Chasing My Joy

My journey to becoming an Ultra Runner and Ironman

  • Home
  • About
  • Current Gear
  • Race Reports
  • Pregnancy//Baby
  • Travel
  • Bucket List
  • All In

Archives for October 2019

October 29, 2019

European Adventure – Berlin Days 1-3

When we arrived in Berlin (you can read about traveling there HERE) we were tired but after a rest we headed out for some fresh air.

We were so happy that our phones worked so we could use google maps (although the data was very slow). We found a park near our hotel so the kids could run and play after such a long time traveling.

It’s always fun (and necessary) to see what local parks are like when we travel. We then found a cute little Mexican restaurant near our hotel before heading back and to bed early.

DAY 2

On our second day in Berlin we decided to do a “hop on hop off” bus tour of Berlin.

We walked from our hotel to where the busses were parked and we etertained ourselves checking out the square in front of  Fernsehturm (Berlin’s historic TV tower).

Once on the tour we saw many sites around Berlin including the Brandenburg Gate, Reichstag, Tiergarten, President’s house and lots more.

Cannon enjoyed the ride and Emmy enjoyed a nap. We rode on the top of a double decker bus. Too bad it was raining otherwise you get to ride with the top open. We got to see parts of the Berlin wall and Checkpoint Charlie. We didn’t do much World War II history touring while we were in there because I felt it wasn’t appropriate for the kids but it’s still very present in Berlin and I can’t believe the wall only came down so recently. This year is the 30th anniversary of the wall coming down!

After the tour we took a rainy stroll to a local brewery called Brewdog

The pizza and beer were delicious and the kids made some local friends to play with.

After dinner we found a grocery store to pick up some supplies. The big thing I forgot to pack was the kids’ toothbrushes and toothpaste. I don’t know why but I get a kick out of this German toothpaste.

Our hotel room had a mini-fridge so we were able to get some milk for the kids and of corse chocolate, diapers and snacks.

DAY 3

Our third day in Berlin started nice and early, we had reservations to tour Reichstag . We decided to walk over from our hotel and it was a beautiful way to see the city.

Reichstag is a glass dome on top of the German Parliament building. The tour includes an audio portion that describes the views from the dome and the city’s interesting history.

We enjoyed the tour and the beautiful views of the city from the dome.

By the end the kids were very over being in their strollers so we walked back to the hotel for lunch. We grabbed sandwiches from a sweet little shop to eat in our hotel room. There is only so many times we can ask these kids to be quiet and sit in a restaurant so we tried to give them opportunities to eat and play. We then ran back out to take a boat tour of the Spree River.

There are many options for boat tours, we decided on an hour tour of the Spree. Cory and I would have loved a longer tour but the kids’ attention span can’t last that long.

It was really fun to see so much of the city from the water and hear about the city’s past. After we got off the boat we walked to the Tiergarten (think central park) to let the kids run around and get some energy out.

There are many beautiful statues in the park including a memorial to the Russian soldiers who dies in WWII.

Our third day in Berlin was my birthday so I got to choose the restaurant. I wanted something very authentically German and we found just that.

After dinner we found a little bakery around the corner from our hotel to get some cake to celebrate.

After cake we went back to our hotel, we stayed at Hotel Augustinenhof it was in a cute old building that definitely didn’t feel like a chain hotel.

We had the perfect room for the four of us with a separate bedroom. The hotel offered breakfast every morning, that made things much easier to get the day going!

Emmy enjoyed her high chair.

That’s it for our first three days in Berlin. Will be back to cover days 4-6 soon!

_____________________________________

European Adventure Posts

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 1-3

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 4-6

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – TRAVEL DAY + NUREMBERG

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – EUROPA PARK

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – SWITZERLAND

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – INNSBRUCK + MUNICH

International Travel With Small Children

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Europe, Germany, Travel

October 28, 2019

International Travel With Small Children

I wanted to get my thoughts down about our trip to Europe with Cannon (3 years old) and Emmy (1 year old) before it all fades and all I remember is the fun! We had a great time and spent almost three weeks abroad.

We flew over and spent the first week in Berlin with my parents. It was nice to have a couple additional sets of hands for the flight as we had no idea about how it was going to go. We had only flown once with the kids before and that was just for our trip to Disneyland in February (recaps HERE and HERE ) We left for a red eye flight at 4pm Denver time and landed about 10 am in Munich then a quick flight from Munich to Berlin. Because the flight is about 10 hours and we left later in the day it worked out well for the kids’ sleep schedule.

We loaded onto the plane and enjoyed take-off. Cannon liked watching out the window and checking out everything in the armrest between seats. We did take both car seats with us but checked them instead of using them on the plane. My research before the trip found that kids aren’t really safer in their carseats while flying so it was easier not to lug them through the airport and both were happier without them anyway.

