5,000 miles, 26 days, 13 states and a million memories later…we are home. We took an EPIC vacation for the last 26 days. That is nearly a month, people. We camped, we cruised, we swam, we ate, we national parked, we historical sited, and we drove and drove and drove. Most importantly, we spent a…
Want to make sure your kids aren’t bored on your next road trip? Try making them vacation journals to document their memories—it’s a super fun idea for long road trips! I love taking road trips with my family. Some of my very favorite family memories were made in the car in the middle of nowhere…
Our Epic Vacation: Day 13 Day 13 marks the halfway point, so don’t get too excited, because I’ll probably be blogging about this vacation for 100 more years. 2023 update: This was indeed the last post I ever made about the epic vacation. I am inspired to dig up all the rest of the photos…
Choosing a planner is very personal to your own life and preferences. Here are some guidelines to help you pick a paper planner that you will love! Even amidst all of the electronic technology out there, people still love and use their paper planners. I am one of those people. I have tried to go…
Family camping is so much fun—as long as you have the right supplies! If you’re novice campers, prepare for your camping trip by making sure you’ve got everything you need. We have never been big campers. The first time that we went camping together as a family was when our second child was a baby…
This post is part of an ongoing Summer Reading for Kids series. Click HERE to find ideas for reading activities, reading lists, and reading incentives…and keep checking back for more! My girls did their first summer book club in the summer of 2012. My youngest daughter was still a bit young for such an activity (though she did…
This summer, my husband and I will be celebrating not one, but THREE momentous occasions. In June, we will celebrate our 15th wedding anniversary. That’s the most important. But we both have summer birthdays, too, and this year we are both turning “The Big 4-0.” (I don’t really know what’s up with that, by the…
Sticking to a budget can be difficult, because some things come up so rarely that you forget to budget for them, or you don’t realize how much your are actually spending on what you think should be a non-category. Budgeting can also be difficult because it’s too easy to use a credit or debit card…
Our Epic Vacation: Day 12 We began our day bright and early by sailing into the Tracy Arm Fjord. The last time we took an Alaskan cruise, we did Glacier Bay instead, so I was happy to see something different. There aren’t as many glaciers at Tracy Arm, but what we did see was gorgeous!…
This printable Christmas wish list helps kids narrow down their lists into four categories: Things I want, things I need, something to wear, and something to read Make sure to check out our Ultimate Holiday Gift Guide—Find hundreds of gift ideas for EVERYONE on your list! Every year I tell myself that “this year I…
Our Epic Vacation: Day 11 Already Day 11. After our Sea Day the day before, we looked forward to our first port of call: Ketchikan, Alaska. Since we had all the kids with us this time, we chose not to do any excursions. The last time my husband and I were in Ketchikan with my…
Our Epic Vacation: Days 9 & 10 After spending the previous day in Seattle, the morning of Day 9 dawned bright and early, and we were all excited to get to the cruise terminal and board the ship! Hooray for cruises! With the help of my Dad, my brother, and both of my brother’s cars,…