Camping at Big Chief RV Resort and Other Things

January 31, 2023 by Monica Brown in camping, Fun with kids, photography, travel

This one time (just this Fall) we decided to go see an off market house with land real quick before leaving to go camping and then put an offer in on it and had it accepted and then we decided we’d rent our old house instead of selling it and that I’d get a job after 6 years of being a stay at home mom (because 2 mortgages) all in the same 60 days. It was wild.

I didn’t take a ton of pictures on that camping trip, but the ones I did take were definitely calm moments I took just for me. I remember being at peace and trusting that whatever was about to happen, was what was supposed to happen. We waited that entire trip to hear back about whether our not our offer was accepted. I’m currently typing all of this in my new office, which has a front porch view of the tree swing I’ve always wanted.

Buchanan Dam just around the corner from Big Chief RV Resort

looking out onto the lake from Big Chief RV Resort

Saida and her cousin doing a little exploring/probably trespassing. My nephew thanked me for taking them on this adventure.

Where did we camp?

Big Chief RV Resort Now referred to as lake buchanan rv resort

Well, we tried to get into Inks Lake State Park, but we were a little late to the game. We ended up at Big Chief RV Resort on Lake Buchanan instead. We were actually pretty excited about it though because Facebook says good things.

Would I recommend it?

It’s a nice RV park. I would recommend it if you don’t have kids. I would NOT recommend it if you have kids who even considered having any kind of fun in a pool ever. A simple “No Fun Allowed” sign probably would have made more sense because every time a kid so much as smiled, the staff was there on the golf cart correcting the behavior. And honestly, we have good kids. They’re not the kids you’re thinking of when you think of terrors at the community pool so the whole thing just felt a little over the top. We watched the staff target all campsites with children. On the plus side, they didn’t have an issue with my super well behaved dog being off leash, but maybe that’s because they were too focused on my well behaved kids to even notice the dog.

So yeah, I’ll just leave that there and then encourage you to book early enough to get into the state park instead.

Around Camp

Tracks we found while exploring one morning.

Texas/OU weekend. We finally installed that TV mount in the pass through.

The kids watching Diary of a Wimpy Kid at one of our camp sites and learning about the cheese touch.

Smiling at their own risk. I’m sure the fun police showed up within minutes after this.

What else did we do?

The Pottery Ranch

We visited their Marble Falls location while on an outing with the ladies. It was a great place to kill some time and enjoy each other’s company. Outside is covered in an abundance of pottery and inside is everything from leather purses to Mexican vanilla. I bought the big bottle and joked with Tyler about buying this sign (which I believe was $200). I didn’t though. Don’t forget to show them the free pot coupon on their website.

Wedding oak winery

After the Pottery Ranch, us ladies stopped by a local winery for a tasting at the recommendation of a neighbor friend of mine. The building was very cool with a fun history and us dry red wine lovers loved our tasting. The others weren’t as keen on it as the sweeter wines were apparently a little over the top in sweetness. Of course we still enjoyed each other’s company and the overpriced cheese plates. My suggestion is get lunch before you go.

Longhorn Cavern state park

Longhorn Cavern is just a few miles from Inks lake State Park and maybe 20 minutes from where we camped. We’d been there before when the kids were younger, but thought this might be a fun activity for the extended cousins. It takes about 90 minutes to complete the guided tour and the kids actually loved it. Corbin and one of his cousins he’d only just met were great entertainment as they had approximately 100 ridiculous questions for the guide and claimed things like having been to the moon. I just loved that they had a great time and didn’t make our lives miserable in place where there was no escape for 90 minutes. I take my wins where I can get them. It’s a great cave tour, especially on a hot day. I highly recommend.

Okay so now about that move…

So basically we’ve been looking for our next house since we bought the last one. We knew it wasn’t our forever house, but it was the house we needed at the time.

When we saw the previous owners of our new house post about it on the Nextdoor app, we decided to go see it simply because the price was right. The pictures were terrible and I honestly thought we were going to have another walk in, be underwhelmed, walk out type situation. We walked in the front door for our showing and I was immediately kinda stunned. Did it need some updating? Yes!!! Did it have high ceilings and loads of potential with fantastic trees? Also YES! I turned to my fabulous realtor and told her we were buying this house. We continued to walk it waiting for the deal breaker to show up and it never did. It felt too good to be true.

Turns out the owners just wanted it to go to a family who they thought would value the home and give it what it needed. It belonged to his mother who had passed over the summer and they just live a few minutes away in the same neighborhood. They liked us and we liked them. We were incredibly lucky. It’s already received a ton of love from us in the form of lots of gallons of paint, lots of hours on the chainsaw, among other things. Did I mention it’s 2 acres? Our previous house was less than 1/4 acre.

Our lender also held our hands as we explored the idea of keeping our old home to rent it out. It was a chore, but I just received payment for the second month’s rent from our renters (who also seem to be really awesome people and we’re thrilled to have them living in our house).

This has definitely been one of the most challenging and terrifying experiences of our lives, but one that we knew would pay off years from now if we saw it through. Wish us luck!

By the way, here’s that tree swing I was referring to.

Family Vacation in Yellowstone National Park and Jackson Hole

August 16, 2022 by Monica Brown in travel, photography, personal, Fun with kids, Family

Don’t worry, I’m going to tell you where/when to find that herd of Bison somewhere in this blog post. It’s kind of unreal.

Here’s a super quick run down of our trip itinerary

Monday: Fly out of Austin to Bozeman, rent a car, hit up Walmart, drive to Canyon Village in Yellowstone via the West Yellowstone Entrance because flooded took out the North Entrance, check in and eat dinner with the extended fam.

Tuesday: Back toward the west side of the park to see Old Faithful and and everything in between Old Faithful and Canyon Village that caught our attention, ate dinner as an extended family again.

Wednesday: North from Canyon Village around the Grand Loop to Mammoth Hot Springs and everywhere in between, out to West Yellowstone for decent food and ice cream, and back to Canyon Village and a little beyond where we finally found those Bison.

Thursday: Grand Canyon of Yellowstone South Rim, Drive to the Lake, Wildlife, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone North Rim, and our last dinner in the park and the first somewhat decent food in the park.

Friday: Drive to Jackson Hole from Yellowstone, go whitewater rafting, eat at two Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives restaurants, explore the square.

Saturday: Jackson Hole back to Bozeman via Idaho, fly back to Austin, but not without plane issues.

Sunday: Drive home from Austin airport. There wasn’t supposed to be a Sunday.

Austin > Denver > Bozeman

Our flights are always way too early. I actually booked a decent flight, but it got cancelled and we got moved to an earlier one so we had the kids up and ready to leave the house at 4AM. Sorry kids, it’s worth it, I promise.

Austin Airport

The Austin Airport is decent by comparison from what I can tell. I love how our eateries are set up. It’s so Austin (in a good way) and it just seems like more of an experience than other airports. The downside is when you leave that early, not a lot of things are open. You can always count on Salt Lick at that time for breakfast tacos though.

TSA has a bad reputation in Austin for taking way too much time, but we got through security pretty quick so I personally can’t complain about that.

Denver Airport

Our view of nothing in Denver

Only one of my children has ever done a layover and she wasn’t even 1 year old yet so she doesn’t remember. This was kind of their first. Luckily it was just enough time to do lunch, play a few games on Kindles and then we were on our way again. The sucky thing is we had a view of flat land from our gate. I was hoping for something a little more Colorado-ish. We could have been anywhere based on the view. We stayed in the same terminal, but I hear it’s kind of a pain to get around if you have to switch. Our terminal seemed nice other than the view.

The Flight from Denver to Bozeman

I prefer the window seat for trips like this, but for the sake of happy children (which is priority number 1 when flying) I didn’t have it. Saida did and once we started seeing some things, she was impressed. We flew over Yellowstone at one point. I pointed out the lake and the Grand Tetons off in the distance. I had no idea we’d see this so well from the plane. She hugged me and thanked me for bringing here there before we could even get back on land. This was the perfect hype flight. I may or may not have been holding back big emotions.

The Bozeman airport is small, but beautiful. It’s got a lodge feel complete with a beautiful gas fire pit. The view didn’t suck either. It’s so small that there are only about 3 options for food. I want to say it’s 14 gates and Southwest only has 2 of them. Things seem to run a little behind here in general, but our baggage claim experience and rental car experience were some of the smoothest we’ve ever had.

