La Jolla 2017

I’ll be completely honest:  I get a little emotional every time I think or talk about this trip.  I had been asking Zach if we could go on a family vacation for a few months prior and he planned this trip – without any help from me at all – and it couldn’t have gone better.

We flew from SLC > San Diego on Thursday afternoon and I would cringe each time I would think about the timing before we left.  We had to leave for the airport right at the beginning of Sloan’s nap.  So I let her skip it – hoping she would get some rest on the flight.  She was so amped once it was our time to board she could have cared less who she got on the plane with [thank you kind businessman who humored her].

As if a gift from heaven – we got to ride on a brand new Delta aircraft that had TVs in the headrests complete with boat loads of free movies.  Moana and Beauty and the Beast got us on our way.   And after she got bored of watching her shows we messed around with Play Doh, which was honestly the hero of the whole flight.  She played quietly for the remainder of the trip there.  

When we arrived we grabbed our baggage and picked up our rental car.  Sloan took a 30 minute nap in the car while we drove to La Jolla and got all checked in at our hotel.

I unpacked all our gear while Zach and Sloan ventured out to the beach.  They didn’t waste any time at all.

Zach booked us a beach front room – so the sand was less than 10 feet away from our door!  They both got soaking wet and sandy and I ordered food for dinner to our room from one of the hotel restaurants.  We put Sloan down to bed, grabbed the baby monitor [I know I am super repetitive…but if you travel with kids you MUST pack your baby monitor] and went out to the beach for our bonfire date.  Zach scheduled with the hotel in advance and they set up a beach bonfire for us complete with a s’mores kit!  The best part was that they did everything.  Hauled the fire pit out to the beach, set us up with chairs and towels, and left the s’mores get-up in our room.  All we had to do is walk out a few steps and start up the fire!


We ended up doing it our first two nights and I looked forward to it throughout the entire next day.

The next morning Zach let me run off all my s’mores from the night before with a glorious 4 mile run.  The weather was perfect.  Meanwhile – Zach and Sloan checked out the park the hotel had in the sand.

Then we all walked over to the pool and swam until lunch time.

We practically had the whole place to ourselves.  We got food poolside and relaxed in our loungers.

I’m not huge on “pool food”.  It’s usually chicken strips, nachos, and the like – but they had the most amazing hummus wrap that I could have ordered every single day.  Zach was elated to have hamburgers and chicken quesadillas along with Sloan.  The food actually surprised us.  You never know when you stay somewhere new how the service and food is going to be – and we were all pleased with everything.  I was already telling Zach we needed to come back and we hadn’t even left the place yet!

I took Sloan back to the room to nap afterwards and then met Zach out on the sand in front of our door to lounge for a bit.  When Sloan woke up we promised her we would build a sand castle – and we really went for it.  We built and re-built tower upon tower for 3+ hours!


Afterwards we all showered up and went to dinner at the Shores nearby.  All three of our meals were a home run.  They had me sold from the second they handed us piping hot bread as we sat down.

After dinner I got Sloan ready for bed and Zach ran to a nearby grocery store for some supplies.  Our room had a full kitchen and dining room so we decided to stock up on breakfast food and soda for the remainder of the trip.  He also got more s’mores supplies.  We had ourselves another bonfire and the weather was even better than the night before.

The next morning I explored the fitness center and had a run barefoot on the beach.  It was crazy crowded for 8 in the morning.  There were surfers, lots of other runners, a few yoga groups, and tons of families already out scoping their spots.  Luckily our place had a private beach – so I zoned in on a spot of our own and had some of the staff set us up some chairs and umbrellas.  We decided to go the same route as the day before – pool first, lunch, then beach.  Two little girls even shared their pool toys with Sloan and she couldn’t have been more thrilled.

Sloan rarely sits still.  At all.  But she went so hard at the pool on Saturday that I got a lengthy towel-wrapped cuddle.  I was afraid to breathe too deeply in fear she might wiggle away from me.

