2023 was a big year for our family! I’ve said before that there are pros and cons to every age of travel. With our kids being lower elementary (6 and 8), they are curious, kind, genuinely excited by little joys and love hugs and attention. They are past the age of needing naps and throwing big feeling tantrums and can read kindle books for 5 hour train rides through Europe.
My sweet Ellie still skips everywhere and loves playgrounds with monkey bars more than anything else. She still demands an elaborate bedtime tuck in routine and has loved being at the same school as her brother this year. My Carter read 5 Harry Potter books in 2023, has navigated friendships and sibling competition and constantly reminds me that even though he’s past my shoulder in height and a pro at navigating public transportation, he craves snuggle hugs more than anything (this kid needs a weighted blanket)
I’ve highlight our year and have listed out our travels and posts from the previous year below. For more ideas, check on our 2021 and 2022 recaps!
January
We did a quick overnight to Louisville with friends, an easy but fun trip. We’ve done longer weekends in the past (link) but this was just a quick overnight to the science center and Dinosaur World (link). It’s become a bit of a tradition to head to Raleigh, NC (link) to visit one of our best college friends and their adorable little one.
February
For President’s Day weekend, we took the kids to LA! (link) We have family in Cali and my parents flew in from Hawaii to meet us. A great weekend in the Huntington beach area (and Disneyland, of course!)
March
For spring break, we spent some time in DC (link). We actually made several trips to DC in 2023 for family, work, and vacation. It was fun touring all the great museums and seeing the Capitol! At the end of the month, Ben signed up for a race in St Louis (link) and we all tagged along for some fun! We met up with some friends and had a blast doing new and old favorites (City museum is still our number one museum)
April
During the long Easter weekend, we drove to Dallas. We have a few friends in the city and always love spending time catching up. This city is a frequent visit and while we do a few tourist attractions, we’re also happy to go on a small hike or play wingspan with friends. We renewed our Dollywood passes and made a quick overnight trip at the end of the month.
May
June
In the beginning of the month we flew to DC for a family wedding. We enjoyed spending time with family and we took some time to explore a little bit of the capital. I also broke my shoulder. Not a very exciting month. (Or a very exciting month in not good ways)
July
We were fortunate to be able to work remotely and spend some time with family in Honolulu, HI on Oahu. (link) My family lives here and we make this trip yearly, but it is still always a special trip full of food, family, and wonderful sights.
From Hawaii, we took a bonus trip! We like using Hawaii to break the long trip across the Pacific. We spent four days in south Korea (link) and four days in Kyoto (link) and Osaka (link) where we ate so much good food and had an absolute blast making new memories.
August
Took a break from traveling 🙂 Just kidding. We planned to take a break from travel in August but make a quick weekend trip to DC for a funeral. We are fortunate to have a bunch of points and miles and were able to help family with flights and hotels. A blessing to be together to celebrate Ben’s grandma.
September
We drove to Raleigh for Labor Day to visit friends. We also pulled the kids out of school for a 4 day weekend in Las Vegas (link). Although not typically thought of as a kid destination, we loved shows, food, nearby hikes, and great pool weather.
October
For fall break, we flew to Clearwater beach, FL close to Tampa. (link) The beaches were lovely. We had visited for a short visit in 2022 and wanted to repeat the trip. Ben did a run and we enjoyed the warm weather. We also made a quick one day trip to Atlanta to explore the giant aquarium and coke museum. Whenever there’s a school break, I love to plan a trip! (Really, whether there’s a school break or not) At the end of the month, we drove out to Waynesville, NC to visit some friends! This has also become a frequent repeat trip. Always a joy and we enjoyed exploring main street and the many cool sites around town.
November
November was busy busy busy with 4 trips! We flew up for a weekend to Chicago to visit our dear friends who just had new babies. We love Chicago and the many fun museums (and pizza!) (link) Ben and I took a quick adults only to New Orleans for a work conference. This is actually a great city to explore with kids with lots to do. For Thanksgiving, Ben said no traveling so we compromised and we did 2 small trips. We went to Dollywood for 1 day and visited friends in huntsville
December
For Christmas break, we did an epic trip through Germany and Austria for Christmas markets and New Years celebrations. (Recap pending!) We based ourselves in Munich, Salzburg, and Innsbruck, with side trips to Nuremberg, Oberndorf, Berchesgarten, and Seefeld This big trip to Europe over 2 weeks was full of pretzels, gluwhein, schnitzel, castle visits, cave slides, music, snow hikes and more! Such a memorable adventure. And that’s a wrap for 2023! Big plans for 2024!