Rental Car Tip

Costco. I love Costco for all of the things, but 9 times out of 10 they are my best deal on a rental car. Also be super kind to the counter person so you can casually ask what your options are on cars. They had 3 in our category and we got to choose which one we wanted.

Here’s our rental car at the top of Mount Washburn

How we did Food and Groceries

So the thing about staying at a hotel in Yellowstone National Park is the refrigerator fits almost nothing and there is no microwave. You’re prohibited from cooking anything so as you might imagine, things can get pretty expensive in terms of food, if you let it.

Tips

Check a cooler (or rent one when you get there, but that’s expensive and checking my RTIC soft side {affiliate link} was free on Southwest)
Hit up Walmart or another grocery store before getting to Yellowstone
Buy mostly things that don’t require refrigeration

We weren’t the healthiest on this trip. I’m sure we could have done better, but it’s vacation and we embraced it. I intermittent fast so my lack of breakfast and lunch wasn’t effected.

Also, is that not the nicest looking Walmart you’ve ever seen? It just blends right in with the mountains.

Breakfast: Premade muffins and donut holes from the Walmart Bakery

Lunch: Peanut butter and jelly sandwiches and room temp spaghettios out of the can

Snacks: Chips, beef jerky, squeeze apple sauce and yogurts, mandarin oranges, granola bars, nuts

Other things: Water, wine, wine opener because the screw top red wines were a higher price point and the opener was less than dollar, Gatorade packets, plastic cups, plastic cutlery, ziplock bags, paper towels, trash bags, and other things of that nature.

Dinner: We ate all dinners out.

Bozeman > Yellowstone

Ok, so that once in 500 year flood happened less than 2 months before our trip. Typically when you fly into Bozeman and you’re staying in Canyon Village, you would enter the park via the North Entrance. It was a no go. The road along the Yellowstone River at the North Entrance was destroyed and likely can’t be rebuilt in the same place due to the river now having moved as part of this whole flood process. I have a feeling it’ll be years before that entrance is right.

This meant we would enter though the West Entrance in West Yellowstone and honestly I was excited for the drive. A little research told me we’d be taking Hwy 191 along the Gallatin River through a canyon where the movie A River Runs Through It was filmed. It’s considered a scenic highway and I’m always down for a canyon drive along a beautiful river dotted with fly fisherman and whitewater rafts. It didn’t disappoint. The kids however were exhausted and missed all my favorite parts along the way. I don’t remember exactly how long it took us to get to Canyon Village from Bozeman, but I would say somewhere between 2 and 2 and a half hours. Not bad.

Basically your route is Bozeman to Big Sky to West Yellowstone and then on in to the National Park. I bought our entrance pass for Yellowstone online before we entered the canyon because cell/internet service is pretty spotty once you leave Bozeman. I also saved the pass to my photos because it’s not a whole lot better at the entrance to Yellowstone.

They didn’t even make it out of Bozeman. I guess that’s what happens when you wake up at 4AM.

We may have technically been in a corner of Yellowstone at this point

Favorite picture from day one. Somewhere between the West Entrance and Canyon Village.

Yellowstone National Park

I’m not sure how to break this down in a way that makes the most sense. I think I’ll go day by day and tell you which direction we went from Canyon Village and what we saw. Keep in mind we only had 3 full days so we hit some highlights and felt like we saw what we needed to see, but we could have spent way more time. Let’s start with Canyon Village info first though.

Canyon Village

We stayed in Canyon Village. It’s the largest of all the lodging areas in all of Yellowstone. The lodges we stayed in were built in 2016 so semi new. There is also a campground across the street from where we stayed, a gas station at the corner, and a dining/shopping area adjacent.

Canyon Lodge and Cabins

We booked a Deluxe Porch New Lodge Room. It’s not as fancy as it sounds, trust me, but it did come with a price tag to match the title. It’s not cheap to stay here, but you are in the park. Everything seemed clean, but we slept terrible because there is no A/C. Also as previously mentioned there is no microwave and the mini fridge really is the tiniest kind of mini fridge. There is also no TV, if that’s your thing, but I didn’t miss it. As long as you’re prepared, the only thing that is really an issue is that lack of A/C at night.

Watch out for Canyon Carl. He’s a bison that likes to hang out along the path over to the shopping/dining area and also seems to prefer chilling in the shade of Hayden Lodge in the afternoons.

Let’s talk about the Shopping/Dining situation at Canyon Village. There are a few gift shops, a couple restaurants, a general store, and outdoor store, a visitor center, and a hut for renting bear spray. It’s a great little area. The problem is the food isn’t great.

Canyon Eatery

Let me preface this by saying we were in the park shortly after the flood and they did have supply issues. Canyon Eatery sucks. They have some grab and go options that are just okay and then two different lines you can stand in for food. The first night I had a chili dog which I’m convinced is the best thing on their menu. It’s just hard to mess up a chili dog. Everyone else was super put off by their meal. They next day we tried the other line which leans more Asian in flavors and it was just lacking in flavor and most had beef that was tough and hard to chew. We weren’t expected amazing food in the park, but this one was just not good at all. If you don’t have to eat here, I wouldn’t.

Canyon Fountain and Grill

We would have eaten here every night, but they close at 5pm and we only made it back to Canyon Village on time one night. They have burgers and typical American food including a bison burger. It was actually decent. Turns out it’s ran by a different company than the other and it’s obvious. You won’t be blown away, but you won’t feel like you totally wasted your money and your calories either.

Shops

Each area has it’s own General Store and gift shops. Most of the stuff is the same, but there is a slight variation at each one. I think we went to most of them while we were there.

Day 1 Things including old faithful and grand prismatic spring

Full day number 1 felt like a good day to get in the things we most wanted/felt like we needed to see when in Yellowstone. Old Faithful and Grand Prismatic Spring are pretty close to each other on the west side of the park so we woke up and headed back west for the day.

We felt so lucky to see our first bison of the trip as we got closer to Old Faithful. He was just chilling on the side of the road and little did I know this would not be the highlight of my bison seeing. Not even close. More on where to find the herds later.

Old Faithful

We learned that Yellowstone has over 500 geysers in the park (that’s more than half of the geysers in the entire world), however only 6 of them are predictable. Old Faithful got it’s name because they can predict this one down to about 10 minutes based on stats from the previous eruption. Who knew? There’s a visitor’s center / museum at Old Faithful that gives some interactive information and lets you know when to expect the next eruption. You just walk out the back door of the visitor’s center and there she is. People line the boardwalk surrounding the geyser as the predicted time get closer and then they all ooh and awe as it starts to do it’s thing. It’s weird. I find the entire thermal feature aspect of Yellowstone to just be very weird. I guess that’s what happens when you’re standing on a super volcano.

Midway Geyser Basin and Grand Prismatic Spring

How is this place even real? Grand Prismatic Spring just doesn’t seem natural at all. In that first picture you can even see the aqua colored steam rising up. It’s nuts. The best part is watching the light change. As the sun gets brighter, the colors get more vibrant and saturated. Grand Prismatic Spring is a bit mind blowing.

There’s a parking lot on the Old Faithful side of Grand Prismatic Spring. That’s is where you take the trail for the overlook, if you’re wanting to do the overlook. We just did the boardwalk along Grand Prismatic Spring.

Looking across the Firehole River up towards Midway Geyser Basin. You can see aqua colored steam rising from Grand Prismatic Spring.

Opal Pool. This one is actually an unfaithful geyser. Not sure when it last erupted though.

Fountain Paint Pots and Norris Geyser Basin

If we were to start a list of things I never need to see again in Yellowstone, put both Norris Geyser Basin and the Fountain Paint Pots on it. For real. You got this place that’s amazingly beautiful and then there’s this spot (or couple of spots) that just kind of looks like the end of the world. I tried to take some cool pictures of the things that did catch my eye, but basically unless you’re into bubbling pits of mud, it’s just a no. I’m not upset I saw it, I just didn’t need to hang out for more than a quick look.

Day 2 Things including Mount Washburn, Tower Fall, Mammoth Hot Spring. and West Yellowstone

Canyon Village to Mount Washburn

From Canyon Village we headed north on day two. We reached the highest drivable elevation in all of Yellowstone and saw a totally different side of the park (literally and figuratively). The drive north in the early morning light was quite breathtaking. You don’t make it real far before you find awe inspiring overlooks and you kind of want to stop for every single one between Canyon Village and Mount Washburn. I think we stopped at most.

