Two Weeks In Maine | Summer Travel

The final leg of our northeast family vacation was spent in the glorious Southwest Harbor, Maine.  We had a darling cabin nestled in a quiet little neighborhood, just steps from the harbor.  Most days, we ventured into Acadia National Park, a short drive away.  Between the hiking, exploring, crabbing, boating, and all manner of FUN...we had such a memorable and wonderful time.

If you've never visited Maine, I would highly suggest spending some time there in the summer or fall months (at least a week to really enjoy it).  I love the costal areas especially, such as the picturesque town of Camden or the historical area of Penobscot.  Staying close to Acadia was really a treat, as we frequented the park so often, biking the carriage roads and hiking the trails.  Bar Harbor is another great spot on Mt. Desert Island, but a tad touristy...great for shopping and eating though!

After this trip (which my third time in Maine), I half-way jokingly mentioned to Blake that we need to figure out how to have a home up there.  In my dreams!  But really...it's THAT amazing!  I described it to someone the other day as "feeling like you're in another country".  I hope and pray we have many more memories to make as a family visiting the state of Maine, and who knows...maybe even someday call it home.

Or summer home.  ;)

Follow me on:  Instagram|Twitter|Facebook|Pinterest|Bloglovin

A Family Road Trip | No Mess In Texas

Looking back over this last week, it's been one the best of the summer so far!  We took a short road-trip outside of Austin, Texas for a little family getaway.  It was just the refresher we needed!  Not too far, but far enough that we were able to get in full vacation mode without hearing the dreaded question of "Are we there yet?"
As with most of our getaways...the packing, preparing, and coordinating is no small feat for our family of 6.  The morning before we left, Blake and I were scrambling around trying to get our house tidied up, finish packing, get the dogs off to the boarders, etc.  We didn't have much time to think what the kids might need to eat/do while on the road...we just wanted to get going!  So thankfully, we had a little excursion package sent to us by BabbleBoxx, which was just what our kids needed.  Blakely and Bennett usually color or read in the car, so these Texas-themed books were right up their alley.  In fact, they argued who could do which first!

Once we got on the road, tummies wanted snacks (of course) and it was so great to be able to pass out the Tree Top applesauces pouches (without worrying about a mess, I might add).  Road trip food is so good, but often not-so-good for you...so these snacks were the perfect healthy, no-spill, and packable option.  We try to eat healthy about 80% of the time, so when my kids think these Tree Top applesauce pouches are a special treat, I secretly cheer inside that they love something that has no artificials, no HFCS, no GMO, BPA-free, and are from U.S.A grown apples!  Such a Win-Win for my family!!!

For longer family excursions, we often pick out a movie for the kids to watch or a fun game to play, such as the Alphabet Game.  It helps the time pass, and also keeps us doing something together rather than everyone glued to their individual devices (don't get me wrong, we have a little of that time too). 

I'd love to hear some of YOUR family's road trip traditions or fun ways to pass the time....also, what is YOUR favorite on-the-go snack???

*Because I love sharing family tips that make life easier, I've partnered with BabbleBoxx.com on behalf of Tree Top Applesauce on this post.  All opinions are my own.

Utah Family Ski Vacation

Happy New Year Friends!!!  How the heck are ya'?  After taking pretty much the entire month of December off, it's good to be back.  We've had quite the eventful last couple of weeks and it's so refreshing to start anew and look forward to a new year!
The week before Christmas, we headed up to Utah for some skiing, sledding, tubing, Christmas activities, and much more.  We were up there for about a week and had a blast.  Being around snow during Christmastime made it seem so much more festive, you know?  (Side eye to Texas weather in the high 70s.)
Check out our tubing video and some of the pictures from our trip.  Lots were taken with my iphone, so I might do another post with those once I upload them...but who ever does that anymore, right? ;)



Out of all the ski resorts within 30 minutes of where we stayed in Utah, we chose to ski/ride at Brighton Resort.  Brighton was very reasonably priced and pretty easy to navigate in terms of rentals, lift tickets, ski school, etc.  The two youngest took a half day of lessons and the two big girls remembered their last two times skiing pretty well, so didn't do school.  I was so impressed with the ski school and instructors...those people are saints!  Brighton was also really accessible in terms of driving up into the mountains, rather than staying there.  In other words, it's not a huge resort like a Park City or Vail would be.  Simple and perfect for all of our skiing abilities.

