I’m not sure vacation is the right word to describe our week spent at home in Washington. I think there needs to be a new word for vacation with children. In my mind a vacation is relaxing. It’s what I need now…alone. A “vacation” with children is quite the opposite of relaxing. Especially one adult and two babies. But despite the sleepless nights, countless tantrums and constant entertainment, we had so much fun hanging out for a week in Washington.
It was a last minute trip. My parents and youngest two siblings left to Cancun for a business trip party. Austin couldn’t go because he’s now in college classes. My mom flew us in to keep him company and keep him out of trouble. Luckily keeping him out of trouble just involves teaching him how to properly plunge a toilet… ;) Since my mom wasn’t here, we got to spend lots of quality time with the grandparents while Austin was at meetings and school. The kids had a blast!
Airport
The kids were angels on the way here. Not a single tear or tantrum from either of them. Brody walked by himself half of the time and rode on my shoulders the other half. Piper rode in my front carrier and didn’t make a peep. Listening to people talk about us was hilarious. One lady was in disbelief with a toddler on my shoulders and three bags hanging off me. Then, I turned around and she saw Piper on the front in her carrier. It was hilarious. I thought she was going to fall over she was so shocked.
Family Time
My mom and dad didn’t leave right away so we got to spend a little bit of time with them before their trip. Brody is a grandmas boy, so he was in heaven when he saw grandma grandma at the airport. All my siblings that live at home + my parents + Macey + Yanni came over on Thursday night to say hello to us and goodbye to the others. It was so fun to eat together, argue black blue gold and white dresses together and just be together. We didn’t do much before my parents left, but we did have time for the essentials — pedicures, Koibitos and chiropracor.
#familyprayerselfie ^
my kids love mace ^
Friday Highlights
Friday we spent the afternoon with the grandmas. Brody finally took his first nap since we’d been in Washington. He fell asleep in the car and then moved to grandma B’s bed then the couch…and all over the floor haha. He slept for hours and Piper did too! I got to visit with my grandparents handsfree! Then we met Grandma Falty at Charlie’s Safari aka bounce houses. Brody loved jumping around with mom until Macey came, then he wanted her to come with him through every bounce house. He also took his daddy with him down a few slide rides via Facetime. We ended the night at Dirty Dave’s – a childhood favorite.
check out that bedhead ^
Saturday Highlights
We spent Saturday with the Falters. It took us a good hour or more to get the kids up and in the car. The best part of the morning was Grandma Falty’s famous french toast. If you’ve had it, you know. After breakfast, we played with toys then headed to Tumwater Falls. I knew Brody would love the ships and waterfall. He loved playing pirates with me, grandma and Piper. “Yo-ho matey, arg!” His favorite was walking the plank and taking turns steering the ships. After the ships, we took a walk around the falls, collecting rocks along the way. We got back to grandmas and all three of us took a nap. Then, Macey, Austin, Yanni and Uncle Jay joined us for dinner and a short trip to the mall. We ended the night with homework time (for A+M), piano (Y) and baths.
Sunday Highlights
I don’t have any pictures, but we spent Sunday with the Belnaps. We started with the crazy getting ready for church rush. No matter how much time we give ourselves it’s always rushed. Then, we went to Lacey 3rd ward. I only had to go out twice with Brody and once with Piper. Haha, man I love Sundays. It was so great spending time with my grandparents. I have missed Uncle B’s testimony and loved hearing Grandpa B’s as well, even if it was from the mother’s lounge. I also loved seeing all the ward family I grew up with! After church, we all took naps again…YES! Then, grandma prepared us a delicious dinner! After dinner we played hide-and-seek, blocks and animals until we were all pooped.
Monday Highlights
Monday was our best day. We started the morning with the chiropractor. Both Bro2dy and Piper were adjusted, as well as me and Aust. Brody hated it but Dr. Sweet was so good with him…and very sneaky. It was hilarious. After that, we headed to Grandma and Grandpa Bs. He has SO much fun on the farm seeing the bunnies, dogs and chickens. BUT his very favorite part was digging with grandpa. Everytime he looks at a picture he says “I wish I could go diggin again”
After playing on the farm, we headed to the Children’s Museum. Coolest place ever. He had a total blast. He was running around like a crazy person from room to room. It was super hard to keep up with. He loved every single part and I loved watching him. He wants to go back every single day.
After the museum, we hung out with Yan and Macey a little bit and took Piper out for a quick photoshoot.
Tuesday Highlights
Tuesday was for goodbyes. We spent the morning with the Falters, afternoon with Austin, Macey & her cute brothers eating ice cream at Grandpa’s, dinner with the Anderton’s and evening with Belnap’s. The best parts were playing on the ground with the grandmas. He played king of the jungle all morning with Grandma Falty and tower building with Grandma B.
The rest of the night was spent with pukey-Piper and panic-attacky-mom. Bless my grandma B’s heart for staying up all night with us!! At 10pm, we both got priesthood blessings and the rest of the night was much better.
Wednesday Goodbyes
Grandma B and Grandma Falty spent the morning getting us ready for the airport. They both drove us to the airport and were able to get security passes to walk us all the way to the gate. We were kinda like a circus going through security, but the company and help was so great. Piper didn’t puke the entire trip home. And as soon as we got on the plane, both kids fell fast asleep.. Aunt KK picked us up from the airport. THANK HEAVENS! She is the best dealing with slight tantrums/faceplants, too much luggage and a big mess in her car. So many miracles and tender mercies on our journey home. Prayers were answered.
We came home to a sparkly clean house, folded laundry, freshly made pasta salad & salsa, cookies & treats for Brody, a clean & stocked fridge and lots of hugs and kisses. I think Brody said it best: “You’re the best dad, knucks?”
Kylee started Kylee Ann Photography 9 years ago, and has since grown from a one woman amateur show to a full associate team. We shoot 50-75 weddings a year, and thrive on kindness and service. After a year of teaching Intro to Photography at the local technical college, she discovered that helping other entrepreneurs create thriving businesses is what fires her up! She hosts semi-annual Kylee Ann Sleepovers all over the US, speak at conferences and teach online courses about running a small business and marketing.
March 6, 2015
Kylee Maughan
