Safari style with Kendra Thornton

I was flattered to be asked to participate in travel expert Kendra Thornton's latest style challenge! She's heading on a fun trip with her family and invited some bloggers to help her pick an outfit to wear while on vacation. See what she has to say below:

I love being the mom of three young children! We have a great time together whether we’re at home or traveling. I’m especially eager to enjoy time with them and my husband on an upcoming trip to Orlando. We’ll be staying a few weeks and having plenty of adventures together. I think it’s time to update my look, so I’d like to get some feedback from my favorite bloggers. I need help picking out an outfit to wear when my family and I enjoy an outing to Disney’s Animal Kingdom! 

We’ll be going on a safari, and I’m sure the kids and I will be posing for photos along the way. We’ll ride in an open-air safari vehicle through the 110-acre Harambe Wildlire Reserve. We’ll see more than 34 species of African wildlife roaming through this habitat, and the friendly guide will point out interesting sights along the way. We’ll get a chance to see rare black rhinos, a family of cheetahs, antelope, gazelle, warthogs and a herd of wildebeests. I’m looking forward to this wild ride and excited to learn what you recommend for me to wear on the adventure. 

There’s always something to enjoy in Orlando. I’ve had lots of fun planning excursions for our family vacation here with the help of other travel experts on Gogobot. We’ll be seeing lots of excellent shows and enjoying family dinners at some amazing restaurants. Whatever we do during our time in Orlando, I know that I’ll be happier when I feel comfortable and confident in what I’m wearing. I can't wait to see what outfit you recommend for my family adventure at Disney’s Animal Kingdom where I’ll be going on safari.

How fun does this trip sound? I won't be going on safari anytime soon with my twins growing bigger and bigger every day, but I love the idea of dressing for the occasion. Since Kendra will be in humid Florida, light layers are a necessity. Linen pants are comfortable and wrinkle-resistant, and the coral jacket and tribal pattern of the blouse play off the safari theme without being obvious.

And what outfit is complete without whimsical earrings? I may have to snag these adorable lions for myself.

Check out the board below for my picks. What would you wear on a safari? Any cute maternity picks out there you want to alert me to? :)

On safari by lindzlou-love featuring Sole Society

Come to Zion, come to Zion!

You guessed it. Andrew and I spent the last weekend in.... Zion! Zion National Park, that is. We drove down on Thursday (OK, Andrew drove and I watched Cars on his laptop) and stayed in Hurricane (pronounced Hurri-cun") for the night.

On Friday, Andrew and I and most of his family toured Zion National Park. All five siblings (two of his brothers couldn't make it) and their kids, plus Andrew, his parents and me, crammed onto a small shuttle bus to see the sights. I held Kalissa, my soon-to-be niece, on my lap and talked up musicals with Emily, another niece, as we walked to the river and took pictures there.

Once the kids were exhausted and everyone else was heading back to the park for a picnic, Andrew and I decided to check out Weeping Rock, this beautiful mossy cliff with water droplets falling everywhere. We headed back to the park for lunch after that, and I took a nap (I'm a wimp during weekend excursions) while Andrew swam with his nieces.

We finished up the trip with a stop at his sister's house, a few hours at a great park where we took some fun pictures that might end up on the announcements, and a quick trip to St. George to see the temple, since I'd never been there. I was completely floored to discover palm trees in Utah!

A lot of Andrew's siblings joked about how I still had about two months to back out on the marriage now that I'd met the whole family. But you know what? It was fun to be in my own Zion with Andrew's siblings and parents. Sure, they're not perfect. None of us are going to be lifted up like the city of Enoch anytime soon. But they love each other purely, and they accept and love me purely, too. And that's what matters most to me.

I am less than two months away from starting my own little Zion with an incredible husband by my side. I can't wait to begin that journey.