We’d been looking forward to this vacation for so long and it felt so far away, then BAM, it was upon us! We had the best, low-key, Mexican food-filled time and I’m experiencing a mini depression that it’s over, but there’s more summer fun to be had, so I’ll recover soon 😊

We left after breakfast on Friday and it took us about seven hours to get there and I think things went about as well as they could’ve. We got a car mount for the iPad and some wireless headphones so Demps could occupy himself with Turning Red, his current favorite movie and Lydia fell asleep a few times but my girl loves to give it her all with a good cry before she passes out 😩 Dempsey fell asleep too! I looked back and he was asleep mid-lunch, with a sandwich still in his hand 😂 Stopped a few times to feed Lyds and let Dempsey get out of the car, then checked into our Airbnb at four.

My parents, my sister, Wayne and Huni all arrived shortly after, so we got settled then headed over to Tomasita’s for dinner, thinking it would be the least busy on a Friday night but we were WRONG. I think we waited close to an hour and fifteen minutes so that margarita (my favorite of the trip!) and stuffed sopapilla were much-needed. Unfortunately, Demps was exhausted and when he gets tired, he gets wild. He had a meltdown over me taking away a squeeze bottle of honey and started throwing food, so we peeled out real quick and got him to bed. We had booked both our trips to New Orleans and Santa Fe with an extra room for him, thinking he’d be old enough to sleep in a big bed by himself but it didn’t quite work out in New Orleans so we weren’t sure about this go around. Luckily, he slept like a champ in there! No middle of the night wake-ups, no falls from the bed, no discomfort over sleeping someplace new. Never not thankful for my good independent sleeper! Especially since his sister was going through a phase of sleeping just the opposite!

We really liked our Airbnb and its location but the one flaw was the skylights in the bedrooms, which had my kids up at 6:30 AM on Saturday 😅 But being a parent has warped my brain into thinking this is a perfectly acceptable time to be up in the morning, even on vacation, so it’s wasn’t so bad! We all got ready and walked over to the Santa Fe Farmers’ Market, which I kind of love. Lots of good produce, which had me wishing I lived there and it’s pretty big. Grabbed some quick breakfast stuff and coffee then walked the market and bought cherries, peaches and some incredible sunflowers before walking ourselves back to the Airbnb. Quickly regrouped then walked to the plaza to stroll around and window shop and then we grabbed lunch at the Palacio Café before scrambling home to get those tired kids down for naps.

Took some time to get Lydia to sleep in that bright room (had to pull out the nursing cover 😂) but then we had a nice little cuddle. Demps slept then was up hanging out with Dad before we all headed to Maria’s for dinner. Every time we eat here, I sit in a room I didn’t even know existed and this visit was no exception! I ordered a margarita that I could not even finish, it was so strong but also some really good blue corn enchiladas and I think we all had a really fun night that may or may not have had something to do with Joey ordering an aged tequila flight to share. Back at the Airbnb, we got the babies to bed and started Bros before crashing ourselves.

Started Sunday with a big cuddle in bed 🥰🥰 And then we headed out in search of coffee. I think we started every morning at the Mud Hut on our last trip to Santa Fe so it seemed only natural to go back. That iced caramel lavender latte tasted so good! After we were caffeinated, we walked to the Plaza for breakfast. Lauren had suggested the Plaza Cafe and I kind of can’t believe none of us had ever been, considering it’s smack dab in the middle of the Plaza. It was really good!!! I got blue corn pancakes with a side of bacon and got to sit next to my boy 🤍 Afterward, we walked around and shopped for a bit — my parents bought a bouquet of lavender that you could smell from down the block! — then grabbed lunch to go and headed back to our “vacation home.”

After nap time, Lydia got a bath from Aunt Bean and then had a little photo shoot 😍🤍 She’s so gorgeous! And Dempsey got to play whiffle ball with Dad and Uncle Wayne before we all headed out for dinner at The Ranch House. Even though we had some really good Mexican food, this was my favorite dinner of the trip! Joey and I shared a BBQ platter and every bite was amazing! Oh and shoutout to my hero of a husband who I think wore a sleeping Lydia through every dinner 😂 Hit up La Lecheria afterward for ice cream but Santa Fe needs to step up their ice cream game stat!

After some dress up with Aunt Bean’s hat, we finally made it to The Pantry, one of our favorite Santa Fe staples, for breakfast. Ordered the Buenos Dias because I always order the Buenos Dias and Dempsey was very into my fried eggs. Afterward, we got coffee (and a lemonade for Joey that quickly became a lemonade for Dempsey 😂) and walked Canyon Road. I don’t even know if we made it a quarter of the way but we got in some shopping and a stop at the “wind forest,” before heading back and grabbing lunch at Joe’s Tequila Bar along the way. It was so hot!

You know the drill. Naps, baths, dinner! We hit up La Choza, which our part of the family had never been to and it was all very good. I got a Prickly Pear margarita and we got to end the meal with “honey on the food” 😂😂 Made sure to grab a family photo out front too!

