earlier this summer we road tripped to Grapevine, TX to Great Wolf Lodge and what a time we had! it was our very first time there but most definitely not our last.
GWL’s Summer Camp-In itinerary is bananas🍌 and designed to keep your kiddos entertained with major fun things to do from sun up to sun down (and then some!).
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goin’ on a trip in our little rocket ship! finally. it was time to take the family vaca we had all been waiting for. side-note: how have i been living/traveling without a backpack all this time!? it’s so my style and frees up both hands. duh. thanks, Marissa . wanted to be casual and…
the day we planned to head out, Sonny and i loaded up the truck while the boys slept. they were under the impression that we were headed to church, just like we do almost every Sunday morning. once we were all buckled in, we headed in the direction of church but passed it right on up and eventually made our way onto the freeway. we drove for a good hour before they even noticed our new route!! in their defense, we let them bring their Samsung galaxy tabs so they were pretty distracted. Chiso is very observant and catches things rather quickly, but this time Sonny had to instruct them to look up and ask if they noticed anything different, haha.
i made plans to stop by a place i hadn’t visited in over 15 years en route to our destination. i have seen Monument Hill randomly in my dreams for years now and once there i remembered everything like the back of my hand…. except for how things looked leading up to the park . i guess i was always hanging out with my brother in the 2nd row of our astro van and not paying attention to my surroundings until we arrived as a child! driving there myself (Sonny was napping and still recovering from dental surgery 2 weeks prior) was new for me but nothing GPS couldn’t handle.
everything looked exactly the same! such a nostalgic experience and blessing to be there with my own little family.
k, you guys ready to go do some really fun stuff!?
ok then!
we made eeeeeet! Kosi did a mighty fine job getting through her first road trip. to my surprise, she stayed up 90% of the 3 hour journey cooing, screaming, and playing with her brothers. she finally fell asleep when we were almost to the hotel, naturally. the boys did alright too; we stopped about 4 times along the way for potty and stretch breaks.
checking in to the Hyatt Regency Hill Country Resort & Spa! there was a huge bowl of complimentary apples on the counter and Dego immediately asked me for one. this boy loves his apples. he has eaten 1-2 every day for like the past year.
i can be the most unorganized person ever but these daily itineraries were appreciated.
we might have a budding photographer on our hands! i’m not complaining; that’ll be one less blogging expense for me, ha. i’ll pay him in food.
gettin’ dirty at Pat’s Playground on the hotel grounds.
the boys love tennis and badminton and play on the Wii at home all the time. i think they’d agree it’s a lil’ tougher in real life though.
the hotel buffet was incredible; my hangry cell phone picture doesn’t do it a bit of justice. no idea how many trips i took there and back to my seat but just know i got our money’s worth! great variety and quality.
i see these shower caps weren’t made with big natural hair in mind!
best way to start my day, even on vaca. especially on vaca!
i took the opportunity to give my new Athleta Be Bold Wrap Front bra a try. if you haven’t taken advantage of their workout guarantee, you totally should. these crops are my favorite to date; i have them in both dark blue and black. they are super flattering and the high waist is everything! try the full exercise circuit i completed here.
taking in the peaceful scenery on my way back to the room. i almost rented a bike and rode around the property solo but i knew the kids were up driving Sonny crazy by now.
yep. good morning, Egwuatu-lings!
Sonny and i have a little friendly wager going on. i believe Kosi will be walking by 10 months but he doesn’t.
i know my baby! lol
Cat & Jack outfits continue to steal my heart along with this lil’ girl of course! shopping for Kosi has been dangerously fun.
remind me not to go impulse shopping up in Target the day before we leave though.
breakfast buffet. the fruit was just there for decoration, y’all, trust. this bacon egg white omelet from the omelette bar was so good i had two in one sitting. every morning.
and plenty of these.
all they kept eating and asking for was bacon!
next we hit the pool for a couple hours of fun in the shade.
found and tagged a similar suit below but i love this breastfeeding-friendly, stylish one piece.
silly goose!
Sonny napped in the room most of this day because of his tooth and we truly missed his presence. floating on the lazy river looked fun, but we’ll have to try it next year cause i didn’t even want to attempt to try and keep an eye on everybody while solo. time to go check on Papa in the room!