Soon after take-off they served us dinner which took up some time.

After dinner Cannon was happy to watch a movie, we flew Lufthansa and they had a ton of kid friendly movies. Emmy was happy to hop between people’s laps and make friends with the other passengers. Emmy liked watching part of Life of Pets 2. We packed lots of blankets to snuggle, snacks and kid appropriate headphones.

After dinner they darkened the plane so we could sleep. Around the kids normal bedtime we “got them ready for bed” we took them to the potty, changed Emmy’s diaper and made sure the movies were off when we got back to our seats. Cannon settled right down in his own seat, Emmy had a little trouble. We did have a seat for her but she was happier sitting with someone, she cried for a little while trying to get her down but she fell asleep after that and slept through. Cory and I shared time holding her while she slept. When we got close to time to land they lit up the plane and served us breakfast.

It was not as long as the kids normally sleep at home but Cannon still thought it was awesome to eat on the plane.

We had a short transition time to get to an hour flight between Munich and Berlin. This was a little stressful basically running through the airport and waiting in the passport check. When we got to Berlin we took a car to the hotel and settled in a bit. We were all tired and off our schedule but ventured out into the city to stretch our legs and found a park for the kids to play at. It took a few days to get the kids used to the time change (Berlin is 8 hours ahead of Denver). Emerald had the hardest time adjusting but after 3 nights was doing fine.

While in Europe we spent our time getting around by bus or train ( I will detail our adventures later and just cover travel for now). We took Kolcraft Cloud Umbrella Strollers with us and they were great for getting on and off public transit. We were even able to carry them up stairs from the subway in the strollers when it was hard to find elevators.

We also got good rain covers for the strollers that were key because it rained a fair bit while we were traveling. Instead of my normal diaper bag we used Cory’s REI backpack that also had a rain cover and that saved our stuff from getting soaked.

On our train ride from Berlin to Munich we used our Kids Fire Tablets to keep the kids entertained.

Our flight home left at 11 am Munich time so I was worried about a 11 hour flight that did not include overnight sleep time.

Again Emmy had her own seat but spent zero minutes in it. She bounced between sharing with me and Cory but her favorite was to sit next to Cannon.

Emmy did nap a little on the flight but Cannon didn’t sleep at all. He got a little restless but was always happy to visit the potty, watch a movie (or 6) and eat meals when they were served. We were very pleased with how the kids did on the flight with no big meltdowns. Once we got into Denver and were waiting to get through customs Cannon was DONE it was about 11PM Munich time and he hadn’t had any sleep. We had a pretty epic meltdown while waiting for our luggage.

That is Cannon sleeping on the airport floor. Overall I consider it a win with just one meltdown. Once home we settled in and tried to get back to normal life. Just like on the way there it took about 2-3 days to get back on local time.

It was definitely a different trip than if we had gone without the kids. We didn’t spend time in museums, shopping or lavish dinners. There were many times I would have liked to relax in a coffee shop for awhile but that was just not possible with our two little ones. All kids are different so some might be more okay with these type of activities. Both Cannon and Emerald have a lot of energy and need to be on the move. Even though we missed out on some things we gained so much going on this trip as a family. I really enjoyed sharing this experience with them.

If you are considering travel with small children, I say go for it! Where is the best place you have taken your kids?

_____________________________________

European Adventure Posts

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 1-3

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – BERLIN DAYS 4-6

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – TRAVEL DAY + NUREMBERG

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – EUROPA PARK

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – SWITZERLAND

EUROPEAN ADVENTURE – INNSBRUCK + MUNICH

International Travel With Small Children

Posted by bethcurtis 1 Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Travel

October 12, 2019

Fall Family Bucket List

Fall is by far my favorite season. I love the mild temperatures and the changing leaves (I could live without the dark mornings, but we can’t have it all). Yesterday it snowed here but I am still in the mood for everything fall.

In the summer we had a bucked list of all the things we wanted to do and it was fun checking them off . I thought we should do it again for fall now that we are home from Europe (recaps coming soon!)

  • Run a family 5k
  • Go to a pumpkin Patch
Pumpkin patch from last year, look at those babies!
  • Drink Fall themed beverages from Starbucks
  • Share hot chocolate with the kids
  • Get lost in a corn maze
  • Attend a fall festival
  • Carve Jack-o-lanterns
  • Get dressed up and go trick or treating
  • Bake pies
  • Make fun halloween themed snacks
  • Go for a hike in the mountains
  • Play in a pile of leaves
  • watch a football game

What are your favorite things to do in the fall?