The next morning, the four of us were up early as usual, so Joey got a jump start on packing and then we broke for breakfast at The Pantry Rio, which had a nice outdoor patio and a really good brisket scramble on the menu. Headed back to the Airbnb to finish packing and load up the car then we all said our goodbyes. I’m so glad we live in the same state as our families because it was sad saying goodbye even knowing we’d be seeing them a couple of days later! The drive home definitely felt longer than the drive there and took us a full eight hours thanks to rush hour traffic but we made it.

I’m so glad we took this little family getaway, even if throwing off your kids’ sleeping and eating habits always has me wondering if it’s worth it 🤪😅 Don’t worry, it is 🤍

Hello and Happy Monday. We had a nice and mostly low-key weekend, which is good because we leave for vacation this Friday and you know how stressful those pre-vacation days can be, scrambling to pack and pick up things you need plus getting stuff wrapped up at work. Trying to keep the anxiety at a minimum because I’m so looking forward to a few days with family, margaritas, sunshine and hopefully okay sleep.

Friday featured Jungkook’s first solo single “Seven” (and me listening to it a billion times!), a Barbie manicure, then work for the rest of the day before I picked our babies up from Grandma’s. Lyds was so tired and fell asleep in the car five minutes before we got home then was kind of a mess all night 😢 But we still had a really good dinner. Lori and Chad got some Alaskan halibut and passed it on to us. I just basted it in some butter and served it with rice and green beans and wow, so good! Demps loved it too. After the kids went to bed, we started Mission: Impossible — Ghost Protocol. These movies definitely get better as the franchise goes on but they’re also starting to all blur together for me 😂

Last soccer practice of the season on Saturday morning! I wanted to bring a treat for the team, so Joey headed out and picked up donut holes plus breakfast from The Nosh for us. I think participation and attention-span was at an all time low for the entire team but still, I got Demps on the field for a few drills and he was having a great time running around with one of his teammates before practice started, so all in all, I think this was a fun and worthwhile six weeks. I’m so thankful to Joey for volunteering to coach 🤍 They all got ribbons afterward and then some of us hung around for a bit afterward so the parents could chat and the kids could snack. On to swim lessons for the rest of the summer!

The rest of the afternoon was pretty calm. Lunches, naps, baths and then my sister picked me up so she, my mom and I could all head into Boulder for our annual trip to the Shakespeare Festival. How we convince my sister to join us every year is a mystery to me but I’m glad she indulges us 😋 My mom did all the work for the picnic and she’s the best! We had such a good spread of apps, sandwiches, sides and even some lemon bars for dessert. We saw Much Ado About Nothing and I really loved it! All the comedies are, well, comedic but this one seemed extra funny. The male and female leads seemed very committed to the physical humor! Got an update from Joey and the kids earlier in the evening and then made it home by 11:15 which is much much past my bedtime 🥱

We had nothing scheduled for Sunday and it ended up being a really nice day! Woke up and made some banana oat pancakes that were dense and chewy in the best way. Love me a hearty pancake. Afterward, Dempsey played barber 😂 and Lydia took a nap. This kid’s imaginative play has been so so fun to see lately. Once Lyds was up, we got out the baby pool for her. I think she enjoyed it despite Dempsey squirting her in the face with her water toys over and over then hitting me on the head when I told him not to for the fifth time 😡 She’s only worn her bathing suit twice and has already outgrown it so we just bought a new one 🥺 Joey and I got Illegal Pete’s delivered for lunch and I think Dempsey liked Joey’s smothered burrito more than the quesadilla I made for him!

Post-nap tech time 😂 Afterward, Demps asked me to take him outside so I did that while Joey and Lyds finished laundry and then while she was down for her last nap, Joey and I tag-teamed dinner and watched Onward with Dempsey. Love a summer dinner of grilled bratwurst and potato salad 🤤 It was the last night of pea puree for Lydia and even though she made a disgusted face every time we gave her a bite, she seemed to like it! Onto wheat 😬 I don’t know if I mentioned it here on the blog, but she’s broken out in hives on her hands a few times in the past month so we took her to a pediatric allergist who tested her for peanut and egg allergies, both of which she reacted to. We are now the owners of an epi pen! We were instructed to avoid those two things, stick to a skincare regimen to clear up her eczema and go slow introducing new foods/allergens until we go back again in two months to have her re-tested. Wish us all luck! Demps wanted up in the swing while Joey was giving Lydia a bath and I’m crying over how big he looks in there. Can’t they stay little forever?? Got the kids sort of to bed (Lydia was a mess and we ended up brining her downstairs to hold her on the couch while we started Mission: Impossible — Rogue Nation) and then I took that little girl upstairs with me while Joey stayed up to work. She struggled a bit to go down and cried a bit at 5:30 this morning but slept okay otherwise, so we’ll take it! Hope you all have a good start to your week 😊