We traveled to Paradise Island, part of Nassau, Bahamas, to watch the Badgers basketball team compete in the Battle 4 Atlantis tournament over Thanksgiving week. It was the first trip out of the country for the boys.

The Atlantis Hotel was sold out, so we ended up staying across the street. Fortunately, this hotel had a partnership with the Atlantis, so we were allowed to use all the amenities (mainly the huge outdoor waterpark).

We had a wonderful time. The basketball games were fun to watch, especially as we sat with other big fans, and we enjoyed going to the beach, hanging out at the swim-up pool bar at our hotel, going to the waterpark numerous times and doing some shopping in Nassau. Other than a few rainy hours, the weather was perfect.

Journal vacation

We decided to take the kids to Las Vegas for spring break last month. We were a little nervous bringing two kids, but we ended up having a great time. We did everything we normally would do in Las Vegas except eating at fancy restaurants and going to nightclubs (though we barely do that anymore).

We used our timeshare points to stay at a resort near Harrah’s Sunday-Thursday. The resort had multiple outdoor pools and a free shuttle to various areas, plus we had a two-bedroom condo.

Our activities included the Eiffel Tower, the shark reef at Mandalay Bay, Top Golf (twice, because the kids loved it so much), Mystere (kid-friendly cirque du soleil) and the Fremont experience (although we were too early for the light show).

Here are some photos.

Journal vacation

The Madison and Verona school districts never align their calendars. This year, their spring breaks were two full weeks apart. We pulled Carson out of school to go to St. Louis during Braden’s spring break, which overlapped Easter.

Carson threw up during the drive down due to being car sick. We had to clean him up in the parking lot of a gas station in a sketchy neighborhood. Otherwise, the drives there and back were uneventful.

We stayed in downtown St. Louis and were surprised by the lack of shopping and restaurants in such a large city. We went to the City Museum, the zoo, the Budweiser factory and the Arch, which unfortunately was closed for construction. The city was extra quiet as there were no Cardinals or Blues games during our four-day, three-night stay.

Here are some photos.

Pictures vacation

We used our timeshare points to go to a resort in Four Corners, Fla., near Orlando during Braden’s spring break. We really liked the resort, as it had several pools, a beach, a mini waterpark and a couple of on-site restaurants. Plus, it was next to a grocery store and about a 10-min. drive to Disney World.

The trip started badly, though. We had an 8:40 a.m. Saturday flight, which meant we had to get the kids ready early in the morning. When we got to the gate, the attendant announced a mechanical delay. At the end, he announced a bird had hit the plane while it was grounded (we later learned this may be code for something more severe), and our flight was canceled.

Unfortunately, no other flights to O’Hare were available immediately. We had to get in a long line to get re-booked, and we ended up on another airline with a late afternoon departure. We then went home, and the kids were in good spirits (as soon as we got home, they started playing with their toys).

Our assigned seats weren’t next to each on the flight from Chicago to Orlando, so Brian kept returning to the gate until we got re-seated (Brian and Braden, Kristin and Carson). That flight was very, very long, due to a storm in Orlando that shut down the airport. Our plane circled Tampa, and the pilot warned we were going to have to land there due to a lack of fuel, but thankfully we were cleared to land in Orlando.

Kristin and the kids got the luggage while Brian stood in a 40-min. line to get the rental car. At least we got a free upgrade to an SUV, which took 20 min. to find because it was in the other rental car area.

After a 40-min. drive to the resort (plus a stop at 7-Eleven), we finally got to our condo just after midnight. We were really upset that we lost an entire day of vacation and the chance to go grocery shopping (the grocery store was closed on Easter Sunday, which led to a horrific shopping experience at Wal-Mart). However, we were pleased that the kids handled the stressful situation so well and without complaint.

We hid Easter eggs and then went to sleep. The kids had their own bedroom, and each had their own bed.

