I am still on a high from three of the best days of my life and it has EVERYTHING to do with the 4 humans you see in these pictures with me! I tried to capture the highlights of the trip in this slideshow, but it was so hard not to choose them all! We went on our first family vacation. It was actually our second but the first one was only a one night stay in Hollister so I am calling that more of a sleep over. We went to Twain Harte and it was a dream come true for so many reasons.
First and foremost, as you can see in that cover photo, we visited Columbia and took a family portrait Western style. The reason this was so special was because when I was a kid, my grandfather had a house in Columbia (about 20 miles from Twain Harte) and we spent at least 2 weeks there every summer. My family had taken a picture just like this one when my brother and I were even younger then Riley and I was thrilled to be able to do it again with him. We also took him to through the little gold mining town and bought matching cowboy hats! He is currently enthralled with Toy Story and all the characters… He was very excited to meet a real life cowboy and say “Howdy” like Woody. We found a few cowboy playing a guitar in the middle of town, and Riley was content to just sit and watch him all morning. He danced a long to the music and continued to say “Howdy” to the man (the man was so patient and kind–he played right a long and would answer back with Howdy every time). We even visited our favorite ice cream store that has not changed one bit in 40 years! When we were kids, we begged to walk down there every day and get a home made waffle cone with ice cream. So I could not wait to take him there to have an ice cream—he of course chose “Hulkie purple” (because Hulk’s pants are purple) and ate every bite. We left Columbia as it started to get hot and he fell fast asleep talking about cowboys and ice cream.
I also faced a HUGE fear of mine of mine taking this trip. When I decided to become a single mom, I honestly did not think I would ever travel again for a few reasons… First, I did not think I would be able to afford it. Living in the Bay Area and living on a single teacher income is tight already–I feared that with a child my greatest adventures may be to the grocery store or Target!!!! However, thanks to my Rodan + Fields business, I had the extra money to get away for a few days with my family. We are very simple travelers… and if I am being honest–the quiet country in a cabin is my gig! I don’t need to jump on an airplane and travel to a far away destination (although don’t get me wrong I do hope to some day) or stay in a fancy hotel with all the amenities to feel like I am on vacation. It probably came from the way I was raised, but growing up we spent most summers camping or at the cabins of our friends and family–swimming in lakes and pools, and eating ice cream cones together! To be able to begin this tradition with my sweet Riley is something I dreamed about. In fact, I am still best friends with all of my childhood friends we vacationed with and we are already planning a trip together next summer!
The BIGGEST concern and HORRIBLE fear I faced on this trip was the monster living in…MY OWN HEAD!!! I have mentioned many times what a challenge Riley had as an infant. He had a lot of tummy issues, didn’t sleep well, and had a rather intense temperament. He did not like the stroller, the car seat, or any kind of pouch on my body. There were times when I had to play loud white noise in the stroller to get through Safeway without him screaming. I read every book, blog, or website, I could find on how to soothe and calm your baby–and there were days when I truly felt helpless. Needless to say–I was dedicated to helping this sweet boy sleep–would do just about anything to accomplish it. We did create a wonderful and consistent routine, and he developed amazing sleeping habits. He now takes a solid 1.5-2 hour nap every day and sleeps 11-12 hours every night. However, I come home for every nap, he has never slept anywhere but here, and his room is has black out shades and white noise. So if you haven’t figured it out yet—huge scary monster that was living in my head told me that I could not go on any vacations. I honestly thought he would never sleep anywhere but here. I tiptoed towards the monster in April. We visited Hollister for my dad’s birthday and Riley fell asleep on the way there. I was so excited he napped in the car, but still worried about bedtime. We had brought the sound machine and his cozies (that is what we call his sleep sack) and of course Sophie (his stuffed giraffe with a binkie attached) to recreate the environment as best we could. I gave him a bath in the hotel tub, warmed up his milk, and sat and sang him our songs. Once he was asleep, I laid him in the pack and play and he slept for 12 hours!!!!! He slept again on the way home the next day and the trip was a perfect success! That is when I was ready to out on my big girl boots and take big steps towards the SCARY MONSTER!!!! We purposely planned to leave around nap time. It takes about 2.5 hours to get there, so I figured even if he fell asleep for part of the ride, it would be ok. He ended up sleeping almost the whole way there and was BLISSFULLY happy when he woke up! . I won’t bore you with every detail–but he slept 11 hours every night and took a 2 hour nap every day we were there. All this to say–Momma conquered her fear of the TRAVEL SLEEP MONSTER (as I will call it) and Riley was a CHAMP!
The smile that was on his face when he woke up in the parking lot of the grocery store was pretty much plastered on his face for the next three days. He absolutely adores his Gaga, Papa, and Uncle Dan-and nothing made him happier then to have all of them sleeping in the same house with him! As soon as we got to the cabin, he ran to the deck and laid out on a lounge chair with the “boys”. We got unpacked, had dinner, and hung out on the deck. It was the best!!! The next morning Riley popped up in his crib and could not wait to go find everyone. I don’t think I have ever seen my dad happier to be woken up at 6:30 in the morning with a big kiss from Riley!!! “Papa Wake UP” were his exact words and he was just as THRILLED as my dad! We visited Columbia in the morning and spent the rest of the day at the house so Riley could nap. We spent most of the evening on the the deck–Riley rode his bike, played with a big bucket of water, and had a blast! My dad made my favorite BBQ chicken and we ate altogether outside! It felt just like when I was a kid–but even better because I was getting to live it through the eyes of my own son. And he could not have been happier! My parents went home the next morning, so my brother and I walked down to Twain Harte lake with him. Again, something we always did as kids, and I was very excited to do it with Riley. I am not exaggerating when I say that the minute his feet hit the sand, he raced off for the water and LOVED every minute! Uncle Dan is much more fond (and tolerant of freezing cold) of the water then momma–so I was able to really take in the pure joy and excitement of Riley going in the water for the first time. The relationship between Riley and my brother is hard to describe in words….and watching them play in that lake together was one of my favorite parts of the whole week. We ate lunch at the “snack shack” just like when we were kids, and Riley did not want to leave!!! We got him home so he could take a power nap… and then took him into town to meet the firefighters. Once again, the smile on his face said it all. He was so excited to not only meet the firemen, but they even let him climb into the truck. I mean what is better than sitting in a firetruck with your cowboy hat on right???!! This boy was on cloud 9! The three of us had a pretty relaxed evening of Sesame Street and leftovers and headed home the next morning.
I remember as a kid, driving home was always my least favorite part of the trip. As we got on 280 and I saw the fog overhead, I knew vacation was over and it meant we were heading back to school. As we drove home on Saturday—I was still a little bummed to leave the peaceful surroundings of Twain Harte–and have our vacation come to an end… But I also felt like it was a brand new beginning in so many ways! We had started (or continued depending on how I think about) a new very special tradition and created some incredible memories. I mentioned it before, but it was hard to choose only a few pictures from the trip. Every time I look back at them, I feel like I am right back there—and Riley is still talking about it! DREAMS COME TRUE!!!!