August 29, 2022

Visiting the Eiffel Tower With Kids

We only had about half a day in Paris before picking up our RV and heading out on our road trip. We decided the best thing to do with our time was to return to the Eiffel tower and try to get all the way to the top.

Emmy was very excited to start our day at a little cafe big fans of Pain au chocolat. Our hotel was near the Eiffel Tower so we got there nice and early.

We had planned on taking the stairs to the second platform, then taking the elevator to the summit. We didn’t know that two legs of the tower offer access to the stairs and two have access to the elevator all the way. When we got to the front of the line they told us we had to go get into another line to climb but could get tickets in the elevators all the way to the top. We didn’t want to wait in another line and possibly miss getting tickets to the summit so we happily took the elevator.

The views are just incredible from every level.

Waiting in line to get to the summit isn’t bad when we had these views.

The summit was incredible, they sell champagne and macarons so it’s fun to see people celebrating all different occasions.

After our time at the top we took the elevator back down to the first platform where we had lunch.

When we were done we walked around the Champ de Mars and found a cute little Carousel of the Eiffel Tower.

Too soon we had to gather our luggage from the hotel and catch an Uber to pick up our RV. We were able to adjust pretty well to the time change by staying up late on our first night in France.

We got our RV and on the road in the afternoon, it was fun to be in the same model as the one we rented in Germany in 2019.

We recommend Indie Campers if you need a rental abroad or in the US. We are already thinking about renting a van for a UK trip soon!

August 28, 2022

An Evening at the Eiffel Tower

We spent most of our “day” flying into London then catching another short flight to Paris.

For the first leg of our flight we had four seats together across the middle and it was so nice to be able snuggle together and try to get some sleep. The kids did pretty well but they definitely didn’t get as much sleep as they usually do.

Our flight from Denver to London was almost two hours late leaving so that made our layover time in London much shorter than we would have liked.

Here we are on the train to a different concourse of Heathrow Airport trying very hard to make our flight to Paris. We made it with very little time to spare.

Once we got into Paris we grabbed a Taxis from the Airport to our hotel in Paris. It was late afternoon and we were tired from our 20ish hours of travel but we wanted to see some of Paris and try to adjust to our new time zone before going to bed.

Our hotel was close to the Eiffel tower so walked to around took in the sights of the Champ de Mars. We grabbed dinner at park venders, played on a playground and marveled at our first sights of the Eiffel Tower.

We stayed out until the lights turned on and it was even more beautiful than I expected.

We didn’t have time or the energy to go up the Eiffel tower that evening so we just enjoyed the sights before taking the train back to our hotel and crashing for the night.

August 27, 2022

Tips for Flying With Kids 0-6 years old

Since today is our travel day I thought I would share what we have learned flying with our kids over the last six years. Today we have a red-eye flight from Denver to London then a short flight (tomorrow) to Paris.

Our flight to London is about 10-11 hours but much of that is overnight so that makes the time go by much faster. We are by no means experts but our kids travel pretty well and we’ve taken them on short and long flights over the years.

When kids are too little to walk through the airport on their own (without trying to run away) use a stroller and check it at the gate. We have taken our giant double and umbrella strollers on different trips it just depends on what we were doing when we get to our destination.

Also if your kids are in a stroller in the airport then pack their stuff in your own carry on to make your time in security easier. Once they are old enough to walk through the airport they can carry their own backpacks.

If you have a baby that isn’t sitting up on their own yet you can have them lap sit with you on shorter flight. When Emmy was 9 months old we flew to California and we just took turns holding her. If it was a longer flight I would suggest buying them their own seat and having them sit in their car seat. That being said when Emmy was 18 months old and we flew to Germany she did have her own seat but she basically never sat in it, she mainly shared with Cannon.

At 3 and 1 they easily both fit in one seat.

For take-off and landing the flight crew gave us a seat belt addition to strap Emmy in during that time.

We have always just checked our carseats for travel and now that both kids are over 4 years old we bring our travel car seats and LOVE them. We put them in our carry on bag just incase our checked bags get lost!

If you want your kids to sleep on the plane (nap or overnight) bring comfort items that they use at home like a special stuffed animal or blanket.

