Bear Hugs & Piggy Kisses - Baby's 1st Trip ~ Updated 12/6: Aulani TR Started!!!

[Denovagirl]

WHATTTTT!?!!!!?!!! I am so jealous! How freakin awesome! Right on! I'd totally take advantage of Izzy flying free too! This is just amazing! Mini TR must be made!

 

[Dugette]

Lol!! Oh my goodness. How funny and awesome and exciting!
What a world we live in! One of my best friends is someone I met in a fb moms group and we have yet to meet in person, but we text off and on throughout the day, every day and have been doing so for almost 2 yrs! It's so crazy.

Ha, that makes me feel a bit better. There have been a ton of texts flying back and forth all day this week. Disney planning to do! Dug did remind me last night that he and I met online too (match.com), so it's not so weird to be planning things with someone you haven't "met" (in person, at least).

WHATTTTT!?!!!!?!!! I am so jealous! How freakin awesome! Right on! I'd totally take advantage of Izzy flying free too! This is just amazing! Mini TR must be made!

Yes, we are certainly taking advantage of Izzy's free flight status. This will be her 4th round-trip flight! She's going to think it's normal to fly across the country once a month, I think (April=NYC, May=OR, June=WDW). She'll be a seasoned traveler by the time we go to Hawaii in November.

Oh, I'm sure there will be a Trip Report on this, between the two of us. Though, I've still got a lot of December to cover and Lauren pumps out TR updates faster than I can brush my teeth, so I might let her take the lead on that...we'll have to discuss. I'm sure the toddler DIS-meet trip will be well-documented on the DIS, though.

 

[dtr_angel]

I saw this on imagineer's TR and was waiting for your side to the story lol. I am so excited for both of you!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

Well, I had seen the news in Imagineer5's thread, but I guess this can be my official Congratulations to you!

it's funny that if you just read this part of your post it does make it seem pretty sketchy

"I'm going to WDW in less than 3 weeks with someone I've only met on the internet. And we'll watch each-others' adorable toddlers"

I am sure you will all have a blast and it is just great that you are both able to make this work!

You'll love the resort to - and Izzy should like the zero entry pool with water sprayers!

 

[Leshaface]

Oh wow that's AWESOME!!!

You're going to write up a TR on this right? I hope you do!

 

[Imagineer5]

Well, what can I even say? If you follow Imagineer5's TR, you already know this. If not, the summary: *She has an Annual Pass. *Annual Passes are known for enticing Disney-lovers into spontaneous "cheap" trips. *The Mine Train is opening soon. *Point 1+Point 2+Point 3 = She is going to WDW in June to ride the Mine Train. But, add to that: *Her husband didn't want to go. *She has a 2-year-old daughter that she didn't want to leave behind. *Her daughter is too short for the Mine Train and cannot be left alone while she rides it. SO, clearly, the only solution was for me to offer up Izzy and I as travel companions so that she could ride. And I could ride. And go to WDW. Izzy still flies free, so I got one plane ticket. Car is free on her points. Resort is cheaper than a Value (offsite, but right by AKL - and 2 bedrooms). She has Tables in Wonderland. I have discounted WDW Gift Cards from Target. I got a 3-day PH ticket for now, but may upgrade it to an AP if Dug and I decide our next trip will be within that window. So, in summary, I'm going to WDW in less than 3 weeks with someone I've only met on the internet. And we'll watch each-others' adorable toddlers while going on rides. Yep, I'm not crazy AT ALL. No, I'm sure things will be great and I'm fairly confident that she will not steal Izzy or any such nonsense. You can read more about our plans here: http://www.disboards.com/showpost.php?p=51496062&postcount=190 Even though it's only been 6 months, Izzy has changed a lot and it will be a whole new experience. Should be a lot of fun!

Hahahaha Iove this!! I'm so glad you guys decided to come. Or that you offered up izzy and yourself hahaha! No I have no plans to run off with izzy and aria, that sounds much too difficult with two strollers (hope this helps you feel more than fairly confident hahahaha).

6 months between trips means a totally different kid! It's going to be so fun. I hope she measures up to the speedway for her first height requirement ride!!

 

[Dugette]

I saw this on imagineer's TR and was waiting for your side to the story lol. I am so excited for both of you!

