A couple of weeks ago, our family took our first summer vacation to Disneyworld. Liam and Chloe have been on trips with me before but never with Tommy. Tommy isn’t able to travel much because of his work schedule so we were all thankful that he was able to be there with us.
One of my favorite parts about taking summer vacations is prepping and shopping for new outfits for my family. We all stopped by our local Stage store in Houston before heading out to pick out outfits for Disney. It’s so easy for us to shop at Stage stores because they offer a huge variety of clothing, shoes, and accessories for the entire family. I picked up a couple of summer outfits and this backpack to store all of our food and necessities for when we were at the parks.
We also got an Instax camera to capture family moments during our trip. You can also get frames, film refills, and a case from Stage too! I’m horrible about printing out images, I probably have over 20,000 photos that are on my hard drive that have never been printed out. One of my most cherished photo albums is from Liam’s 1st birthday party. During Liam’s birthday party, I had each guest take a photo with Liam, glue it to a blank paged book, and then write a few words. The photos are immediately printed out and that’s what I love most about Instax cameras.
Tommy and Liam were the most excited about our Instax camera. Tommy was taking photos every hour and Liam took pictures of his toys and sister. It was the cutest thing. Liam takes after me a lot and it was adorable watching him get excited about taking photos and then seeing them come to life. Most of the images we have from the trip were taken on the Instax camera. When we got home, our family went through the pictures and relived those moments.
Summer passes by quickly and I want to take in every moment with my family. This trip to Disneyworld was by far my most cherished and memorable trip. From the very beginning, Tommy and I told ourselves that this trip would be fun and relaxing. We wouldn’t be on a set agenda and we wouldn’t try to get a billion things done each day. We both knew that traveling with two children in a 100-degree climate would have its obstacles, so we took it slow. We went to Disney everyday but only spent 4-6 hours there. We weren’t trying to ride every ride and eat every snack. Our family rode 2-4 rides per day and we were completely content and happy with it. We would go home around 3pm to take a nap, spend an hour or two at the pool, and then grab dinner.
Family vacations are supposed to be a fun and exciting time, but it can also be stressful and overwhelming. This is mine and Tommy’s first family trip that wasn’t stressful and overwhelming and I firmly believe it was because we took it slow. We weren’t worried about doing everything or sticking to an agenda. When our children needed a break, we’d go home because we know that they can only handle so much. We made the most out of our down time and it’s was some of my favorite moments. We have a couple of pictures in bed in our pajamas and they’re now on our fridge. It was also one of my first trips where I wasn’t constantly on my phone trying to capture every moment. I was able to experience so much more with my family.
Our family has always gone to Disney for family vacations, but we’re thinking we need to branch out a bit more. What are some your favorite spots to spend your summers?
xo,
Annie
*Thank you Stage for sponsoring this post. As always all opinions are my own.