Black Chasm Caverns National Landmark 1/6/18

We wanted to get a fun adventure in after the new year before the kiddos basketball and soccer started up so we ventured to the Black Chasm Caverns, in Volcano, CA. We had heard from a friend that they were pretty neat so we decided to check them out. 

Fun Times at Treetop Adventure Park - Granlibakken Resort

When Hubby had his conference at Granlibakken Resort for work at the end of September the whole fam tagged along over the weekend. It was a great time since it is right by Lake Tahoe. The closest town is Tahoe City where we had time to explore the lake. However our favorite part of the weekend was checking out the Treetop Adventure Park.

Effie Yeaw Nature Center 3/24/16

Last week was my birthday and what did I do that day? Well, my favorite things of course. I ran 3 miles with the fam in the morning and also hiked in the afternoon. We checked out the Effie Yeaw Nature Center and their nature trails. We had heard from a family friend that it was a neat place to visit. The hike was closer to home, about a 42 minute drive from Davis. We found it to be a great place for kids.

5 Reasons Why American Ninja Warrior is Great for Kids

Recently we visited the Stratosphere Trampoline Park in Hainsport, NJ. Though they really enjoyed the jump time on the trampolines, the main reason we visited was because we knew there was an American Ninja Warrior Obstacle Course there. I found out about it when a friend on Facebook posted a video of her kids doing the course (thanks Dana!). I also saw it on Groupon which made for a great deal and an even better reason to visit.

Our Trip to Toronto

This post is a bit late, as it was a couple of weeks ago that we were in Toronto, but I wanted to share our adventure. After our visit to Niagara Falls, we headed up to Toronto to stay a couple of nights. Toronto too was on my bucket list of places to go before we moved because I had never been to Canada on the East Coast. On the west coast, I had been to Vancouver and Whistler and had great experiences there and I've heard great things so I wanted to check it out. Plus, my 6 year old expressed interest in visiting another country and this was an easy way to do that. :)

5 Things to Love About Niagara Falls

It wasn't too long ago that the fam visited Niagara Falls. It was on my bucket list of things to do before we moved and I am so glad that I got to cross it off my list. It was a great place to see. 

Here are five things that I loved about visiting the Falls:

6 Things to Love About Geocaching

I started geocaching a couple weeks ago with the fam and have found it to be such a fun activity for not just the kiddos but for me as well. There are so many cool reasons to geocache and these are some of the things that I have found that I love about geocaching.

6 Things to love about geocaching:

5 Reasons to Go Camping at Ricketts Glen State Park

It's been a couple of weeks since we went camping at Rickett's Glen State Park in Benton, PA. Seems we can't get enough of the place because we have been to the State Park the last couple of years. We have always used their modern cabins which are pretty nice. However when we checked to go camping 4th of July weekend, pretty much everything was booked. We were actually pretty lucky to even get the camp site we did (someone must have cancelled because the first time I checked there was nothing available)! This goes to show you that Rickett's Glen is a great place to visit. 

Here are 5 reason to go camping at Rickett's Glen State Park:

Battle of Trenton and Princeton History Tour

Hubby is a history buff and I enjoy learning about it, so he brought up the idea of going on a history tour in our backyard, well not actually our backyard but in the vicinity. We live in Princeton and not many know that there is lots of history here and in the surrounding areas. With the help of the Hidden Trenton website, Hubby learned a lot about our area's history and took us on a tour (driving and walking). If you do the tour, I highly recommend printing out the pdf of the Guides to the Battles of Trenton and Princeton because there is lots of great information there.

Fun on the Ice on Frozen Lake Carnegie

It's not often that nearby Lake Carnegie in Princeton is frozen enough for people to ice skate or play on. The recent run of cold weather made for 5+ inches thick of ice on the lake, making it safe for us to play. You know the ice is safe when the white flags are flying from the poles at the boathouse near Washington Road and at the Harrison Street Bridge. When the flag is red, you know the ice is not safe. We took advantage of the safe ice and went yesterday. 

#MrSketchHoliday Scented Markers Fun for the Kiddos!

I don't know about you but I remember when I was in elementary school, I loved the Mr. Sketch scented markers. I remember smelling them and coloring/drawing with them all the time. They were the everyday markers we used and I enjoyed using them. So when I qualified for the #MrSketchHoliday Scented Marker mission through Smiley360. I was pretty excited. It brought back memories of drawing and coloring when I was younger. 

