Meet Kyla: Our Newest Travel Contributor

 

The first thing I noticed about Kyla is that she makes beautiful babies. In fact, her whole family is magazine cover beautiful, and while I know that there are plenty parts of her everyday life that are picture perfect, I also know that life with two little ones can be just plain messy (and hard!) Even through the messy parts of raising two toddlers, Kyla and her husband are committed to enjoying every day and finding adventures close to home and far away. You can follow her adventures at Ford-ology, and get inspiration about how to make every day with little ones beautiful.  I am excited to have her share more about how she manages to make travel work with two kids under three and to learn more about her travel style. 

Quick! You’ve got 30 seconds before your toddler dumps your bag all over the airport lounge. Tell us a little bit about yourself and your family.

I’m a traveler at heart and have been since I was a little girl. Growing up, I road tripped all over the United States and a handful of times was lucky enough to leave US soil for some international adventures. My husband and I met almost five years ago and took our first road trip together three months later, 1800 miles roundtrip. We have continued to travel, explore and now share our love for adventure with our two children ages 3 and 15 months. I love exploring with my children and showing them how beautiful and amazing this world is. We love going on hikes, visiting the zoo, children's museums and any place that can keep a 3 year old occupied! What we love most about what we are exploring; from camping to five star hotels, to 12 hour car rides or one hour flights, The Grand Canyon or The Mona Lisa, is that we are making memories, teaching our children, learning about places and history and spending irreplaceable time as a family. 

Okay, let’s do some easy questions:

Car or Airplane? – Airplane.

Beach or Mountains? – Beach!! (California Girl at heart)

Carry-on or Checked? –Checked. 

Early bird or Night Owl? Both. I’m serious. I can go DAYS with little sleep. (As long as something terribly exciting is making the time worth while)

Museums or Hiking Trails? – Museums. 

Now, let’s get down to business. What’s your favorite trip you’ve ever taken? 

When I was 15, my parents packed the 7 of us in our van and drove from our home in Sacramento, California clear over to New York, New York. We spent 7 weeks in the car and visited a total of 21 states, 13 water parks, 10 amusement parks, NUMEROUS historical sites, landmarks and world famous tourist destinations. It was 7 weeks I wouldn’t trade for the world. I also visited DUBAI when I was 20. That was pretty rad. 

What is one place you are dreaming of visiting?

Paris, France. I have always dreamed of visiting the Eiffel Tower, touring Versailles and the Notre-Dame Cathedral and sitting in a quaint street cafe listening to the hustle of the city while dipping my baguette in authentic French balsamic. 

If you could pick one quote to sum up your feelings about travel, what would it be?

Traveling. The cost, time, planning; when you start to feel doubt and think they won’t remember or it’s not worth it.. IT IS! They will remember and the memories you make are pricelesss.