Ha ha, my side of the story is pretty simple. I can easily be talked into a cheap trip to WDW, I guess. Not necessarily be her either - by myself.

Well, I had seen the news in Imagineer5's thread, but I guess this can be my official Congratulations to you!

it's funny that if you just read this part of your post it does make it seem pretty sketchy

"I'm going to WDW in less than 3 weeks with someone I've only met on the internet. And we'll watch each-others' adorable toddlers"

I am sure you will all have a blast and it is just great that you are both able to make this work!

You'll love the resort to - and Izzy should like the zero entry pool with water sprayers!

I know, it sounds so strange, right?! Hey, I've never let anyone but her grandparents, aunt, or our daycare provider babysit our kid, but hey - person on the internet who also has a kid and likes Disney - please watch my kid in a crowded place while I go on rides. Sounds totally reasonable.

Yes, I think the resort will be nice and the pool sounds great!

Oh wow that's AWESOME!!!

You're going to write up a TR on this right? I hope you do!

Between the two of us, I'm sure we can come up with something. I can't even venture to guess how many trips we've reported on between the two of us (Well, I could probably count, but who has time for that? ) Maybe Izzy can write this one...I can see it now:

Gooooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!! (request for "Let it Go" to be played)
Doggy!!!!!!!!!!! (anything sort-of dog-like has been spotted)
Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! Mommy! (hey, you, I want something!)
Mickey!!! (yes)
Nooooo....noooo....yeah....okay....nooooo (answer to most questions)
Hi! Okay! Yeah. No. Bye! (has found something phone-like to make calls with)
Hot! (this food is either hot, warm, room temperature, or cold)
Bye-Bye! (go away now)

There we go, that is probably how things will look.

Hahahaha Iove this!! I'm so glad you guys decided to come. Or that you offered up izzy and yourself hahaha! No I have no plans to run off with izzy and aria, that sounds much too difficult with two strollers (hope this helps you feel more than fairly confident hahahaha).

Thank goodness we don't have a double stroller. No, I'm being silly - I have to be, well, at least QUITE confident. And, even if you did run off with Izzy (not that you would), based on today, it would take 15 minutes of wrestling and screaming to get her in the carseat, so I'm sure I could find and catch up with you.

6 months between trips means a totally different kid! It's going to be so fun. I hope she measures up to the speedway for her first height requirement ride!!

I definitely think it will be different now. I hope good different, but I'm not entirely sure. She is quite a toddler now and you just never know what kind of reaction you're going to get to things. As she was attempting to drive the car home after daycare today (during the whole vaulting out of her carseat before I could buckle it ordeal), I asked her if she wanted to drive a real car at Disney World. She said, very matter-of-factly, "Okay!" So, hope she makes it. I think she'll be tall enough, but you never know until you try, I guess. Also, I just watched Wishes on the live webcam and I can't wait to see how she reacts to that, having missed all the nighttime shows on our last trip.

 

[MeMom]

Why take a toddler to WDW? THIS is why.

Absolutely. We've taken all of our girls as babies.
So they won't remember it?
True....but we will.

 

[Dugette]

Absolutely. We've taken all of our girls as babies.
So they won't remember it?
True....but we will.

Exactly!

Such special family time. I'll always remember this trip!

 

[Dugette]

Just thought I'd share where things are at right now for the June trip that Imagineer5 (Lauren) and I and our toddlers are taking. As you can probably imagine, two DIS-ers planning a trip together results in lots of changes (improvements) to ADRs and FP+ selections. I'll get to the details in a moment.

First, an update on Izzy's preparations. She has joined the Frozen craze big-time. The answer to "Do you wanna build a snowman?" is always "Okay!" She frequently yells, "GOOOOOOO!!!!", which means she wants to hear "Let it Go". I mentioned Anna and Elsa to her the other day and she yelled, "GOOOO!!!", which impressed me that she knew those names went with that song. Here she is watching Frozen during breakfast this morning:



Hope she will enjoy meeting them on our trip!

She has also offered to help drive the rental car:



Okay, obviously not, but this is what she's been doing lately - when I try to put her in her carseat, she basically does a forceful flip to slip away from me and get in the driver's seat. Hoping she doesn't do this every time we try to park-hop!

