We All Made It Back In One Piece

We're back! We survived the trip from Tennessee to Minnesota and back again. The kids handled the drive really well (the dvd player was a lifesaver). Like all vacations it seemed to go by too fast, but I am glad to be home and so are the kids. A note of warning-I have not edited these photos at all. Well, ok I cropped a few, but that's it. I have too many and I am lazy. Right now I am all about straight out of the camera.

We started our journey Thursday morning. We drove about 8 hours and stayed in Bloomington, IL. We found a park so the kids could burn some energy. Then grabbed some dinner. The next morning we woke up and drove about 4 hours to the Wisconsin Dells.

We stayed at a hotel with an indoor and outdoor waterpark. The place was really cool and the kids had a blast. Too bad we only stayed the night.

Saturday morning we played for a little longer. My daughter loved the big huge slide. She kept saying "I love it. I really do. Can we do it again?" It's a good thing that her dad loved it too!

My son's favorite part was the water that squirted up in the baby pool. He discovered that sitting on the water spurting up felt kinda funny.

After a little more fun, we packed up and were back on the road again. We drove about 6 hours to Duluth. The van started acting up and we ended up in the parking lot of a Nissan dealership. We were able to drive it on, but knew we would have to take it back in on Monday to get checked out. Man, oh man!

That's my niece on the left. Isn't she a cootie patootie? Yes, we fit all 3 of them in the backseat. Grammie and G-Pa (my husband's parents) were with us too. So that's 7 of us in one minivan. We finally made it to our destination and had a lovely dinner with family. It felt good to be there. Sunday was the family reunion. It was a bit chilly which was fine by me.

The kids loved fishing. My daughter stood on the dock forever casting her bobber into the lake. You can see her just barely in the right corner of the photo above.

Look a photo of me. How did that happen? My son is very shy and wanted to be held the first 2 days. I actually enjoyed his clinginess a little bit. He was so sweet and cuddly plus he wasn't getting in trouble, bouncing off the walls. Isn't that horrible?

On Monday my husband took the car into the shop and the rest of us hung out. It was nice to just relax and have no worries. The kids even took naps. Later my husband let the kids do some very supervised fishing with worms and actual hooks. My son is kissing the fish below.

A part had to be ordered for the van so we took it back in on Tuesday so they could install the part. Originally we were going to stay in Duluth and do some shopping and sightseeing, but since it was our last day and the weather was nice we decided to go back to the lake. We drove all day Wednesday and Thursday. We were home by about 5:30 pm. What a trip. All things considered the trip went really well, but we spent way too much time in the car. I think we will save up our money and fly next time.

Toddler Travel Tips Anyone?

I have been compiling a list of travel tips and activities to entertain 3 young kids on our journey from Tennessee to Minnesota. I know some our obvious, but I thought it would help to have them all listed out.

The first thing I did was make I Spy Bags for the kids. I originally saw the idea over at Nature Moms and knew I had to make some of my own. I did look at several tutorials, but like most sewing projects I attempt I just winged it. The kids might be a little young for them, but hopefully they will come in handy.

The next thing I did was buy some eco-friendly, hypo-allergenic, washable travel pillows. Using the leftover fabric from the I Spy Bags, I made some cute little pillowcases. The pillows are a little bigger than I had envisioned, but they will do. (The first 2 photos show the other side of the pillow)

We do have a DVD player in our van so that is a bonus. We have a HUGE collection of movies. We let each child pick out a new movie so they have something new to watch.

I downloaded some free audio books and put them on my ipod. I think this will be good around nap time. Storynory has some great stories and there are several podcasts on iTunes that have free stories as well.

I found this website MomsMinivan.com, which is packed with tons of printables and travel ideas. I am excited about playing some travel bingo.

Parent Hacks and Family Fun have some great travel tips.

I plan to have snacks and treats readily available for melt down moments. I read somewhere that you can set a timer to go off every 30 min- 1 hour. When the timer goes off, they get some sort of treat no matter what is happening. I am not sure that we will do that because that would be a lot of treats, but I think it is a good concept.

We have lots of books, stickers, coloring books, and small toys ready to go. The only thing left to do now is pack. UUUGGGGHHHH!!

Anyone have any advice they want to share?

Some Tuesday Tidbits

Today I thought I would share a few little tidbits of things I have wanted to share, but never seemed quite enough to warrant an entire post on its own.

