This summer is quickly coming to an end as our fall wedding season approaches (like in 3 days lol), so I wanted to share a little travel insight, as well as some of my favorite summer books. After an INSANE spring wedding season, my body needed a break and some time to catch up on baby snuggles. Here are some of my favorite memories, tips for traveling with a toddler, and my favorite summer reads.

Travel somewhere adventurous.

Little kids LOVE to explore and learn new things. Why not take them somewhere they can see and experience nature, learn something new, and try new food. We tried to do all of these things on our trip to Colorado. J.Boyd (my hubby) and I love to hike and explore the outdoors, so naturally, Colorado is a huge hit for us. Turns out JP is a huge fan too. 🙂 Our Chicco Hiking Pack was absolutely perfect for hiking, tooling around town, and….snowball fights. Thanks, mom 🙂 If you don’t have one of these in your life, then you need to get one asap.

Another one of my travel favorites is our toddler bike trailer. This baby loves to bike! Or sit there and eat Goldfish while mama pulls him around. We will take this bad boy to the park, to Colorado, or just tote around the neighborhood after dinner. He gets some fresh air and mama gets a workout. Win, win 🙂

Oh yea…and that Osprey water pack was a total lifesaver on our long hikes and adventures. Plus, he thought it was pretty cool to have a backpack like daddy.

 

Experience the local culture.

Here in Crested Butte, people-watching is practically a professional sport. lol, You wouldn’t believe me even if I told you. Their Fourth of July parade was no different. From people dressed in leaves (not going to say what kind) to dancing dinosaurs, this parade was one we will never forget.

Take them to a city park.

We found that most of Jameson’s temper tantrums spurred from boredom. What better way to help him burn off some energy than allowing him time to run around like a crazy man at the park. CB’s park had so many fun toys built-in. He could play music, or make words out of blocks, slide down massive slides, or be silly with his daddy on the swings. This was a great activity for my mom and Jameson to do while we were off on our mountain adventures.

Let them explore their creative side.

Our local HEB had a sale on sponges last week. So I grabbed a couple of packs, taped some paper to the fence, and let him go to town painting. He had a blast and there was a minimal mess to clean up at the end. Throw away the sponge and paper, hose the kid down, and bam! All done!

 

For me, a vacation is never complete without a great book. Traveling with a toddler can be exhausting (but still amazing), so this is the perfect way for me to wind down. I’ve almost finished two of them and can’t wait to start my next ones. My favorite books are historical dramas, business growth, mysteries, or Christian Education. This time I decided to go with the latter two. Here are my favorite summer reads.

1. Explicit Gospel – Matt Chandler
2. Leader’s Eat Last – Simon Sinek
3. The Cilantro Diaries – Lorenzo Gomez
4. bigger than you – Kelly Roach

From my family to yours, we hope you had a blessed summer. Traveling with a toddler can be a lot of fun. The key is to tailor your trip for them. Be aware of their needs and what stimulates their little brains. Be sure to check out last weeks blog on our experience at the Team Flower Workshop for another fun summer idea.