Marking Activites Off Our Summer Bucket List 2015

We’ve officially got about one more month of summer left and so far we’ve had our fair share of, “I’m bored!” and too much TV and video games. We’ve also had our lazy days of summer where it’s just too hot to go out or days when life’s boring tasks of cleaning, running errands, and doing laundry take over. But, we’ve still managed to have some fun times. This is why it’s so important for our family to have this Summer Bucket List done early in the summer so we can not only have fun activities and events to look forward to, but to also make the time to make it happen. We don’t want to get so caught up in our daily routine and life’s demands that we forget to have fun!

Our summer has also included days at the pool at my parent’s place and our friend’s place, a fun day boating on Lake Mead, a weekend camping in Utah, jumping at SkyZone, making ice cream, evening bike rides, and watching some family movies!

We still have a few more things to mark off our Summer Bucket List but so far we’re having a great summer making memories and going on adventures! How’s your summer going?

5 Tips for a Fun & Successful Family Camping Trip

Our first camping trip as a family was a great success! Jason and I had been on few camping trips in Florida before we had the kiddos, but it’d been 12 years since then. Plus, camping with kids is way different. The kids had been asking to go camping since last summer, so we decided to make it part of our summer bucket list this year. Our trip was 2 nights and I think this was just enough for us. It was long enough to make the effort worthwhile, but not too long to get boring or overwhelming. We went out to Navajo Lake, UT, which is about a 3 hr drive from Las Vegas. This was a good distance for us. Far enough that it felt like a getaway and the scenery was completely different, but close enough that we didn’t have to drive for too long.

Of course, I don’t by any means think we’re camping experts or suggest we had a flawless trip, but I think we did pretty good and I’d love to share some of the ups and downs (but mostly the ups!) of our trip and share 5 tips that helped make our first camping trip fun!

1. Make a list! There are tons of websites you can find online or on pinterest with extensive checklists on what to pack for your camping trip. REI had a great one we used, here. These lists are pretty long and detailed, so you may or may not need all of these items for your trip, but it’s a good idea to print one out and use as a starting point. Camping requires lots of stuff. I still can’t get over the amount of things you have to take!

2. Prepare! Go on some day trips and/or family hikes if you aren’t used to the great outdoors. Our family loves to go on hikes & picnics together, so overnight camping was the natural next step for us. If you’re new to the outdoors, start off slow with a picnic at a park and walks through natural settings and work your way up to longer hikes.

3. Go with friends! Even before Jason and I had kids, we always went camping with a group of friends. The more the merrier. Going with another family was perfect for us. The kids had friends to play with, so they weren’t always looking for us to entertain them. Don’t get me wrong, we did get some, “I’m bored!” What can we do now?” but I know it would have been tons more had it just been the 4 of us.

4. Plan some activities! Yes, I’m a planner and the idea of just going on a trip without any set plans is not within my comfort zone. This trip was pretty spontaneous for us and we didn’t have huge plans for when we got there, but the few things we did have planned were just enough. It doesn’t have to be anything huge and you definitely do not need to plan every minute, but having a few activities for the kids was super helpful. Jason took some supplies for a little battery-electicity science experiment for the kids, we had them do a scavenger hunt, and the highlight of the day was going fishing! We have an awesome book titled Camp Out!: The Ultimate Kids’ Guide and it’s packed with stuff for kids to do on camping trips. (Tip: this book is also great for day trips and hikes)

5. Get the kids involved! Camping is a lot of work. There’s the setting up camp, putting up your tents, making a fire, cooking, cleaning, etc. Just unloading and loading up the cars is a lot of work. Kids love helping out and feeling useful, so get them involved in “camp life”. We gave our kids small tasks they could handle depending on their age and with some supervision and direction, they were all able to help out.

No trip with kiddos is guaranteed to be stress-free and some trips will be better than others. We had our share of issues from thunderstorms, leaking tents, and a few kid meltdowns! But, nothing we couldn’t handle with a little flexibility and a good attitude!

I’ll admit before this trip, I was pretty nervous about taking the kids camping. But, with a little preparation, I think we’ll be ready to go again soon. There’s something special about being outdoors without all the comforts of modern daily living that helps ground you. I think it’s important to let kids “rough it” for a few days, get dirty, and disconnect for a bit. I’m looking forward to our next camping trip, for sure. Any expert campers out there have any additional tips for our next trip? I’d love to hear them!

5 Tips to Enjoy Photographing Your Next Family Vacation

Traveling is my absolute favorite thing! I love to go on any kind of trip, I’m not picky. Long weekend getaways, day trips, road trips, family vacations, staycation, I love them all. And, if you go on vacation and don’t take pictures, did it really happen? I think not!