Just a few minutes up the road from Canyon Village

Overlook between Canyon Village and Mount Washburn

Tower Fall

Tower Fall flows into the Yellowstone River. The trail from the fall says there is no river access, but what they really mean is the trail is not maintained all the way to the river. You can absolutely get down there and we did. The walk to the Tower Fall overlook is very accessible. The walk down to the river is steep and a bit more challenging.

The Petrified Tree

I did not photograph this. In fact I was pretty unimpressed with this stop and it was quick because nobody in our group was that interested. We didn’t even get out of the car. After this though, Saida asked me what petrified means. I gave her a quick explanation that was probably terrible and we agreed to look up more information about this tree when we had internet access again. We had lots of time in Las Vegas on the way home due to one of our planes engines experiencing some issues so we looked it up. I learned that this tree was entombed over 50 million years ago. 50 MILLION YEARS! I had a little more respect for that damn tree after reading that. Makes 37 years seem quite small.

Mammoth Hot Springs

The town of Mammoth Hot Springs is interesting. Next to it is an old Army fort which now is used as staff housing and then there are more private residences mixed in with the Mammoth Hot Springs parking areas. I’m pretty sure I’d be pissed if I ended up with the house next to the bathroom parking lot, but that’s just me.

The hot springs themselves have different terraces and we kind of wished we started walking from the upper terrace parking area instead of from down below. We were more interested in the areas where water currently flows and we less impressed with the cooled areas where water flowed in the past.

The kids hit up the General store and gift shop when we were done for some ice cream and on our way we went.

West Yellowstone

THE FOOD IN THE PARK IS TERRIBLE! At this point we felt we were far enough away from Canyon Village and close enough to West Yellowstone (just outside the park) that maybe we could get a decent dinner. West Yellowstone has it’s own section after day 3 things so skip ahead if you want that now or just wait.

Back to Canyon Village and Where we Found That Bison Herd

Our hope on the way back from West Yellowstone was that it would be late enough in the day for wildlife to be moving around a bit more. We stopped for a couple wildlife sightings between West Yellowstone and Canyon Village including this (now unimpressive) Elk sighting turned adorable duck family sighting.

Hayden Valley

From there we made it all the way back to Canyon Village with no wildlife sightings. How disappointing. It was starting to get dark, but we got a tip that if we head south towards the lake a little bit, people often see elk and bison in Hayden Valley. This tip did not disappoint. Actually Hayden Valley needs it’s own section of blog post for all the bison pictures I ended up getting there over the remainder of the trip. But here are a couple from that night until you get there.

Day 3 Things including Yellowstone Lake, Grand Canyon of Yellowstone, and the Upper and Lower Falls

If you skipped ahead to West Yellowstone then you know we paid to see bears in captivity on day 2. Turns out you just have to pay to see bears in order to actually see one in the wild. Almost as soon as we left our hotel on day three we spotted this little bear on the side of the road. It’s actually a black bear even though it’s not black. They refer to them as cinnamon bears and I think that’s adorable.

I actually had a better angle set up for this shot, but some really horrible man stepped in front of me nearly knocking my camera out of my hands to steal my shot. He was a real gem of a guy. Probably the same kind of dude you’d see blocking himself from danger using a child.

South Rim Upper Falls View

South Rim Artist Point

It’s hard to believe these next two pictures are at the same location at the same time of day, but they are. Look one way and you get the first photo. Look the other way and you get the second. The Grand Canyon of Yellowstone is gorgeous.

There’s also a trail at Artist Point that goes to Ribbon Lake, but we only walked it for a few minutes. Our agenda for the day felt big and it was time to move on.

Mud Volcano

Add Mud Volcano to the list of places I also never need to see or smell again. The one good thing that came from there was this interesting picture of something beautiful just beyond the awfulness that is Mud Volcano.

Elk Sighting at Bridge Bay Marina

We found two bull elks at a Marina off of Bridge Bay. I got a little adventurous for this shot meaning I got closer than I probably should have, but he’s a beauty.

Lunch at Steamboat Point Picnic Area on Yellowstone Lake

Hell of a picnic spot, don’t you think? This is off of East Entrance Road and it was beautiful. We stopped here for lunch and then headed back to explore the North Rim .

North Rim Brink of Upper Falls

North Rim Lookout Point to Inspiration Point

Wildlife Drive

We did a little more driving around to try to find wildlife after dinner on day three and it was mostly disappointing. Just before we got back to Canyon Village though I got what is probably a once in a lifetime shot of not only one, but two bull elk on top of a hill. We held up traffic and I shot these from the car. At first I only saw the one and the moment Tyler told me there were two and I got them in my frame, I nearly died. I won’t ever forget that moment.

West Yellowstone

I’m really not kidding when I say the food really is terrible in the park. We kind of wanted to do West Yellowstone during the planning phase, but it wasn’t an absolute must. At this point we were like let’s go see if we can find some decent food and maybe guarantee a bear sighting by seeing them in captivity. Also we had a birthday just before vacation and one just after so West Yellowstone was kind of our celebration moment.

Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center

My mother in law really wanted to take the kids to the Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center. It’s pretty small, but nice and they’re currently working on a new bear enclosure. I’m hoping this means future guests will get to see more bears. Currently their bears take turns in the bear enclosure. We had a ton of fun watching them play and maybe one of my favorite things was the ground squirrels. They’re so full of energy and personality and they’re super cute.

The Grizzly and Wolf Discovery Center is pretty much at the park entrance. Once you hit the light heading out of the park, it’s just to your left. I would definitely recommend it for young kids.

Three Bear Restaurant

Honestly I think I probably ordered the wrong thing, but it wasn’t bad. Everyone seemed to like their meal, but at this point it didn’t take much to improve upon what we’d had for the two nights prior.

My favorite thing is when there is a decent kids menu because I can enjoy almost anything as long as those kids are happy. They were happy. One had the Bison Burger and the other had been dying for pasta that didn’t come out of a can.

Espresso West (Coffee and Ice Cream)

Espresso West is a little coffee and ice cream trailer we found walking around West Yellowstone. The ice cream looked legit and the prices were more than reasonable (probably nearly half the price compared to what they sell if for in the park and it’s the same ice cream). They serve Wilcoxson’s Ice Cream and as someone who is partial to Bluebell, I really really liked it. I’d buy it, if they sold it in Texas next to Bluebell. My Texan card might get suspended for this review actually.

Hayden Valley

The not so secret secret spot we found the bison herd. Turns out the bison come to Hayden Valley for mating season so I think I read that’s July through September maybe. That one bison is definitely putting out the vibe in the first picture. Hayden Valley used to actually be part of the Yellowstone Lake forever ago, but now it’s just prime wildlife viewing ground and I think we were the only ones who didn’t know. Photographers and tourists are lined up at each pull out taking photos and getting entirely too close to the largest native mammal in all of North America. I now understand how all of the bison attacks happen every year. This place is wild.

Jackson Hole

This was not part of our original plan. When Yellowstone flooded we started to get a little more creative with how we wanted to do things. My brother in law and sister in law really wanted to go white water rafting and we kinda did too. We decided to nix our last night in Yellowstone in exchange for a night in Jackson Hole with a little white water rafting and a couple of Diners, Drive-in’s, and Dives restaurants because, let’s face it, we needed some good food.

Where we stayed

The Parkway Inn is just a few blocks from the square in Jackson Hole. It’s was quaint and adorable and I’d definitely stay there again. It’s not cheap, but nothing is in Jackson Hole and it was only a few more dollars than what we were paying in the park. We just had a standard room and my only complaint was the bathroom is a bit small and awkward.

Jackson Hole White Water

Honestly we chose Jackson Hole White Water because we didn’t have to pay adult price for the kids and the rafts were big enough that they wouldn’t have to row. We had a great experience. Our Guide was Eric and he was entertaining and, more importantly, knowledgeable about rafting.

We did the 8 Mile Whitewater trip on the Snake River and we’d definitely do it again. The kids LOVED it.

And let’s take a moment to appreciate the moment we’ll NEVER stop talking about. I don’t know those people, but man I’m so glad there were photographers on the side of the river to capture that one rapid. Thank you Snake River Photo.

Where we ate

From what I can tell Guy Fieri is a big fan of Jackson Hole and we’re kind of fans of Guy Fieri and the Food Network in general. The kids think it’s cool to eat at some of the places they’ve seen on TV and so do I. We did two different Diners, Drive-in’s, and Dives Restaurants while in Jackson Hole.