Through Smiley360, I received a complimentary 6 pack of Mr. Sketch Scented Stix holiday markers and also a $5 gift card to Walmart towards another pack of Mr. Sketch Scented markers of our choosing in exchange for an honest review. When I told the kiddos about the scented markers they were intrigued and excited. Intrigued because I told them they were different from regular markers because these ones had different smells. And excited because I told them we were getting another new pack of markers on our trip to Walmart. 

When we got to Walmart I was actually disappointed when we got there because there was not much of a selection. The only type they had left was the Movie Night Markers, so we went with that. 

Five of my Favorite Things to do on the Day After Thanksgiving

The day after Thanksgiving is for many about "Black Friday" and shopping. But for me that is not the case. I've had my share of shopping with my mom when I was younger and I'm not saying I didn't enjoy it, but I'd rather sleep in and enjoy not having to deal with lines and crowds of people trying to get a good deal. 

Here is a list of five of my favorite things to do on the Day After Thanksgiving:

Last Day in Washington DC: National Postal Museum 11/19/14

It was our last day in DC and I wanted to stick close to Union Station so we headed to the National Postal Museum as it was literally across the street from our hotel. I wasn't sure what to expect at the museum because I wasn't sure how stamps and mail could be fun. However, I was pleasantly surprised on how well the museum displayed exhibits on stamps, explored postal history, and explained how mail is/has been transported throughout the years.

A cool thing we found was the Create Your Own Stamp Design station. It was neat because it was a touch screen where you got to tap what features you wanted. 

Day 4 in Washington DC 11/18/14

Today we visited the U.S Bureau of Engraving and Printing to learn about how are money is made. Tours run every 15 minutes from 9:00 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. to 2 p.m. We made it to the 10:30 tour and with it being off peak season we did not need a ticket. Tours are free like most other museums in DC. :) 

Before the actual tour you can watch a video on how money is made. During the tour no pictures, videos, or cell phones are allowed in use so I was not able to take any pics. The pics below are all from the gift shop.

Day 3 in Washington DC 11/17/14 National Museum of Natural History

The weather forecast called for rain all day so we checked out the Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History. It was the perfect place to spend the day. There was so much to see. 

Day 2 in Washington DC 11/16/14

Today we ventured to the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. From Union Station it is fairly easy to get there as you take the red line on the Metrorail to the Woodley Park/Zoo/Adams Morgan stop. The walk was longer than expected to the zoo but not too bad.

What is great about the zoo is like other Smithsonian museums, it is also free! The Zoo is fairly big so we were unable to see everything but we did see all of the animals we were hoping to see. The animal I most wanted to see were the pandas. They were along the Asia Trail which was the first area we came across.

Day 1 in Washington DC 11/15/14

We arrived in Washington DC today as Hubby has got a big conference and he invited us to tag along. We got in close to lunch time and were lucky enough to get checked in to our hotel early. We dropped off our stuff and parked our car at the Union Station garage where parking per day was $24. A lot better than $50 per day at the hotel we were staying at. 

After a quick lunch at Union Station (lots of food choices there with restaurants and a food court downstairs), we headed towards the Air and Space Museum. Btw, big thanks goes to Jenny from Run Jenny Run who gave me a list of food and place recommendations in DC to explore with the kids and also running routes! Thank you Jenny! :)

From Union Station we walked towards Smithsonian's National Air and Space Museum to meet a friend with her son who is also good friends of the kiddos. I Google mapped the walk and it turned out to be a 20 minute walk, which was great especially after we had just eaten lunch. I enjoyed the walk and stopped to take pics of the kiddos. Here they are by the Capitol.

Muscoot Farm with the Kids

Last Sunday, with my Mother-In-Law in the area, well up North near White Plains, NY, we headed up there to visit with her for the day. She had found this local farm that we could visit. This farm was called Muscoot Farm. It was pretty neat as they were having their Autumn Celebration so there were booths with local vendors and there was a display of cool vintage cars.

Philly Boo at The Zoo

We took the kiddos to Boo at the Zoo at the Philadelphia Zoo last Saturday. We have gone the last couple of years and have really enjoyed it. It's great because the kids get to dress up in their costumes and trick or treat at different stations marked throughout the zoo. 

Community and Staff Day at Princeton Football

On Saturday we headed into Princeton for Community and Staff Day at Princeton Football. It was really nice as tickets to the football game were free for Faculty and Staff plus there was going to be a post game fireworks show. With the kiddos getting interested in football (because Daddy watches it often) we couldn't miss it. Free is always nice. :) When we told the boys we were going to a football game they were so excited for the game. Another thing that was nice was they also offered a sports clinic for kids where Princeton student athletes helped introduce sports to kids in a fun way.