Tonight, we were at a mall with a play area and she enjoyed that:





She LOVES playgrounds lately and has to be carried away screaming when it's time to leave. Hoping she handles leaving the Boneyard a bit better than that. We'll see, I guess.

I went through her closet to see what Disney clothes will still fit her for the trip. I think I came up with plenty of options for a 4-day trip:



I will probably pair those t-shirts with shorts, since it will likely be hot. Maybe a pair of pants, just in case. Not sure she'll need them all, but they are small and won't take much room in a suitcase. She also has these outfits:



And she has these from our previous trip:



She wore the one on the left last time, but the other two were backup outfits that she didn't need. Probably will just have them all as back-ups this time. Maybe.

Finally, some jammies and a jacket that she probably won't need:



She's actually wearing the Minnie Mouse ones right now (in bed asleep). They come with shorts and pants. Then there is the Marie the cat sleeper, which I thought could be handy for changing her into during a late night at the park, maybe. And the fleece jacket is Oswald the Rabbit.

Anyway, that's as far as I've gotten with wardrobe. Still need to figure out which outfits she should be wearing for different meet and greets and activities in our schedule.

Speaking of the schedule, here's where it's sitting right now:

Tuesday 6/10:
5pm - dinner at the Wave, then go to MK
6:20-7:20pm - Mine Train FP+ Lauren, get rider swap (use now, if time, otherwise save for after Wishes)
7:20-8:20pm - Barnstormer FP+ Lauren, get rider swap for another ride for Aria/Lauren, then Me/Izzy go to Buzz
6:40-7:40pm - Buzz Lightyear FP+ Me/Izzy while Lauren/Aria ride Barnstormer (need to get here quickly)
7:40-8:40pm - Space Mountain FP+ Me, meet here and get rider swap (use now, if time, otherwise save for after Wishes)
8:40-9pm - MSEP FP+ for all, stay for Celebrate the Magic and Wishes, then use rider swaps (if needed), then head out

Wednesday 6/11:
8:40am - breakfast at the Crystal Palace, try to get in early after taking photos in the empty park (look for earlier ADR)
10-11am - Peter Pan FP+ for all, try to get on as many Fantasyland rides as possible beforehand
11am-Noon Tomorrowland Speedway FP+ for all, as long as Izzy measures up
Noon-1pm Tinker Bell FP+ for all, then head out to Epcot around 12:30pm (figure out something for lunch, then girls nap)
5:10pm - dinner at Biergarten, after getting in Epcot attractions (look for Garden Grill or Akershus ADR)

Thursday 6/12:
9am - Animal Kingdom opens and we head to Safari, etc. (probably have small breakfast/snack in room beforehand)
10:45am - late breakfast at Tusker House, then more AK attractions, then hop to MK for nap time (after rum Dole Whips)
1:15-2:15pm - Mine Train FP+ Lauren, get rider swap (use now, if time, otherwise save for after dinner)
1:25-2:25pm - Big Thunder FP+ Me, get rider swap (use now, if time, otherwise save for after dinner)
2:50-3:50pm - Anna & Elsa FP+ for all
3:55-4:50pm - Ariel Ride FP+ for all (times are 5 minutes apart - need to do early in window)
5pm - dinner at 'Ohana, check out Polynesian construction, then back to MK to do whatever else we still want to get in (maybe look for Be Our Guest ADR)

Friday 6/13:
7:35am - breakfast at Cape May Cafe and travel day

I'm sure there will be more little changes, but things are coming together pretty nicely. Should be a super fun trip!

 

[amazingact21]

Ahhhhh! That is so exciting!


Another Disney trip! I know 90% of the TR DISers were in WDW this past month, so it has to feel good to know you're getting your opportunity to return.



I've read several DISers reports of taking trips with fellow board members, and they've all had a great time. I'm sure you and Lauren will have lots of fun, and I gotta say, a girl's trip does sounds nice!!!

 

[TheMaxRebo]

sounds like some pretty solid plans ... great that you were able to get the FP+ for Anna/Elsa!

 

[Imagineer5]

I'm loving how our plans are coming together! And so excited we got the a&e FPs! Our ADRs are impressive for a couple weeks out IMO! Love that we are both super into planning, makes it really fun!

 

[Dugette]

Ahhhhh! That is so exciting!


Another Disney trip! I know 90% of the TR DISers were in WDW this past month, so it has to feel good to know you're getting your opportunity to return.



