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I was hoping to get this post up last week, but life. So it’s happening now and I’m excited. Honestly, our trip to Arizona was exactly what we needed and if I’m being even more honest, we kind of fell in love with Arizona even more than we already had been before.

There’s something about taking time, just you and your people, spending it in the sunshine and making zero plans. Yep, you read that right. We, I mean, me, THE CRAZY OCD PLANNER, didn’t make a single plan. We went with our hotel reservations and left it 100% open to just go with the flow and do whatever each day. And again, guys, it was so good.

So let’s chat about all the things we ended up doing, where we stayed and then what we traveled with/brought on the plane for the kids. Because those are the highly requested questions.

ARIZONA FAMILY ACTIVITIES

• OdySea Aquarium – we did this last time we were there with just Blake and it didn’t disappoint again. The rules were 6 and older had to wear a mask, so neither kid had to but Marcus and I did. The aquarium is so fun though, tons to do and HUGE.
• Butterfly Wonderland – this attraction, again we did before, but is honestly really fun to do as an adult too. You get to go into this huge greenhouse thing and it’s FULL of butterflies, I mean thousands. It’s spectacular and Blake loved it. Nash was kind of over it but thought it was cool to run around. Haha!
• Pangea Restaurant: We ate here after the aquarium and Butterfly museum and it was pretty good. They didn’t have a ton of GF options, so forewarning there. But the kids though it was cool because there were dinosaurs everywhere.

Honestly, there are a ton more activities to do and I wrote about them in a past post, here, when we did more but this time that was all we did and the rest of the time we hung out at the resort which is what I will talk about next.

WHERE WE STAYED

We stayed at the Fairmont Princess Scottsdale resort and honestly, I can’t recommend it enough. It can be pricey, but check their package page and priceline because you can find deals there. However, there is so much to do at this resort it was incredible.

We went during their Winter Carnival (which is new apparently and you’ll have to check the dates to see when it ends, etc.). But it was so much fun. When you book with them you automatically get in, but I think you can pay to go if you just live there and want to one night. It happens during the evening and they have an ice skating area, a full little spot with a maze and rides and a kid’s ride area. We spent most nights here and Blake and Nash loved it. Marcus and I even got to do ax throwing at it!

They also have delicious food here and I highly recommend you pick a day and rent a cabanna at one of their pools (there are literally like seven pools to choose from). We ate at La Hacienda one night (make reservations) and their chips and guac was INCREDIBLE. We also had their restaurant the Ironwood Kitchen a few times with room service and at the pool and it was equally as delicious. Not to mention, they have lots of allergy friendly options so that was nice for my DF/GF self!

Now let’s chat about the travel part…

TRAVELING WITH THE KIDS

So I am not going to sugarcoat this part at all. 3 out of 4 of our flights were ROUGH with Nash. We brought snacks for days, activities and everything in between and while those definitely helped (so bring those) it was still hard. Nash is active and he doesn’t want to just be forced to sit down and be held. So I think this was the problem. Blake wasn’t this way as a baby and honestly when we flew with her, she would color, eat snacks, drink a bottle, watch shows, whatever and was chill. She did the same thing this time, but now she’s almost 6..haha! So she knows better and is happy with an iPad and snacks.

With Nash we came pretty dang prepared. Like I said we had snacks, a bottle, drinks, activities, cars, his favorite movie downloaded on the iPad #morecars. (Which side note make sure you DOWNLOAD the movies to the iPad so they work in the sky 😉 ) And well, he wasn’t into any of it. He wanted to walk up and down the aisles….and thank gosh, everyone was SO nice and patient with us and him. Delta y’all, swear by them. I’ve had only mainly good experiences with their crews. So once we were up in the air and at cruising altitude, we let him walk around by us and drive his Cars on the empty seats, it was what it was.

Long story short, just prepare to roll with it if you have a little like Nash and know it’s probably not going to go perfectly or easy but most people are kind and helpful.

I will say though (and to finish this little section off), the travel stroller we bought, I’ll link it, here – WAS INCREDIBLE and worth the money. Your guy’s recommendations were spot on with that thing.

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Now, last but not least – links for swimsuits and the outfits we wore! Just scroll with the arrows to see them all and click the pics to shop.