Seriously though, taking photos of your trips is part of the fun. Photographs are our memory keepers, our heirlooms, our triggers. Looking at a photo can help bring back all the emotions of that day, the whole vacation, or even that time in your life. Photographs can help us remember what we may have forgotten or overlooked. Photographs are not only visual reminders of times past, but they bring back so much more. They help us remember how we felt, how the grass smelled, what we ate, even how we felt when we woke up that day.

Yes, photographs are powerful. It’s important to document life. Not just the fun, beautiful moments, but the ordinary days too. But, that’s for another post. Today, let’s talk about how you can document your family vacations. We work hard for that time off from work. We plan, we save, we sacrifice, all so we can spend a week or so away from our routine. To spend time with the ones we love and maybe show them something new or go back to a place you love. Documenting family vacations through photographs can be tricky. We don’t want to spend our entire time behind the lens and miss out on the fun and/or not be in any of the pictures. But, we don’t want to forget to take any pictures and get back home and regret not having taken photos to remember all the fun you had. So, here are a few tips to help you balance out having awesome family pictures and enjoy your vacation too.

1. Have a Plan! I’m big on planning and making itineraries, but I’ve come to learn that with kids we need to be flexible. So have a loose plan of things to do and then figure out where picture-taking is going to be a must! Obviously, if you’re going sight seeing or to the zoo, you’ll want to plan on taking your camera with you all day. But, if you’re going to be relaxing by the pool, then you won’t need your camera there, at least not the entire time.

2. Use your timer setting! This works great for those fun and cheezy family photo ops and ensures everyone gets in the shot! We don’t travel with a tripod, but there’s usually a spot where we can set the camera up safely to get our photo.

3. It’s about the people! Here’s a pet peeve of mine. When people take tons of pictures of the Disney parade or the zoo animals, but hardly any photos of the family members. I get it. We all get caught up in the details and yes, the penguins are super cute, but at the end of the day, our family is what matters most. Don’t forget who is there with you. Take tons of photos of your kids playing, interacting, and having fun. A few scenery and animal shots are fine, but you want to capture your family in that space too. A photo of the Golden Gate Bride is awesome, but a photo of your kiddos walking on the Golden Gate Bride is even cooler! I’m sure you’ll think so too years after the vacation is over.

4. Share the camera! Don’t be afraid to share the camera with your spouse, even if you are the better photographer 😉 Depending on the age of your kiddos, you can even let them take a photo or two! This will give you a different perspective and views from your trip, you’ll actually get to be in some of the photos, and enjoy the day or activity without worrying about taking pictures.

5. Know your camera! I can’t stress this enough. Even if you prefer to shoot on auto-mode (which is totally fine!) It’s good to learn your camera settings. Play around with the various settings and functions prior to your trip, so you aren’t dealing with camera malfunctions or blurry photos due to “user error”.

BONUS: Have Fun! Don’t feel stressed our pressured into taking perfectly composed images during your family trip. I used to do this and it took the joy out of it sometimes. I had to learn to leave my “job” behind me and be a mom and enjoy my vacation. So, now we don’t even take our big DSLR cameras on most of our family trips. I will take my DSLR for some trips, but 80% of the time we simply pack our Fuji X100s digital viewfinder camera and that’s it! The camera is small, lightweight, but does a great job for capturing our family vacation snapshots. Of course, we also take tons of photos with our iPhones too! Come follow along on Instagram 😉

I sure hope these simple and easy tips help you when taking photos during next family vacation. Do you have any tips you’d like to share with me too? When’s your next trip?

Southern California Getaway

Earlier this month we got invited to our friends, Linda & Sean’s wedding in Orange County, California. My sister & her hubs (the Riveras) were also invited, plus it was a kid-free wedding, can you say “Road Trip!”

We left early Friday afternoon and made it in time for dinner out there. Every time we’re in the area, Jason and I try to make it out to our favorite sushi spot, Orange Roll and Sushi, and knew the Riveras would love it too! It did not disappoint! It was the perfect way to start our weekend!

The wedding was on Saturday (12-13-14) at 4pm, so we got an early start to our day with a workout in the hotel’s gym before making our way to Newport Beach & Huntington Beach. The weather was perfect and we had a great time relaxing and enjoying the California sunshine and taking in the ocean breeze! Before we knew it, it was time to get dolled up for the wedding. I gotta say, as wedding photographers, being guests at a wedding was such a treat. I got to dress up in a fancy dress, wear heals, and makeup! We only took our handy little Fuji x100S point & shoot camera and enjoyed the evening drinking, dancing, and mingling!