I've read several DISers reports of taking trips with fellow board members, and they've all had a great time. I'm sure you and Lauren will have lots of fun, and I gotta say, a girl's trip does sounds nice!!!

Thanks. I was all jealous of all the May DIS-ers and here I am going to ride Mine Train. Any links to the reports of DISers going to WDW together? I don't think I've ever seen one.

sounds like some pretty solid plans ... great that you were able to get the FP+ for Anna/Elsa!

Thanks. Yeah, it took both of us stalking My Disney Experience, but we finally got two together that worked for us. Yay!

I'm loving how our plans are coming together! And so excited we got the a&e FPs! Our ADRs are impressive for a couple weeks out IMO! Love that we are both super into planning, makes it really fun!

Agree with all! We are certainly good at stalking MDE. Only two weeks from tomorrow!

 

[DisneyParkLover]

That video of Izzy with Piglet is adorable!!! I hope Luke likes the characters on our November trip.

 

[Dugette]

That video of Izzy with Piglet is adorable!!! I hope Luke likes the characters on our November trip.

Thanks! I sure hope Luke likes the characters too - it's just so fun to see them interact.

 

[Dugette]

Right after our awesome snuggle session with Piglet, Pooh made it over. I let Izzy off my lap to go greet him:









You can see her excitement faded quickly – because, you know, how can a Pooh bear possibly live up to a Piglet? It was funny that we had stuck around for this interaction, but the unexpected character ended up being the big winner. Izzy’s mind was still on Piglet (and her eyes were too, for that matter). Piglet was still right by us, as you’ll see in at the beginning of the video. Pooh just couldn’t compete, poor guy. It was still a nice meet, though.

Oh, also, Pooh is very observant and noticed that Izzy’s Magic Band fell off. You’ll see him gesturing toward it in the video until I eventually figure it out. And the video:



We headed out right after that, snapping a couple pictures on the way:





Bullseye Mickey was peeking out of the diaper bag, ready for adventure:



But that adventure would have to wait, as we needed to make a pit stop at the Baby Care Center next door first. Izzy needed a wardrobe change, due to that darn blueberry stuff getting all over. We got her changed into her spare outfit and apparently gave her a snack:



Probably worked up an appetite giving out all those piggy kisses.

We decided to make this our first stop:







Please take note that there are two rows in each flying carpet.

We stood in line (a short line) and Izzy seemed interested:



More views while waiting:









Being a good DIS-er, I knew that it would be wise to have Dug sit in front of me and Izzy so that he could get pictures of her on the ride. So, he’d take the first row of the carpet and Izzy and I would take the second. No big deal.

So, we get up to the Cast Member that assigns people to their spots on the ride. And he tells us that we have row number something-or-other. Picturing the three of us smushed into one row on a carpet was unpleasant, so I asked him if we could have two rows. He said no. I told him I thought it would be tight with the three of us in one row (Dug being a bigger guy and Izzy being squirmy). He asked how many were in our party (again). I said three. He said we got one row. This went back and forth a while longer. He was not very friendly and just kept telling us that we got one row. We were baffled that they couldn’t allow us to have a full carpet to ourselves when there was hardly even a line.

We literally were just about to leave and not ride when another guest suggested that when the CM said “row” he really meant “carpet” and that the row was just the # to stand on to line up for that carpet, not the actual row in the ride. Ohhhhhhhh. Well, if I didn’t already feel embarrassed enough about the whole ordeal, now I did. Wish the CM would have explained himself, rather than just acting like a stubborn broken record. He was giving us what we asked for, but not communicating it well at all. So, we went back to our row (we had started to walk to the exit). Not a very magical start to a magical carpet ride.

Anyway, we got on and had a nice ride anyway. And got our pictures:









Up next: More adventures (I’d hint at what, but I don’t remember very much anymore and we have to go through the rest of our pictures still!)

 

[Dugette]

Well, since nobody seems to have noticed that I did an actual on-topic trip report update a few days ago, I might as well go off-topic again!

As you know, if you’ve been reading between the “real” updates, we took an unplanned trip to Portland, Oregon recently to be with my cousins and their families for my Uncle’s funeral. So, the reason for travel was sad, but it was so nice to see family that we don’t see often. And we were able to get in some sightseeing as well.

