Our Last Vacation(s) Before Baby

Every time we have taken a vacation since we started trying to get pregnant we have thought of it as our last vacation together as a twosome before we had kids. Because it has taken much longer to get pregnant than we planned, we have taken several "last" vacations. Since we look at each one as a last opportunity for a romantic trip in a long time, we really appreciate each trip and try to make it special. We figure we won't be able to take a trip alone until our kids are old enough to be left with grandma for a while (which will be several years down the road) and we don't want to take a family amusement park trip until the kids are old enough to actually ride some of the rides (which could be a decade away if it takes too much longer to get pregnant).

October 2011

Our first "Last Vacation" was our 1-year anniversary/honeymoon trip in October 2011. I had been tracking my cycles for about 6 months at this point. We went to California for 8 days and did everything! We spent 3 days at Disneyland, one day at Universal Studios, one day at Sea World, a day at the beach and a day at Six Flags. It was the first time I had been to Disneyland since I was 8 years old, and I LOVED it! My favorite ride was the Indiana Jones ride and Ryan's favorite was Splash Mountain. I was disappointed that Pirates of the Caribbean was closed...it was closed the last time I was there (20 years before) too. It was fun to be there in October because everything was decorated for Halloween, complete with a Nightmare Before Christmas theme in the Haunted Mansion.

I love movies so Universal Studios was my favorite place. The rides are all movie themed and characters roamed the zombie apocalypse decorated streets, stopping to pose for pictures with us. The Studio Tour ride was AWESOME (and worth the hour wait)! On it we saw how various special effects are created and saw sets and buildings from all kinds of movies and TV shows, including the house from Psycho and a complete Wisteria Lane from Desperate Housewives (one of my all time favorite shows), and lastly we went into a tunnel where King Kong attacked our tour bus in a 3D ride.

I had never been to Sea World before and had a blast at the Shamu Show! We sat in the "Soak Zone" and did get soaked, but we had a great view. I think that was the coldest day there and I spent the rest of the day wet and cold because of it, but it was still a fun experience to see the dolphin show and the huge penguin habitat (to name a few).

Our last adventure was Six Flags. It is one of Ryan's favorite amusement parks and I had never been. To make sure we got to do everything, we were there when they opened and paid extra for "Flash Passes" so we could cut to the front of lines and ride twice without getting off to wait in line again. We rode SO many roller coasters, one after another, that I got a headache and we had to sit for about an hour before we were ready to go again. Once it got dark, the park filled with scary looking clowns all resembling The Joker from Batman. We were too exhausted to wait in line to go through any haunted houses, but had fun watching people get scared by the Jokers sliding up behind them on tin knee pads!

Southern California, October 2011

October 2012

Our next "Last Vacation" was the following year, again in October. At this point I had been tracking my cycles for a year and a half and using ovulation predictor kits to time everything just right. This trip was a surprise for me for my 30th birthday. Ryan got us tickets to a 49ers game! The game was on a Thursday night and on my actual birthday! He gave me the tickets on Sunday and we left Tuesday. This was a shorter trip-we were only there for four days (2 full days)-but we managed to fill every minute of our time there. The first thing we did was a tour of Alcatraz on Wednesday morning. We took a ferry to the island and went on the audio tour. It was a little creepy, but so much fun to see a part of history. We spent the rest of the afternoon walking around Pier 39 looking at all the shops and had a late lunch overlooking the bay at Bubba Gump. Then we drove around just taking in the sites. San Francisco is such a cool city! We both loved it and would love to go back as often as we can.

The next day was game day. Before the game we decided to go to Muir Woods (the redwood forest). Driving across the Golden Gate Bridge for the first time was incredible! Ryan had even rented a convertible, so with the top down it was that much better. It was exciting to be on a bridge I had only seen in the movies (and of course on Full House). We did not realize just how far inland Muir Woods was, so by the time we got there we had about 15-20 minutes to walk around before we had to head back down to get to the game. The game itself was so much fun! I have been a 49ers fan since I was 8 years old and I am so glad I got to see a game at Candlestick Park before the team moves to the new stadium this fall. We had great seats and had such a great time! To make it even better the 49ers beat the Seahawks. This trip was definitely the best birthday present EVER!