Pinky G’s Pizzeria

Pinky G’s is near the square so it was a super quick walk from our hotel. It has a super cool garage vibe going on and you just kind of feel cool while you’re there. Guy had The Funky Chicken and even created his own pie during the recording of the show. We stuck with The Funky Chicken since we’re not blue cheese fans though. It was a solid pizza. I can’t complain, but I will say it’s not the best pizza I’ve ever had.

Sidewinders

Sidewinders was super convenient because it was directly across the street from my in-law’s hotel and next-door to where we got on the bus for white water rafting. Guy ate the French onion soup, chicken pot pie, and a pretzel. I ate the chicken pot pie. It was good. Again, maybe not the best pot pie I’ve ever had, but solid.

My Brother-in-law had the pizza at Sidewinders. He’s a pizza guy. He preferred the pizza at Sidewinders to the pizza he had at Pinky G’s.

On the square

I’m guessing no trip to Jackson Hole is complete without a little stroll around the square. We ate, we shopped, and then we stopped for ice cream. We wanted to get ice cream at Moo’s Gourmet Ice Cream, but the line was out the door and we were pushing it on getting the kids to bed. We just did the Haagen Dazs instead. Corbin found a bison he could actually touch and hug (because we kept thinking those poor misunderstood bison could probably use a hug). It was a great evening and the perfect way to end out trip.

Jackson Hole > Bozeman

I’m not real sure actually, but I think that’s Jackson Hole down there in this first picture. Driving back to Bozeman from Jackson Hole to catch a plane isn’t ideal (I mean it’s 4 hours in addition to your airport/plane time), but I don’t regret this decision. We didn’t drive back through the park. We opted to go the Idaho route instead. It’s faster and we were curious.

Idaho is a mixed bag though. It’s like one minute it just looks like Wyoming or Montana and the next minute you are fairly certain the Teletubbies are popping out around the next bend.

We never saw any Teletubbies, but I’m pretty sure that show was based on Idaho.

We also drove through a town called Driggs and it really got us thinking about what people do for a living there. I still don’t know the answer to that question, but we looked at the MLS and I was ready to move (but I don’t have enough money). Anyway, if you’re bored and want to go down a rabbit hole of looking at random properties for sale in a place you are never buying a house, look at Driggs, Idaho. It’s impressive.

Rehashing the rest of the trip probably isn’t helpful to anyone really so I’ll gloss over it.

Bozeman > Vegas > Austin

Bozeman to Vegas was fine. Got to see Salt Lake and The Strip. I’ve never been to Las Vegas so I didn’t know The Strip and the Airport are basically on top of each other. Unfortunately our next plane had engine issues that we found out about before we took off so we were de-boarded… eventually… and then caught a different plane back home. That part was a bit stressful, but the kids handled it well.

Takeaways from this trip

It’s worth taking
My kids’ ages are good ages for Yellowstone and Jackson Hole (Ages 6 and nearly 9)
Rent/Bring a cooler
Rent a big enough car to carry that cooler, luggage, and groceries
Don’t forget a wine opener
Definitely do Hayden Valley
July is a good time to go whitewater rafting
Buy the whitewater rafting photo because it’s hilarious
The restaurants Guy goes to on Diner Drive-ins, and Dives are good, but maybe not as good as you think
Definitely borrow your friend’s long lens if you don’t have one
Eat ice cream every chance you get
Try not to eat at Canyon Eatery if you don’t have to
Always try local beer
Don’t pet (or hug) the fluffy cows
Let you kid have the window seat

Airport Park Lake Waco and Some other Waco Things

July 22, 2022 by Monica Brown in camping, photography, travel

Airport Park

More back blogging. This trip was from February.

Airport Park has been on my list for quite awhile actually. A few years ago we had it booked for the Heart of Texas Airshow and it flooded (they canceled our reservation) and I never actually bought the airshow tickets. That’s when we ended up taking our first trip to Lake Bastrop South Shore which has since become kind of our go to and the kids’ favorite. Taking the kids to an airshow is actually still on my list too.

People rave about Airport Park because it’s on the lake and got a state park feel, but without the trails. The sites are pretty spacious and treed is what I mean by a state park feel.

About the Sites

We stayed in site 22 which was a pull through on the water. It was a bit windy, but I assume it probably always is. I honestly didn’t see one bad site while driving around Airport Park. They all looked pretty decent. There was crushed granite around the picnic table and everything seemed pretty well kept. We were gone during the day mostly, but only ever heard a few planes in the evenings (the airport is across the street, hence the name). We didn’t take the kids this time, but I kept thinking they’d probably love it here.

What We Did

This was one of those trips that was less of a camping trip and more of a I don’t want to pay for a hotel trip. We left the kids at home and did Magnolia (kid free!) and stopped by a few breweries. All of this was a pretty quick 15 minute drive from the RV park.

Magnolia

Look, I know some people are way over it, but I’m still a Chip and Jo fan. I love interior design and it feels good to just be in a pretty space surrounded by pretty things. I also had some birthday money to blow through. We did The Little Shop on Bosque first and honestly I wasn’t super impressed. The Silos area had grown so much since our last trip though and I’ve got to say, all the new stuff made getting around so much less frustrating. In previous trips you would wait FOREVER and stand in long lines for just about everything. Having more things covering more space really helps spread the people out and makes each thing much more enjoyable and quicker to get through. We actually did the whole thing pretty quick which meant we could move on to the brewery part of the trip, which was Tyler’s preference.

I took exactly one picture at Magnolia. Honestly I just wasn’t interested in having the masses in any photos, but I was pumped to finally get the try Magnolia Press without having to wait in hella long lines.

I also love that you can buy cupcakes from a food trailer on the grounds now instead of waiting in the bakery line. I would recommend the bakery for first timers, but the trailer works fine when you’ve already done the bakery twice. The Cup o’ Jo cupcake is my personal favorite.

where we drank (breweries)

We did a total of three breweries while we were there. We enjoyed all three, but each had their own vibe.

Brotherwell Brewing

We were highly entertained with people watching at Brotherwell. We got there on the early side for a Friday and watched them set up a vintage market while we had our flights. Honestly this place made me feel a little old (or maybe it was the fact that we were on senior citizen time in our late 30s), but most of everything we tried was good and the atmosphere was interesting. We drove back by after dinner and this place had come alive with patrons.

For the most part they live up to their reviews and it’s worth a stop. I’m a light beer kind of girl so the Bridge Street Wit was my favorite and I didn’t much care for the Radler.

Waco Ale Company

Ok I really liked this one. Waco Ale Company was more downtown while Brotherwell was more in what they call Eastside Waco (still on the west side of I35). Everything we tried was good and I was a little disappointed we weren’t there at a meal time. The food menu looked awesome. I mean, there’s not a ton on it, but I wanted to try one of most things. I would definitely go here again (for lunch or dinner) and I’d recommend it with some disclaimers. Dude behind the bar was DRUNK before we left and it was just the middle of the afternoon. The more drinks he took, the more colorful his language got which doesn’t bother me so much, but I was a little bothered for the family trying to have a late lunch with a few younger kids. This one may not be the most family friendly, if that’s a thing you’re looking for. I will say he was super knowledgeable about their beer and made some great suggestions for our flights which I was super appreciative of.

Southern Roots Brewing Co.

Southern Roots Brewing is just a couple blocks from Waco Ale Co. and I loved their vibe. This place definitely invites you to stay awhile. I didn’t do a flight here, just a beer, but I enjoyed it and the smell of pizza cooking in the back. The pizzas looked and smelled delicious, but a regular did tell me they’re hit or miss. Just depends on who’s cooking that day I guess. This one is 100% family friendly (including furry family members) and I love that they have board games and things available for you enjoyment. In terms of hospitality, this was my favorite. I don’t have any pictures of this one unfortunately, but I’d consider their lifetime membership, if I lived in Waco.

where we ate

Revival Eastside Eatery

The guy behind the bar at Brotherwell Brewing sent us to Revival Eastside Eatery when we asked for dinner suggestions. We both ate a Golden Calf burger, which had me at caramelized onions and goat cheese. I love goat cheese. Their beer taps are constantly changing from what we were told so there is always something new to try in the local beer department. It seemed like a trendy spot with good food that I’d eat again.

Cheddar Box

Cheddar Box is a food truck on the Magnolia grounds. Tyler ate, not me, but I’ve had them before. They make a pretty solid adult grilled cheese. My personal favorite is The Boss which includes bacon, gouda, and basil on sourdough bread. I’m seeing a theme here in the food section of this blog post and it’s cheese.

