A couple weeks ago my husband, little girl and I went on vacation. Our first stop was to Portland, Maine and then we drove down to New York to spend some time with our family. I wanted to share a few things from our trip and a few things I took away from it. It gets a little lengthy, but I always want to remember how I felt on this trip and it was just what my heart needed.
1.Always double check at airports: our travel day was going to be a long one to begin with, starting in AZ and ending on the other side of the country in Maine. We really weren’t the best travelers that day. We parked in a lot that was a 20 minute walk to the terminal and the line to check in was so long. We finally got checked in and up to security and my husband noticed the lady checking our bags didn’t hand us my boarding pass. With about 15 minutes until take off, I literally dropped all my stuff and SPRINTED back to ticketing, cutting the whole line and knocking over a barricade. I was hitting the buttons on the screen so frantic, when I finally got my boarding pass I sprinted back to security to be greeted by my daughter crying for me since I left in a panic. Finally we made it to our gate in time, took off and landed in Chicago in terminal C. Our boarding passes for our next flight told us our flight would take off from terminal F. So without looking at a information board we walked all the way to terminal F (literally a mile away) and carrying a 30 pound baby on my hip. We get to the gate about 10 minutes before boarding and the sign says Pensacola, Florida. Panic! I looked at the board and it says our flight leaves from B28! B! And I’m in F with ten minutes to spare! Running through the airport, still with a 30 pound baby on my hip(she thought it was hilarious), get to our gate and they’re calling for us over the intercom! Thankfully Jesus gave us traveling mercies that day! Check your tickets, check the boards and bring a stroller! At least she got some fries to make it better. 
2.Good friends are everything: we went to Maine to visit our very good friends who was my husband college roommate and his wife. Whenever we are with them we laugh so much. They showed us all around Portland, which is so cute and took us to the best restaurants. The time spent with them was so refreshing and the best laughs. Hopefully someday we can spend our summers there! #shouldhavebroughtafootball
3.Beauty in the rain: we had mostly beautiful weather in Maine but there was one day that it was rainy and freezing for this Arizona girl. Our friends had to work that day so my husband, little girl and I walked around downtown Portland. And by walked I mean walked in 40 degree rain and wind. We hopped from coffee shop to coffee shop and ended up still having a great time, just a little cold! I don’t think I’ll ever forget the comfort I felt at breakfast just taking in our time together, we ordered breakfast sandwiches, a donut and coffee and my little girl sat in the booth with me hugging me, probably wanting my donut. And also ran into these beautiful flowers in the rain that made it even better. 
4.Road trips are fun: at the end of our time in Maine we drove down to NY to be with family. The drive was 8 hours and at first I was scared to drive that long with a 1 1/2 year old but it turned out to be some of my favorite time on the trip. We first stopped in Portsmouth, NH to have breakfast and walk around. The town was so charming! We drove a few more hours and randomly decided to stop in my husbands favorite town, Cooperstown, NY. We grabbed a quick slice of pizza at his favorite pizza place and walked around the Baseball Hall if Fame for a few minutes. We had about 45 minutes total there but it was so fun. I’ll never forget it.
5.Donuts: also, couldn’t forget to mention that donuts made with mashed potatoes are about the best thing I’ve ever had! 
Before my vacation I will admit that I was a little stressed out inside. I was scared of the long plane ride. Worried my daughter wouldn’t have her bad and Scared to drive 8 hours with a toddler but looking back at it it was one of the best times I have had. I’m so thankful for all these blessing from this trip and tuck them away! 