Oh my goodness… Only two more days and it’s officially spring break! I’m not sure who’s more excited – Miss G or me. We’re going to work on getting some things done around the house, maybe go on some fun outings around the city, and best of all, get away just the four of us! Admittedly, getaways aren’t as elaborate as they once were {there’s no just looking at a map and picking a random nearby country to visit when you live in Canada}, but we’re finally getting a chance to better explore BC, and that’s a good thing too. Either way, my favourite part? Spending some time as a family away from our regular everyday routine. As awful as it sounds, it feels like the four of us really don’t have a ton of time to just hang out and enjoy each other’s company {which is definitely something I miss about living in Kuwait}. During the week Brad leaves for work as we’re just getting going, then there’s the morning rush, Miss G’s long day at school, and then Brad returns just in time to sit down to dinner. On a good night, there’s about 10 minutes of non-chaotic dinnertime, then B and I divide and conquer to get both kiddos washed and in bed for the night – me usually taking care of Sam and him Miss G. Most weekends, we spend one day around the house cleaning, taking care of laundry, and playing catch up from a busy week, and then on the other day we may go on a fun outing all together or split up one-parent-one-kid style in order to run errands and get things done. Either way, it’s just not enough time all together and that’s why I so look forward to our little getaways. No distractions, no chores, no daily routine to get caught up in.
Tag Archives: travel with kids
Old Town Heidelberg
Today’s plan was simply to spend the day in Heidelberg’s lovely Old Town. We strolled, we looked at statues and cuckoo clocks, we visited toy shops and bookstores, and we stocked up on delicious treats from my very favourite store in the city – Lebe Gesund {seriously lovely and they ship worldwide!} Grae also got her first ever Shopkins and Trash Packs {thanks to older Kuwait friends teaching her all about them} and though I really don’t ‘get’ them {old, boring mom alert}, she’s pleased as punch. We finished off the day with a dinner of watermelon dessert pizza, so all is good in the world. ☺
Here’s our day in photos…
Travel Tins {portable fun for on the go}
Miss G and I recently upcycled some old, empty hand cream tins into easily portable ‘travel tins’ and they’ve been a total hit so far {despite not having travelled anywhere just yet!} Grae loves all things mini, and I’ve always got some kind of simple portable activity tucked into my bag for play on the go, so these little activity tins have been just perfect.
Colouring Page Airplane Scavenger Hunt
It’s hard to believe, but in exactly 23 days, we’ll board a plane and begin the long journey back to Canada. This means that I really should be focused on purging and sorting our belongings, but I can’t help it – I’m having fun creating little plane packs and travel activities for Miss G and her friends instead. ☺
Christmas Markets and Carousels and Cold, Oh My!
While we spent some time at the Christmas market both yesterday and the day before, we really only visited one of many small markets around Heidelberg, and since today is the last day they’re open, we set out to visit a few of the other {further away} ones today. Getting all the way down to the furthest one definitely took a little bit of strategic planning since it’s nearly 3 kilometres from our flat and we chose to leave our stroller at home this trip, but Miss G’s been doing exceptionally well. Besides being carried or piggybacked by Brad for short bouts here or there, she’s walked everywhere we’ve gone with quite minimal complaints. The key? Lots of little pitstops on the way, plenty of {distracting} chat while walking, and setting out exciting destinations along the way as goals {the toy store, the carousel, the castle, etc.}
Here’s our day in photos…