If your flight has a meal request a “kids meal” if you can. We forgot on our trip to Germany and we got some unfamiliar food for the kids. They mostly ate it but enjoyed the kids meals on our future flights better.

Also bring lots of snacks for the flight. I like to take the kids to the grocery store during the week before our trip to buy snacks that are different than we normally have. Also we have found that suckers can help little ears with take off and landing.

Whenever we travel I put the kids in really comfortable clothes that can double as pajamas like sweat suits and warm socks. Planes can be cold so even if you are going somewhere warm remember layers for on the plane. Also be sure to pack at least one full change of clothes for everyone, even the adults! Kids can have potty accidents, get motion sickness or spill a full drink on themselves and you!

This next one might be controversial but we don’t limit screen time on flights.

Our kids do bring little toys, activity books and games but they aren’t old enough to read to themselves yet. We let them watch kids movies provided by the airline and/or play on their tablets. I figure they are stuck on the plane so let’s just make it easy on all of us.

If your flight is delayed grab some fun snacks or a meal then find an empty gate. That way you can spread out, let the kids run around and kill time until your flight is ready to go.

If you are flying a long way know that your kids will be tired and might act out, remember that you are all a team and you will get there together!

We are off to Europe now, what are some of your top tips for flying with littles?

Some travel favorites:

Travel Car Seat – Kids Tablets – Kid friendly headphones

August 7, 2022

A Day in Frisco

We woke up to the sound of the river next to our campsite and fresh mountain air.

The kids were excited to just play in our campsite and ride their bikes. Cannon is enjoying his new bigger bike and Emmy is still loving her strider bike. Emmy has started riding around on a pedal bike with assistance.

Cannon has been loving having his own kayak this summer, sadly we forgot his paddle at home this trip. Luckily the Dillion Lake Marina had kids’ paddles you can rent. We picked up a paddle then found a beach we could launch from.

I have wanted to kayak on Lake Dillion forever and was really excited to get out on the lake. We have a stand up paddle board, adult kayak and Cannon’s child’s kayak. Emmy road along with Cory on the SUP, Cannon had his own kayak and our dog Humphry road with me. Humphry is not a fan of the water and isn’t a great swimmer so we made sure he could swim with a life jacket on.

We are lunch and spent most of the day down at the lake. We are trying to fit in as much time on these mountain lakes while we can. We will be out of town until mid September and then it will be too cold to enjoy the water. Camping will continue year-round.

When we were done we went back to camp for more playing, riding bikes, exploring the river and grilling dinner.

We were planning on going for a night hike after dinner before bed but there was a flash flood warning for part of the drive home and our neighborhood. The kids got nervous about it when they heard us talking about it. We decided it wasn’t worth making them feel nervous to stay another night. It only took about 30 minutes to pack up and head for home.

I love camping but I won’t lie, my bed and coffee are better at home.

Hoping we actually get some rain tomorrow, without the flooding.

July 17, 2022

Wildflower Festival – Crested Butte Colorado

We woke up excited to visit Crested Butte during it’s peak wildflower season, I had seen online that Crested Butte was hosting a wildflower festival this weekend.

We started our day by driving from Gunnison to Crested Butte then up to the Peanut Lake area for a hike to see the wildflowers.

We did the Uper/lower Loop hike and loved it so much!

There were meadows full of flowers and stands of Aspen Trees.

The views were amazing.

After our hike we went into historic Crested Butte for some time at a playground.

Then on to find ice cream.

Humphry enjoyed lots of attention.

We decided to go check out the camping nearby to scout out spots for next summer.

We stumbled upon Lake Irwin and spent some time playing in the water.

We are hoping to get a \spot next July here but you need to reserve it six months in advance.

Then we drove back to Gunnison for pizza before a little climbing in our campsite.

This is one of Cannon’s favorite campsites!

Have you been in Colorado for Wildflower season? Where is your favorite place to see the flowers?

May 29, 2022

Tulum Day Six – Travel Home

Our travel day home turned out to be around 14 hours when all was said and done, it all adds up given that the flight is only about four hours! We had to get up around 5 am to get packed out of our rental and return the rental car.

