kids
I am so excited to start sharing with you some pictures and information about our Family vacation we took this summer!  We started off flying by into Montreal Canada, headed to Quebec City, then drove down to Kennebunkport Maine, and ended our travels in Boston!  It was quite the trip, and we really enjoyed ourselves!!
When we travel with our kids, whether it’s by car or plane, I always pack a little travel pack for them filled with some activities, snacks, games, and surprises!
My kids know that we do this, so the anticipation is always something we can rely on.  They get so excited to see what is in their packs!  They key is we don’t let them see what is in their packs until we are in well into our travel, and they just can’t take anymore, and real boredom sets in.  Enter, the fun travel packs!
Tips for Traveling with Kids
Over the years, I have added different items to the Travel Packs, but usually they have some sort of games, a snack/treat, toys, coloring/activity books, and a few other special toys.
We were excited when Tropic of Candycorn sent over these adorable TOC travelpacks with a few fun items inside!  I was able to add a few other special items, and my kids were thrilled!
For Norah’s Travel Pack
Tropic of Candycorn Travelpack -backpack that includes a lot of the little toys/activities all ready to go!
Kleenex-for running noses or hand clean up
Work book or coloring book
Crayons/Pens (crayon pen with several colors I found at Deseret Book)
Little treats/snacks
Suckers- I like to let them have a sucker during take offs or landings to help pop their ears
Mini toys – playdough, card games/activities
Favorite doll-  This darling Ella the ballerina doll is from Gal-Pals and is handmade!
Tips for Traveling with Kids
For Ezra and Tommy’s Travel Pack (affiliate links used)
Tropic of Candycorn Travelpack -backpack that includes a lot of the little toys/activities all ready to go!
Kleenex-for running noses or hand clean up
Work book or coloring book we like the Summer Fit workbooks!
Crayons/ Pens
Little treats/snacks
Suckers- I like to let them have a sucker during take offs or landings to help pop their ears
Mini toys – playdough, card games/activities
Favorite Books- Ezra is obsessed with The Janitors series by Tyler Whitesides  a great book for Elementary aged kids who can read!
Rubix Cubes (my kids are obsessed!)  I got Ezra the mother of all Rubix Cubes, a very unique Rubix cube, check it out here!  It kept him occupied a while.  He still hasn’t figured that one out.
Thomas and Norah loved the 2″x2″size Rubix Cubes!
Family Travel
We whipped their travel packs out as we were awaiting our International flight to Canada, and the kids were just in heaven!  Pretty much like Christmas morning with all of their surprises!
Luggage: c/o Baggallini (Get Away Roller)
Norah Dress: Nununu
Ezra Sweater: c/o Nununu
We ended up doing a Red Eye overnight flight, and boy was I grateful for those bags as our flight was delayed.  Also, when we arrived in Montreal early in the morning, our rental car company took several hours to come pick us up! Travel Packs to the rescue!
Norah enjoyed a little game of soccer with her Globe beach ball from the TOC travel pack in the deserted Montreal Airport.  (Sidenote: Scott Disick was on our flight if you are a KUWTK fan, wink)
So, you may have thought.  Where are the iPads, and video games?!  I know.  Believe it or not, as much as they would LOVE to have an iPad to keep them company, my husband and I still like to use little activities and things as shown here instead of electronic devices as much as possible.  We have really tried to make an effort to not use our phones or iPad devices to keep our kids entertained.  I think they may have watched a movie at some point, but they really are good little travelers and have always been used to having to “entertain themselves” without technology, even on long 12 hour car rides.  But, honestly I think that is what has made them such good travelers!  So, it seems to work for our family!
Travel has always been so fun with my little family, but since we have been out of diapers, and don’t require strollers and packing up everything but the kitchen sink anymore, it really has been a game changer!!  My kids have to carry their own activities, and that’s all we need to bring other than a few other snacks that I’ll carry.  But, wow!  Traveling with much less stuff was SO nice!!  This was probably one of our first official vacations that actually felt more like a vacation than a trip!  Exciting!
So, tell me, what do you use to keep your children entertained while traveling?!  

