Spring Break - rv/baseball style

So last month (ok, in April) we went on Spring Break. We took the RV and went on an adventure to see 3 major league ballparks. (when we got the RV we decided we wanted to try and bring the kids to see every MLB ballpark before K graduated from high school). Weft on a very rainy Saturday and headed to Cleveland. The game on Sunday was thankfully not rained out. It was a beautiful, albeit windy and kinda cold, day. And the Indians won. Big Man LOVED all the mascots - especially the racing hot dogs. We also took the kids to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Other than some ok local pizza, that was it for Cleveland.

On Monday we drove to Columbus, dropped off the RV with some friends we would be staying with, and headed for Cincinnati for a Reds game. Only 30 hours later, and what a change. The weather was GORGEOUS - sunny and in the high 70s. We had fun at the game, although the Reds played TERRIBLY. We did like the park - and got to enjoy some Cincinnati Chili, as well as the best hot dog I have ever had - called a "Beef and Swiss". If you ever get to the Reds park (which site right on the river), get one of these. You will not regret it!



We spent the next few days in Columbus. What a fun city! We visited the Columbus Zoo (of Jack Hannah fame), which is amazing. They have polar bears and grizzly bears and lots of cool animals. These bears were fighting inches from us! (several inches thick of plexiglass, but still!) It was very cool. We also went to Spaghetti Warehouse, which was B's favorite, and to Graeter's for some AWESOME ice cream (banana cream pie!). We spent a whole day at COSI, and could have been there for several days. K road a high-wire unicycle, and did the awesome Adventure in to the Valley of the Unknown (a cool scavenger hunt mystery). The other two loved the Oceans exhibit, KidSpace, and the Space exhibit. Very impressive museum!

Rest of the trip in a few days!................

Little Chefs

When K turned 9 at the end of April, she wanted a cooking party. (Well, first she wanted a pool party, but thought of it too late and all the indoor pools were booked). It worked out great, so I thought I would share what we did.

First, we kept it small. She invited 8 girls from school, and only 6 were able to come. Awesome!

Second, we kept it simple. The girls were "making" three dishes. We did pizzas, smoothies, and cookies.

Third, we had tons of fun!

When each girl arrived, she was given a chef's apron off (ebay - $2 each), a small rolling pin ($1 each), and a chef's hat ($1 each). We had written the kids' names on both the hat and the apron in fabric marker. They could then spend 15 minutes of so decorating them more.

Then they washed their hands, and came and sat at the kitchen table. They each got a pile of flour and a lump of dough. On the table were bowls of sauce, cheeses, and pepperoni. Once they rolled out their dough and made their pizza, I put it on the pizza stone to go in the oven. If I ever do this again, I will figure out a way to label them, because it was hard to tell whose was whose when it was done. Ditto for the cookies later!

We cleaned that up, and then the girls lined up outside the kitchen. They came in two at a time (I had two blenders) and helped put together their smoothie. We had vanilla yogurt, mango, orange and apple juice, frozen mangos, bananas, strawberries and raspberries. We also had big straws and fancy drink umbrellas. The smoothies were a HUGE hit. The girls loved trying the different flavors and combinations.

They ran around playing a bit, then the pizza was done. The girls came in and ate, and then we had our one organized game - feel the shape. I bought this 101 cookie cutter pack, and we laid about 50 of the cutters on a table with a sheet over it. The girls had to reach under the sheet and try and determine the shape of the cookie cutter without looking. Each girl could get up to 5 cookie cutters.

Then it was back in the kitchen, where they were given a lump of cookie dough (premade by pillsbury) and tons of sprinkles and decorations. Again, wish we had somehow labeled whose cookies were whose! There was also frosting when the cookies were done. The girls had a blast with this (and despite a few tears over cookie-owner confusion), and loved their designs.

They each left with their outfits, rolling pins, and cookie cutters.

It was a big hit, and everyone had fun!

Freedom

So, K turned 9 recently (details on her fun party soon). And we are trying to give her little bits of freedom. Last year, I raved about this book. So I am trying to do it (give my children the kind of freedom I had). I mean, my parents used to throw us out of the house with a "see you when the streetlights come on" and that was that. Now my kids have to beg to be allowed to walk around the corner to their friends house without me. Ridiculous.