***

We went to Disney World on Tuesday (Hollywood Studios) and Thursday (Animal Kingdom), Universal Studios CityWalk on Monday and Clearwater Beach (a hellish 3-hour drive due to a major car accident and a large volume of tourist traffic) on Wednesday. We spent almost half the day at the pool on Friday, our last full day. Here are some photos.

The Disney character lunch on Thursday was disappointing because it was super expensive, and neither Braden nor Carson wanted to take photos with Mickey, Goofy, etc. As we guessed, they did enjoy the safari ride.

***

Fortunately, we had no issues on the trip home!

Journal vacation

We were in New Hampshire last week on vacation. This was just Carson’s second flight (first was when he was 10 months old), and he did fairly well, although he was restless from time to time. Braden was flying for the fourth time, and he kept himself occupied quite well.

After landing in Manchester, we had a two-hour drive to our resort in Bartlett. The resort itself (part of our timeshare) had an indoor and an outdoor pool, tennis courts, a small arcade, a restaurant/bar (we never ate there) and workout room, all in a wooded area near mountains.

Our room was quite strange: you open the door and head right up the stairs into the living room/kitchen with a Murphy bed. Behind that room was the bathroom and a windy staircase to a loft where another bed and a couch were (the kids had this room).

Highlights:

• We went to Storyland, a Disneyland-type place meant for kids 10 and under. Braden loved the rides in which he got soaked from all the water.
• Kristin drove us to the top of Mt. Washington, which was super scary since there were no guard rails. We had to drive in first gear the entire seven miles (about 30 minutes up). The temp at the top of the mountain was about 40 degrees cooler than the surface (85 degrees), so we wore pants and brought jackets.
• We checked out a waterfall and then went to a man-made lake in which Brian had the kids help him find treasure (the kids saved a lot of rocks).
• The kids swam every day, sometimes twice.
• Unlike other vacations, the kids played a bit while eating cereal upon awakening, so that we could sleep in a little (past 7!).
• There was a small amusement park across the street (in the winter it’s a ski resort). Both kids liked the rollercoasters that were built into the mountain side.

Journal vacation

We went to the Heidel House Resort for Memorial Day weekend. It was interesting to learn that Green Lake is the deepest lake in Wisconsin. When we went boating on Saturday, the depth finder showed how quickly the bottom drops off, and that scared Braden a bit.

Braden and Brian went fishing on a rainy Sunday morning, but they didn’t catch anything, unfortunately. We also did a boat tour of the lake and found out that gangsters used to own some of the houses.

Brian golfed one afternoon, and Kristin participated in a bike race one morning. Other than that, we did the usual: go out to eat, shop and swim in the pool.

Journal vacation

Unfortunately, with Braden in the Verona School District and Carson’s pre-school in the Madison School District, spring break was on different weeks for the boys. Still, they shared a Friday and Monday off, so we went down to Chicago for a four-day weekend.

The hotel room, by the way, was really hot. Despite the so-called air-conditioning, the room was always 80 degrees. Meanwhile, the tiny pool was never heated and was almost too cold to swim in.

The kids rode a taxi (and Uber) for the first time; Carson fell asleep in one of the rides. We got a babysitter on Saturday night so that we could watch the Badgers beat Kentucky at a Badger-friendly restaurant/bar called Prost.

We waited in line almost an hour to get into Shedd Aquarium, and the kids enjoyed seeing all of the underwater creatures (especially sharks). We also went to Navy Pier again; it’s been about two years since the last time. All of us rode the giant Ferris wheel together.

Brian played Frank Sinatra’s song “Chicago,” and it’s cute that Carson has been singing the lyrics “Chicago, Chicago” from time to time.

On our final night, we were amazed to learn our dinner waiter’s name was Jie (same as Braden’s Chinese name), and that he was from Baraboo.

Journal vacation

We drove to Pigeon Forge, Tenn., in mid-July. We were worried if the kids could stand a 12-hour drive, but it turned out okay. We had scheduled to stop every three hours or so, which helped. We also had plenty of activities for the kids, and I think Brandon was perfectly occupied. Carson, on the other hand, would watch a DVD for a little bit before trying to play with it and then ultimately stopping the DVD. Carson is not known for sleeping in the car like Braden does, but on the trip he finally slept to help pass the time.

