Fairy Stone State Park Vacation

Posted on Saturday, November 4, 2017 by Laura

Brooke and Alex had two days off school for teacher workday so we decided to take the four day weekend and take a trip to the mountains. We went to Fairy Stone State Park which was southwest of us near the Appalachian Mountains. We had a pretty drive up with all the leaves changing and found a nice rest stop for the kids to play on a playground halfway there. Once we checked in we had dinner and then explored the lake around the cabin area. The next morning the kiddos really enjoyed playing in their new bedroom and on the rocking chairs on the porch. Alex and I went to throw some more rocks into the lake near the cabins while Brooke and Daddy got ready. Then we walked from our cabin down the road to the trail head. We picked a short 2 mile hike along the edge of the lake to a dam (Lake Shore and Turkey Ridge Trail). After lunch and hot cocoa we headed to Oak Hickory Trail for a one mile run through the woods (and climbing through some fallen trees). We headed to the main beach area of the lake to take a look and let the kiddos play on the playground. After a day of tromping through wet trails we dried our shoes by the fire and after dinner had some smores. The next day we went hunting for fairy stones. AJ was the best at it and ended up finding all 4 types. After lunch, AJ let me go for a 5 mile challenging hike on Little Mountain Falls Trail which truly had what one could hardly consider a waterfall but after 2 miles of uphill ridge climbing had a beautiful lookout point. AJ took the kids to play at the lake and playground and made them both walking sticks. After nap/QT we ‘blazed a trail’ around the edge of the lake from our cabin to the amphitheater. We found a path back to the road and ran into four white tailed friends who let us take pictures of them. It was a gorgeous sunset and fun hanging around the cabin for our last night before heading home.

Bahamas Vacation

Posted on Monday, October 23, 2017 by Laura

AJ and I had not taken a vacation by ourselves since before I was pregnant with Alex four years ago, therefore, we decided to take a few days in the Bahamas. We enjoyed three nights on the island of Exuma at Emerald Bay. We left at 4:45am to arrive on the only flight into Exuma and enjoyed the afternoon by the beach and pool. The next day, I unfortunately woke up sick but found some dayquil at the gift shop. I was still able to enjoy the beautiful beach, a little catamaran with AJ, lunch at the beach-side restaurant, and the swim up bar with a colorful drink called the Bob Marley. This night we went to a Japanese Steakhouse for dinner and ended up at the piano bar where we both sang but didn’t take pictures as we forgot the camera in the hotel room. The next day AJ woke up sick and so we mostly relaxed at the beach and took the catamaran out (which was AJ’s favorite). By dinner, he was feeling worse and I was feeling better so he had just a sprite with dinner but I found a non-bahamian beer. He was up for a little darts and a quick game of pool after dinner but then headed back to our room early for him to rest and me to pack for our early checkout the next day. Even though we both ended up getting sick we still really enjoyed our time with just each other in such a beautiful place!

Charlottesville Weekend

Posted on Saturday, September 23, 2017 by Laura

This weekend we did a quick trip to Charlottesville to go apple picking. After we drove up we went to the Virginia Discover Museum, a children’s museum downtown. We then walked their open air pedestrian downtown area and had dinner at an outdoor cafe. After we stumbled upon a free music festival that Brooke had a lot of fun dancing at. The next day we picked apples, enjoyed a hayride, and did a little light hiking before having lunch and driving home.

Sandbridge Vacation

Posted on Saturday, August 12, 2017 by Laura

We spent a week at our favorite local beach – Sandbridge. We rented a condo and had a few days of overcast and rain. Brooke and Alex got to try boogie boarding for the first time and they had a great time with it! Oma and Opa joined us at the beach and brought the sunshine with them. We had beautiful sunny days for the rest of the trip even though it rained a few nights. We had a lot of fun building numerous sand castles, making mermaids and octopuses out of the children, lots of swimming in the ocean, relaxing on the beach, and more boogie boarding. We also had a first for Brooke when she lost her first tooth! It had been wiggly for about a month and decided to come out at the beach. The kiddos had a lot of fun at the condo too, playing with Oma and Opa and the treasure hunt game Oma made for them. On the last night we climbed the lifeguard towers before heading home the next day.

Laura’s Chicago Trip

Posted on Saturday, June 3, 2017 by Laura

This weekend I got to travel to Chicago with Jackie and have an awesome moms trip! We stayed in a great hotel downtown with a beautiful view and that first night I got a few pictures of downtown after checking in. The next morning we went on an architecture boat tour down the river and saw a lot of amazing buildings and even a bridge opening as we went past. We walked to Millennium Park to see Cloud Gate (aka the bean) and had Chicago hot dogs in the park for lunch. We walked the park until we found the Buckingham Fountain and a little cafe beside it to have a beer. We got cleaned up for dinner on the rooftop of the Conrad Hotel with drinks at their bourbon bar before. The next day we walked north on Magnificent Mile to the Oak Street Beach. We took the Red Line to the Harold Washington Library and saw their winter garden on the top floor. Then back to enjoy the sun at the beach and for me to rent a take-and-drop bike and ride 6 miles up the lakeshore. We had Gino’s Chicago deep dish pizza that night and it was delicious! I walked the Magnificent Mile south and ended up on the RiverWalk and found some unusual riverside hot spots including a Frost franchise! I then walked back and joined Jackie for ice cream at Ghirardelli. The next morning I got up early to have a 10 mile bike ride of the southern lakeside trail. I also rode the entire Navy Pier. After a shower, Jackie and I took the train to Chinatown and after some shopping we had amazing Dim Sum at MingHin. We went to the Museum of Contemporary Art which was largely a bust except the very interesting fan with light. That night we got dressed up to have dinner at Maple and Ash, a truly incredible Chicago steakhouse. It was a spectacular trip in a vibrant city with Jackie!