A Road Trippin' We Will Go

It's summer. Vacation time! If you are anything like my family, you might be driving to your final destination. With airline tickets for an entire family costing a small fortune, driving sometimes makes sense. Maybe you'll be relying on the portable DVD players to entertaintment.

If not, try some of these great road trip games! A long ride in the car doesn't have to be torture- make it fun and possibly educational.

- Mom's Minivan
A great resource for scavenger hunt games. From spotting the tallest building to finding a tractor, everyone can get involved in finding the items on their list. Print out or create lists before you leave. You can up the ante by offering the lunch stop pick to the winner.

- Name that Tune
If you have access to an iPod or even pandora radio (free music website) play a family game of name that tune. Put the iPod on shuffle and call out the names or artists of each song that comes on. The good thing about Pandora is the random factor, you select a station (i.e Disney) and it plays songs from the artist or similar to the artist.

- Story in the Round
As a family, create a story. Begin with a statement or sentence and go around the car and have each person add a sentence. You'll never know how the story ends.

- Digital Camera Safari
Check out examples and the rules of safari.

- Road Book
Each member of the family or traveling party gets to pick a weird or wacky stop along the way. It could be the State Welcome Center for a sample of free Oj (in FL) or the biggest ball of yarn in Texas. When you arrive at the stop, get out the camera and make some memories. Include them in the scrapbook for the trip. Getting there is half the fun!

-Create your own Maze
You can print our crossword puzzles, mad libs and even create mazes for the family to do in the car.

- What would a ____ sound like?
Choose inanimate objects or even pets. Take turns guessing what they would sound like if they could talk. Do you have a valley girl puppy or possibly a fire hydrant from Boston?

Many of these sites have tons of other road trip games and activities for the family. Take your time and enjoy the trip.

Lions and Tigers and Bears, Oh My!

In honor of my nephew, Xavier, this post if going to be about the zoo. Xavier is turning one this week and as a gift, we've gotten him (and his parents) a membership to the Atlanta Zoo.


I don't know about you, but I am a true, blue zoo fan. For awhile I was a traveling recruiter for a college. This job entailed traveling across the country. In every city, if time permitted, I would visit the zoo. I have seen lots of animals and tested many a zoo. Of these zoos, one of my favorites has been the St. Louis Zoo.

Why this zoo? Here are a handful of reasons:

* It's FREE. That's right, I said free.
* It's huge. One of the largest I've ever visited.
* The penguins are friendly- I think I have a new best friend.
* It offers tons of family friendly options.

Each year, the St. Louis Zoo offers camps, classes and programs designed to teach visitors of all ages about the animals. Have a three year old, a seven year old and thirteen year old? Well, they have options. How about a family sleep over at the zoo? Take a night hike around the zoo and see what the animals are up to after dark.

Would you rather be keeper for a day? Sign up to take over the zoo keeper duties. Participants will help feed and care for the animals and see what it takes to run a zoo.

If you are in the Ohio area, check out the Cleveland Metro Park Zoo. This summer they are sponsoring a video competition for families to win admission for ten and a behind-the-scenes tour of the zoo. Get out your video cameras and have fun making a video about how the zoo inspires you.

If you are not sure where your nearest zoo is or what they offer, check out this website for a search. Create lots of new memories with a trip to the zoo!

Mint Museum, Charlotte, NC

From historic costumes to Native American art, Charlotte's Mint Museums (the new Uptown location opens in October) have tons to see during a visit. Their collection includes contemporary artwork, craft and design pieces as well as traditional American artwork. The Mint is completely family friendly. Prior to your visit you can print off a scavenger hunt and search for pieces throughout your visit. As you explore see if you can find all the artwork listed in the hunt- just a hint, you may want to look up!

Admission is $10 for adults and $5 for children 4 and up. If this seems a little high for a summer activity, take advantage of the bonus Tuesdays, admission to the Mint Randolph is FREE from 5-9 pm. Outside food and drinks are not permitted in the Mint, but there is a gorgeous grassy area outside to eat and enjoy a picnic lunch!

If hands-on is a little more your style, take part in the Wells Fargo Family Saturdays. You and your family can get down and dirty at the Mint by completing a hands on art project. Come ready to get messy! Throughout the year, the Mint hosts a First Friday celebration full of live music, activities, good times and special film screenings in the lawn.

There are helpful family guides on the website that allow you to plan for your visit and provide great games and activities you can do with your family while at the museum to engage in conversations about the work. Viewing and discussing art doesn't have to involve an art background, talk about what you see and what you liked! Stop on in if you are in Charlotte area!

Blueberries Galore

It is the season for blueberries! The season begins in late May and runs until September, so the getting is good for blueberries. My mouth is currently salivating over the thought of fresh blueberries over ice cream, tucked in pie or even blended in my morning smoothie. I used to loathe blueberries, too tart or tangy for my taste. As I have grown and my taste buds have developed, I am a blueberry maniac! Not only are they insanely good for you, full of antioxidants but they taste great!

