So last Sunday found me at my very favorite piece of Dallas at my very favorite time of year- Pumpkin Village time at the Arboretum! We had planned to leave early and arrive when it opened as we've done ever year since we first visited in 2013 when I was a million weeks pregnant with Cora and looked like I'd smuggled a pumpkin under my shirt, but Sundays have become the day we all sleep in and it was a habit simply too delicious to break.
So we left when it opened and arrived an hour later and it almost didn't even give me anxiety to do so.
Every time I drive to Dallas I feel very strongly it should be closer, but I do love the Arboretum! Even when it's inches deep in mud after all our rain and none of your shoes will ever be the same.
There's just something a little magical about a village covered entirely in seasonal gourds.
This year's theme was Finding Neverland and it's my new favorite: the ship, the Darlings' House, Tinkerbell's little home, the Lost Boys Tree House... it was great.
The hay maze- always a favorite- was deep under the mud, so the kids ran around on top of the bales instead.
As always, James seized the opportunity to jump over something with a child in his arms.
Pumpkin Village thoroughly explored (and getting crowded), we headed off to the other less pumpkin-y areas of the Arboretum.
Specifically, the Children's Garden, which remains utterly magical to my children despite their ever-increasing ages and our many visits.
New this year- there's a hedge maze that is fabulous! Claire, as always, was prepared with a map.
Despite great effort, Landon was disappointed to find he is not, in fact, King Arthur.
Undaunted, he turned and cried out, "Look dad! A pond ecosystem! That's awesome!" And he meant every word.
When not a victim of his own hormones, doing anything with Landon is basically the best because EVERYTHING is the best.
His enthusiasm is set at a level 10. Maybe an 11 for pond ecosystems.
And a 12 for the traditional and absolutely mandatory "climbing on things" part of all Lag Liv family adventures.
We headed home abruptly when I realized the time and remembered that Dallas is further from Fort Worth than I always think it should be, and my barre class was set to begin in 80 minutes. Luckily I'm a planner and my emoji ghost yoga pants and a black tank were in my purse just in case. A barre teacher is always prepared.
Speaking of barre, this was the girls in my class tonight. They're both sick- after both were up crying from 3-5 a.m. with 103 degree fevers, hacking coughs, headaches, and sore throats, we went to the pediatrician for a diagnosis of "justavirus" to comfort us in case they get up at 3 a.m. again tomorrow. [Editor's note on Friday: this morning it was 4 a.m., so that's better?] They clearly feel terrible and were home all day (Cora was also home yesterday, and showed marked improvement in the second half of today; Claire succumbed yesterday evening and is still very much in the "hit by a truck" phase), but James had to coach and I had to teach my class, so they opted to accompany me and I set them up in a far corner on yoga mats (mats I thoroughly sterilized later) with their kindles and headphones. They were great. I think Claire fell asleep for a while. Both are sleeping soundly now, interrupted only by the occasional bout of unconscious couging.
In happier, healthier times, I voted on Monday!
Our polling place had run out of stickers due to record turnout (yay!), so Claire took a picture of me by the sign instead. I love voting and I really love when I actually have someone I'm really excited to vote for. This doesn't happen too often for me in a state like Texas.
And finally, our fleet of new rainbow carry-on suitcases arrived today! Carefully selected by each child (can you guess whose is whose?), we are now officially a carry-on family! When we flew to Chicago in May and I realized we didn't need to check anything (huzzah!), I also realized we did not own enough carry-on size bags. There was no point before when we were hauling babies all over the place. But now we have kids who pull their own suitcases and carry their own accessories- 11.5 years into this parenting gig and we're FREE!
I'm slightly obsessed with travel gear and accessories. I'm a light packer and don't need much, but I will say that I could not live without my packing cubes. I splurged on this set because they're adorable and the perfect sizes for me, but I also have a cheap grey set I picked up at TJ Maxx that I now use for the kids. When I went to DC last week I was able to pack 5 different outfits (I had no idea what the dress code was going to be), casual lounge clothes, underthings, jewelry, coat, 3 pairs of shoes (heels, flats, boots), my toiletries, and my absolutely necessary white noise machine I've used nightly since 2006, all in my little carry-on.