I don’t plan to do an uber-detailed TR on this, but I’ll sum up the highlights and include 4 updates worth of pictures (and, because I can't help myself, it will still be pretty detailed - just not quite as much as the WDW updates). I know this isn’t at all Disney-related, but I do think there may be some valuable traveling-with-a-toddler details for those planning a WDW trip with a toddler. (Mini TR – justified! )

First off, we had to figure out how to bring a lot of stuff with us. The three biggest items were Izzy’s stroller, car seat, and travel high chair (Luckily, the Peapod that she slept in was small and easily fit in a suitcase, so we didn’t have to worry about that – I can’t imagine traveling with a Pack ‘n’ Play!)

I “practiced” getting our stuff airport-ready before the trip. I completely stole Imagineer5’s idea from her TR to hook the carseat up to the back of the stroller. I tested it out at home and, sure enough, it worked:



I had gotten an extra large carabiner on clearance for cheap at Target recently and it came in handy for that hook-up. I used it to attach the tether strap to the handle. I tucked the seat of the carseat into the back of the stroller basket. And, to keep it from falling out, I attached the LATCH hooks to the stroller too. Worked like a charm! (Of course, if your toddler doesn’t want to ride in the stroller, feel free to just put the carseat in the stroller – it fits great there too!)

The other issue I had was how to get her travel high chair there. We were thinking of borrowing or buying one once we got there, but then I had a moment of genius. Once our stroller is in the gate check bag, tight as the fit is, there is extra room in front of it, as you can maybe see here with the bag peeking open:



And, sure enough, it was just enough room to slide in our high chair:



It zipped up and everything! Sweet! I couldn’t, however, fit the tray in there. That fit easily in a suitcase, though. If you couldn’t tell already, we were doing everyting we could to only check our two free bags.

Since the high chair didn’t have a home until we packed up the stroller, we just strapped it around the stroller handle (kinda dangling to the side) for our airport time.

And, on that note, here’s the whole set-up at the airport:



As you can see, we also had a small, wheeled carry-on. I wanted to avoid it (we did with NY), but we just needed too much stuff (and I didn’t really want to check her video monitor and white noise machine). The duffel bag was just a fancy way of carrying two smaller baby-on-a-plane bags: one of toys and one of snacks. We also had her little diaper changing kit, just strapped to the stroller. And Dug had a backpack of electronics and such. We were loaded down pretty good.

When we arrived at the airport, I pulled up to the curbside check-in and we took turns going to them to check our big bags. Once that was done, Dug got to take the stroller (and all of it’s attachments) and the carry-ons (the duffel attached to the roller) and get it all into the airport. I drove off to go park the car.

Normally, Dug’s sister is our airport chauffer, since she lives nearby and is super nice. However, she was out of town (as was her husband), so we were on our own, but with permission to park in her driveway. Cab fare from her driveway back to the airport would have been $20+ and I just couldn’t justify that when I have a Metropass that covers all buses and lightrail trains for free. So, I drove, parked in her driveway, walked 2 blocks, got on a bus to the Mall of America, changed immediately to the lightrail, and got off at the airport. Not too bad.

While I was gone, Izzy was hungry (it was dinnertime), so Dug went to the only restaurant that is before security (it was a “hotdish” place). Izzy got settled in with all of her mealtime things:



They enjoyed some hotdish, salad, and cheese curds. I ate my half after I arrived. Tasty. Once we wrapped up, we headed for security. Oh, joy.

We were super fortunate on our way to NYC to get a “family line” that basically allowed you to not undress and unpack. It was great. We have not been so lucky since then. We got through just fine, though – it just takes a while to get Izzy from the stroller, detach the carseat, detach the high chair, fold the stroller, put all that stuff and bags on the belt, remove shoes/belts/pocket items, show them her milk, etc. Luckily, I had sized up our two security choices and gone to the one that seemed to have friendlier agents. It was a good choice, because I saw the guy at the other lane ordering people around and rushing them, but there were patient, baby-loving women working our lane!

At any rate, we made it through without incident and headed to our gate. We asked the agent about getting seats together (ours weren’t, due to the last-minute nature of the trip) and also about getting a seat for Izzy’s carseat, if possible. He said he’d get back to us. Okay, then.

