All right friends, it's crunch time for spring break! I shared all my momma faves earlier this week, but we can't forget about the kiddos! I swear I always end up packing twice as much stuff for my kid as I do for myself. Going to the beach with kids pretty much requires you to bring your entire house am I right? I mean, you might as well just move in. We just picked up a beach buggy to cart all our stuff down to the water, and you can see some of our favorite gear and toys below. When figuring out what my kid is going to wear I always look for maximum sun protection in clothing. And whatever you do, wherever you go, for heavens sake don't forget the snacks. You can see some of our pool specific favorites here too!
It's been a while since I've shared a round up of our favorite things, and since I've got spring break on the brain (3 days and counting!!) I thought I'd share a few of the things I'm swooning over. Most of these have made their way into my online shopping cart this past week and as you can tell, I'm loving rose gold for spring. We're headed to the beach again this year, but we're super excited to explore a new island we've never been to here in our home state. Check back on Thursday, as I'm rounding up my faves for little man too! Who's headed somewhere exciting for spring break?? Do you prefer low-key relaxation or high-energy adventure??
This past weekend we had the most wonderful family trip to Legoland Florida. We were invited by Vanguard to experience a day in the life of a long-term investor. Jacob is growing so fast and we are really realizing how much we need to seize these moments while he's still so small. People always try to warn you just how fast childhood flies by, but it's hard to grasp just howfast until you're in the midst of it. Planning for his (and our) future is super important to us, but we don't want it to take away from living right now in this moment. Legoland is only a 2.5 hour drive from home so we decided last minute to make a day trip. Vanguard clients don't live to invest, they invest to live! And that's just what we did. We lived it up, with our favorite boy, in his favorite place.
Jacob was MORE than excited when he woke up in the morning and we told him we were going. We could barely get him dressed before he was trying to rush us out the door. We spent the entire ride listening to him babble on about how he was going to go on all the rides and see his Lego friends. The look of excitement when we pulled up was priceless.
We made sure to grab a photopass on the way in to preserve our memories as much as possible, and we took lots of photos and videos too. We've made a few trips to Legoland before, but there were still quite a few first for us. It was the opening weekend of Christmas Bricktacular which made everything that much more magical. We got to listen to story time with Mrs. Clause, see the light show on the giant Christmas tree, and check out all the amazing lego displays.
Jacob was besides himself when we said we could get ice cream before lunch, and quickly picked out strawberry as his choice. His kids cone was huge and dripped all over the place, but his sticky smile was totally worth it.
We also caught the pirate show for the first time and I'm not sure why we never made it a priority before. Our pirate obsessed kid was glued to the edge of his seat the entire show, and we must admit that their water skiing stunts are truly impressive. You can see some of their stunts in our recap video!
We hit some of Jacob's favorites - the Beetle Bounce, and Merlin's Challenge, but we also took some time out of our day to let Jacob play a carnival game. We've never done this before, but it was nice to take a break from rushing around to the rides. Jacob was over the moon when he won a giant dragon, and even insisted we strap it in next to him on the way home!
Overall this was a more relaxed trip than our past ones, and it was so nice to focus on Jacob and what he wanted to do. He's growing so fast that we want to savor every last moment of who he is right this second. A recent study reveals that Vanguard clients spend 6 hours more per week with their kids compared with clients of other investment firms. I don't know about you, but I see that time as six precious hours we can never get back once the week is over. We're sure going to make the most of that time!
See what makes Vanguard clients different here, and see if Vanguard is the place for you and your family! Have you started investing for the future?
The Where Investors Belong survey was conducted by market research firm
Kelton Global in 2016. It polled 1,000 Vanguard clients and compared them with
1,000 clients of other investment firms. All differences between Vanguard
clients and clients of other investment firms are statistically significant at
the 95% confidence level. The parental stat refers to clients with children of
any age who provided the number of hours per week they typically spend with
their children or who, compared to other people they may know, believe to be
more involved in their child’s life. . The experiences of these Vanguard
clients may not be representative of the experience of other Vanguard clients
and aren’t a guarantee of future investment performance or success.
We seem to have reached that milestone age group where our little guy, who used to fall asleep easily in the car.... no longer does. We started to notice it when we turned him forward facing, and it's only progressed with time. The soft white noise and swaying of the car no longer lulls him right to sleep, only to be woken when we arrive at our destination. Now he watches the world go by with his big, blue, eyes, and often demands to be entertained.
We take quite a few car trips, both long and short, and we always try to be well prepared with ways to keep him a happy kid. Car trips can be stressful even with the most agreeable child, but throw a whiny one into the mix and it's a nightmare. I find that taking ten minutes to pack a few extra things helps me feel more prepared and less frazzled. Here's what we bring when we hit the road!