Driving north to Cancun to the airport was a little sad we wished for a couple more days, but life and responsibilities call!

The Cancun airport is small and easy to navigate, we were all sleepy from our very early wake time and late nights.

These two kids have become such good little travelers, we really are lucky!

when we landed we drove an extra two hours to my brothers house to pick up Humphry. We missed him so much and are so grateful to my brother for taking care of him.

May 28, 2022

Tulum Day Five – Akumal Bay

For our fifth day in Mexico we visited Akumal Bay. Famous for their abundance of sea turtles and magical little reef. We hired a guide to take us out to swim with sea turtles, rays and lots of amazing fish. We saw baby turtles and swam about a mile and a half in the bay, it was amazing! Our guide even towed Emmy and Cannon along in a buoy when they got tired.

We walked down to a little beach club for some amazing sea food for lunch. The kids enjoyed the pool at the club and got to explore some tide pools.

We really wanted to hit one more cenote but had to hurry back to our rental for the Covid tests needed for our travel home. We had one more swim in our rooftop pool then had to pack our bags. Sad to leave but also happy to come home and enjoy summer break with our friends!

May 27, 2022

Tulum Day Four – Chichén Itzá, Valladolid + Choo Ha

Our fourth day in Mexico we visited Chichén Itzá. It’s about a two hour drive to the Mayan ruins from Tulum. It was really interesting to drive through the Yucatan peninsula and see all the little towns. Seeing the ruins was amazing, and very interesting to imagine how life must have been in the past. We opted for an audio tour this day so we could move more at the kids’ pace.

We had lunch in the little Colonial town of Valladolid on the way home.

Then stopped at Cenote Choo Ha to cool off. The water was cool and clear with lots of fish. We really have loved having a rental car on this trip so we can move at our own pace!

By the time we got back to our rental we were ready to take one last dip in the pool then go to bed!

May 26, 2022

Tulum Day Three – Xel Ha

For our third day in Mexico we visited Xel Ha.

Xel Ha is a eco water park in a beautiful inlet from the Sea. We swam with sting rays, jumped off cliffs and floated on lazy rivers through a Mangrove Forest. There were sea caves and Cenotes to explore. We had the best time.

Meals were provided with entrance at the park and we ate breakfast, lunch and dinner there. We stayed way longer than I thought we would there was so much to do!

The kiddos ended the day with a swim in the roof top pool.

May 25, 2022

Tulum Ruins – Day Two

We stated our second day out nice and early so we could get to the Tulum Ruins before the crowds and heat.

The ruins are very close to where we are staying so we felt like we had the place to ourselves.

The littles markets at the entrance are bustling with lots of things to purchase.

We did decide to hire a tour guide for our visit because we wanted to learn more about what we were seeing.

The ruins are stunning set right on the edge of the Caribbean Sea.

It’s a bit of a walk from the parking lot but the tropical atmosphere makes it nice.

The tunnel entrance was a highlight.

The kids did a pretty good job listening to our guide.

But when they got bored they just ran around in the fields.

This place is just gorgeous!

When we were done at the ruins we shared some Coco Frio, the kids were so excited to try drinking from a coconut, but they didn’t like it LOL.

We drove into town and found a little taco shop, the one Cory wanted to try was closed and the one we found was okay.

After lunch we decided to visit Grand Cenote that is really close to Tulum. I need to get our footage from our GoPro. This place was amazing, the Cenote was partially open to the sunshine and partially a cave. There were bats flying in and out, turtles and fishing swimming with us and stalagmites reaching down from above.

I was worried that it would be too cold or maybe scary in the caves with bats flying around, but she was in awe. Her face was lit up and she loved it all so much. Cannon loved it too, swimming around exploring everything, I was never worried about him not loving it.

We brought the kids’ life jackets from home so we always knew they would be safe have a jacket that fit well. This cenote did have jackets for adults and kids available. .

[Source]

After swimming there were showers and places to change before going back to our rental.

When we got back Emmy and Cory were very worn out so they took a nap. Cannon and I decided to test out the roof top pool and hang out in the loft together.