As you can see from the photo album, we did a lot of things from going to museums to mountain climbing to shopping to amusement parks and so forth. One day we went to a petting zoo and both Braden and Carson fed a lot of the animals, including goats and deer. On another day, Braden rode some roller coasters at Dollywood. We also spent a lot of time at the pool at our resort.

Typical of our vacations, neither Braden nor Carson slept well. They shared a bedroom together and when one woke up in the middle of the night, he would wake up the other. We drank about three cups of coffee each every morning to fight off the effects of a terrible night’s sleep.

Journal vacation

Braden picked out a Woody (from “Toy Story”) costume for Halloween. He liked it so much that he wore it around the house. And knowing how much Braden enjoys candy, we thought he would go trick-or-treating all night.

We were wrong. We took Braden on the loop around the house, but after about 4-5 houses, he got tired and wanted to go home. We had to basically drag him from house to house just so he could get some more candy.

We think part of the reason Braden wanted to quit was because he was SO shy going to each door to get candy. At least we got to meet some of our new neighbors.

Carson went as Curious George, by the way, but stayed at home with Kristin’s parents.

***

We had a nice vacation in Cocoa Beach. Braden loved the beach and the pool. Carson had a lot of trouble sleeping, which is why we had 2-3 cups of coffee every single morning. Still, the boys were well behaved throughout the week, which included a day trip to Kennedy Space Center.

There, Braden attended his first movie, which also happened to be a 3-D IMAX movie! It was about the international space station.

Every time we went out, Braden would ask, “Can we go back on vacation?” This meant “Can we go back to the hotel?” We kept telling him we WERE on vacation.

The flight to Florida was relatively calm. Carson did sleep, although another baby woke him up. Still, Carson didn’t cry or fuss.

On the flight home, however, Carson was very antsy. That didn’t allow us any time to rest during the flight. Brian finally rocked Carson to sleep with  about 15 minutes left in the flight.

Braden was a good boy, watching his DVDs and eating a ton of snacks both ways.

Journal Halloween, vacation

Last week we went to Bent’s Camp in Land O’ Lakes, Wis. (at the UP border) with Kristin’s parents. Our cabin, which was spacious with three bedrooms, two baths and a separate three-season room, was secluded and had its own pier.

We always made Braden wear his life jacket when he was on the pier, and actually, he enjoyed wearing it (sometimes we couldn’t get it off him). He was eager to use a fishing net to “help Daddy catch fish.” However, on the few times that Brian did catch a fish, the fish frightened Braden slightly. He also didn’t like the worms, which he at first called “snakes.”

Braden also seemed to enjoy boating, which we did for most of the day on Wednesday. Bent’s Camp is on what’s called the Chain O’ Lakes, so many lakes are connected by small, hard-to-find channels. Fortunately, Braden never seemed to get seasick, despite how much he moved about the pontoon boat.

We had a couple of cloudy days, unfortunately. On one of them, Tuesday, we drove 30+ min to Paulding, Mich., to check out Bond Falls. It was very pretty out there, and Braden liked climbing the path with his grandpa.

We wanted to take Braden to this beach Brian found not too far from Bent’s Camp, but we never had the chance. Braden did get to play twice on the small beach at the resort itself, though we would have preferred a larger area.

One afternoon Braden refused to nap, even after Brian tried for 1.5 hours. Other than that, he slept fairly well the entire week, unlike the last time we went up north, back in 2009 at Maywood when Braden was just five months old.

For the most part, the bugs left Braden alone (instead, they attacked Brian). Braden also got to see some deer and loons (plus he imitated their wolf-like howl).

Finally, the travel for Braden was pretty good. The drive is slightly under four hours; we timed it so that he would nap most of the time, with a break for lunch each way.

Make sure to check out the Bent’s Camp photo album.

Journal vacation