Ninfa’s Mexican Restaurant

This was more of an old school, been in Waco forever option. Less trendy, but still super popular. I can’t complain. I’m always a little unsure of the places that are considered tried and true because sometimes they’re just not what they used to be. We’ll let this one keep the tried and true label. It’s solid old school Tex Mex.

My Favorite Photographs from the Trip

Silver Linings

May 09, 2022 by Monica Brown in personal, photography

Have I ever talked about why I love black and white photography?

I know you hear us photographers talk about how they love black and white photography all the time, but it always feels so surface level and, honestly, scripted. It sounds like more of a sales pitch than anything. I too am guilty of usually only scratching the surface. It’s more comfortable that way sometimes and sometimes we haven’t actually figured out what that thing is yet that draws us to something, we just know we love it and we’re searching for the why.

It’s that place where the dark meets the light for me.

Sometimes is gradual, sometimes it’s a hard line, sometimes it’s barely there at all. It’s beauty in dark places. There’s always light and beauty to be found in dark places, even when that doesn’t seem like it could even be possible.

It’s only over the past year (mostly) that I’ve started to look for the light in more than just photos. I’ve found it in every situation that felt dark and impossible, be the situations my own or someone else’s to bare. I’ve seen the way people rally around those facing their darkest days. I’ve seen overwhelming joy and love surround pain of the worst kind. I’ve seen just glimmers of hope that need more time to illuminate, but it’s there at least still a little bit.

It’s the simplicity of stripping away the color and seeing only the light. Sometimes color distracts us from seeing what actually matters the most.

I’m usually more of a spiritual person and less of a religious person, but if you’d take a moment today and pray for those needing a little light in the face of what feels horribly dark, I’d appreciate that very much.

Sedona (and the Grand Canyon) with the Family

May 05, 2022 by Monica Brown in Fun with kids, travel, photography

I’m back blogging, if that’s a thing. We took this trip in October 2021 and it’s currently May 2022. Also the pic above is the view from part way up Bell Rock just in case you need that info.

So we’d actually decided we were going to wait a few years to take the kids to Sedona so they could do some more legit hiking without complaining, but plans changed. We had bought another one of those damn timeshare things where they give you a place to stay if you show up to one of those presentations.

I think we decided we’ll just pay for our vacations from here on out because we’re officially tired of wasting prime vacation time on presentations when it’s clear we’re NEVER buying a timeshare. It’s funny because they have us pegged pretty much as soon a we walk in. They know we’re a waste of their time. Look, here’s a picture of how I bring my kids to those presentations. We find it generally helps speed along the process.

So back to where I was going with this. We were going to wait to take the kids, but we had to choose somewhere to take this vacation and Saida had been dying to see red rocks of some sort because she watches YouTube families that live in Utah and she appreciates the landscape. We figured, why the hell not? We’ll just do Sedona again because it’s on the list. Close enough. Plus what kid doesn’t want to see the Grand Canyon too and we could totally make that drive while we were there.

Spoiler Alert: It’s Corbin. Corbin doesn’t want to see the Grand Canyon. We joke that we now know why Joe Dirt’s parents left him there.

How’d We Get There

Ok so the truth is the other reason we chose Sedona is because Phoenix is pretty affordable to fly into. I just wasn’t really willing to pay the airfare to the other destination options because I’m generally pretty cheap. I also kind of love airports. It’s literally the best people watching and the kids are always excited to fly. We’re doing Yellowstone in July so that’ll be their biggest flight yet. Bozeman on the other hand is… not cheap, but I didn’t pick the destination.

Because it’s been 7 months since we actually took this trip, I’m blown away by how tiny my kids look in these pictures. It’s been an insane year for growth for both of them, hence the reason we’ve added an endocrinologist to the list of specialists for Corbin.

Important things about Phoenix

They now have Whataburger. Seriously, this is a big deal. My kids are Whatadivas, if there is a such a thing. When Tyler and I went 4 years ago, there wasn’t a single Whataburger in all of Arizona so when Corbin requested a Whataburger upon exiting the plane, we were surprised we could deliver and deliver pretty quickly after getting in the rental car.
Saguaros. I don’t know why I still think those things are hilarious. They’re real and they’re huge.

Sedona

Where We Stayed

We stayed in the Arabella Hotel. I didn’t really pick it because of the whole timeshare thing, but I also don’t really have any legitimate complaints. They have two pools. Only one of them was heated though and this was in October so we stuck with the smaller of the two which was pretty convenient from our room anyway. They also do a pretty legit continental breakfast however we had kids and a two hour time change so you could find us on morning one hitting up the Circle K next door for stale powdered donuts and gas station breakfast sandwiches. I was subjected to none of this because of intermittent fasting, but the others seemed good with it. There’s a trail at the back of the hotel property which is pretty cool and they also have complimentary bikes available to take into town, which isn’t a long bike ride at all. Overall it was a good stay and I’d stay there again.

The smaller of the two pools at Arabella, but it was heated. The sunset didn’t suck either.

The sweet parking lot view with red tocks I joked about.

Tyler and I have kind of a running joke on these timeshare presentation vacations regarding the view we get. In all fairness, we had a great view in Tennessee, but our first one of these was to Sedona without the kids for our 10th anniversary. They put us a room number followed by a P. We had a lovely view of… the parking lot. The P clearly stood for parking lot. We got another sweet parking lot view this time, but at least there were some red rocks, lol. I’m joking obviously. We’re pretty good at making the best out of these situations and you’re doing it wrong if you spend all your time in the room anyway.

What We Hiked

Tyler and I hiked Cathedral Rock several years ago when we were in Sedona and we really thought the kids would love it. Unfortunately the were in the middle of a rescue situation at Cathedral Rock so we headed a little further down to Bell Rock. The kids loved it. Bell Rock is still their favorite part of the entire trip. Our obligatory vacation Christmas ornament is a Bell Rock ornament and we snagged Bell Rock magnets for the teachers. Every time we passed it they would say, “There’s Bell Rock!” Hike wise, it was pretty similar to Cathedral Rock, if my memory is correct. It’s challenging, but not crazy long and the views are well worth it. The picture at the top of this blog post is the view from part way up Bell Rock.

I think this is the only picture with all four of us from the entire trip at the top ish of Bell Rock. Not our best selfie ever.

The other hike we took with the kids was a combination of trails recommended by the lady at the hotel desk. She says it’s where she takes her daughter and where the locals go. It was cool, but I still wish we would have done something in the Oak Creek Canyon area instead. If you take Valley Verde School Road until it pretty much ends, you can follow the trail up the creek to Cathedral Rock. This was a combination of Baldwin Trail, Red Rock Crossing Trail, and Templeton Trail. We didn’t go as far as we’d planned because the kids were pretty worn out, but if you’re up for it, you could totally incorporate Cathedral Rock into this hike.

Where We Ate (Food can totally make or break a vacation)

Miley’s Cafe

Miley’s was a favorite of ours the last time we were in Sedona so we knew we had to go back. It’s got a hole in the wall and homey kind of feel. It’s just good cookin’. They’re currently only open for breakfast and lunch and even though we were not in my eating window, I made an exception for Miley’s. The kids had lunch and Tyler and I had breakfast. I’m not sure there is a single bad option on the entire menu and the service is great. If you want great food that’s not fussy, this is it. Everyone is happy at Miley’s and they’ve got a great kid’s menu.

Rocky Road Ice Cream Co.

Once you finish up at Miley’s, head next door to Rocky Road Ice Cream Co. Or just go there after nearly every meal. We might be guilty of this and it might be my favorite ice cream place ever. Just trust me on this one.

Rotten Johnny’s Wood Fired Pizza

So we actually ended up at Rotten Johnny’s because we didn’t know Miley’s was closed for dinner. Rotten Johnny’s is in the same shopping center. I have zero complaints. My pizza and wine were delicious and again, it’s not fussy. It’s another great place for the family.

The Grand Canyon and Flagstaff

We managed to get both the Grand Canyon and a little bit of Flagstaff into a day. It’s doable with an early enough start, but I’m always wishing we had more time in Flagstaff. Maybe one day. We also just barely missed snow on the way back to Sedona. It actually ended up snowing just 20 minutes up the road from Sedona that night.

