Lake Norman revival + hot yoga

Well hello there! It's been a while. I haven't been on a legit trip in over a year in my new job, which is a far cry from the travel I did on the reg during my last gig. But, with starting a new job and moving twice in the past year, I think it's been a blessing since our family has been craving stability.

So, just like last year, we kept our family vacay chill and spent some time with friends at Lake Norman near Charlotte. It's been surprising to me the frequency of endearing sighs of familiarity I've encountered when mentioning our trip. Seems like lots of folks love that lake.

Our days were spent rotating between the pool and the lake, and I finally broke down and tried hot yoga. I didn't hate it, but I also think I would do just fine with intensive yoga and no extra heat thank you very much.

Certainly didn't turn down the extra help with the kiddos for a day date spent getting couples massages. Phil and I fell asleep not only during the massage but also in the waiting room beforehand. Haa!

A couple more trips planned this year, so I won't be totally dark. Till then...

Squeezing in a summer trip to Charlotte

Fam portrait downtown

I am woefully behind in writing this post since we got back from Charlotte almost two weeks ago. I have a good excuse though – in the past two weeks, I started a new job and we’ve been packing up our house as we prepare to move at the end of the month.

Before we left for Charlotte, Phil told me I had no business going on the trip since we were in the midst of so much upheaval, but I really wanted to squeeze in some family and friend time before I started my new gig, particularly since Jen has been encouraging us to come down for summer boating fun for years.

We had a great time! Our friends were so hands on with the kids, and Phil and I even had an afternoon to ourselves getting massages (!!!). Jen and I shopped for some last-minute work wardrobe finds and Dylan got to drive another boat, this time on Lake Norman.

Sienna finally warmed up to pool time

Strolling/swinging around downtown Charlotte during restaurant week

Captain Pickle with Big Tom (Jen's dad)

Touring the children's museum while mom & dad get massages

Ah, well. Back to packing.

Family fun daytrip to Put-in-Bay

Lots happening with our fam this month, but we squeezed in a fun day trip to Put-in-Bay thanks to Miller Ferry. I haven't been to PIB in years and Phil had never been so it was a great chance to experience it as a foursome.

Family selfie at the Put-in-Bay Butterfly House

It's just shy of a two-hour commute for us to catch the ferry and we hopped on the noon one just minutes after getting our tickets. The kids loved riding with the cars and staked out a spot by a porthole to catch all of the action.

Best spot in the house...err ferry

Once on the island, we borrowed a four-seater golf cart from Island Bike & Cart Rental -- something I had never done before on the island. The kids had a blast "driving" and we rigged our stroller up on the back.

• Since we were running out the clock against the nap time fairy, we stuck to just a few activities: 
• Lunch at Mr. Ed's (Such a different experience with kids! ;) They loved the live music)
• Fishing at the Aquatic Visitors Center where kids fish for free with poles, bait, life jackets, etc. 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday during the summer)
• The Butterfly House, which hosts 900 butterflies, including 50 different species
• Ice cream and coffee at the Chocolate Cafe

Our first-time fisherman!

Had we had more time, we might have explored Perry's Cave or the Fort aMAZE'n maze, but we packed in what we could before taking the 4:30 p.m. ferry back. Thankfully, nap time during drive time was not a problem:

I think D's entire preschool knows that we were on an island and drove a golf cart, so the trip definitely made an impression! 

I was compensated with ferry passes and a golf cart during my trip to Put-in-Bay. All opinions are my own.