Party Through the USA

*This blog is not affiliated with Boeing or the Museum of Flight*

For the second time in our life as a family, we spend Valentine's Day weekend at the Museum of Flight in the Seattle area.  The first time we did we went, our kids were 3, 2, and 1.  They're now 8 (Dragonfly), 7 (Skimmer), and 6 (Tadpole).  The boys, Skimmer, Tadpole, and my husband, love all sorts of aircraft, so the Museum of Flight is perfect for them.  We visited the museum on a Saturday, which was understandably busy, but it also had a lot of happy energy.

RELATED: SEATTLE WITH 3 KIDS UNDER 4



The museum has two sections on the American space program.  The first section is within the main hanger and talks about the early days of space exploration, the Space Race, and Apollo 11.  The kids were very excited to see Katherine Johnson's picture (Hidden Figures) and the astronaut suits.  There's also a room with a big moon (pictured) and all the Apollo 11 pieces and equipment.  There are lots of interactiv…

While I'm writing this article, I have my son next to me, alternatively yelling in my ear and pinching my arm.  My son (Skimmer- age 7) is a sensory seeker-  he loves loud sounds, wrestling, biting/chewing, pushing, ramming, slamming, and more.  Part of the challenge of being a "sensory mom" is finding ways for my son to meet his physical needs without hurting himself, other people, or the environment/house.  It's a constant learning process for myself and him.

I have thought about this subject many times and have written about it from different angles in the past, too.  This time, I've assembled 50 ideas, which are good for times you're traveling or have to be in confined spaces.  Many of these ideas are also quiet enough for the classroom, appointments, or church services.  The sensory needs covered in this article are AUDITORY (hearing), VISUAL (sight), ORAL (mouth), TACTILE (touch), OLFACTORY (smell), or PROPRIOCEPTIVE (where you are in space).  I even h…

I've been sleeping for the past month or so, as I've been focusing on getting our new homeschool year started.  My mind has been distracted from family travel or camping- so sad.  The colder weather, though, has me thinking about cozy hot drinks like pumpkin spice lattes, apple cider, and hot cocoa.  Since it's also getting to be fall camping and hunting season, I thought this was a great time to focus on some off-the-grid ways to make coffee and other hot drinks.  This shopping guide should be very helpful now and give you lots of ideas for the upcoming holiday season.



Presse Stainless Steel French Press- This durable french press is triple-wall insulated, doesn't require any special equipment, filters, or pods, and can be used with any coffee or tea of your choice.  The insulation keeps your preferred drink hot for hours.  Users say that the coffee needs to be poured out in order to cool enough to drink, which is a great chance to use a fun mug like these enamel Adve…

Someone asked me today if having a family travel blog means that we go on a lot of vacations and trips.  The answer is a big, fat NO.  We only get to have a "real" family road trip about once a year.  Perhaps that will change in the future, but, for now, we've been content to have a bunch of little adventures all over our beautiful countryside.


As I looked back over the pictures I took this summer, I saw a lot of animals.  Wild animals, big animals, domesticated animals, and baby animals.  Almost every one of our outings involved a beast of some kind (even if it was just a bug).  For the last official week of summer, I thought I'd share our animal pictures with you.



This summer, we visited the county fair and saw lots of domesticated an baby animals.  The kids particularly loved the pigs and rabbits.  We spent a lot of time with both creatures, talking to their owners and petting the animals.  Of course, you can guess what the refrain has been around our house latel…

My family loves dinosaurs!  Whether we're playing Jurassic World Evolution video game or watching Dino Dana on Amazon Prime, we can't seem to get enough.  We like to visit museums, too, which is why I created this Dinosaur Museum bucket list for our family.  Since I'm sure we're not the only dino-crazy family in the USA, I'm sharing our list with you today!  Scroll down to the bottom of the post for more dinosaur family fun!



Chicago Field Museum

Although the Field Museum is most famous for Sue, one of the best preserved T-Rex fossils in the world, the museum is also home to many other dinosaurs and prehistoric creatures.  I visited this museum as a child, and mainly remember being overwhelmed and tired.  As the largest natural history museum in the world, I think you probably need a few days to really appreciate everything the museum has to offer.  If we ever do a week in Chicago, I'd love to make this part of our adventures.


Wyoming Dinosaur Center

I just recen…

A little over a year ago, my family helped me name this blog during a camping trip.  Today, I have a special treat for you- a guest post from my mom!  She's been a wife to one for 36 years, a mom of five children for 34 years, a grandma to five for 8 years, and a pharmacy tech for 35 years.  She loves camping, gardening, sewing, remodeling, and spending time with her family.  You can follow her on none of the social media platforms.  This is her second guest post on my blog!

Oh, and as a bonus, some the pictures from today have been taken by one of my sisters.  She loves photography and does all my kids milestone pictures.  You can also not follow her on any social media outlets, but please follow me (Facebook <> Instagram <> Pinterest).



When we think of camping, we all think of the warm, sunny days of summer, but that's not always the case for most parts of the country.  Some people bail at the first sign of bad weather, but we've never cancelled a trip or left…

Last week, I did a series of Circus-themed learning ideas on my homeschooling blog.  I had been planning on posting this coloring book last week, too, but did the one on amazing and huge bubbles instead.


My family loves going to the circus, watching The Greatest Showman, and pretending to be in the circus.  Last year, I put together a list of circus-themed road trip ideas, so I thought this year would be a good time to add a printable coloring book to the list.



> > > Click Here to Download < < <

You can download and print the circus-themed coloring book (I'd recommend one for each kid) and then bind it into a spiral coloring book with a binding machine.  If you don't wish to invest in a binding machine, then I would 3-hole punch the pages and put them in a poly folder or 3-ring binder.


Give your kids a pencil pouch or ziplock bag with coloring supplies, like colored pencils or markers.  I would avoid crayons on road trips as they tend to melt in hot car and m…