Mama-and-me trip - success!

 
The girls are back in town! As the Pickle said when we got home, “No girls. Just guys.” He was glad to see his little sis.

Thankfully, Sienna is a good little traveler too. She was an angel on both flights just like D was when he was two months old and we flew to Dallas to meet up with Sarah and her girls. I was a little nervous before we left since I thought she might be getting sick, but we lucked out. 

Sienna sleeping like an angel in my arms on the flight home. Thankfully, my seatmate let me use the arm rest!

She definitely had her share of overwhelmed moments (see pic of the back of Sarah’s car below…three car seats of kiddos is a lot for anyone to take).

Sienna did not like being the monkey in the middle. Lots of noisy car rides.

It was lovely to travel with so much less gear than my last solo mama trip as evidenced here. Since Sarah had all the baby gear a gal could ever need, I just brought a diaper bag and a carry on (and baby, of course).

 

We kept this trip low-key and I felt much less exhausted coming home vs. Dallas. We had lots of yummy meals in Minneapolis restaurants and took walks with all three girls in Hudson, Wis., right by the river where Sarah lives. Before the airport on the way home, we visited the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, Sienna’s first museum (we’ll be going to CMA when the Cassatt exhibit – perfect! – opens later this month).

One of my favorite parts of the trip was finding out that Sarah and our fam’s vacations in Hilton Head next year will slightly overlap so we know when we’ll see each other next!

I’m expecting to travel for work in the not-too-distant future, but not sure if we’ll head anywhere with the kiddos before next summer.

First girls' trip!

My babydoll dreaming of her first trip!

So, long travel blogging break, but for good reason. I'm now a mom of two, which means vacations just got a whole lot more expensive! Little Sienna was born in July, and per the photo above (!), she is just aching to go on a mommy-and-me trip. Already, I can't say no to her so I just booked flights to Minneapolis to see visit my dear friend Sarah and her girls in Hudson, Wisconsin, in October.

I was landlocked late in my pregnancy, so I haven't been on a flight since May. I took a trip with The Pickle when he was two months old and he was an angel on both flights, so I'm hopeful that his sissy will follow in his footsteps. Fingers crossed!

IKEA!

Today, I got my first taste of IKEA (literally...Swedish meatballs...mmmm) before Sarah dropped me off at the airport. I'm impressed! Thankfully, I was able to shove a few things I bought into my duffel.

Earlier today, we browsed the boutiques in Hudson's downtown, which is right on the bank of the St. Croix River - really cute clothing, interior design and art shops.

I'm at the airport now waiting for my flight. Once I land late tonight, I need to haul it on the turnpike to Michigan for a client meeting in the morning...so no Phil for one more night.

This trip with Sarah was great - it was my fourth trip to visit her in Minnesota/Wisconsin. It's always nice to get some time in person to reconnect since we're not so great about staying in touch via phone, e-mail (a little better on Facebook). Our visits are always active...from running the 5k Gopher to Badger race (bridge that connects the two states) to canoeing to kayaking, etc. We both decided that memories from yesterday's kayaking adventure probably takes the cake (at least for laughs). The next time I see Sarah, she'll have another daughter (due on my birthday!).

Phil and I head back to Wisconsin in a couple weeks for a trip to the Milwaukee area to visit some of his grad school friends. Hooray cheese!

Lumberjack vacay

Woo hoo! Just booked a trip to see my friend Sarah, who lives in Hudson, Wis., and works in downtown Minneapolis, Minn. Sarah and I haven't seen each other since our San Francisco meet-up last Labor Day weekend.

The weekend I'm visiting is when the Lumberjack World Championships are scheduled in Hayward, Wis. I'm absolutely fascinated by logrolling (ESPN covers it), so I'm really hoping we can watch some events while we chomp on cheese curds.

My flight cost me $5 since I used my miles, so this trip is definitely recession-proof. And, Sarah's cousins have a cabin in Hayward since they participate as competitors, so we most likely can stay with them.

This should make for an absolutely hilarious weekend! Someone find me a flannel tank top, stat!

Time to go sharpen my ax...