Fall at the Hanson House

We look forward to Fall all year long and then it passes way too quickly! The way the leaves explode in color gets me every year. This is the time of year I always want to do all the things. I try to cram the few free weekends we have full of fun outings as a family. As great as it is, it can get exhausting quickly! 

We took a day trip to Duluth on a whim and the boys loved it! They could have sat watching the bridge go up and down all day long. We've also gone to an apple orchard and pumpkin patch which are always a blast! But to be honest, Fall tends to get pretty expensive with all the extra outings. We only have two kids and it's already pricey, I can't imagine how it will add up as our family grows. What I'm starting to realize is that the boys have an equal amount of fun playing in a leaf pile in the front yard. Smacking sticks against the ground. Walking a trail in the woods. All things that are free and don't require anything but getting outdoors.

I think there's all this pressure to keep up with everyone else and do every single Fall outing you can think of every year. Who has the money and time for all that? So next year our Fall "bucket list" will include more things like exploring in the woods, playing in the leaves at home, and hiking places we've never been before. It's so easy to get caught up in all the hype but my boys just want to hands on explore without being hounded with rules. So my new goal is to do more of that and less of what I feel like everyone else is doing.

Traveling With Little Ones

Last week we got back from our first family vacation to Florida. Now, we travel back and forth to Iowa quite a bit in the car but this is the first time we've gone so far from home. This is also the first time either of the boys have been on an airplane! I did tons of scouring the internet and asking friends for their best tips for enjoying vacation with little ones.

I would say my two biggest tips now that we're back are to make wherever you're staying feel like home and start off with low expectations for your kids. When we travel anywhere that we're staying overnight, I always bring small comforts to help my kids feel more at home. A sound machine to help them sleep, small loveys, and some essential oils that we use to help them feel more comfortable. I usually try to follow their normal routine as closely as I can so they know what to expect. Although we took the "it's vacation!" attitude this trip and we're paying for it over a week later. The boys got so far off their schedule and it hasn't been fun trying to get them back to it. We stayed in a condo instead of a hotel and I think that made a big difference in them settling in too!

The other thing I highly recommend is to lower your expectations. Of course you want to have a good time on your well-earned vacation! Hey, it's been 5 years since we took one so I totally get that! You have to remember that kids are still kids and when they are out of their normal element, they're going to act up. For example: I packed loads of toys and snacks in our carry-ons for the boys. We had two flights lasting a total of about 3 hours each way. We knew Maverick would be fine with movies and snacks, he took the long day in stride. I thought surely because our first flight was so early that Jax would sleep on the plane and then we'd pacify him with snacks and distractions. NOPE! We made it through the first flight alright but the second flight ended with me crying in the airport. Yikes. I had way too many expectations which made it so much harder on me when things went wrong. Honestly, that rough flight set my expectations much lower for how the rest of the week would go and I needed that! The boys had normal meltdowns for their ages but were champs all week so we took everything else in stride and laughed as much as we could.

We were lucky to be traveling with family so we got to spend alone time with each of the boys! That rarely happens at home where both of us get to spend time with just Mav or Jax. Those memories alone are worth their weight in gold! The few sour spots were far outweighed by all the fun we had. Traveling with kids surely comes with its difficulties but don't let that stop you from taking them along for the ride! And travel with extra help whenever you can because it saved our sanity haha.