Our Favorite Summer Moments

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Like every Summer, we started off the season by making a “bucket list”, but some things just could not have been planned. Here are some of our favorite Summer moments! 1. Making a Bucket List — It was so nice to have a list of things to do with the kids before the end of [...]

One Last Trip to the Beach

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We’re back from a lovely beach vacation with the family to Ocracoke, NC. It was a lazy week spent soaking up every last precious moment of Summer with trips to the beach, a few spontaneous photo shoots, and lots of resting!! How beautiful it is to do nothing, and then rest afterwards.” – Spanish Proverb [...]

Pretend Play — Invisible Taxi

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Wondering what to do with the kids?? Recently, my kids built an invisible taxi, and spent a very long time happily “driving” each other all around an intensely busy pretend city. I thought you may like to build an invisible taxi of your own to inspire plenty of imaginative playtime fun too! To make your [...]

10 Fun-Filled Play Ideas for the Beach

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Planning a trip to the beach this Summer? Looking for a few play ideas to have in mind for once the kids get bored of playing in the waves? ((Does that ever happen??)) Well, if it does, here are a few of our favorite play ideas for the beach… or sandbox! 1. Play Sand Bakery [...]

Connect with Your Kids — Ideas for when you’re far away

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For this week’s post in our Connect with Your Kids series, Joyce from Childhood Beckons and I asked some of the most interesting and creative bloggers to share their best tips for helping kids to connect with faraway friends and family! Here is a summary of the responses, along with ten main themes that emerged [...]

Sunday Snapshot – Opening Day

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We had a lovely time sweepin’ the clouds away at Sesame Place for Opening Day! We went on several rides including the carousel (more than once)…   …watched the super-fun Neighborhood Street Party Parade!     But my favorite moment of the day, was watching Emily climb the HUGE nets!! A BIG thank you to [...]

Sunday Snapshot — Adventures in Geocaching!

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Wishing you and your family a lovely weekend full of adventure!!

No Mess Sandpaper Snowflakes

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  With a few sheets of sandpaper found in the garage and some leftover white yarn from my stash, the girls spent some quiet time together making snowflake pictures! In mind was this sandpaper craft from Polwig found via The Crafty Crow. The yarn clings onto the sandpaper all by itself, which the girls thought [...]

Sunday Snapshot – Celebrating Autumn

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Fall is officially here (and it is my FAVORITE season)!! A BIG thank you to Highlights for Children for inviting us to Honesdale, PA for their Illustrator’s Party — we had a lovely time! On a related note, check out the current issue of Highlights High Five magazine (My craft is in there! Woot!!). Wishing [...]

Budget-Friendly Staycation Ideas

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Has your family ever tried a staycation? They can be a great budget-friendly alternative to pricey vacations, and usually require a lot less planning. YAY for spontaneous adventures and quality family time!! Here are a few ways to make a family staycation even more special. Note: For those in the Southern Hemisphere, some ideas for [...]

Our Summer Bucket List

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I thought it would be fun to share our Summer Bucket List today — which seems to grow longer by the minute, as I keep adding things to the list! Many of these activities are either very low cost or free (yay!!), and the kiddos are really looking forward to crossing things off of the [...]

SURPRISE! Let’s Go on a Day Trip!

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Last night, while the girls were sleeping in their beds, Mark and I stayed up late packing up the car for a total SURPRISE day trip to nearby Point Pleasant Beach, NJ. (Mark had taken the day off from work, and the weather forecast looked beautiful!!) It. Was. Awesome!!! We enjoyed the sandy beach, waves, [...]

DIY: Tele-Transporter

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Airplanes are a hassle, trains are too slow, and cars can get stuck in traffic. What you really want is a tele-transporter to instantly transport you wherever you need to go!! The girls and I went to a local park to build a prototype for our own tele-transporter, and used it to instantly transport us [...]

Sweepin’ the Clouds Away

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We were invited to Sesame Place for Opening Day! Here are some pictures that make me smile…. The look on Clara’s face when she watched the new Street Party Parade from Mark’s shoulders. Dancers in colorful tutus along side Zoe!! A NEW face to Sesame Place…. Murray! Super Grover!!!! Parents turned into kids again….. And [...]

Zoo Inspired Crafts

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This time of year we love to make several field trips to the local zoo, and get lots of mileage out of our annual family pass! Here are some zoo-inspired crafts to try: If you’re lucky enough to have a fun encounter with a peacock… … here’s an easy peacock craft using color-coding labels! Maybe [...]

Sunday Snapshot – Imagination Takes Flight

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This weekend we used our Makedo kits to build planes from empty diaper boxes! The girls had great fun as flying aces! Oh, the excitement!! The adventure!!! They soared so high! It was death-defying!! Check out the look on Clara’s face after coming out of a loop!! Have fun!! Congratulations to Martha (comment #348, chosen [...]

How to Take a Mini Vacation

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Looking for an inexpensive vacation?? Want to just get away from it all?? Tired of being treated like cattle at traditional airports? Then it’s time to take a mini vacation! Here’s how… in just 10 easy steps! Step 1: Pack your bags!! — This is crucial to that feeling of leaving it all behind, and [...]

FREE Museum Day

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In honor of FREE Museum Day, an event sponsored by Smithsonian Media with over 1300 museums from across the country participating, we took a trip to the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia. It was awesome, educational, and frugal!! I printed out a pass for Mark and I to have free tickets, Clara is under [...]