The Drive From Sedona to The Grand Canyon

In my opinion 89A through Oak Creek Canyon and the switchbacks is the only way to get to Flagstaff. I wondered if I’d still be in awe the way I was the first time and I was. My kids have actually gotten to the point now where they make fun of me for wanting to be in the trees. I think that’s why I love this drive. Once you get to the top of the switchbacks there is a scenic view area called Oak Creek Vista. It’s worth a stop and both times we have been there has been a native market set up selling jewelry and other Native American accessories. It’s a great place to grab a souvenir and a quick picture. From there, it’s pretty quick to Flagstaff and then on to The Grand Canyon from there. Now the drive from Flagstaff to the Grand Canyon looks very different from the first part of the drive. I’m always baffled that you’re just driving through high desert and The Grand Canyon isn’t even that far away and you can’t see it. It’s like it’s not there at all until you walk through some trees at he National Park and you’re like, “Well what do you know, it’s the Grand Freaking Canyon.”

The Grand Canyon

So seriously, it’ll trip you up when you go from high desert to forest to a giant hole in the ground in what doesn’t seem like near enough space for that transition. Arizona is wild. We didn’t spend a ton of time at the Grand Canyon, but we started our walk from the area behind the visitor’s center and walked all the way down to the geology museum and back. I like to try to remember it fondly, but that one kid wasn’t too happy to be at the Grand Canyon and when that one kid isn’t happy, ain’t nobody happy. Being 5 years old is hard apparently.

Saida loved the geology museum. I had no idea she’d find it that interesting and I kind of love that she did. I think she would have stayed there longer.

Overall I don’t regret taking they them to the Grand Canyon. They actually will both tell you they liked it now even though it did not seem that way at the time. Photo evidence or Corbin’s attitude below.

How Corbin felt about the Grand Canyon and the reason Joe Dirt’s parents left him there.

Flagstaff

Flagstaff was basically our dinner/dessert stop on the way back to Sedona. We ate at Lumberyard Brewing Co. (mainly because Tyler and I needed something on tap, stat) which is right in the heart of town. The kids loved watching the trains go by, the food was pretty decent, and I very much enjoyed my beer. I had the Santa Fe burger. I’d recommend it.

Just a couple blocks away was The Sweet Shoppe Candy Store which also sold gelato so naturally that was our next stop because that’s how we do vacation even when it’s nearly freezing outside with snow on the way. The store itself was adorable and the gelato was worth it. Saida had mint chocolate chip at every ice cream place we tried and I believe this was her personal favorite.

I honestly don’t even know what all there is to do in Flagstaff, but every time we’re there I always want to stay longer because it just seems cool. Unfortunately weather was moving in so our time was up, if we wanted to make it through the canyon without snow. It’s my understanding that early October is a little early for snow in town, but they got it anyway shortly after we left.

Back Home We Go, but not without seeing the saguaros

Did you even go to Arizona, if you didn’t stop for a saguaro? We made a quick stop (and I mean really quick) at the Black Canyon City Trailhead on the way back to Phoenix. It was a pretty easy place to stop and got us off the road so it worked. Both kids enjoyed this stop. It was the little bit of exploration we needed before hanging in the airport for longer than anticipated. We actually questioned whether or not we’d make it home. This was right in the middle of Southwest blaming delays on weather (cough, couch, mandates, cough) when there was none. Our flight was pretty delayed, but we made it back to Texas eventually.

official Sedona Photo Session with the Kids

Mother Neff State Park

March 18, 2020 by Monica Brown in camping, Family, Fun with kids, photography

We aren’t the “thou shalt not poop in the camper” kind of people (I mean, I didn’t pay what I did for a second home on wheels to not poop in my own toilet), but even I was curious about these bathrooms at Mother Neff State Park that every Texas camper on social media was raving about. Apparently they’re basically the Buc-ee’s of State Park bathrooms and you can find them southwest of Waco, Texas just outside a little town called McGregor.

Side Note: If you’re not from here and you don’t know what a Buc-ee’s is, may I suggest you stop at one if you ever come to Texas. It’s a gas station, yes, but it’s so much more than that. It’s one of those things you really can’t prepare someone for. They just have to experience it for themselves. A pee break will cost a minimum of $40 so just be prepared to be distracted by all the things and to go home with some of it.

So we decided to make Mother Neff State Park our January camping trip. I swear we didn’t choose it for the bathrooms, but rather for the availability, nice concrete parking pads, and full hookups. It’s also technically only 2 hours from the house, but in reality with traffic, weather, and bathroom breaks, it took us about 4 hours to get there. It may have been more actually, but I’m trying to forget that particular experience. It’s just lovely when you’re stuck in rush hour traffic on I35 in downtown Austin and your kid announces they really need to go to the bathroom.

Sorry y’all, but all this bathroom talk has me thinking it’s the perfect time to share what might be my favorite photo from the whole trip.

So were the bathrooms everything the internet promised?

It wasn’t until after we were hooked back up and ready to go home that I actually went in them and I’ve got to say, they are most definitely the nicest Texas State Park Bathrooms I have ever seen.

Would I still wear flip flops in the shower?

Yes, absolutely. Let’s not get ahead of ourselves.

Did I take any pics?

No. That’s weird.

Mother Neff in a Nutshell

Clean, small, partially closed due to flooding, very nice campsites, full hookups, very easy to approaching moderate trails, great playgrounds, and overall just very kid friendly. There’s also a dog. Nobody lost him so don’t try to find his owner. He’s friendly and basically their mascot now.

Site Info

We stayed in site 15. It’s pretty private and backs up to those really nice bathrooms I was talking about. There’s a spacious crushed granite area with a picnic table and firepit and the parking pad was extra wide. I’d stay in that spot again, but I think we also want to try site 12 in the future. 12 is a really long pull through site that also looked pretty private. All sites have full hookups but some definitely seem more exposed than others. The in-laws stayed in 16 and I’d also recommend that one and site 14 as well.

Site 15. Firepit is just out of frame over to the left and you can kind of see the bathrooms through the trees.

The Trails

Let’s just be really real for a sec. This isn’t the kind of park we’re used to when it comes to scenery. The “scenic overlooks” were pretty anticlimactic (we legit had to look at the map to make sure we’d actually made it to the scenic overlook), but the upside is that the trails were super easy. The kids (age 4 and 6) had zero issues getting around and the only complaints while on the trails were regarding hunger (from Corbin obviously) and when we were going to get to the playground (both kids). About half the trails are pretty exposed and the other half are through treed areas.

The Playgrounds

We don’t go camping for the playgrounds, but I’ve got to admit, we love having them at parks. Mother Neff had two that were equally awesome in very different ways. The first was a Nature Playscape near the camping loop. I loved this concept which included a slide built into the hill, tic tac toe from wood, logs for climbing, and things of that nature. Get it? Nature, lol. The second was a regular ole old school playground which was just a couple minute walk from the other. This was my favorite for photographing the kids and is where most of my favorite photos from this trip came from.

What’s that noise?

It’s SpaceX. You can read about it over by the bathrooms, but I guess they do engine testing there. We actually didn’t experience anything other than a couple not so crazy booms, but it’s my understanding that if you’re not aware SpaceX is just right down the road, the booms can sometimes be quite alarming. It’s not like they’re keeping you up all night so it’s really not much of a bother, but something worth noting.

Other Pics From Our Stay

Have any questions about our experience at the park? Let me know.

-Monica

An Unposed Session at Padre Island National Seashore

August 06, 2019 by Monica Brown in personal, photo sessions, photography

It’s been a quiet year in terms of photography for me.

Probably none of this seems immediately related to these photos so sorry about that.

I’ve been over here playing around with different ideas (not photography related), trying to figure out what my path is. I still don’t know what that path is, if I’m being honest and I’m still over here dabbling in it all.

I didn’t want to put pressure on this thing that I loved. I was afraid it would turn into something I didn’t want, if I kept doing that this year and that thought terrified me. I already saw my spark fading as I got caught up in the drama and BS related to social media and I retreated hard and fast and with that I backed off from everything photography related including photographing my own kids. I’m hoping all of that was necessary and is fulfilling some purpose for my furture self.

Social media is hard. It’s funny because I probably fall into the same category I always have in everything in life. Not quite cool enough for the mainstream kids, but not outcast enough for the outcasts. I’m just stuck somewhere in the middle without belonging anywhere. This is probably a little bit my fault because it’s no secret to myself that I don’t commit enough to people to really belong in a community. I hold myself back for fear of judgement. It’s rare anyone actually gets to see me all the way, which is why Tyler is probably pretty much the only person who sees it all.