San Francisco, October 2012

September 2013

Last fall we went to Houston for the first Texans home game of the season (and sadly, the last game they won last season...coincidence?) We had already met with our RE and were gearing up to do IVF soon. This was our second Houston trip together. Because Ryan grew up in The Woodlands, just north of Houston, we spent almost a week there. We stayed in the Woodlands for the first few days and met up with some of Ryan's old friends, went to the Texans Grille and a few of Ryan's old favorite hangouts. We even spent an afternoon in the hotel pool-we had it all to ourselves-then went to a friend's house to hang out on his patio in the country. We spent the second half of the trip at the Crowne Plaza across the street from Reliant Stadium. We drove down to Galveston for a day and walked on the beach then had lunch on the pier. We drove around looking at the historic homes and buildings. I loved Galveston...it's perfect little waterfront town. On the way back to Houston we stopped at Kema and rode the roller coaster and went on a speedboat ride (where we got SOAKED).

Our last day there was GAME DAY. We went to the game with a friend of Ryan's and his wife. Tailgating in Texas is like nothing I have ever seen! There are trailers and tents and smokers and big screens and flags--all things Texans. It is like a huge party spanning multiple huge parking lots and it is so much fun. We were there when the lots opened and walked around two separate lots taking in the scene and mingling with fans and friends. The game itself was a good one too. It was very close and even went into overtime. After the Texans beat the Titans, with the game winning touchdown pass caught in the end zone right in front of us, the place went crazy! Fans were chanting walking out and we even met up with a bunch of fans in the restaurant at our hotel after...it was a crazy high feeling!

Texas, September 2013

November and December 2013

The next trip was not planned. Ryan decided he really wanted to go to a Texans game so he started looking for a friend to go with him. He ended up taking my sister's husband, Brandon to Texas with him. He found a last minute deal on game tickets on eBay and booked their flights Thursday night right after inviting Brandon. They flew into Houston Saturday morning and went to the Sunday night prime time game. Brandon was blown away by the whole experience just like I was my first time in Houston. My sister and nieces spent the night at my house and we ordered take out and watched the game on TV (pausing it often to look for our husbands in the stands...they had front row seats). I went in for my hysteroscopy on Monday (the procedure my mom took me in for) and when I woke up Ryan called to say he was staying an extra day! I was mad, but decided to get even. So my sister and I started planning a getaway of our own. Ryan and Brandon spent their extra day touring NASA and even drove to Galveston and then Kema before heading back north to catch their plane.

Melissa and I took our girls (revenge) trip in December. We decided to go to Napa. I savored my time on this trip knowing that I would be doing IVF in a month (or so I thought). We spent the day we flew in in San Francisco. We watched the 49ers game at a local sports bar filled with 49ers fan then walked around Pier 39 watching the sea lions and shopping for souvenirs. Then we drove up to Napa in our rental: two blondes in a red Mustang convertible! We stayed at The Hennessey House: a charming bed and breakfast. We got there in time for the nightly wine tasting where we learned about the area and mingled with other guests, then walked down the street to a cute little Italian Restaurant for dinner. The next day we went on our wine tour with Platypus Tours. We toured 4 wineries, tasting a variety at each and learning so much! Our favorite winery was Hopper Creek. It was the most informative of all of them and so much fun. The next day we drove up to Calistoga, another cute little wine town. We wandered around and even stumbled upon a cute little museum with tons of Disney memorabilia. We shopped and ate lunch then drove back to Napa for the nightly wine tasting at our bed and breakfast. We met so many fun couples while we were there! Napa and the whole wine country region is beautiful and such a relaxing way to spend a few days-it's a vacation spot I highly recommend! The last day we went to Muir Woods on our way out of town to catch our plane home.

Houston/Napa, November/December 2013

January 2014

The last of our "Last Vacations" was another surprise for me. Ryan booked a vacation through a time share company (yes, we had to sit through a 2-hour presentation on our vacation). By now, IVF was scheduled and I had a medication schedule to follow. Ryan came home from work one day with roses and the receipt for the trip: 8 days in Florida including 3 days at Disney World, 2 days at Universal Studios and 1 day at Sea World! He got a killer deal; the only thing not included was airfare (which we shopped for all week until we got some cheap last minute tickets). Our "room" was bigger than our old two bedroom apartment! It had two bedrooms, two bathrooms a living room (with a sectional), dining area and kitchen. It even had a screened in patio and a full sized washer and dryer. And our bedroom/bathroom had a huge round bathtub in the middle of the room. With the deal Ryan got, this room was about half the price (or less) than any hotel we had ever stayed in!

We mixed things up and did something different every day. Disney World has four parks and we only had passes for 3 days, so we went to Hollywood Studios, then The Wild Animal Kingdom and The Magic Kingdom (We did not get to see Epcot, so we do need to go back some time). It was so much fun! We rode pretty much every ride at each park. And I FINALLY got to ride Pirates of the Caribbean! It was very impressive...I wanted to jump ship and go exploring!