My kids love popsicles. I bought some molds so that we can make our own. I had intentions of whipping up some smoothie or yogurt type pops, but have been too lazy. So instead I have been filling them with organic apple juice or lemonade. I personally like the lemonade ones the best. They think it is a big treat and I don't feel guilty about it.

Every now and then my daughter's hair is difficult to brush after it as been washed. I used an old spray bottle and mixed about a tablespoon of conditioner (Jason's Aloe Vera) with some water and shook it up. Now I have leave in conditioner. I even use it on my hair sometimes when I have bed head.

My kids also love yogurt pops. I buy the Horizon ones and freeze them. Their hands get so cold when they hold them. So I stick some old baby socks on the end to block some of the cold and it helps absorb some of the stickiness.

I know I have more tidbits share, but it is late and I must go to bed. It will give me something to write about another day, right?

Can I have a 3 Day Weekend Every Week, please?

We had a fun-filled Fourth of July weekend. We woke up Friday morning and decided to go for a hike. We had so much fun. The kids loved exploring and saw a turtle, snake, deer, frogs, fish, butterflies, and a huge garden. I took so many pictures and decided to try "P" mode instead of the auto mode on my camera. Baby steps, right?

Then we went to my parent's house to Slip-N-Slide. They set up the world's largest Slip-N-Slide. I swear the pictures do not do it justice.

Both kids were sound asleep at 8:00 pm. On Saturday morning we cleaned and went for a dip in our neighbors pool. The kids napped and then we went to Grammie and G-Pa's house. We ate Mexican and shot off some little fireworks, which the kids loved. I decided to only shoot in Manual mode. Getting brave, I know.

He is already such a stud and he knows it!

Look at that hand. Man, oh, man. I am choosing this as my Best Shot. I just can't resist. On Sunday, we went to the park and swimming again. My battery died on my camera so I did not get any photos. Oh well, what do you do? Buy another battery so that you have a spare? Ok, that's a good idea. I am not posting a menu this week. We are leaving for vacation on Thursday and I just don't feel like it, so there!!!

Check out everyone else's Best Shot Monday.

Happy Monday everyone.

Theme Thursday- Linear

Today's theme is Linear. Easy one, huh? Well, I am not exactly sure I hit the nail on the head with this one, but I gave it my best effort. I was actually going to skip this week altogether. Then yesterday evening my kids were playing on the bench on the deck and I thought, hey I will see how it looks. I was pleasantly surprised.

Head on over to Stacy's for some more great photos.

Bloomin' Borage, More Caterpillars, and the World's Largest Blueberry

I have to be honest. I have been feeling rather uninspired lately. I am still living just as green, but have not had much to say about it. I feel kind of at a stand still, but I think the main reason is I am now obsessed with my new camera (a Nikon D60). When I have a little bit of free time I play with my camera or editing software. I promise I am working on a good post that goes back to my green roots, but for now more on stuff going on in my backyard. (Can you tell I don't get out much?)

My borage is now blooming. How pretty is that?

I was picking some parsley to use for dinner and found two caterpillars on my dill. We found one on the parsley last night. I am not sure if the little guys that I showed you here are all grown up or if these are different ones. It is more fun to think they are the same ones.

Birds have been feasting on our blueberry bushes. I read somewhere that if you place something shiny that moves near the plant it will keep the birds away. So I came across these at the grocery store and thought we would give it a go. I wasn't ready to buy nets just yet.

I know birds are still eating some of the berries, but we have some that are making it. Yesterday I found two HUGE blueberries. I know you can't really tell from the photo, but that baby was big. I say "was" because my son ate it. At least he got to it before the birds.

I also made pesto last night using some of my basil. I am lovin' my little herb garden.

Our New Feathered Friends

We have a bird (I think it is a dove) that built a nest right outside our bathroom window. Look how close I got to her. I took the photo below a couple of weeks ago.

I took the one below last night.

Yesterday morning as I was getting ready for work, I heard the bird making noises. My husband told me that there are now 3 birds. I could not believe how big the baby birds are already. The mom flew off as I approached and the nest is no longer there, but the two baby birds just sat there watching me.

I took SO many photos and that is the best one. Those little guys were tucked back in the corner and I had to just hold my camera up and shoot. I love discovering new things in our yard.