What if I’m not who they thought I was? What if I disappoint them? It’s less stress (or so it sometimes seems) to just do it all on my own. This thinking is wrong, right? Is it imposter syndrome that makes me feel this way maybe? Why do I even care what “they” think to begin with? I know better, but I’m still here in this place.

I don’t really know what the purpose of all of this is other than it just feels good to talk about it. Maybe others feel the same and now they know they’re not alone. Maybe it just makes me make more sense to people. I don’t know.

I know this session is the first time I picked up my camera to do this kind of thing in a long time. I had a vision and I was nervous it was going to just bomb and I’d come away with nothing. The first probably 30 minutes felt like that actually. I had to let go in a lot of ways. Once I just decided to let my kids be free and occasionally prompt them into things that would bring joy, it got good. I let Saida get in the waves fully clothed because it felt like freedom and we needed that. Mostly this is just them and me there to see it for what it was and document it the way I knew I could.

5 Tips For Photographing Your Kids This Summer

May 13, 2019 by Monica Brown in photography, motherhood

Hey Moms,

This morning it took me 5 minutes to find a parking spot at the YMCA and I was late to yoga. And because I was late I had to do my practice at the front of the room facing sideways and on display for the whole class. It wasn't a formal punishment or anything, it was just literally the last spot in the room. I kind of just assumed everyone would be on vacation with this being the first Monday since school let out. Nope. I was wrong and I had really had to be on my yoga game this morning because I was just sure everyone was watching me the whole time (likely that wasn't the case, but whatever).

Anyway, moral of the story is summer is here and summer adventures start hopefully this afternoon once everyone leaves the YMCA and takes their kids to do cool stuff.

But what's a summer if you don't have proof it happened? And if you're going to have photo evidence of this awesome summer, wouldn't it be cool if the photos matched the awesomeness? I was sitting here brainstorming summer photography tips to capture your kids' epic summer. For today, this is what comes to mind.

5 Photography Tips For Capturing Your Children This Summer

1. Let them get wet

Mainly this is because getting wet is fun for kids and they're destined to give you some real authentic (and probably happy) moments. Also water mixed with some sweet light can make an image so interesting and fun. Just look at the way the light shines through the water droplets here. The photo wouldn't be the same without it. So get out the hose, the sprinkler, slip and slide, pool, etc. and let your kids have a good time. Swimsuit not required. 9 times out of 10 my kids are still fully clothed and soaking wet.

2. Look for the light (or even wait for it)

So this is kind of an obsession for most photographers. It doesn't matter where I am or if I have my camera with me, I'm looking at light constantly. Summer can be hard because a lot of what we do is in the middle of the day and that sun is bright, bright, bright. That harsh light is fun to play with, but morning and evening light is where it's at for me 90% of the time. Maybe we'll address the harsh light on another day.

This set of images is from an evening in the backyard. Saida got on the trampoline and I could see the light streaming in there on her leg (picture on the left) and that light under the trampoline. Because the sun was almost behind the fence I really want to use backlight (place the sun behind my subject) so I could get that beautiful golden summer glow. I actually turned the trampoline around so I could shoot through the opening towards the sun and voila, beautiful golden summer evening images. The light was so gorgeous that Saida didn't even have to do anything.

This is what I first saw when I grabbed my camera. Light coming into the area of the trampoline. This okay I guess, but not the awesome summer evening vibe I was going for.

Then I moved the trampoline so I could shoot through the open part with the sun behind Saida and this is what I saw.

3. Don't forget the details

I could photograph just the details for the rest of my life and be a happy woman. Lately my detail obsession as been hand and feet, but it could be anything really. Hair blowing in the wind will also get me everytime. Maybe it's also the sweet rock or shell your kid found or their missing two front teeth. Don't leave these things out. I promise they'll be a great addition to an end of summer photo album or just something so fun to look at and remember later on.

4. Capture the everyday stuff too

Summer can be epic and normal, right? I think so. These everyday moments are ones we forget about, but are generally just as awesome as those orchestrated summer moments. Also this is just a reminder that you don't have to spend money or go anywhere to make beautiful summertime photos. You just have to get outside and allow you kids to be kids.

5. Don't ask them to smile (make them smile)

This actually sounds like I'm holding a gun to their heads and demanding a smile. I swear that's not what I mean. What I mean is play with your kids. In this image I'm shooting and jumping over Saida on the trampoline. This was actually her request and a great reminder to me. Look for real smiles and interact with your kids in a way that gets you real smiles. Get rid of the word "cheese", you don't need it.

Hopefully this helps with summer plans and with those everyday moments. Photography helps me be more present with my kids, which is a challenge for a lot of us moms with all the things on our plates. Put those other things on the back burner (laundry, dishes, etc.) and just be there with your kids (look, I'm just as guilty as you are). I promise you'll never remember a specific time the dishes didn't get washed immediately after a meal, but you just might remember that moment with your kids.

Have an AWESOME SUMMER!!!!

-Monica

Spring Break at Inks Lake State Park

March 21, 2019 by Monica Brown in camping, Family, Fun with kids, photography, travel

You know what Saida and I fought about just before heading out with the camper to Inks Lake State Park? She didn’t want to go and and kept telling me we should just stay home. Homegirl junior. Not that she cares, but I had to pull the “well mommy and daddy don’t spend too much money a month on this camper to not go anywhere so do you think we should go camping or do you want to sell the camper?”

Obviously we went camping. I won’t say she didn’t cry about it for an hour and half on the way there though because she totally did.

Where’d we go?

Inks Lake State Park (and Longhorn Cavern State Park for a couple hours)

Site number?

West Loop, Site 43. I’d highly recommend this site especially if you like being right on the water and you like having the park store nearby with boat rentals and such. It is very close to the park store though and when they did fishing with a park ranger, there was a lot of foot traffic on the trail between 42 and 43. We didn’t mind, but if you do, consider a different site. And also fair warning, someone did mention to me on the Texas RV Camping Facebook page that they had seen a rattlesnake and some water moccasins in this particular area. We kept and eye out, but never saw anything.

What we did while we were there

Camped, hiked, paddle boated, made memories with family, made s’mores and hamburgers, watched movies in the camper (we’re real people), fished, hit up the park store for ice cream, made a quick trip to Longhorn Cavern State Park to take a cave tour.

Other Things you can do there

They have at least 2 playgrounds, a Kona Ice truck, kayaks, canoes, more hiking trails, swimming in the lake & events depending on the day. Also I had my eye on a winery up Park Road 4 called Perissos Vinyard and Winery, but we didn’t actually go there.

Around the campsite

Campsite 43. You can see the canoes from the park store behind the camper.

Golden hour behind our campsite looking towards the park store.

From our campsite (43) looking out over the cove.

Camping at Inks Lake State Park in Texas

Hiking

My kids aren’t exactly experienced hikers so when picking out a hike, we went for something that appeared manageable. We chose Lower and Upper Fisherman’s Trail and essentially made a loop. We ended up on the dark green trail for a few minutes so we walked a little further than originally anticipated, but overall this was a great trail for them. They got to climb a little, see the lake, and it wasn’t too long or challenging for them (ages 3 and 5). Corbin fell a few times, but that’s mainly because he’s a little more clumsy than your average 3 year old.

Lower Fisherman’s Trail and they were only climbing because the wanted to. This is actually just above the trail.

Paddle Boats

Anyone curious what happens when I ask my kids to stand next to each other for a picture? THIS! This is what happens. This is why I don’t ask them to do it. Also the only reason I have this sad image is because we were about to buy ice cream and they weren’t taking a chance of not getting it. Also this was after getting off the paddle boats which ended up being a disaster because everyone was tired and both kids (who couldn’t even really reach the peddles) wanted to be able to peddle at the same time. We didn’t even use our full hour and then when I asked Saida what her favorite part of camping was after we’d been home a few days, she said the paddle boats. Blew my mind. I’m like you mean that thing we did where everyone whined the whole time. They really did have a great camping trip overall though.

Longhorn Cavern State Park

Camping at Inks Lake State Park in Texas and Longhorn Cavern

Longhorn Cavern State Park really wasn’t on our list of things to do on this trip, but when we realized it was literally down the street from Inks Lake State Park, we decided why not. To be honest I really wasn’t sure what we were getting into. I thought we could explore a cave on our own for like 20 minute and then go hit some trails (because from what I can tell they have some super easy and kid friendly trails), but turns out this cavern is much more expansive than I originally thought and it’s only accessible by a 90 minute guided tour. Obviously we took the tour and decided against any hiking trails since we were well into nap time by the time we finished. The kids absolutely loved it. Corbin was a litte over it about an hour in (because it was nap time) but overall he did really well (thank goodness).

