Last month we got to take a family vacation to Palm Springs to catch some rays and boy was it needed! #raincouver
We had two weeks of uninterrupted family time and I soaked up every minute of it. This was the first time we had taken a dedicated vacation with just the three of us and we had a blast.

We don't go to many indoor pools here in Vancouver so you never really know if your kid is going to love the water but we lucked out big time. We stayed at the Marriott Shadow Ridge and wow, that place is built for families! They had everything from water parks to wading pools, free swim diapers and a kids activity centre. This place was the bomb and we will be back. 

Ideally I would lay out and tan all day but with kids that is obviously not what a vacation looks like. We had hot weather, like +35 Celsius so going out in the afternoons wasn't an option with Cairo. We spent our mornings out on walks then had some pool time but always came in for lunch and Cairo's nap. The afternoons were filled with shopping, cheesecake factory, or acai bowls at the Fresh Juice Bar. 

Cairo really made this vacation a VACATION. He loved the water, enjoyed wearing his hat, and wasn't too bad at putting sunscreen on. Did I mention that we DROVE to palm springs?! So ya, he also rocked a 24 hour straight car ride. Episodes of Paw Patrol and Peppa Pig kept us sane through the drive but we survived and had an amazing time together.

ps. There was a moment on our drive down where we were extremely low on gas and caught in the middle of nowhere. Finally we see an exit and pull off the freeway. As we are pulling off, we run out of gas, power steering shuts off and we are solely going on our momentum to carry us to the gas station. Two quick right turns and one glorious downhill road made us able to pull right into one open gas fill up spot. Thank you Jesus!  

We rented a van for our trip for comfort and space and packed everything we could think of to save on costs. We tried out a few new luggage pieces from Herschel to help make travel a bit easier on families and we love this trade luggage that comes in a few different colours. We travel a lot for volleyball trips and visiting family back in Winnipeg so I wanted something that would also be great for airports. We added the bowen travel duffle as well because it has a zip convertible luggage trolley sleeve so that it can slide right on to my rolling suitcase. Basically I can do everything as a mom; carry a child and roll all my luggage down the airport hallway! 

Everyone needs a classic denim button down shirt in their wardrobe and the best one out there is from Beau Hudson - one of our favourite clothing line for not only kids but adults too!

Palm Springs has such a big place in my heart as my family has been coming here for years. What a memory these two weeks were, one that Cairo won't remember when he grows up but we can't wait to remind him all about it!