“i want to push her!” “no, i want to push her!” #workitoutguys
Dego checked out in the middle of dinner on us. he ‘swam’ his lil’ heart out that day.
sonny headed back to the room after dinner with the other two sleepy heads, so Chiso and i went to go have some more fun together. we roasted marshmallows, made and ate smores, and shared a blanket while viewing Transylvania 2 out on the lawn. loved spending solo time with my big boy.
no more pics of movie night because i didn’t want to annoy everybody with my flash.
back for the breakfast buffet and another full day of activities!
it doesn’t take much to make kids happy. it’s more about presence and experiences together than presents. that said, i packed my camera up for the remainder of the trip to just emerse myself in the moments without trying to always capture perfect shots. i will forevercherish the vacation memories i have with my parents and older brother and i pray our kiddos do the same.
thanks for the memories, San Antonio & Hyatt Regency Hill Country!
i posted to IG recently that our vacation was postponed cause of the zika virus outbreak running rampant in Florida and other tropical and domestic areas (be safe, mamas) at this time.
getting a glimpse of this guy or gal helped me get out of my feelings rather quickly though! we were just gonna roll Sonny's birthday festivities right on into our trip at that... so unfortunately i was very bummed for a few days after Hubs and i decided to call it off. i had been looking forward to our very first family vaca all summer long. it's just not worth the risk at 6 months preggo though. plan b? #StayCation at one of our fave places in Houston to go! besides, we've got 1 more year to get Dego into Disney for free before he turns 3 so it's all good, haha. he will be more aware of what is even going on by then, and i'll also have time to save a bit more so we even can stay and play longer. just looking for the positives, as usual.
saturday morning, august 6th: happy birthday, papa!!
excitedly running to give Papa his gifts! i barely captured them in time.
the love they have for this guy...it's such an incredible thing to witness.
we are a fit family, forreals! Sonny and i could both receive workout shoes and gear for every single birthday and be completely fine with that.
headed to birthday breakfast! we don't eat breakfast out much at all; only everything else. always a treat.
originally i planned on going to The Breakfast Klub, but changed it up while en route. the food is fantastic and worth the wait, but that super long line with two hangry kiddos? nah, son. i made a game-time decision and headed to a place i knew would be a family hit, Barnaby's Cafe! definitely one of our breakfast faves.
hot chocolate :) we never skimp on the whipped cream round here. 
steak, eggs, and pancakes for the birthday boy,
Chiso requested red velvet pancakes outta nowhere! they were delish. lol
i ordered the green eggs (egg whites with spinach and cheese, chicken apple sausage, home fries); i just can't order anything else. #iaintsorry
after trying to get Dego to look once i just let him be. that baby was hungry and i understood.
we usually need a nap after we eat breakfast out, so it was the perfect time to check into our room at hotel Sorella. the last time Sonny and i stayed there, we were celebrating our 3rd wedding anniversary in 2011. i was pregnant with Chiso (5) and surprised Sonny with the news that weekend! we're back again, 2.5 kiddos later. 
admiring my huuuur! my sista-friend Ogechi keeps me fly and not looking a mess!when Sonny is on vaca, Sonny is on VACA. all he wants to do is...nothing! so i took the boys to the pool while Sonny enjoyed a quiet birthday nap. 
afterwards, we went back upstairs to freshen up. i sent Sonny over to the Lifetime Fitness (best gym evaaaaar ;) ) City Centre spa to get a needed back massage that he enjoyed. it only made him sleepy again though but it worked out because Dego had just began his nap in my arms. Sonny and Dego went to nap some more while Chiso and i headed to the gym for a pre-dinner workout.
i actually got a fantastic workout in cause Chiso was fascinated with the cardio machines and had a blast all by himself lol. i will post our workout vid and entire workout in my next post!!
loved my relaxed, dinner fit that night! those jeans were always a lil' loose in the hips on me, but they are now the perfect size for my 6 month belly. deets below!
look... between IG stories and Snap Chat i am so done with social media some days!! every app is basically vying for our attention and i sometimes feel like i have to be active on every single thing... and that just isn't true.
we walked right across the courtyard to Ruggles Green, another game-time decision made by the birthday boy in the family's best interest. Texas de Brazil was my first option, but the boys kept asking for pizza so... 
we found a great people-watching table on the RG patio while a live 1-man-band band played Sunny 99.1 type hits on his saxophone. he was amazing! there were kids running, playing, and dancing everywhere and the boys couldn't wait to finish their food and join them. what a seriously perfect family night. 