Posted by bethcurtis Leave a Comment
Filed Under: Uncategorized Tagged: Family

Meet Beth

Follow

Search

Instagram

runwithbeth

Today I hold my daughter close as I watch @kamalah Today I hold my daughter close as I watch @kamalaharris arrive at her inauguration. For Emmy I hope it is just the norm seeing women in leadership but for me it feels very emotional. I sit here with happy tears and hope for the future ❤️🤍💙🇺🇸
We can do so much better. Let’s unite around wha We can do so much better. Let’s unite around what matters ❤️
Another year visiting the ice castles in Dillion. Another year visiting the ice castles in Dillion. We had so much fun and it was a nice break from being stuck at home #1000hoursoutside #icecastles #icecastlesdillon
Working on our #1000hoursoutside Working on our #1000hoursoutside
One last family adventure for 2020. Garden of the One last family adventure for 2020. Garden of the Gods did not disappoint. Happy New Year everyone!!! ✨
My 2020 top nine.... not my favorite year by far b My 2020 top nine.... not my favorite year by far but still many shining moments to celebrate
- socially distant Santa 🎅 
-getting to cast a very important vote🗳 
- Camping in the summer 🏕 
- visiting the Grand Tetons 🏔 
- getting to see Yellowstone 🐻 
- enjoying the pool 🏝 
- Humphry coming home to us 🐶 
- Enjoying the little moments together 💗
- Ice castles pre Covid ❄️
Merry 2020 🎅 😷 ❤️ Merry 2020 🎅 😷 ❤️
Socially distant Santa 🎅 ➡️2019➡️2018 Socially distant Santa 🎅 

➡️2019➡️2018➡️2017➡️2016
No matter how many times I tell you I love you it No matter how many times I tell you I love you it will always ALWAYS be more than that ❤️ #mylove #myson #cannonmichael
We are back doing school from home and under quara We are back doing school from home and under quarantine because Cannon had close contact with someone at school who tested positive for Covid. Cannon is taking it all in stride with a smile on his face. I am so proud of this little ray of sunshine ☀️ Emmy is happy to have Cannon home but we are all missing our family and friends. Happy to report we got a negative Covid test 😆 #safeathome
Crying tears of joy, hope and relief today. I am h Crying tears of joy, hope and relief today. I am happy about Joe, I believe he is a good man with character and class, but Madam Vice President is what really makes my heart sing. ❤️ #bidenharris2020
I voted because her future depends on it 💗 keep I voted because her future depends on it 💗 keeping hope alive 🤞🤞🤞
Happy Halloween 🎃 2020 - Cinderella and a pump Happy Halloween 🎃 
2020 - Cinderella and a pumpkin 
2019 - Peter Pan and Tinker Bell
2018 - Wizard of Oz
2017 - Where the Wild Things Are 
2016 - Pumpkin ❤️
#vote like your life depends on it! Felt so good t #vote like your life depends on it! Felt so good to turn in my ballot today.
Finally a morning run not staring at my basement t Finally a morning run not staring at my basement treadmill. It’s not good to have so many fires burning across the west but it does make for some incredible sunrises 🌅 #nofilterneeded #run
Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all can find as Happy Friday everyone! I hope you all can find as much joy today as Emmy does 💗
There are many pictures I love of Cannon, but this There are many pictures I love of Cannon, but this captures his personality best ❤️ I love his silly and sweet soul. Happy #nationalsonsday to my boy. Love you to the moon and back.
Today is National Daughters Day and I just can’t Today is National Daughters Day and I just can’t believe I get to be this little lady’s mom. She is smart, sassy and sweet. I couldn’t love her more. Happy daughters day to@the girl who owns my heart #happynationaldaughtersday #nationaldaughtersday
We will never forget this trip, so grateful to get We will never forget this trip, so grateful to get to spend quality time with my favorite people ❤️ #Yellowstone #familyadventures
Yellowstone 💗 #Yellowstone #familyadventures Yellowstone 💗 #Yellowstone #familyadventures
Load More... Follow on Instagram

Tag Cloud

50k Baby Baby Update Boston Bumpdate Cannon Disneyland Emerald Europe Family Favorites Friday Favorites Gear Goals Holidays Ironman Ironman Canada Ironman Training Life Marathon Marathon Training Monthly Update postpartum fitness pregnancy Project 366 race report Races recap Run run streak trail race trail running training Travel Ultra Ultra Training Ultramarathon Update updates Weekly Recap Weekly Rundown

Monthly Archives

  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • August 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • May 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • May 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012
  • March 2012
  • February 2012
  • January 2012
  • December 2011
  • November 2011
  • October 2011
  • September 2011
  • August 2011
  • July 2011
  • June 2011
  • May 2011
  • April 2011
  • March 2011
  • February 2011
  • January 2011
  • December 2010
  • November 2010
  • September 2010
  • August 2010
  • July 2010
  • June 2010

Easy Instagram

Loading...

Instagram Slider

No images found!
Try some other hashtag or username

Theme by 17th Avenue · Powered by WordPress & Genesis