Party Through the USA

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…

We've been spending a bit of time this summer with a fabulous lady, who is an expert in blowing huge bubbles!  I've been posting her bubbles on Instagram and have gotten lots of questions about how she makes them.  I reached out to "Lady Bubble Bee" and asked her to tell me all her secrets.  This post is compiled from emails I had with her recently and is posed with her permission.  I hope you enjoy!



Lady Bubble Bee's Recipe for Amazing Bubbles
- 8oz Dawn Liquid Detergent (must be PLATINUM version- the other's won't work)

- 1 tsp J-Lube Powder (veterinary powder)

- 1 Tbsp Baking Powder

- 1 Gallon of Water (distilled is best)

In a small bowl, combine the J-Lube Powder and baking powder together and mix well.  Find a container with a lid (like this one) larger than one gallon and empty the dish soap into it.  Then, gently stir the powders into the soap.  Very slowly, add the water.

After the initial mixing, a white powder will settle to the bottom- this is …

"When I drive, I'm in love, I'm alive, and I forget about everything I hate!" (Bonnie and Clyde)
I really enjoy musicals.  I love blasting some show tunes when I'm working on my blogs, crafting, making printables, cleaning, or driving.  Especially driving (although not everyone in my family is tolerant of Broadway songs).  Just for absolute fun and silliness, I thought I'd put together a list of show tunes about traveling.  It was very fun to make up the list, so I hope you enjoy it too.

*Each family needs to decide what music and lyrics are acceptable within their own family.  I advise pre-listening to this songs before making your own road trip play list*


1- "Traveling Song" from Shrek the Musical

2- "Getting Out of Town" from 42nd Street

3- "Buenos Aires" from Evita

4- "Anybody Have a Map" from Dear Evan Hansen

5- "Before the Parade Passes Us By" from Hello Dolly

6- "Telephone Wire" from Fun Home

7-…