So yesterday, we arrived at our friends' luau party about 6 (suburban) blocks away (with one busy street on the way). They had a slip & slide and we didn't have suits. I proposed to K that she could walk home and get them. She was psyched. I handed her the house keys, and she set off. I was half convinced she would get home and be afraid to go into the house by herself. But after about 15 minutes, she was back. She ran up, all excited, and said, "mom! I did it!, but 2 things... Is it ok that I drove my bike back? (sure!) and I forgot Big Man's suit, can I go back and get it?" Great! She was so excited, and quickly did it again, and was fine.

We are thinking we will let her go to the library by herself this summer to get out books. We live literally 3 doors from the library. She will have to cross one busy street and a large parking lot, but otherwise very close. She is excited about this idea.

Baby steps people, baby steps.

Spring (undies) Cleaning

So last week I was at Target buying socks for my girls. I have no idea what in heck they do with all their socks, but they got to a point where they didn't have any more and we were about to go on vacation. (nevermind that they ended up leaving their suitcase behind and we had to stop at Walmart and buy them all new clothes...) While I was there, I noticed that Target had cute women's cotton undies on sale - some on clearance. I bought myself 5 packages.

When I got home I went through my underwear drawer and threw out all the yucky pairs of underwear. You know the ones. The undies of last resort. They don't fit right, they may have rips, or they are just old and ratty. I threw them all out. I ran the new ones through the laundry,and voila! I had a whole drawer of underwear that I liked. And that fit. And that I wasn't ashamed to wear.

And it cost me about $20. I STRONGLY encourage you all to do your own Spring (undies) Cleaning! No more through picking through the drawer for the pairs I like. Now I like them all. I know underwear is not something I normally put a lot of thought into, but this is a little thing that could make your morning a bit brighter!

It works for me! For more Works for Me Ideas, visit...www.wearethatfamily.com

What is a Soldier to Do?

Heard an interesting story last week on NPR about soldiers returning from war who feel lost. Often combat soldiers return and feel stressed and confused about their role in the non-combat world. Well, a few returning vets realized that these soldiers have specialized skills that could be used for humanitarian relief at quick notice. The created a group called Team Rubicon, which "bridges the critical time gap between large humanitarian disasters and conventional aid response. We provide vanguard medical care by fielding small, self-sustaining, mobile teams of specially skilled first-responders."

What a FANTASTIC idea! Why not utilize the training and abilities of these soldiers and let them help in times of crisis? Team Rubicon does just that. I think its a great idea. It is just getting off the ground, and is in need of donations.

Listen to the story, and I'll bet you will be equally driven to give.

A Tourist in Our Own Town

We are lucky to live in a very picturesque, historic area that is ripe for tourists. But, like many, we tend to ignore all the feature available to us. So thanks to Groupon and Living Social, in the last few weeks we have acted like tourists.

We took the Old Town Trolley (tour bus) around town, seeing all the sites. We only got off at a few stops, but had a great time. We stopped at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing and saw lots and lots of money! The kids thought it was very cool. Then we walked down to the Jefferson Memorial and hopped back on the trolley. We took it past the Lincoln Memorial, Washington Monument, White House, etc. Then we hopped on the other trolley and took it up Embassy Row to National Cathedral. It was a random Friday when the girls didn't have school, so the Cathedral was not crowded at all. We took the elevator to the top and enjoyed the view. We stopped by and saw some of the amazing stained glass (including the cool moon rock space window), and then played hide-and-seek in the Bishop's garden. Then we took the trolley back through Georgetown to our car.

This weekend we went to Mount Vernon (with a family friend). It is less than 20 miles from our house and I don't think I'd been there in 15-20 years!!! It was a lovely day and we had a great visit. They even provide a kind of scavenger hunt map for kids!! The house itself is very impressive, and we learned some fun things. (Did you know George Washington wanted to make the house out of stones, but it was too expensive, so he did it in wood planks, had them cut to look like stone blocks, and mixed the wet paint with sand to make it feel like stone?) The new museum and visitor's center were very impressive. The kids all loved the cool holographic head of George, who seemed to follow you around the room.
So playing tourist in our town is what works for me! For more works for me, visit Works for Me Wednesdays!

Swingin From the Trees

Doesn't this look so cool? They are hotel rooms suspended in trees. I think it looks awesome. Not only do you get the cozy treehouse feel, and the amazing views - but they are suspended, and so sway in the breeze! It is in Vancouver, Canada, and not that expensive. I would love to try it some time. The only downside is that the bathroom is in a separate building. But you know what, I'd deal. I need to find a reason to get to Vancouver and try this out!!


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