We had lunch and then took Sloan back to the room for a nap.  While she rested Zach played a round of golf and I binge watched Anne with an E on Netflix.  I know there are mixed reviews on it – but I LOVED IT [yes, I finished it already thanks to Zach’s late night hockey games] and would recommend it if you are an Anne of Green Gables fan!

When Sloan woke up we hit up the beach.  Sloan made some friends – who shared their “hot tub” with her and even some slices of watermelon.

Afterwards we showered up and took a little drive to the San Diego Temple.  Sloan kept calling it a “giant castle” and we happened to be walking around the grounds when a beautiful bride walked out of the doors.  She kept calling her a princess and waving.  It made me feel a little bit guilty about not taking her to Disneyland while we were there.  But…we just can’t.  Yet.

And because it was so convenient on our drive home – I made Zach stop at Sprinkles for a small box of cupcakes.

We fed Sloan dinner back at the hotel, had one more round of fun on the beach, and then got her tucked into bed.  We had dinner plans with just the two of us – which Zach set up.  He got us food sent out to the beach where a fancy table was waiting for us – literally 12′ from our room.  Grilled chicken, mahi mahi, asparagus, and chips and salsa.  Plus drinks and our cupcakes for dessert.

It was the perfect finale to our trip.  All three of us were sullen when Sunday morning came.  We spent the morning packing up and then grabbed lunch before heading to the airport.  Sloan did incredible on the flight home.

She even fell asleep when we were taxing to our gate and stayed asleep until we got in the car to drive home.

When we got home and unpacked, Zach and I were sitting in our bedroom together and had a chance to talk about the weekend.  We both agreed it was the best family trip we could have hoped for.  I can’t thank him enough (and haven’t stopped since we got home) for all the time and thought he put into the prep for this vacation.  Planning a long weekend away with a toddler is never simple – but it was honestly so relaxing and enjoyable.  We are honestly going back – hopefully sooner rather than later.

 

Mother’s Day 2017

We kept in tradition for Mother’s Day this year and had ourselves a relaxing weekend in Park City.  We left Friday after Zach got home and drove straight to our hotel.  We ordered food to our room once we unloaded all our bags.

Sloan got the macaroni and cheese and for dessert they left her a s’mores treat with a chocolate moose atop.  We might as well have been at Disneyland.

They even left a tiny Sloan-sized robe and slippers in our room as well.  She could hardly wait to take her bath and get wrapped up in it.

The next morning Sloan and Zach got breakfast while I got to go workout at the gym.  The views are always amazing no matter what time of year we visit.  Afterwards we all went down to the indoor pool.  We stayed for what seemed like forever and Sloan was still disappointed when it was time to get out. 

We had lunch and then decided to do a round of bowling down in the hotel’s lower level.

Then we all got changed for dinner and drove over to the J&G Grill.  We rode the funicular up to the restaurant [and ended up riding it four more times while we waited for our reservation to come up] and then got all settled in to eat.

Sloan loved her appetizer of gummy bears and goldfish – anything to help her stay happy while waiting for our entrees.

I got the miso glazed catch of the day – and it was out of this world.

After dinner we got back to our hotel and got Sloan all ready for bed.  We tucked her in and took the baby monitor outside for s’mores.

The next morning we packed up and checked out.  Sloan had a cold coming on a few days before and I woke up with a sinus cold myself.  It was so bad we didn’t even go to Mother’s Day dinner at my parent’s place that night.  We felt bad for missing out – but didn’t want to pass on our germs to the rest of the family.

It was honestly the best weekend.  Even with the cold – I’d replay those few days over and over.  I love being away with my little family, even if it is just up in Park City.  I couldn’t have asked for a better Mother’s Day gift.

To Easter and Beyond

I have to start out with the best news first, obviously.  We have another niece, Ruby!  Travis and Lori adopted this gorgeous one-year-old a few weeks ago and she is the perfect addition to the Wayland family.  Since their youngest, Max is actually one – they basically have one-year-old twins!  Ruby is 7 days younger than Max.