Universal Studios is also two parks: Universal Studios and The Islands of Adventure. We spent a day Universal first (where we rode Ryan's favorite classic: The Simpson's Ride). We paid extra for the "Express Pass" (to skip the lines) and were glad we did. With the pass we ended up riding every ride at least once. The day we went to the Islands of Adventure was the coldest, rainiest day there. I have not read the Harry Potter books, but the Harry Potter area and ride are so cool. That was definitely the neatest area in the park, with Hogwart's castle and snow capped buildings everywhere-it was like a cute little village. Because of the weather the park was slow, so we rode all of our favorite rides twice and the Hulk roller coaster 3 times (we love our roller coasters)!

This trip to Sea World was different than the first time. (First, no Orca shows because of construction on the arenas to meet new regulations that require trainers and whales to be separated). We still watched a dolphin show and saw the penguins and other sea creatures, but rode LOTS of rides on this trip. After waiting over an hour to ride a cheesy penguin ride, we decided to pay for the "Quick Queue" (again, a pass to skip the lines). We rode every ride and the roller coasters each at least twice. Sea World definitely had the best coasters!

After all of this we decided we needed more time. We booked our room for an extra three days and changed our flight...after all, this was our last trip before IVF which was scheduled for the end of February. I even started my injections on this vacation! Our extra days allowed us to drive down to Kenansville to Wild Florida and take an airboat ride where we saw all kinds of birds and a whole bunch of alligators just hanging out in the wild! We also visited the wildlife park, but the airboat ride was definitely the highlight (I think this might have been Ryan's favorite part of the trip!)

From there we drove to The Villages (the biggest and funnest retirement community I have ever seen!) where we spent the night with my Great Aunt June and Uncle Wes (June is my grandma Charlotte's younger sister. Because my grandma passed away before I was born, June has always been the closest thing to a grandma to me and a sort of surrogate mother to my dad in his adult life). I had not seen them in years and it was so great to catch up and introduce them to Ryan! They took us to one of the city's three town squares where they had live music, drinks and booths with art, jewelry, everything! It was a blast and apparently goes on almost every night! Those seniors definitely know how to have a good time! We went to dinner on our way back to their house and then spent the night there.

We felt like we had to really live it up in Florida, because it is so far that we might not be back anytime soon. We only ate at restaurants we don't have in Utah and even went to a Pirate themed Dinner Theater Show (where we were both brought up to participate). We even watched the Super Bowl at a restaurant called Twin Peaks...it was the first time I have ever watched a Super Bowl at a restaurant, let alone had to make a reservation in advance to see a football game on TV! Overall, this whole trip was a great way to celebrate our life together as a twosome. I feel like we had some once in a lifetime experiences and I will treasure the memories of all of our vacations for years to come!

Florida, January 2014

Weekend Getaways

Besides the big "Last Vacations" we also have taken many weekend trips to visit our close-by family since we started trying to get pregnant (and several before). We try to visit Ryan's parents in St. George 4 times a year, including a week at Christmas time. We always have a great time and treasure the childless time we have with them: we can go to movies, restaurants and even went to a fundraiser auction once; all things that are not as easy to do with several kids in tow. We play cards and often get to see other family while we are there.

St. George, 2011-2014

We also go to Idaho quite often, where until a couple years ago we could visit both of his grandmas and my grandma and grandpa in one trip. I liked to call it the "Tri-Cities Grandmas Trip" because we could see my grandparents in Idaho Falls, one of Ryan's Grandmas in Rigby and the other in Rexburg. Ryan's Rigby grandma's health is declining so she is now in a nursing home in St. George and my grandpa passed away in February, so Idaho is not as happy a place as it once was. We still try to go twice a year to see the two remaining grandmas (sometimes we catch Ryan's when she visits St. George too). We will go there for Labor Day with my whole family for as long as my grandma and aunts are living there...that is a family tradition.

Idaho, 2011-2014

I hope we are able to have children soon enough that they will have the opportunity to meet our grandparents (Ryan has both grandmas and I have my grandma and one grandpa in Las Vegas). I am also excited to watch our parents interact with our kids and spoil them the way grandparents do. The close trips to visit family will probably replace the big vacations when we have little babies. All of our vacations without kids have been so fun and I am so glad that I have had the opportunity to see so many places and do so many things (we vacation so well), but we cannot wait to take our kids on family vacations someday! We are going to have so much fun going to theme parks when we have excited little kids to help boost our own childlike excitement! I cannot wait!