Now, when I was a kid growing up in Northern Ohio, my Mom used to take me and my sisters strawberry picking. There was definite grunt work involved, however, the satisfaction of eating the fruit you picked in your ice cream that night made it worth it. I recently found a great website to aid in the search for a local farm that allows picking, Pick Your Own. If blueberries or strawberries aren't your favorite, you can check out when peaches, apples even pumpkins are in season. Take some time to explore the sight, there are tips and tricks to canning your fruit, easy family recipes and tons of other great information for you and the family.

Listed along side the farms (organic farms are listed in green!) are fruit and veggie festivals! What a great way to spend the day, tasting fresh, ripe fruits and their jam counterparts. From Michigan to Wisconsin and back down to Texas, summer is full of Blueberry festivals. In early August, Mossyrock, WA hosts its annual Blueberry festival full of live music, a blueberry pie eating contest and a family fun dog show. Bring the kids, pets and a healthy appetite for a day of fun.

Let's All Go to the Movies!

When I say movies, you say popcorn! Movies . . POPCORN! The first movie that I ever went to see in the movie theater was Beauty and the Beast. I still remember the excitement of carrying my own tub of buttery popcorn and far too large fountain Coca-Cola into the darkened theater and finding a seat to see the newest Disney movie. I can tell you, from that moment on, I was hooked! There's something about watching a movie in a crowded theater surrounded by others watching the very same movie for the first time, collective laughter and sometimes tears.

Now, today it's a little pricier to take the family to the movies than it was back in 1991 when Beauty and the Beast came out. Well AMC Theaters are combating that with their annual Summer Movie Camp. Every Tuesday morning this summer you and the family can enjoy the same magical movie going experience for only $1 a ticket! Participating theaters across the country are showing weekly family friendly movies for your enjoyment.

Show time is at 10:00 am sharp with the doors opening at 9:00 am. As an added incentive, all concession stand proceeds will be going to AMC charities, Variety- The Children's Charity and The Will Rogers Institute. Not only can you enjoy a fun flick, but you can feel good about buying that extra large tub of popcorn!

Upcoming titles include Kung Fu Panda, Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa and Hotel for Dogs. The AMC Summer Movie Camp ends on Tuesday, August 10th with a mystery showing. Take a gander at upcoming shows and share the movie going experience on the cheap! Happy viewing.

Marbles Kids Museum, Raleigh, NC

When I think of marbles, I am usually reminded of one favorite movies,"Hook". The beloved character, Toodles, searching for his long lost marbles. Now, it's been awhile since I've seen that movie and I have a new association with marbles. In my research for fun summer activities, I can across a Raleigh staple for families, Marbles Kids Museum.

I am not sure about you, but I love the idea of children's museums. Think about it, a place solely dedicated to developing a strong imaginative sense and empowering children to learn. I may have mentioned that I am the proud aunt to three little boys. In the heat of summer, there is a tendency for these boys to hover on the cusp of boredom. Taking them to an air-conditioned, contained hands on environment is a sure fire way to beat the boredom!

Marbles is designed for kids 10 and under, however, their core values and interactive exhibits can grab the attention of older brothers and sisters as well. Seven themed exhibitions encourage imagination and creativity as well as exploration and environmental responsibility. A new exhibit, MoneyPalooza, teaches visitors about money and frugal decisison (designed for 4th and 5th graders).

If you can't stay too late, be sure to grab your Action Cards before leaving. These cards share fun activities for the whole family based on the core values of Marbles. Plus, take advantage of some of the special events hosted by Marbles like the Target $2 Tuesdays. On the third Tuesday of each month, Target Corp. sponsors an evening at Marbles. You and your whole family get reduced $2 admission to play and explore from 5-8 pm. Once a month, Food Lion sponsors a Garden Gourmet snack. You can make and taste a delicious treat made with fresh, local veggies.

If you find yourself in or around the Raleigh, NC area, be sure to take breather and stop in Marbles Kids Museum. They are open Tuesday to Saturday 9-5 pm and Sunday 12-5 pm.

Christmas in July: Across the Nation!

The smell of fresh baked cookies, a fully decorated christmas tree and snow softly falling outside. The perfect snapshot of Christmas. Well, it would be perfect if you don't live in the South where snow is a myth rivaling Big Foot and the fact that it is currently July. Fear not- you can get your holiday fix at The Sandbox Children's Museum in Hilton Head, SC.

This July, you and the family can take part in ice cold snow cones, cookie decorating (and eating!) while gearing up for the coming holiday season. Kids will be able to meet Santa and fill him in on their mid year naughty or nice status. The added incentive to be able to play in the "snow" is one you can hardly pass up!

If you are in the West Jefferson, NC area, you may already know about their annual Christmas in July festival. For the past 24 years, West Jefferson has been celebrating the season with this festival offering, food, fun and live mountain music all day. The kicker- admission is FREE, thanks to generous sponsors.


If you are in the Paradise, PA area, head over to the second annual Midsummer Yule Festival. Held at the National Christmas Center, visitors are able to taste delicious foods from local vendors or purchase fresh produce from the Farmer's Market. There will be christmas carols, Santa and craft demonstrations all day. Admission to the festival is completely FREE!

Though Christmas is still quite a few months away, you can beat the heat by taking part in a Christmas in July festival near you. I don't know about you all, but it's never too early to break out my Mariah Carey Christmas CD! Happy Holidays!