When I unpacked (as I always do; I do not like living out of my suitcase), I just put each cube in a drawer and then I know where everything is since the cubes already have things separated out. When I pack back up, it's just as easy.
I need to order another set for the kids before our trip. I also have a family passport wallet that I adore (ordered off Etsy it nicely holds all five of our passports with an extra sleeve for plane tickets or other papers), a travel charger square that lets me power charge 6 things at once (i.e., all my family's electronic devices in one outlet for easy packing up when you leave a hotel room/airport plug), and a little makeup bag I keep perma-packed with small versions of our family's most commonly used first aid items. I also always pack a PBJ with granola bar, apple slices, and pretzels for everyone to keep in their own separate carry-ons, so no matter where we end up on the plane you have your own food supply and I'm not dropping $100 for a crappy airplane lunch we rush to eat. Plus an empty water bottle to fill once we're through security. I really don't like paying for things in airports. (And ziplocs. You can always use ziplocs when you're traveling and everyone gets a few to carry in their bag.)
We're headed to Costa Rica in 3 weeks, with a layover in Mexico City with enough hours to get out and see the city center, and we are VERY excited. I started planning this trip a year ago and it's almost finally here! One of the truly greatest things about the kids getting older, and us refusing to be daunted by traveling with them when they were younger, is we can take on bigger and bigger adventures and it's so fun and they're such great travelers when we do. I know people with very different opinions on the subject, but truly, traveling with our kids is one of James and my absolute favorite things about having them. And the kids take a lot of pride in it- I noticed in all their school journal writings last year both Claire and Landon frequently mentioned trips we've taken or want to go on and wrote often about the fact we like to "travel to places." I love that (and it's true!).
Let me know if you have any other favorite travel hacks or travel items! I love a good Amazon search. I should add I also have two portable charging sticks that are wonderful and a 5-port car charger that reaches to the back row and is excellent when you get in the rental car after draining your devices on the plane. All that and my pen and mini spiral notebook full of destination research and we're good to go!
(As usual, there are no affiliate links to all the random things I've purchased because I don't really know how to do that, but I will plug Ebates if you don't use it already! For example, eBags almost always has a 10% Ebate on your purchase if you're looking for luggage or my beloved packing cubes!)
Peppermint Bark
20 hours ago
If you want to stop traveling with your white noise machine, you could download a white noise app. I also sleep with white noise, so I leave my phone plugged in and run the app all night.
ReplyDeleteWe do this too!!
DeleteSo true, I need to do it more at home so I get used to it. It sounds slightly different to me (I am SUCH a baby about sleep) and I like how the white noise machine seems to "fill the room" more than the phone app does. But it's definitely a way to pack lighter... I'll start practicing with the phone before we head to Costa Rica!
DeleteA trick I learned from a surgeon friend - put your phone in a glass to make the sound bigger and louder. Life changing in hotel rooms!
DeleteCan you share the suitcase type you picked? We need a family suitcase makeover. Also I would looooove a massive lagliv family travel tips post!!!!!
ReplyDeleteSure, we ordered these.
DeleteI only did a medium amount of research, so I don't want to recommend too highly, but I can personally attest that they are inexpensive, super light-weight, the wheels roll really well, and the colors are vibrant and will stand out in a crowded airport :).
And I'd love to do a travel post! What do you want to know?
Hi! Reading this 2.5 years later and would love to know if you're still happy with these suitcases for the kids! Thank you!!
DeleteI would love to read about how your kids use their kindles! We have 2 kindle fires and so far my kids only use the freetime unlimited game apps. They are 4 and 5, so not into reading books yet.
ReplyDeleteHey Abby! They use them almost entirely for movies! We just buy the digital versions of movies on Amazon (or use the code that came with a surprising number of Disney DVDs) and then you can pull them up on your adult profile on the Fire and give them access on theirs. You can download them locally so they can watch them without wifi. We added a micro SD card to our kids' Fires (LOVE that you can do that) and I think they each have 12-15 movies downloaded on there. Landon also plays a lot of games (downloaded from the app store under my profile - only the free ones!, and then I can grant him access); he generally refuses to read books on the kindle which drives me crazy (so much easier than going to the library), but he's an old-fashioned guy at heart. Claire and Cora each have a few games they like (coloring and puzzles mostly), but the vast majority of their travel kindle time is definitely just watching movies. Which is why the kindles live in my desk drawer when we're home...
