Caleb Takes On Washington DC

Back in 2020, our family road trip was supposed to be to Washington DC. We considered rescheduling it in 2021, but many of the places we wanted to see were still closed due to Covid. As we began to think ahead to our 2022 travel plans, we thought long and hard about where to go. We knew that Caleb, our history lover, would truly appreciate a trip to Washington DC. However, we knew that the other three kids would likely rain on his parade if we made the trip a family vacation. So, we decided to make this a special, 8th-grader-only trip. Caleb has had a phenomenal history teacher over the past two years and has learned enough to make DC a worthwhile adventure. Our hope is that the younger two will also see this as an exciting trip once they hit 8th grade and we will take them as well. The best part of it all is that it gives us some much needed one-on-one time with our kids at such a unique age when one-on-one time is very hard to come by!

When we pitched the idea to Caleb several months ago, we put him in charge of planning where he wanted to go and what he wanted to see. He did a great job, and all that was left was to book the airplane, hotel, and a few tickets for places that required it.

The trip started with a VERY early flight out of Chicago on Friday morning. Once we landed, we had to figure out the Metro system and got to our hotel to check in. We visited several museums that day and even got a surprise visit from Alfredo, one of TiTi's former baseball players!

Saturday was the day that seemed infinitely long, but was packed with SO many great stops! We did SO much walking that day and our feet were sure to let us know. Thankfully, we became pros at using the Metro and also made good use of the rental bikes that are available throughout the city. The bikes were great until we got caught riding through a torrential downpour that came out of nowhere!

Sunday started with a trip to the National Zoo, where Caleb was more excited than any other visitor to see the red pandas. Most people come to see the giant pandas, which were definitely awesome....but this kid was definitely most thrilled about the red pandas and the kamado dragon. We spent the afternoon at Ford's Theater and then made the journey down to Mt. Vernon. On our way back, we made a quick visit to the Nationals baseball stadium and then took in the sites along the National Mall at night. It was incredibly scenic!

Monday was our final day and we pushed through the dreary, cold rain to take in a few last sites before heading home. Our flight was delayed a bit that evening, so it made for a long and exhausting end to the trip. Caleb couldn't even make it home before falling fast asleep in the car!

We will definitely treasure every single moment of this special trip with our boy! We've learned that traveling is worth every ounce of effort and every dollar paid if it means making memories with our kids. We will cherish these memories forever and hope that he will too!

If you're wondering what the other kids were up to while we were gone....Nyla stayed down at school for Easter weekend and the younger two were in great hands with Grandpa and Grandma and didn't miss us one bit!

Florida 2022

The Florida Spring Break tradition continued this year....with a slight twist! Instead of our usual trip to Ft. Walton Beach and a stay at Seaspray, we opted for Pensacola Beach, where we rented a house for the week. After a very relaxing and enjoyable week, we think it might be time to make this our new Spring Break spot. It was quiet, scenic, and perfect for a family vacation....even the fur babies could come! We missed some things about Seaspray, but the pros of this new location outweighed the cons for sure!

We broke up the drive down into two days, which was a great idea! It gave us a little bit of extra time for hitting up some tourist spots along the way. We decided to visit the National Memorial for Peace and Justice. It was a worthwhile detour, for sure!

We lucked out and had phenomenal weather all week....perfect for sunny days at the beach and by the pool. We took lots of walks along the beach and throughout the little beach neighborhood that we stayed in.

We loved getting to have a house where we could all stay together. We had lots of together time and enjoyed playing games....Sequence was the big hit this week!

We loved getting to bring Chief along! His favorite part, BY FAR, was getting to visit the dog beach. If we didn't have to keep him on a leash, he probably would've swam straight out into the deep, deep ocean. He couldn't get enough of it!

We definitely treasure the memories of these yearly trips to Florida. Our kids are so lucky to have grandparents and an aunt that want to be so involved and connected. Whether it's walks on the beach finding shells, games played, conversations under a beach umbrella, dinners altogether, or trips for ice cream, we know that each memory made is a true blessing!