Sunday was our last day before heading back home and I had scheduled a photo shoot in Laguna Beach while we were there. I got to photograph a gorgeous couple in such a fun location, while the rest of the crew enjoyed the sights. I caught up to them after my session and we all walked along the beach for a bit together before it was time to say “till next time” to lovely SoCal! Ya’ll know I love my kids, but getting away for a couple of days to recharge, is a must in my book! I am so grateful we got to relax, enjoy uninterrupted adult conversation, and make some fun memories with friends and family.

Taking a Break | Visiting Valley of Fire State Park

On Black Friday, rather than deal with crowds of eager shoppers looking for great deals, we took a little road trip to visit the Valley of Fire State Park. It’s about an hour’s drive north from Las Vegas and well worth the drive to get away for a bit. To our surprise, the park entrance had a super long line and we ended up waiting about 20 minutes to get to the gate. I guess we weren’t the only ones not interested in shopping!

I know I say this all the time, but I really do just love getting outdoors with my family and enjoying our time together unplugged from the world, even if it’s just for an afternoon. We sometimes (read lots of times) are so overwhelmed with being busy, that we forget to slow down. We know we should, but we end up getting wrapped up in our day to day routine. We get lost in the chaos of life. This is why it’s so important to be intentional with our lives and our relationships with others, especially our family. It’s important to carve out time to be together to visualize how you want to spend your time with each other and make it happen. For us, we find that being outside exploring nature, brings us together. There’s less bickering and whining out there. There’s time to breathe and laugh and just be.

What kinds of things do you do when spending some time with the ones you love? I’d love to hear about it and get some ideas for my crazy bunch too! xo

Family Travels | Visiting Texas

As I mentioned yesterday on my little recap post, we just got back from our trip to Texas this past Thursday and it was definitely a much needed break. Life has been so crammed with activities, appointments, work, and such that we’ve just been feeling very rushed and unable to catch up. Thanks to a great friend, we got an awesome deal on airline tickets so we decided a getaway to visit family in Texas was just what we needed. We didn’t plan anything, as we were just going to relax and unwind. It worked out perfectly. Way better than I imagined it would! I’m a planner, winging it is out of my comfort zone.

We spent our first 3 days at my cousin’s friend’s lake house. They’d been planning this getaway with a bunch of their friends too so we totally just crashed the party!! We didn’t really know most the folks before this trip so I was kinda nervous about just spending 3 days with a bunch of peeps we didn’t know. But, I gotta say we totally just made some lifelong friends. Everyone was so friendly and welcoming. It truly felt like we’d all known each other forever by Sunday night! And it was a total blast to see my kiddos playing in the lake where I spent so much of my own childhood playing and swimming in.

After the lake house weekend, we spent a day at my cousin’s house playing farm! Jason and Diego got to do some target practice (Yes, I was freaking out!) They took a walk in the woods, fed the chickens and collected their eggs, and ended the day riding a horse. By this point, we’d had enough of the country life and us adults went out for a nice date night in town about an hr away but it was worth the drive! Don’t worry, the kiddos were well taken care of and had plenty of fun catching up computer games and ipads! It’d been days since they played with their electronic devices! We went to this awesome sushi spot that was so yummy and had a great time!

The next morning, we left my cousin’s place and headed to do some sight seeing. We spent the day at Natural Bridge Caverns exploring the underground caverns, playing around the canopy challenge, and panning for gems. It was a really great day (minus some whining & bickering from the kiddos) I highly recommend checking it out if you’re ever in the San Antonio area. It ended up getting really cold that day and night, but we braved the chill and walked around San Antonio’s River Walk on our way to dinner.

The next day was even colder, so our trip to The Alamo was pretty short and we went ahead and made our drive to Austin early. Once in Austin, we found the coolest movie theaters we’ve ever been to, Moviehouse & Eatery! It’s a big multiplex cinema with conventional theaters, IMAX, and dine-in theaters with awesome reclining seats! We opted for the dine-in experience and munched on bottomless popcorn, fish and chips, gourmet pizza, and for Jason and I, a nice bottle of riesling. Yea, watching Big Hero 6 and drinking wine was a fabulous way to end our trip!

So, although this is most definitely not our typical vacation, jam packed with activities and sight seeing, it was most definitely an unforgettable time spent with family and friends. It taught me that sometimes it’s good to let go, relax, and go with the flow rather than having it all planned out. Don’t get me wrong, I still love my itinerary vacations, but I think we can add some of these trips into the mix too 😉

How do you like to travel? Do you like to wing it, plan it all out, or somewhere in between?