We recently made a trip to Hyatt Lost Pines with the McGuire family. A few years ago Matt and I took a one of the best trips ever to visit Lloyd and Jennie in Hawaii. Of course the fabulous location had something to do with it, but we have a blast with L&J and luckily realized the 4 of us have similar ideas about vacations (stay at awesome hotels, eat delicious food, view beautiful sights...) We vowed then to take many more vacations together. And we made good on that promise last week…with 2 new little additions!
We packed up (not sure why having one little baby causes you to need so much stuff!) and headed out.
We stopped at a gas station on the way up and she saw ice cream. (Note: This picture was taken about 4 seconds before both the ice cream and Olivia melted down! That made the rest of the drive up really fun...)
Olivia didn't take a very good nap on the way up, so she was pretty grouchy when we pulled in. However, a cookie from the nice people at the Hyatt did wonders! From that moment on, she had only love for that place!
She could not wait to get down to the pool (or "cool" as she calls it) and lazy river!
We did lots of relaxing.
We ate some ice cream and LOTS of watermelon.
Went to the park and blew some bubbles
Went on a Horse Drawn Wagon Ride
After the wagon ride, we walked over to the fountains for Olivia to look at them. She had been too scared the day before to actually run through them, so our thought was to warm her up a little bit by "just looking" with the hope that later in the afternoon she would play in them. Much to our surprise, she must have gotten brave overnight because she walked straight up to the fountain, put her hand out and squealed in delight! She then proceeded to run through until she was soaking wet!
We were only able to coax her away with the promise of putting on bathing suits and coming straight back to the pool. When we were walking back to the room, we had a very sweet moment. We kept telling Olivia she was "soaking wet" and then I asked her "what are you?" (assuming she would mimick "soaking wet!" back to me). Instead she exclaimed "Happy!" SO. SWEET.
Even in your bathing suit, its important toaccessorize with the right clutch.
And then she was back at those fountains!
At night, we would put the kids to sleep and then order room service for the adults and hang out. One night we played Cards Against Humanity. For those of you not familiar with this game, it is an X-rated, embarrassing, awkward, offensive, and completely hilarious game that had us all crying laughing. There are very few people in this world that I’d be comfortable playing this game with….luckily L&J are at the top of the list!
And by the time Sunday afternoon rolled around, Olivia did not want to leave "cation" (vacation) and cried "No home! No home!" as the poor bellman helped us with our bags all the way from our room to the car. But, she was asleep before we even got off the property. This was such a nice weekend and we are excited to make it an annual tradition as these kiddos grow up (and hopefully a few more are added to the mix!).
One of my best friends, Bethany, and her adorable son Palmer recently made a trip to visit us in Houston. Palmer & Olivia are about 6 months apart and although they've seen each other several times in the past, I'd say this is the first time they've really interacted with each other. It was interesting to see the differences and similarities in their personalities. Unfortunately for Palmer, Olivia's speech has expanded since they last saw each other, so he heard "No Palmer! No!" a lot!
First we went to Wonderwild. This is an awesome space that gave the kids plenty of room to play!
Bethany and I must think alike -- we both brought bananas for a snack.
After a quick snack, the kiddos were off and running!
I love Olivia's face here -- I just told her she had to share....
There was a huge slide that Palmer absolutely loved -- that kid is fearless!
Olivia really loved the ballpit and refused to let me help her get in.
And, of course, the giant trampoline was fun for all!
Then we came home for a little dinner, including watermelon for dessert!
And a little play-time
Then it was time for baths
A little tea before bed helps you sleep, right?
Both these kiddos love books!
The ladybug nightlight was a big hit....sharing was not.
The next morning we ate kolaches, played outside with chalk a little bit, showed each other the fun iPad apps we have, and played outside
We had such a great visit & can't wait to see these two again!
