Zion National Park, Part I

Blogging about our lives is such a luxury these days. I just can't ever seem to justify it. Sally could wake up from her nap at any given moment, so let's see just how far I can get.

The weekend of Valentine's Day, Johnny and I made a last-minute decision to head to Zion for the weekend. What a glorious weekend it was. The highs were in the 60s and 70s, and Zion was simply gorgeous. Just like other getaways since Sally's been born, I had that feeling of all my stress melting away as soon as we arrived at our destination. We arrived on a Thursday afternoon and wasted no time in getting started with hiking. The first hike was only about a mile long, but every inch of it was breathtaking. 

A cute Asian woman took our picture, and she and her fellow travelers kept saying, "Hi Sally!" the whole time we were at the lookout. 

The view: (Note the windy road that I got car sick on. It's not a Galbraith vacation without my motion sickness. Fun for all!)

This is what well-prepared parents do --- hydrate their daughter out of the lid of their Powerade bottle.

Johnny thought to reenact the whole Simba/Rafiki/Pride Rock scene here.

Hilton Head Island, Part III

Our final day on Hilton Head was spent mostly on the beach, which is a much different experience with a baby. We kept her under the umbrella the whole time, and even still it was a bit windy and hot for Sal. Thus, we didn't stay out for more than an hour at a time. The sun would exhaust Sally so much that she took the best midday naps in our hotel room. It was wonderful. Johnny and I ate Lunchables on the bed and read while she napped.

Sal wasn't loving the waves so much here. That was our cue to head back and let her get in some zzz's.

That evening we went out again and walked the beach during sunset. Something we've missed more than anything since becoming parents is our evening walks together. Sally goes to bed so early, so it's just not an option anymore. But we let her stay up late while we were gone, which meant we got to have our night walks again. And on the beach no less! It was pretty darn great.

It was a short trip, but a great one! I'd gone to Hilton Head Island before with my family, so I already loved it, and I'm so glad I got the chance to go with Johnny and Sal!

Hilton Head Island, Part I

As always June is pure craziness in our house, which starts with Johnny's birthday. We decided to head to Hilton Head for Johnny's birthday. Our main trip this summer will be to visit family in Utah, so we planned a few mini-trips within driving distance, and Hilton Head was one of them.

It was also our first road trip with Sally, which we were both quite stressed out about. It was such a short trip, and yet preparing for it was super complicated because of all the baby stuff we had to bring. At one point we were so close to just not going at all because it was such a pain. But it ended up being such a great trip, so I'm glad we went!

On the way there, Sally was a champ. She didn't cry at all. She did have a blowout, though, with poop that got all over her back and shirt. This resulted in Sally and me going into a gas station bathroom and changing her diaper, clothes, and cleaning poop off her back with about 20 wipes. Sally was self-conscious or scared I think and crying her head off through all of it. And of course there was a woman with her two-year-old waiting for the changing table the whole time, standing about four feet away from us and watching the whole fiasco.

But other than that, it was smooth sailing. Johnny and I couldn't tell whether Sal was sleeping or just being quiet during the ride, so I'd put my phone behind me and take a picture and then look at it. It cracked us up to see her expressions during the trip.

When we got to the hotel and checked in, we headed straight for the beach. Talk about a stress reliever! I could feel all my stress just melting away. It was pure bliss.

 Sally really loved the ocean, if you can't tell. I call her our little adrenaline junkie because she just loves adventure and new experiences so much at her current age. It makes every experience so fun, just seeing how she's going to react.

Here I am soaking it all in. Give me sand and sun, and I'm in heaven.

Our family photo of the trip, taken by a slightly creepy complete stranger who offered. Not the best, but we'll take what we can get.