How To: Part 1 - Set Up a Pack N Play

It looks easy enough, right? After a long day of traveling with an overtired crying baby, popping up that Pack n Play doesn't always go so smoothly. Maybe the last time you did it was months ago when you set yours up in your living room for baby to play in. If we aren't there to set it up for you, here's a video we found on exactly how to get it up in about 30 seconds.

The basic steps:

1. Remove carrying bag

2. Un-velcro the straps holding the mattress pad around the pack n play and set it aside

Now, the important part and in this order:

3. Pull up all four side rails until they audibly lock

4. Push down center floor support until it audibly locks

(if you push down the center BEFORE locking the rails, they WILL NOT LOCK)

5. Position mattress pad in bottom of Pack N Play, securing it underneath by passing the velcro straps through the slits in the floor fabric to the underneath side of the pack n play.

Our rental Graco Pack N Play's are all of the same basic design. The accessories and the way they attach to the Pack N Play do vary from model to model, but instructions are provided with all of our rentals.

Payson, AZ - Photo Friday

Last weekend we escaped to Payson, just a short 90 minute drive northeast of Phoenix, to visit some family. I say "some family" because I honestly couldn't tell you how we were related. We took my parents ATV's up to the Mogollon Rim in cool country to enjoy the view and give our 3 year old her first potty-in-the-woods expierence. It was a beautiful view and we were almost cold in the 70-degree weather. It was wonderful!


We also took a nice long drive down a very winding dirt road on the edge of a cliff to find Fossil Creek, out of Strawberry, AZ. It had some great swimming areas and a small campground too. Here's Cameron and grandpa enjoying the scenery and tossing sticks into the creek.

Want to see more family travel photos? Find out more about Photo Friday at Delicous Baby!

Heat Wave

To escape the recent record setting heat in Phoenix (and across the northwest too!) we took a nice 5 1/2 hour drive over to Orange County for another little weekend break. We hit the highest average temperature and the highest average lows ever recorded for July. Many, many days of temps over 110 degress also gave us our highest a/c bill ever recorded too!

We stopped by the San Juan Capistrano Mission, pictured below, had lunch at the old train depot then headed down to San Clemente to the beach and watched the passenger trains go by as we played in the waves.

We used the Phil and Ted's Traveller for our almost 3 year old daughter that we just added to our rental inventory at Sweet Pea Baby Rentals. It worked out great and was a good follow up test to our review a few weeks ago. I popped it up in a few minutes and packed it neatly into it's tiny carrying bag when we were all done. I do wish they'd designed some way to put a sheet in the bottom though. Sleeping on the nylon bottom doesn't seem to bother our daughter but it does seem to make her a little hotter than normal. Another good option is the Kidco Pea Pod that we just reviewed too. It is smaller but also does not have a sheet like the Traveller.

Check out more travel pics at Photo Friday over at deliciousbaby.com