we skipped across the courtyard from RG to Red Mango for fro-yo! the boys wanted to make Sonny a homemade birthday cake, but we weren't able to whip it up the day before we left. so, i planned to just buy a mini one or a cupcake from Sweet, which is what i did.
we thank God that everything worked right on out. cheeeese!
back to the room to sing happy birthday to Papa and his candle-less cupcake! not even room service had one we could use :(
Chiso picked out a yummy s'mores cupcake.
we sang and split that thing 4 ways! we then put our jammies on and watched tv 'til we all fell asleep.
next morning, breakfast time again! we headed downstairs to enjoy Sorella's beautiful continental breakfast buffet. 
afterwards, more pool time for my water babies. 
i am so honored and grateful to share and celebrate yet another birthday with Sonny and our 1st family staycation was one to remember. happiest of birthdays, Hubs!
we had an absolute BLAST celebrating our 8th wedding anni in Maui last month. i took way too many pics. like a ridiculous amount. if you make it to the end.... thank you in advance for your time, haha.
when you have to be at the airport at 5am, you don't even bother going to sleep. my girlfriend had just finished installing my faux locs like 3 hours earlier (18 hour job if you're interested!) and my head was sooooooo tender. but i loved them and Sonny did too. he better had! he requested them :) 'happy wife, happy life.' is cute... but i rock with 'happy hubby, happy her.'
i didn't find out where we were going until we got to our gate (still didn't know in this pic!) but i knew i would not be disappointed.
my Modern Oats package hit our mailbox juuuust in time. i took the very last container from the 8 count variety pack they so graciously sent me and ate it for breakfast on the plane.
soon as Sonny sees this i'm going to get a text. nah, prolly a call. get your laugh in while it's still up, tee hee
snackin' on the plane! eating the freeze-dried raspberries i got from Trader Joes before we left. Sonny missed out cause i ate them all.
that's a really, really big hole. diamond mine, i guess. i have no idea where we were at that moment and didn't ask.
back to my snacks. since you have to purchase EVERYTHING on a plane these days i pretty much brought us our own personal mini bar. i had seen these in Sprouts Farmers Market for months before deciding to purchase them. maui made me do it.
my goodness, they are DELICIOUS and seriously addicting. especially this flavor!
layover in phoenix. we spotted a Le Madeline while heading to our next gate and got some more grub. it was still breakfast time so we got omelettes.
finally!!!!! long flights are just not my thing. 6 hours from phoenix to maui and i almost lost it. how will i ever go to Nigeria one day? no idea. i kinda don't want to sleep for 3 days straight before we have to go though. sigh. anyway, we made eeeet!
loaded up Red Vevet and you already know what was next....
the rental car peeps suggested we try Da Kitchen so we went straight there. sure, we were hoongry, but they were spot on with that recommendation.
i started with a green salad,
and followed that up with some salmon (duh) and Sonny requested the biggest dish they had!! soooo that's exactly what our waitress brought him.
yep, that's spam. i have never eaten spam in a restaurant. ever. whatever you think is in that bowl, it is. eggs, brown rice, colby jack cheese, spam, ground beef, onions, gravy, and green onion. it was actually REALLY good, just way too heavy for me.
look them up on IG and you'll find our pic in the hashtag cloud. #DaKitchen
on to the hotel. we were extremely pleased with our Westin Ka'anapali premium villa. check out the periscope tour we did! straight to sleep that night though, zzzzzzzzzzzz.
the next morning was the BIG day! and yep, it started with prayer and a workout. it's automatic and it wasn't forced at all either... we enjoy starting our day this way. i pretty much ran for fun and did a weight circuit with Sonny and called it a day. that's pretty much what our workouts looked like our entire time there actually! we worked out 4 outta the 5 days there.
post-workout brekky! i eat this way cause i love it. i enjoyed myself and indulged but i would be eating these particular items regardless. everyone we asked suggested Mama's Fish House for our anni dinner but you have to make reservations like 2 weeks in advance. sooo that was out. we asked for the next best thing which was Merriman's.
we spoke to Chiso on Skype during breakfast! gosh i missed my boys so much. he was actually at the hospital at that very moment because my sis in law, Kara, had just delivered her baby girl!!!! we spoke to the proud parents too and even got a glimpse of baby Natalie! we now gladly share September 15th with our niece, Natalie Chizara Egwuatu <3
it rained on our very first day out and about, buuuut it cleared up after breakfast thankfully. we took some pics and then a lil' drive through the mountains in the 'stang.
the winding roads, the mountains, the water, the scenery...gaaaah it was incredible and kinda hard to take all in at once. i saw a sign that said 'scenic look out 1000 ft' so i told Sonny to pull over.
we hopped out and basically made a post card. look at that!