DeleteI should add that one of the reasons we don't even bother with DVD's anymore is because when I buy the digital version of something like The Parent Trap (which they LOVED) for $7.99, all 3 can download it to their kindles and we can watch it on either TV at home through the Amazon app. You can also download the free Amazon prime movies or shows or rent something and download it for a trip. It's great when you need to mix up your library a bit (or let your oldest boy watch movies his sisters wouldn't like so you save them for car rides).
DeleteCould you re-post the family passport wallet link? This one goes to your invoice (which of course doesn't load). I've never heard of these before and need one. Also, thank you for your tip about the Junior Ranger program a while back. We've done 2 since you posted of it and I love watching my son get his pin.
ReplyDeleteDone! Thanks for letting me know!
DeleteI know I'll get flack for this, but as a mama to a son who has a severe life-threatening peanut allergy, I urge you to look into packing sandwiches w/ sunflower seed butter or other non-nut butters. I would NEVER say this for anything other than air travel when the consequences of coming into contact with nuts is the least ideal situation (I know that on the ground he'll get an epi-pen and we can make it to the hospital within 20 min). Thank you for at least considering it!!
ReplyDeleteVery good point!
DeleteThank you, LL, for being understanding! I don't feel I have the right to tell people NOT to use peanut products but air travel w/ my son (and we travel often) really freaks me out.
DeleteI bought this collapsible shelf unit for both me and my mother. They are great when the trip is a week or under. So easy to pack because you just hang the unit in your closet and put things in the shelves. In the hotel, you just pull it out of your suitcase and hang it up again in another closet. I also like that you can keep all the dirty clothes in the bottom bin separate from the clean stuff.
ReplyDeletehttps://www.risegear.com/products/riser-luggage-shelf
Be sure to allow plenty of time to go back through security in Mexico City - it's often terribly slow.
ReplyDeleteYour white noise machine comes in a portable size these days! Check out the Marpac Rohm.
ReplyDeleteMarpac Rohm White Noise Sound Machine, Portable https://www.amazon.com/dp/B01D50RZQI/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apip_wXnWALtpehBN9
And I love these little silicone cream jars for travel liquids that I just need a little bit of (face wash, moisturizer). Most reusable travel liquid containers are the full 3.4oz size, which is great for shampoo or conditioner, but I don’t need anywhere near 3.4oz of moisturizer on a week or less of vacation!
ReplyDeleteWe are an American family living in Italy and we travel a lot. I never travel without a Wet Ones Antibacterial Hand Wipes Travel Pack and a small pack of face tissue in my purse - great for post gelato clean ups, public toilets that have run out of toilet paper and or hand soap. We also always travel with the Sea to Summit Lite Line Clothesline. Some hotels have clotheslines in the shower but many do not. Its great for bathing suite drying, kid clothes clean ups.
ReplyDeleteThanks for your blog - I appreciate reading about the American pop culture things (books, movies, shows etc.) your kids are into. It helps keep my American kids living in Italy in touch with what is popular for American kids.
As a type A planner/packer/traveler who loathes checking luggage, I have many of the same techniques! Here are a few of my tips that haven't been shared. I always keep a reusable shopping bag in my purse or tote bag. (The smushy kind that has its own pouch.) This way I have an extra bag for whatever I need throughout the day. I also keep a nightlight with my toiletries to use in hotel bathrooms. It's flat and takes up no space. One of my newer things is to keep a reusable fork-spoon-knife kit so I don't have to rely on flimsy plastic ware (or worse, forget to grab a fork!). For non-air travel, I also take a sharp knife (with blade cover).
ReplyDeleteHow much time do you have in Mexico City? If you only have a day, I'd recommend skipping the city and going to Teotihuacan. The massive pyramids are spectacular, and there are lots of them to climb up!
ReplyDelete