Party Through the USA

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog  In Our Pond .  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out! Last weekend was our third west coast road trip five months.  Every time, I feel like I learn a bit more about what works for our family, and the kids get more "settled" about what a road trip means.  I now feel like we're ready for a trip to the east coast (several days vs one day of driving). One of the highlights of this trip was our "playground tours."  On the day we went to the coast, we stopped at a really nice "dinosaur" playground about halfway through our journey.  Then, when we got to the hotel, they got to play again on the equi

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog  In Our Pond .  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out! Yesterday, I posted about Dragonfly's activity bag.  Today, I'll show you the ones for the boys. His bag contains: - motorcycle (thrift store) - various blue vehicles ($ store) - altoid tin for pouring and dumping - blue play dough balloon (DIY) - pretend cell phone ($ store) As you can see, it's all about cars, wheels, and things to spin in Skimmer's bag.  I'm sure he will also do some things from Dragonfly and Tadpole's bags, too.  I forgot to include the "something to spin" and i-spy activities that I posted about a few days ago ( here

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog  In Our Pond .  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out! Our road trip is coming up soon, so I thought I'd give you a peak at all the fun things I've put together for my kids.  First, the four year old girl (Dragonfly). - clipboard with fuzzy pen attached ($ store) - coloring book ($ store) - Toy Story 3 Look and See book (thrift store) - create a scene stickers ($ store) - Toy Story Magnetic Game (DIY) - play phone ($ store) - pink play dough stress ball (DIY) - necklace making kit (DIY) - Leap Frog matching game (thrift store) - Toy Story matching game (DIY) - pink pouch for snacks (Wal-mart) - colored pencils I

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog  In Our Pond .  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out! It's summer time, and we're getting ready for another family road trip.  In preparation, I've been making some activities. I'm obsessed with the I-spy stuff- bottles, books, bags, whatever.  I've been wanting to make an i-spy rice bag for quite a while.  After I made Dragonfly's space skirt last week, I had some fabric left over.  The window is a reused bag like the kind that sheets come in.  The orange part is felt (so that I wouldn't have to hem around the window).  It ended up being pretty messy, but I'm hoping all those stitches will keep the

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog  In Our Pond .  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out! We had an opportunity this weekend to visit my sister, who is going to college in Portland.  Of course, we took it.  Besides, it was a chance for another road trip, and we were even promised a day at the zoo.  We had so much fun at the Oregon Zoo.  The kids got see real animals, which was pretty amazing for them.  They also got to ride the zoo train and a historical train in downtown Portland.  It was a great weekend.  See.... Dragonfly looking at giraffes... Tadpole in the stroller... Skimmer touching wood penguins Dragonfly decided that "all the kids" should

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog  In Our Pond .  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out! We're gearing up for another road trip!  And, I've been crafting like crazy to get ready (I'm nuts like that).  Here's what I've been working on: Clothes Scrunchies- I referenced these on our last road trip but never got around to blogging about them.  As you can see, the scrunchies are actually colored elastic that I sewed into a circle.  All my kids have assigned colors so I can tell immediately whose outfit I'm holding. I love how the scrunchies keep the clothes neat and contained.  They don't get messed up no matter how many times we di

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog  In Our Pond .  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out! As I said in part one, we made the decision to go to Seattle one-and-a-half days before we left.  Luckily, I had already been crafting and planning for our "big trip" and had "a few" things ready to go.  The goal of this blog entry is to talk about the road trip part of the adventure.

This blog article was originally posted on my first blog  In Our Pond .  I started out trying to put all my travel content on my homeschooling blog, but it grew to be too big.  So, I'm moving all the road trip stuff over here!  It'll probably take me a while to move all the posts, but I'll also be posting new content on here as well.  In Our Pond will now be exclusively for homeschooling and parenting content, while this blog (Party Through the USA) is for all the family travel posts.  Check them both out! Every year, my husband and I talk about how "Valentine's Day is just a made-up holiday" and that it "does really matter what we do for it."  It's funny, though, because of all the holidays, I remember the V-days the most.  Like the one when we were dating and he sent me a single fake white rose (purity) through the mail.  Or our first one after we got married, which was my first time out of the house after our ectopic pregnancy.  And, th

Over the River and Through the Woods To Grandmother's House We Go The Horse Knows the Way To Carry the Sleigh Through the White and Drifting Snow! Although I am not old though to have taken a horse-drawn sleigh to my grandparents' house, we sang this song every year in the car.  Now I have become the parent, and I'm preparing my own family for the Christmas trip to my parents' house.  I know that winter is a busy time already of buying, baking, and bustle, but I wanted to do a snowman themed road trip planner anyways.  Like all my themed trips, these are just ideas.  Take what you love and forget the rest. Snowflake Muddy Buddy // Long Wait for Isabella Pretzel Pops // Hungry Happenings Snowflake Pretzels // Eats Amazing Snowman Pops // Mom Does Reviews Snowman Garlic Bread // Eats Amazing Melted Snowman Water // All Because She Saved Snowman Latte Cup // Stamp La Dee Marshmallow Snowflakes // Martha Stewar t