Our Little Nippers family took a summer holiday. How did it go for Kathy and Tyson traveling with their three girls, which included a potty training toddler and an infant? Kathy fills us in.
Our family of five had an awesome summer holiday, we are feeling just so lucky to be able to experience a vacation. Tyson and I decided before we left there was only one rule, no rules. Schedules went out the window, along with regimented family meals. We were trying to live in every moment. I think this is good advice for anyone travelling with small children. We arrived at Clevelands House Resort after a four-hour journey. Telsche was so excited to be on holiday and at Clevelands House. When we checked into our room, she said 'oh, I guess Cleveland is not home, she won't mind if we stay in her house.' Both Telsche and Skyla were so cute with excitement the entire trip.
Our trip was packed with swimming (pool and beach), playgrounds, fishing, hiking (to a bakery but I think that counts as a hike), and visiting with old friends. Clevelands House has the most amazing children's program, which we were able to put to use. We have never left the girls with anyone other than my folks, so I was a tad bit nervous. Silly I was nervous because my first job at Clevelands House (way too many years ago to mention) was as a children's counsellor. The girls instantly adored their counsellor. They played in the sandbox with her and went to a wildlife show. We even left Hannah with a counsellor for an hour, sleeping as she walked her around the resort in her stroller. This was fabulous for Tyson and I, we sat on the verandah and read our books and talked.
My advice for parents travelling with small kids would be this:
1) Pack extra security items your kids love. For example: I had to pull out backup bunny for Telsche because bunny number one got wet.
2) Pack a box of Band-Aids. Although easily accessible at the resort, my kids move on very easily from a skinned knee when they get an animal/character Band-Aid.
3) Don't fret over meals because they aren't going to happen. Skyla didn't consume anything but two bites of a pancake while we were in the dinning room the entire time and the dinning room food was tasty. All her food was consumed in our room or on the move.
4) Back all kinds of snacks your kids like. I packed yogurt, crackers and hummus. Nutritious things I knew I could get them to eat.
5) Be flexible about sleeping arrangements and patterns. I was skeptical about all five of us sharing one large bedroom, but it was amazing. It was large enough, the girls were at one end with their beds pushed together and us at the other end with Hannah in a crib. Everybody was so tired we all slept brilliant.
I think the only downfall to going on vacation is unpacking at home and adjusting to home routine again. Luckily the girls are doing great and eating well again. With loads of summer left, we plan to go to a zoo nearby and hopefully hit a few local beaches. The summer is flying by with many fun activities so far! Oh, and Skyla randomly is going potty on her own accord. Asking and successfully going. How exciting!