How did you spend YOUR holidays???




Follow me on:  Instagram|Twitter|Facebook|Pinterest|Bloglovin

Disney Cruise Video | 2016

Hi Friends!!!!  We are still recovering from being back in the "real world" after a week off for Thanksgiving, followed immediately by our week-long "Merry-Time" Disney cruise!  This was our third Disney Cruise and was the BEST YET!  We made so many great family memories and got to experience lots of new things we hadn't seen/done before when cruising with Disney.  I'll write up an official "review & favorites" post later, but for now, check out our video will all the highlights! (Fair warning: It's a tad lengthy.)




Follow me on:  Instagram|Twitter|Facebook|Pinterest|Bloglovin

Beautiful Utah | Hiking Mount Timpanogos

Wow, Utah is just gorgeous...isn't it!?  We hiked Mount Timpanogos and saw first hand the beauty of autumn in the mountains.  We weren't able to summit because it was already impassable without proper gear (snow), but we hiked as far as we could, making it to Emerald Lake.  And I'm not gonna lie---it was tough.  I knew I was out of shape, but geez...factoring in the altitude and hiking in a rain storm made me feel super accomplished when we made it back down the mountain!

I overcame physical pain and really had to put into practice "mind-over-matter".  Going down was extremely painful (I'm officially old), but totally different from the pain/exhaustion going up.  But gosh it was worth it!  The views were so beautiful and it was absolutely lovely each time I stopped to look back over where we'd came.  Thankfully, the mountain was pretty quiet that day and we only encountered a few other hikers.  Hopefully some of these pics do it justice...and I definitely would recommend doing this hike if you ever get a chance!!!!  I'm hoping to do it again sometime in the summer when we can summit.

On the drive up to Utah, coming up on this arch had me like a giddy little girl!!!!  I've always wanted to see and arch and I had resigned myself that we probably wouldn't unless we ventured into one of the national parks.  So imagine my surprise when we came around a curve to this beauty!!!  Just amazing!

Have you visited Utah? Where are your favorite places there?



Follow me on:  Instagram|Twitter|Facebook|Pinterest|Bloglovin

Texas Beach Vacation - A Family Tradition

We took our annual Jansen Family beach trip a couple of weekends ago and had a blast!  Each year, Blake's parents treat us to several days down at Port Aransas with the entire extended family.  Lots of fun, sun, and kids!  This year, the beach was really nice and clean...which for Texas beaches can go either way from year to year or month to month.  You never know what you're going to get, so this was a blessing to have such nice conditions.

We also celebrated Bennett's birthday while down there.  He requested a red and blue Star Wars cake, and we got exactly that!!!!  It was so yummy and perfect!  We opened gifts and celebrated with pretty much whatever he wanted to do that day...which was stay in the condo and watch T.V.  Ha!!!!

He requested a Minion BOB from Build-A-Bear for his actual gift, so we have yet to make the trip up to the mall for that.  Maybe today.  We'll see.

After a super busy start to summer (Youth Conference, beach trip, etc), we finally feel like summer has begun this week!  Hallelujah!  I went to bed at 9:30 last night and woke up at 9am this morning...WHAT!?!?!?!?  Hello Summer, I kinda like you.

-What has your family been up this summer so far? -Does the beginning of summer (plus the end-of-school craziness) ever make you want year-round school?




Follow me on:  Instagram|Twitter|Facebook|Pinterest|Bloglovin