1. Snacks and more Snacks. The fastest way to make our guy fussy is to let him get even the slightest bit hungry. I like to pack a gallon ziploc full of snacks so that he has plenty of choices. Fresh fruit, cheese, crackers, yogurt pouches, and Happy Kid Fruit and Oat bars are some of our go to choices. Happy Kid Fruit and Oat bars are made with no added sugar, colors, or preservatives and are gluten free. By keeping our snacks on the healthier side we avoid a sugar rush that is inevitably followed by an epic meltdown. Don't forget a water bottle too, preferably a leak-proof one!
2. Lovey or Blanket. Just in case he does end up tired enough to fall asleep, having his blankie on hand makes him more comfortable and more likely to doze off.
3. Fresh Tunes. We like to listen to spotify or make a cd before we leave with songs that the whole family will enjoy. Movie soundtracks are often a favorite.
4. Games. We make sure our Ipad mini is charged up before we leave so that Jacob has a smorgasboard of games to choose from. But we also keep a list of fun games in the car that don't require electronics. Some of our favorites are: I-spy, I'm going on a picnic, and searching for letters or numbers.
What are your go-to items for keeping Happy Kids in the car? We get our Happy Kid Fruit and Oat bars at Babies'r'Us, but you can also find them at Buy Buy Baby, Amazon.com, Walmart.com, Sprouts, and Shoprite. For a $1 off coupon, click HERE!
Whew. We had the longest, fullest weekend celebrating Independence day at the lake and our hearts are absolutely bursting full of memories. I grew up spending weeks at a time with my grandparents at Crystal Lake during the summer and it makes me so happy to share those same good times with little man. There's just something about a small town 4th of July that's quaint and nostalgic.
Our days were full and little man napped a solid 3 hours each day - a sure sign of a day jam packed with adventure. We drove up Friday night so that we could have a full three and a half days. Jacob handled the four hour drive (+2 extra hours of traffic) like a champ, thanks to a nap, iPad and several pit stops. Fresh cherries from a roadside stand? Yes please!
Saturday we ventured to the beach, which is full of sand, rocks, and swings - all of Jacob's favorite things! After approx. 2,347 pushes on the swings we convinced him to leave with us to grab lunch at our favorite spot - StormCloud Brewing Company. The nachos, beer cheese soup, beer flights, and kids pizza all get two thumbs up from us.
After we filled up we headed to the Point Betsie Lighthouse. The museum there is full of interesting information about the lighthouse and the people who have worked there, and it's great for kids too. We climbed to the top of the light house and were rewarded with amazing vistas of north and south Manitou island, and the Sleeping Bear Dunes. Jacob was a champ climbing up, but freaked out about going back down the ladder. We'll probably wait a few years before trying that again. After a LONG nap, we ate dinner at the Cherry Hut before spending some more time at the beach.
Sunday we returned to Frankfort for some playground time, they have the BEST kids area there. The playground is right on the water, and the equipment is shaped like lighthouses, boats, and trains. We grabbed a quick lunch at the A&W in town, which still has it's original drive up ordering, and little man tried root beer for the first time. He wasn't too sure about it!
Sunday evening we went into Traverse city where the Cherry Festival was going on for a little fun at the carnival. I've dubbed this year the summer of 1,000 carnivals because I've lost count and I'm not exactly sure how many we've been to. What I am sure of is that Jacob has loved every single one. I"ll always remember this as the summer he found his brave. He loves the rides and will go on pretty much anything he's tall enough for.
Monday we spent some time back at the lake, and went berry picking. We picked both Saskatoons and raspberries, then baked up a yummy raspberry cobbler! We ate it after a yummy dinner of grilled hamburgers, corn on the cob, and all the fixins'! We went that night to Crystal Mountain where Jacob and I had our first chair lift ride together up to the alpine coaster. The coaster is really fun and even little kids can ride if they go with an adult. Jacob sat right in front of me on the sled and hearing his giggles as we raced down the mountain was the best. They put on quite the fireworks show that night, and I'm happy to tell you that unlike last year, Jacob now loves fireworks!
Tuesday morning we went to the main street parade in Frankfort followed by, you guessed it, another carnival! I'm really not sure what Jacob's going to do when we go back home to Florida and there isn't a carnival every weekend! He's going to be one sad kid.
We drove back down state during nap time and ended the day with a dip in the pool, confetti poppers, and watching our neighbors shoot off fireworks from the back deck.
I hope you all had the most amazing 4th and made memories to last forever!
Hi! I'm Rachelle. I'm a teacher, a wife, and most importantly, a momma. I live for sunny beach days, toddler giggles, and exercising my creativity as much as I can!