We got to visit her a few Sundays ago (and play in Lori and Trav’s sweet backyard) before heading to Sunday dinner with my family.  Hendo baby #28.  We are thrilled for all of them.

As for our Easter, it was wonderful.  It came and went so fast, but not without all the traditions.  First, we died eggs.

Sloan loved it.  She took it very seriously and wanted to dye more than just eggs.  I had to rein her in a few times.

We also made an Easter themed dinner the Thursday before the actual holiday.  Carrot pot cakes (which Sloan figured out were strawberries REAL quick) for dessert were the highlight.

The next day on Friday we had a little neighborhood Easter Egg Hunt and I conned our friends and neighbors into coming with us.  Sloan loved the park more than the actual hunt, but didn’t turn down her share of candy.

The Saturday before Easter I made Sloan a bunny breakfast.  Which she almost combusted when she first laid her eyes on it.  She gets so excited about the little things.

Later that Saturday Zach took Sloan on a daddy-daughter date to the Discovery Museum.  It happened to be Princess Day (who knew?) and Sloan had the time of her life.  Meeting Belle and Moana were highlights, for sure.

Later that afternoon we had my side of the family get together at my brother’s house for an Easter egg hunt.  Sloan was in heaven and got hooked up with the most amazing Easter basket from my parents – complete with gummy bears and Swedish fish.

Then came Easter Sunday.  We got all dressed up and ready for church and then set off to Gina’s house afterwards to have the Henderson Easter Bash.

Now that we officially have a child – Zach is off Easter Bunny duty.  Our nephew Alex has been promoted to that position.  I’m sure he loves sweating his guts out in that smelly bunny suit.  At least we get to take photos all together as a family now!Sloan loved EB – just like years previous.  She got used to giant stuffed animals really quick being a part of this family. 

We had a delicious dinner, had the kids hunt for eggs, and afterwards the adults got to open their adult loot.  It was another great holiday.

The week afterward we had a family dinner date up in Ogden at Tona.  If you haven’t had sushi at Tona, you’re not enjoying sushi to it’s full potential.  Best spot in all of Utah, if you ask us.  Sloan’s favorite is always the miso soup (even the tofu) and rice with soy sauce.  She is her father’s daughter.

April was my month to conduct and teach in Relief Society – and we had an activity at the end of the month as well.  It turned out to be pretty fun.  We did “Speed Friendshipping” – like speed dating, but not awkward, with a little bite-sized dessert at each table.  The sisters seemed to really like it!

Before hand we didn’t have enough desserts for each table [little did I know that we would have far too many once people starting showing up with plates and plates of food] so I panicked and made a batch of sugar cookies with Sloan the morning of.  I didn’t have any small cookie cutters that were considered “bite sized” so I used a cookie cutter from her Melissa and Doug play baking set.  Sloan was over the moon about it and helped with serious concentration and patience.

Our “flower” cookies looked more like suns…but Sloan didn’t mind one bit.

And since we’re talking about baking – I’ve been all about single sheet pan dinners lately.  We’ve tried everything from pork chops to salmon.  But our favorite was a marinated skin-on salmon cooked over green onions and roasted carrots.  We’re saving this one for sure.

I’m pretty sure no other family goes through as much parchment paper as we do between all our sheet pan dinners and baking sessions.

We try to eat healthy…but sometimes we just can’t muster the strength.  Last week I wanted a corn dog in the worst way.  I know, gross.  Not even a famous Kaysville corn dog or a Cowboy corn dog from the Utah Stadium – just a good ‘ole fashioned HDOAS corn dog.  So I made Zach drive down to West Valley with Sloan and I to get our fix.  Sloan has officially made it three generations of HDOAS lovers – her Mimi, her father, and now her.

I know a lot more happened in April than Easter and corn dog cravings – but those were some peaks for sure.  Life with a two-year-old makes every day exciting.  Exciting and a total blur, if I’m being completely honest.