We waited around with the crowd. I think Dug probably took Izzy for a diaper change while I collapsed the stroller and got everything ready to go.

As they were doing the priority boarding, we approached the gate agent again, as we hadn’t heard what our seats would be and wanted to load early with Izzy and all of her stuff. He took forever messing with his computer, didn’t seem very friendly, and said we had row [something], seats [something-something]. Dug was standing near him and I was back further with Izzy, but it sounded like he may have said A-C, which would mean three seats. Dug thought he said B-C, though. So, we asked if we only had the two seats and he said yes, two seats, and gave us two tickets. I also asked if we had to gate check the carseat and his response of basically ignoring us told me we should. I wish I had asked again, just to be sure. Really wish.

So, we put the carseat in it’s bag and made our way down the jetway. Plopped down the stroller and carseat bags and got on (Izzy in the Ergo). We went to our row and sat – kinda spreading out across the three seats until our seatmate arrived. They announced a couple times that it was a full flight. We waited and waited and nobody sat with us. Finally, once it seemed like everyone had boarded, we flagged down a flight attendant and asked if we could get our carseat back. She went to check and they had just loaded them and we couldn’t get it. So, turned out that we DID have a seat for her, but just didn’t know it. Not sure if the unfriendly gate agent got it for us or if someone just saw us and bailed for another seat (Dug saw someone that looked towards us, then took another seat quickly). Who knows, I guess.

Waiting for boarding to be done:



(Yes, smiling through the frustration of not bringing the carseat on).

So, what to do now? Toddler has her own seat and no carseat or special harness. Probably better to buckle her in with the regular seatbelt than to have her beltless on my lap, I guess. So, that’s what I did. Fun fact for you, though – did you know that airplane seatbelts are ridiculously easy (and fun) for toddlers to take off? Way easier than getting out of a stroller or highchair or carseat. If she was sufficiently distracted, though, she’d leave it on for a bit. I got her playing with her buckle toy, which I cannot recommend enough. We have three different ones and love them all:



I did manage to keep her buckled in for takeoff (and landing and parts of the flight), so that was good. The rest of the time, though, she’d unbuckle herself and do the toddler wiggle. We cycled through toys and snacks and tried to keep her happy. However, this flight overlapped her bedtime and she was clearly getting tired, but fighting it. If only we’d had the carseat, I can almost guarantee she would have gone to sleep fairly early on in the flight. Poor thing tried, but just couldn’t get comfortable and settle down.

At some point, we decided that maybe it would help to put her jammies on, so we did that and gave her a blanket and her little Minnie Mouse to snuggle. She tried to pretend that middle seat was her crib. She snuggled in, face down, butt in the air, as she does in her crib. But it just wasn’t working for her. Poor thing kept hitting her head on the seatbelt buckle or having her legs slide off the slippery seat. I tried to hold her, but nothing quite worked. So, she spent the whole flight very tired, but not sleeping. It was really not fun. Earlier on, when the drink service came though, I was optimistic that she’d eventually go to sleep, so I asked for an unopened can of pop to enjoy while she slept (awake toddler=good luck drinking and not spilling). I ended up taking the unopened can with me off the plane...even though I was SO thirsty. Hey, free souvenir, at least.

So, it was a very long flight. When it could have easily been a pleasant baby-sleeping-in-her-carseat flight. I was a little bitter about the whole thing. Oh, well.

Towards the end, Izzy grabbed the window shade and pulled it up (I’d put it down to encourage sleep). I was quite surprised when this is what we saw:





Mt. Hood! (You will see more of this later…) Very cool surprise and great view!

So, we arrived, got off the plane, collected our stroller and carseat (missed you!) and started walking away from the gate. And we immediately saw this:



So, Izzy saw balloons. Turns out, she loves balloons. Dug and I, however, saw Burgerville!!! My cousins introduced us to this chain last time we visited. It’s burgers and fries and shakes, but it’s all local product and very fresh and delicious. We’d already had dinner, but who can pass up a snack?

So, we got shakes (Chocolate Cherry – yum!) and Dug decided he wanted a Tillamook Cheddar burger too – which I ate part of – so tasty!