8 years. you ever look back on your life like, 'THANK YOU GOD for not making it work with any of my ex's.'!? He knew best.
every city/country we travel to... this is on my agenda. deal with it, Sonny.
i just wanted some snacks! look, i did a two week sugar fast to get beach ready so i was about to enjoy me some chocolate. i found the bulk aisle and made myself at home.
salted carmel chews and chocolate covered pretzel balls. worth the tummy ache.
then we found a Walmart and bought some souvenirs for our family and a breast pump! i actually packed my dual electric Medela pump but naturally something went wrong with my tubing and it totally wasn't working. bum. mer. back to z hotel!
'ooo, wait, this is the selfie cam.'
it was still cloudy when we got back but we couldn't wait any longer! we went out to the beach anyway to explore and take in the views.
and have a mini photoshoot.
well we definitely weren't in galveston anymore!
enjoying this life.
we went back to the room to get ready to go to our anni dinner. i found this dress at H&M for 30 bucks! 2 weeks prior to that day it would not zip all the way up. nixing refined sugars from my diet... that'll do it.
i see ya with the fancy lighting, Red Velvet.
we had an awesome, intimate dinner at Merriman's! we arrived after dark so we couldn't see the magnificent view they are known for, but i couldn't have cared any less! i was so happy to just be there with Sonny at that very moment. before we tore up that food, we took a pic for #8. to God be all the glory.
it was super dim in the restaurant so excuse my flash and these horrid angles, yall. i had half lobster enchiladas with asparagus and fillet mignon with garlic potatoes. the portion sizes weren't outrageous, so i had plenty of room left for dessert.
Sonny had fillet mingon as well with swordfish and seasoned veggies. it was just right! we were satisfied, not stuffed. i was so ready to go IN though, hahaha.
then Sonny had a big ol' cup of coffee cause he was STRUGGLIN' to stay awake!!! it was only 8 there but 1am in Houston.
dessert was a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream paired with this chocolate-filled 'purse'. we broke through the dough with our spoons and it oozed right onto the plate. yummerz.
meanwhile... i was constantly wondering what my babies were up to! my mom sent me this pic of Dego getting a good ol' fashion kitchen sink bath. so bittersweet cause i couldn't reach out and kiss his little face.
same plate, different day!
the weather was picture perfect that day.
so i put on my two piece (H&M, 10 bucks) and hit the beach solo cause somebody needed a nap after breakfast. immediately before i left,
knock, knock! what an unexpected, pleasant surprise. a day late, BUT they spelled our name correctly and brought us dessert so it was all good! i ate a couple and went on my way.
this.
soaking it all in.
i was bummed we couldn't get into Mama's Fish House for our anni dinner, but we DID snag a lunch reservation, yay! we headed there to see what all the buzz was about.
this was a very, very good sign in my book.
:)
strawberry lemonade!
bread, butter, and a complimentary sip of cream of mushroom soup.
a real, fresh lei! nice touch.
tank tops weren't allowed, so our waitress brought Sonny and made him put his guns up.
i feasted on the Opa,
and this.... this was THE best coconut rice i've ever tasted. i saw it on the menu and added it to my meal cause i had to have it!
Sonny got the stuffed Mahi Mahi. clearly there is a reason this restaurant is ranked #2 in the NATION!!!! everything was scrumptious. everything.
Hana Banana Macadamia Nut Crisp topped with the cutest little sea turtle cookie. lick-the-bowl DELISH.
so we had a delima...we ran outta ice cream with a bit of macadamia nut crisp left to go. our waitress solved that problem and gave us another scoop on the house. that's going the extra mile right there. she was incredibly sweet and took fantastic care of us from beginning to end.
the restaurant faces the shore and the windows were all wide open to the ocean air.
what an experience.
stuffed and off-balance. cheese!
the very next morning, we set out to do some sight-seeing and hiking.
but first,
we hit up the 'Bucks for some caffeine before we rode out, map in tow.
the winding roads seemed to just go on and on and on... it was fun being completely submerged in nature.
checking out the Nakalele Blowhole.
the sign says: 'Warning. Stay clear of blowhole. You can be sucked in and killed. It's not a waterpark.' although the sign did make me a bit nervous, i wanted to get way closer naturally. but Mr. Egwuatu said no.