We’re only three camping trips in, but so far we’ve really enjoyed each one. I think the kids are anxious to come back here again sometime soon. My final thought is that it’s a fantastic park for families and next time we look forward to bringing bikes for the kids as well. Maybe I’ll even hit up that winery and report back.

-Monica

Parabo Press For The Win + Free Square Prints + $10 Off

March 04, 2019 by Monica Brown in Family, Fun with kids, Home Decor, My Favorite Things, parenting, personal, photography, Product Review

I don’t have quite as much control over things when it comes to Saida anymore. She has her own style, her own likes, wants to decorate her room according to her own taste, and all that good business. I’m hanging on to as much control as I can, but I’m also kind of a believer in letting her explore and letting her take charge of some of those things within reason.

Putting up these super cute (AND FREE because we got the smaller ones which are always free) square prints from Parabo Press is a fun way for me to let her make her own decisions while winning the battle over her room decor. She got to pick each photo she wanted to display. Nevermind that we’re still wearing Christmas pajamas with unbrushed hair (and it’s the afternoon). Scroll down for a coupon code at the bottom of this post for $10 off your first order from Parabo Press. Or if you’d rather, just order the free prints and just pay shipping. Such a fun way to have your kids interact with photographs.

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Code for $10 off your first order from Parabo Press: MNEHAE

Galveston Island Camping Trip: More of My Happy

February 22, 2019 by Monica Brown in camping, Family, Fun with kids, motherhood, personal, photography, travel

If you’ve known me for more than 5 minutes, you probably know that the beach/bay is the place my soul craves. Our latest camping trip to Galveston Island State Park was gloomy, windy, and cold. I didn’t care. It rained all weekend at home so gloomy, windy, and cold with a bay view seemed just fine to me. The sun came out on our last morning just as it was about time to start packing up. We decided to spend just 30 more minutes exploring before we had to leave and the dunes on the beach side of the island is where we ended up. They called it their mountain. They were in thier own kind of heaven and I can’t even explain to you how overwhelmingly happy and at peace I was in this moment. It’s the kind of happy and peaceful you forget exists until it sneaks up on you. There isn’t a worry or a care in the world because in that moment nothing else matters except being present and completely soaking it in and storing it in a place to keep you content until that feeling sneaks up on you again.

Beachside at Galveston Island State Park

Leaving was the hardest thing. Nobody wanted to go.

More of my favorites from our trip below.

Galveston Island State Park Hiking Trail

Saki Monkeys inside the Rainforest Pyramid at Moody Gardens

Outside Moody Gardens Rainforest Pryramid

Walkways over the intercoastal at Galveston Island State Park

We stayed with our RV at Galveston Island State Park on the bayside in site 55. I feel like sites 58-64 would be ideal in terms of a killer view of the bay. That’s my goal for next time. I think I acutally prefer the bayside to the beachside. The bay has a sense of calm that is totally my jam so I think I’d do that again.

We try to keep things simple. This was a quick trip so Moody Gardens Rainforest Pyramid is the only attraction we spent money on. We did things like drive by port on Saturday while two ships were in and the kids thought that was cool. We didn’t take the ferry this time, but kids also love that and it’s free. Just do it when it’s not crowded. In the past we’ve done the offshore oil rig museum which is pretty cool and affordable and just right there by the cruise ships, just with the wind we skipped it this time. I think Corbin would love it though so I want to take him to do that someday. What I really wanted to do was the oil rig museum at 4pm when the ships left so we could wave to the cruisers on deck as it passed by. That would have been cool, but our go with the flow attitude meant we weren’t around for that. Exploring the park and connecting with nature was priority for me even though we made time for fun in town too.

Looking for an RV Park or Resort on the Texas Coast? I’ve got a list of more than 60 Parks just waiting for you to book. Click the button below to see the list.

60 + Rv parks and resorts on the Texas coast

The Picture That Sums up Why we Bought a Camper / Our Trip to McKinney Falls State Park

January 24, 2019 by Monica Brown in camping, Family, Fun with kids, My Favorite Things, parenting, personal, photography, travel

I promised myself I’d start blogging about our camping trips once we actually started taking them. I wasn’t sure what these blog posts would be exactly. I’m pretty sure I was thinking at some point I would become some sort of camping expert and people would flock to my blog to hear about our trips and what cool things I did/cooked that they too need to be doing, but I’m not sure this is where that is going. Big dreams, huh? I feel inspired for like 5 minutes and then it’s gone so…. Also, like, I’m never going to be that person. EVER. I don’t have my shit nearly enough together for that.

This morning I edited a picture from our trip that basically sums up our reason for buying a camper and trying to take a camping trip every month. Do you want to see it? Not that your answer matters because I’m going to show it to you whether you want to or not.

Here it is…

You: But Monica, that’s just a blurry photo of your child swinging on her hammock. How could that possibly sum up your reasons for buying a camper?

Me: Um no, it’s not. That photo right there is a feeling.

But for real, the out of focus element of this image is giving me this out of body experience where time has slowed significantly and I’m just exactly where I’m supposed to be. It’s that thing I was reaching for when we bought our camper. It’s that thing I’ve wasted the past 6 months or so of my life anxiously awaiting. It’s that thing we’ve been missing in this life that doesn’t ever seem to slow down. It just goes faster and faster and faster and we were afraid that before we knew it we’d wake up and our kids would be grown and we would have let the opportunity for these kinds of experiences pass us up.

It’s easy to skip these things over. It’s easy to say, “Well, life is just to damn busy to stop right now.” We live in a world where we have to intentionally schedule time to slow down and so that’s what we’re doing.

Me: You wanna see more of my favorites from this trip to McKinney Falls State Park?

You: Yes, Monica. I can’t think of anything I’d love more.

Where we stayed: McKinney Falls State Park in Austin, Texas

Campsite: 18, (1 of 12 50 amp sites with water and electric). Very large pull through campsite with one site very close by (worked out fine because they never came out of their camper) and next to the bathrooms which turned out to not be a big deal at all. In fact when Corbin pooped in his pull up we were just thankful there was a dumpster nearby.

Just a Little Personal Work

November 09, 2018 by Monica Brown in Family, personal, photography

So what do I do when I’m not photographing lifestyle family and newborn sessions for all of these amazing Central Texas and Austin area families?

I have impromptu mini sessions with my kids in sweet light and then swoon over them for a bit and oh my goodness does it make my heart happy.

Galveston 2018

August 23, 2018 by Monica Brown in Family, Fun with kids, motherhood, personal, photography

Just sitting here pushing refresh from time to time of the parent portal for your school district. In just under 20 minutes we find out who Saida's Kindergarten teacher is. Back to school night is tonight and I'm just hoping I'm not a hot mess of tears for the whole thing. So to distract me from constantly checking the damn thing for the next 20 minutes or so, I thought I'd share some of my favorite photos from our Galveston beach trip because I still haven't done that.

Wordless Wednesday

June 20, 2018 by Monica Brown in personal, photography, Instagram

Instagram Round Up June 13 - 19, 2018

Things My Kids Pretended This Weekend

June 11, 2018 by Monica Brown in personal, photography, motherhood

I always find it funny the things kids pretend to be doing. Sometimes it's something they've seen on TV and sometimes they're totally imitating me, which is generally pretty hilarious and sometimes embarrassing. This weekend it made me laugh so that's not too bad.

Our tiny trampoline was an American Ninja Warrior course.

Saida took the task very seriously as she maneuvered around the outside. Fortunately she let me take a few other photos too and we snuck one in of Corbin.

Like they were helping... (because we all know they weren't really "helping".)

But it's cute and they think they are so you just let them do it anyway and then document it. Unfortunately I missed focus on my favorite photo, but I'll include it anyway.

And my personal favorite which I have no pictures of...

That it was Amazon Delivery Day

Saida kept putting things in boxes and opening them and saying, "Oh Corbin, look at the boots I ordered for you!" I asked her where she ordered them from and was incredibly proud when she said Amazon. That's my girl. Plus isn't Amazon where everything comes from? She asked me where babies come from the other day. I'm wondering if Amazon.com would have been a believable answer.

Shameless Plus

I have an Amazon Influencer account and if you want to see some of our favorite things on Amazon, click the botton below.

My Amazon favorites