Travel // Southern Utah

August 13, 2015

Dead Horse Point near Moab Utah
I got to tag along on a work trip my husband had down in Moab, Utah.  Which turned out perfect since it was my birthday and our anniversary weekend!  
We started off the trip at sunset at Dead Horse Point!   The views are really something!  It was nice to just be with me and him and to be able to soak it all in, and not worry about the kids falling off a cliff since they were safe at Grandma’s house. 
The wind was strong, I was hoping not to get carried off the cliff!
Outfit:
Bag: Mus Bags c/o
Shoes: Filantropik Threads c/o
Skirt: Tai Pan Trading 
T-shirt: Forever 21
Sunglasses: Prescription from GlassesUsa.com
Moab Utah
Moab Utah Mus Bags
It was so nice to be able to spend that alone time together, and talk and reminisce about our last 12 years of being married.  We’ve collected a lot of great moments together over the years!
Some of our favorite Hiking Gear: (affiliate links used)
Nathan’s Running Waterbottle Belt (used this when I trained for a half marathon!)
We were able to spend the next day getting some good hiking in!  We spent a lot of the day hiking the Devils Garden Loop (a little over 7 miles) in Arches National Park.  It was gorgeous, and hot!  But, we lucked out with some good cloud cover the first part.
It’s amazing all this red rock, I never tire of looking at it.  It’s just something else!  There’s nothing quite like it!
We took a little break between hikes, and waited a bit for the weather to cool down with a sweaty nap in the car.  Ha!  Then we decided to head up to the Delicate Arch hike, the most popular and well known of all the Moab hikes.  
I decided to run the uphill part to make it go faster.  It was a killer, but being surrounded by such a beautiful placed helped a lot!  There were also a million other people up there that evening.  We hung out, and took our turn for a photo op under the Arch.  There were many a photoshoot under there with selfie sticks from some of the hikers, lol!
We hung out and waited for the sunset!  And, after we ran down in the dark!  It was actually kind of fun! Glad I didn’t twist an ankle!
On our way home, we made a quick stop in Canyonland’s National Park.  
We didn’t get a lot of time there since it was raining and we had to get home to our kids, but it was very pretty!
It was so nice to celebrate our anniversary, and my birthday with just the two of us!  As parents of three young children we very rarely get to take off and get some alone time, but wow.  It sure makes all the difference!  My husband said, wow! “If this is how you are without the kids, maybe we need to do this more often!”  Ha! Meaning, we actually could have conversations, and laugh about things we used to laugh at, and just enjoy it and not worry about the kids constantly, but enjoy each other doing something we both really enjoy doing together…  Being out in nature and enjoying the open horizons!
If you’re planning a trip to Southern Utah and plan to go hiking, be sure to prepare yourself with a day pack of snacks and things, good shoes, sunscreen, sunglasses, and lots and lots and lots of water! You can never be too careful!  Many tourists have died at National Parks each year because they ignore the recommendations, so be sure to check with the National Park pamphlets and information on how much water to bring!  There really is no escape from the sun, and you can dehydrate quick!  So, always pack your H20!!
So, tell me, what’s your favorite hike in Moab?
Lodging (were we stayed): Moab La Quinta Inn – Nice, clean. We liked it.

Family Travel: Park City …

August 4, 2015

Since Pioneer Day is a Holiday here in Utah, we decided to make our way up to beautiful Park City, Utah!
The kids enjoyed eating on Main Street at the Park City Pizza Co (their garlic rolls!!).  And, of course the ice cream at the Java Cow.  We also really liked the Thai Curries at the Park City Chinese and Thai restaurant.  The curries were surprisingly good with lots of fresh veggies, and they gave a nice size portion, I ate my leftovers the next day!
The kids of course enjoyed the pool, and lounging in their Puj Poolside Big Hug hooded towels (Get 15% off with code, ARMELLEBLOG15 ).  
We stayed at the lodges at Park City Mountain Resort.  We couldn’t believe how green and beautiful the mountains were!
On Pioneer Day we were able to get some good hiking in!  
We headed up to Guardsman Pass, and did a fun hike we’ve never been on called Blood’s Lake!
We made the mistake of heading up the mountain thinking we were on the right trail, and a 1,000 ft climb in less than a half a mile later, we saw a nice view way down the mountain of Blood’s Lake where we were headed.  Oops.  It got so steep towards the top with the rocks, that we all ended up on our bums at one point.  Ha!
But, it was some gorgeous views, and the wildflowers were still out, so it wasn’t a total bust!
We finally turned back, and made our way down to Blood’s Lake, which ended up not being a bad hike at all.  We definitely took the hard way!
I mean, how gorgeous, right?!  I live for this stuff!  There’s nothing better to me than gorgeous outdoor scenery!
If you end up hiking to Blood’s Lake.  Be sure to take the path on the left going down.  Don’t make the same mistake we did.  Lol!
Directions: GPS coordinates 40.606819, -111.555237
We also hit the Olympic Training Park in Park City.  My kids loved watching the skiers do tricks off the jumps, and reading up on the location in their Travel Passport from Tava Adventures, a cute little passport highlighting and giving information for fun attractions!  They also have several other cities the kids can read up on as well!  
We really enjoyed our little stay up in Park City!  We are so lucky to have so beautiful areas to explore in our own backyard!