This put us in a much better mood. We made our way to the rental cars and found the National Emerald Aisle. This was my first time using this (I got a good deal with my work discount). You are allowed to walk right into the garage and pick any car in the “Aisle” section. Well, that time of night, the selection isn’t so great. It was literally all minivans and one small car that someone took as we walked in. So, I asked Dug, “Which minivan do you want?” We picked the black one. Because it was parked separately from the others, so easier to load up. I have to say – I was kind-of excited to have a minivan because of Izzy and all of her stuff. However, I HATED driving it. Just hated it. So hard to back-up, poor visibility, just not my style at all. And I actually learned to drive in a minivan! Guess I’m just used to cars now. It did come in handy to tote around my cousin and his kids once, though, so that’s good.

At any rate, we got loaded up, got Izzy’s carseat installed, and headed for our nearby hotel. We stayed at the Candlewood Suites, in a 1-bedroom with full kitchen. It was great and nice to have the space and kitchen. Parking the minivan in their tight-fit lot was a pain, though.

We got in, got Izzy all set up for bed, and popped her into her Peapod for the night. I think we probably followed shortly behind her. Had to rest up for an early morning and long day!

The next day, there were no family plans (my dad and uncle did not get in until later that day), so we chose to make the drive to Newport and show Izzy the ocean and aquarium. We were up early and headed to our breakfast destination first:





If you do not know about Voodoo Doughnuts, you should! Again, our cousins turned us onto it last visit. Very unique (and delicious) donut shop in the Portland area. Check out all of this awesomeness:



(And, no, in real life, we never eat donuts for breakfast. But, hey, it’s vacation and there are no rules!)

While Dug waited in line (yes, there was an early-morning line), Izzy and I checked out the elephant that she was fascinated by:



And the donut display case:



Then she visited them on her own while I perused the donut options:





She also decided that we should pull up a chair and eat our donuts in the building, rather than in the car, as planned:



Napkins, guys?



Izzy really enjoyed being a big girl and sitting in a real chair (on her knees) and eating a donut off a napkin with no bib (since we weren’t prepared to eat in). Here’s our loot:



Top left is their famous Bacon Maple Bar, for Dug (I had a bite). Top right is an amazing Peach Fritter that we saved for later (we split it later in the car and it took us forever to eat – huge, but delicious!). Middle left is a Mango Tango – mango filling and Tang on the top! We were in it for the mango. We shared this while sitting there. Bottom left is a Peanut Butter Oreo donut that I saved for another day – and it was tasty! Bottom right is a Portland Cream donut that Dug had sometime later in the trip. Middle (with a piece broken off) is a Blueberry Cake donut that I thought Izzy might like. She and I shared it and it was really good.

After that tasty breakfast, we headed out on the road. We ended up going through a lot of small towns before finally getting out on the open road. We noticed there was a chain of restaurants we kept seeing called “Izzy’s”. We decided that when Izzy makes all of her phone calls (“Hi. Yeah. Okay. No. Bye!”), this is what she is doing – running her empire!

She was great for the car ride and I think she slept for a chunk of it. It was a beautiful day to drive, so that was nice. As was the Peach Fritter, mmmm. Eventually, we made it to the ocean:



This was named something like the “D River” park:





Izzy thought it was pretty neat, I think.

Up next: More time on the Oregon coast!

 

[AprilRenee]

Oh man! what a mess with the airplane!! Poor izzy!
I've been to voodoo donuts and the oregon coast too. Both fabulous!
Izzy seems so much older in this update. Isn't it amazing how quickly they're maturing right now? The first year it was gaining all the skills and this year Caden just seems so much older and more mature each day! It's crazy!

 

[Dugette]

Oh man! what a mess with the airplane!! Poor izzy!
I've been to voodoo donuts and the oregon coast too. Both fabulous!
Izzy seems so much older in this update. Isn't it amazing how quickly they're maturing right now? The first year it was gaining all the skills and this year Caden just seems so much older and more mature each day! It's crazy!

Yeah, poor all of us on the airplane! I felt so bad for her when she was trying to settle in for sleep, though. Just couldn't get comfy!

Yay for Voodoo and the coast! Both fantastic places to visit!

Totally agree on the getting older quickly thing! Every time we travel with her, Dug and I are both like, "She really seems like she's grown up a lot on this trip!" I don't know if it's just from spending so much time with her or the changes of scenery or what, but she always seems like she's growing up before our eyes when we travel.