as good as it got. i later googled to see other tourist photos of this spot and found this one:
we could have gotten a lil closer, Sonny, dang.
anyhoo, on to hiking! i was really looking forward to a good, long hike. we drove back to the Kapalau Hiking Trails and hopped out.
buuut Sonny's achilles tendons had other plans. they've been giving him trouble for months now and that day was no different. we hiked for about 15 min before we called it quits :(
we still had time before the breakfast buffet ended so we sped back to the hotel.
i saw this class going on while we were at breakfast the day before so after we ate i went to change into my 'kini and jumped right in.
next up, snorkeling! first timers, here. we had NO idea there were so many fish at our feet and that they were that close to the shore. crazy! even after 15+ years of knowing this guy, there are still so many firsts to experience together.
the next day we literally CHILLED and lounged around. we also did some really boring stuff like driving to the Sprint store to check on Sonny's phone's memory card slot. i totally dropped his phone when i hopped out of the pool earlier that week and was hoping i didn't jack it up too bad and lose all our pictures. whew.
we came back to our room and ordered in! Sonny got this banh mi sandwich,
and i ordered a gluten-free hawaiian pizza. we wanted to see Straight Outta Compton that night but didn't want to fall asleep in the movie theater.
last day :( ! we woke up and got all our stuff together and headed to check out of our hotel. no breakfast buffet that day; we headed to a recommendation from one of the valet guys minutes away: Slappy Cakes! if Food Network says they're the bomb, i had to go see for myself.
our patiently-waiting-to-be-seated usie.
basically, you make your own pancakes right at your table!!! i do this at home for the boys, so this was right up my alley. what a fun concept!
spot on, Food Network. i confidently claim Slappy Cakes as having THE best gluten-free pancakes i have ever eaten. EVA.
aaaand an extra stack for the road didn't hurt. finished'em before we got to the airport though.
we said our goodbyes to Red Velvet and took the shuttle to the airport. this was it! finally homeward bound.
maui to honolulu, honolulu to phoenix, then phoenix to houston.
somewhere along the way we devoured this together.
back home to our babies!!!! our families held it down and took excellent care of our boys while we were gone and we are so grateful for their support and willingness to help. back to life, back to reality....which is pretty darn good.
THANK YOU FOR READING!
you know that symbol when you see it.
it means you are in the vicinity of some healthy, organic, and all natural goodness!
thanks to Applegate we enjoyed these healthy hot dogs for Dego's first birthday lunch. i had zero faith Chiso (the 4 yr old picky eater) would even take a bite of anything in that box but boy did he surprise us!
my lil' helper was so excited to unpack the goodies.
what's in there? only the best of the best components needed to build a BOMB, healthy hot dog:
it rained cats & dogs outside that afternoon so my grill pan was perfect.
yeah.... i don't think i'll ever be boiling our hot dogs in water ever again. soooo much more flava this way.
stats per dog: 70 cals, 6g fat, 6g protein, 330mg sodium
ingredients: beef, water, and less than 2% of sea salt, paprika, dehydrated onion, spices (black pepper, coriander, mace, nutmeg), nutmeg oil, and celery powder. all recognizable stuff, right!
do you toast your buns? YOU GOTTA TOAST YOUR BUNS. spending just a little extra time on the minor details really makes an ordinary meal extraordinary! i added a little Earth Balance Buttery Spread before toasting.
per Chiso's request, we had an indoor picnic in the middle of the living room floor.
i walked out to the front porch to snag some thunderstorm lighting before we started though.
2% colby jack cheese, green onions, mustard, ketchup went on top of my dog!
so, Chiso ate 2 dogs all by himself! it's like pulling teeth to get him to taste ANYTHING new... so this was big.
next, CAKE! on the way home from the gym that morning i stopped by Whole Foods Market to pick up a mini cake for Dego and ended up with two! did Dego like it? check out our birthday song video below and see ;)
[wpvideo WwobLKxl]
happy 1st birthday, big boy! this day was Dego's actual birthday, but we had another small, family party that following saturday. so, who wants their very own Applegate grilling kit while the summer is in full swing!?
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le
fit foodie le is committed to living a healthy lifestyle and showing you how to do the same. see just how great your body is designed to feel through physical activity and eating well. we are obsessed with dairy-free recipes and taking care of yourself, inside and out.
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