travel with kids – Page 15

On Friday, we journeyed in our trusty mini-van to the Kingdom of Wisconsin Dells, to the Territory of Wilderness, to swim the Wild Waters of the In Door Water Parks….and I have absolutely no photos to show you.

I had my camera with me, but I just didn’t want to take it by the water. One of my favorite cameras was ruined by a rogue wave in North Carolina one summer, and so I “forgot” to bring my brand new Canon. I’m thinking maybe I should invest in a water-proof case for it, so as to not miss such a great picture-taking opportunity again.

So, I had to take pictures of our watery adventure in my head. Take a look:

Lily swishing down the purple water slide, jumping up at the bottom and running back up to the top at least 20 times. -click*

Emmy sitting on Ed’s lap in an inner tube, as they traverse the Lazy River together. -click*

Ed standing under a tipped-over 1000 gallon bucket, water streaming over him. -click*

Taking pictures like these are the best part of being a parent!

What “pictures” did you take this weekend?

Ed and I love to plan our vacations around the United States, with the idea that we want to see our country. The summer before we got married, we drove out west and stopped at as many National Parks as we could. We hiked in the Badlands, climbed boulders around Devil’s Tower, and saw Mount Rushmore. We spent six days and nights exploring different sections of Yellowstone National Park. We drove through the Grand Tetons, and wished we had more time to stop and hike.

Once Lily was born, we decided to explore closer to home. Lily hated traveling, so we didn’t want to drive too far away. We went to Southern Illinois, and it was like discovering a whole new world, right in our own backyard. We hiked in places with mystical names such as Giant City, Ferne Clyffe, and Garden of the Gods. These places lived up to their names in their beauty and awe-inspiring views.

Lily and I are ready to hit the trails in Southern Illinois!
She was about 10 months old at the time.

Garden of the Gods

When I was six months pregnant with Emmy, we ventured into the Smoky Mountains. Please visit The Motherhood Muse blog to read a post I wrote about our experience there. I’m the guest blogger today. (Whoo-hoo!) Here’s some pictures from the Smoky Mountains, and you can see just how pregnant I really was. Which was only six months. (Seriously, I looked like I was ready to deliver Emmy right there in the mountains!)