National Parks

What can a family do on vacation that does not cost a fortune? Sure, the kiddos would love to spend 5 days at the closest theme park or water park; but that just isn't a feasible option for many families on an annual basis.

Personally, I like to find family activities that are specific to the area we are visiting. For example, I am a huge fan of our National Parks. Our family has visited many of them. They have a Junior Ranger program, geared toward grade school children. At many NPS locations, they offer the programs, which usually consist of a small booklet of age-appropriate activities. Successful completion of those activities results in the child earning a badge or patch, along with a certifcate. Our experience has been that most locations do not charge for the Junior Ranger program. Those that do tend to charge a minimal fee to cover the cost of printed materials. I believe the highest we paid was $3 per child.

Not only are National Park Service locations inexpensive to visit, there is a huge educational component involved. Everyone, from toddler to senior citizens, can learn new things. Supporting the NPS also helps to preserve pieces of our nation's history.

Now, just how much does it cost to visit the NPS sites? The answer is, it depends. Generally speaking, children under 16 years old are admitted free with paying adults. Each park has it's own fee, although there are some that are free, especially the lesser-known, more natural facilities. If you know you will be visiting a variety of parks, it is quite worthwhile to purchase the annual pass. One pass provides entry for the vehicle, the driver, and up to 3 more adults into the parks. The fee is $80, and the pass is good for one year. This is an excellent investment for a family planning to visit several parks in a year.

There are also some discounted NPS passes. For example, Senior Citizens age 62 and up can purchase a lifetime pass for just $10. For those who have permanent disabilities, the parks offer a lifetime pass for free. The discounted passes do not offer all the benefits of the full pass; but they are certainly worth considering, if you meet the requirements. The discounted NPS passes must be requested in person, and supporting documentation is required. Just pick them up at the entrance station for the first NPS site you visit. Click here for full information on these passes.


I'll review some specific locations in later posts. For now, take a virtual tour of our National Parks here.

Stellan's Virtual Vacation

I've been trying to think of something I could do for Stellan and MckFamily. King J, Princess E and I sat around brainstorming ideas and we decided it would be really cool if we could help Stellan "see" our country. So, we took him on a virtual vacation.

The first stop is Idaho.



Then, we’re off to Spokane, Washington



Cruising on over to Seattle




Next stop – San Francisco



Then, it’s off to Yosemite National Park



Followed by a visit to a real Ghost Town;




And a quick hop over to Hollywood:



Time to leave California. We’re off to Las Vegas.



Next stop, the Hoover Dam.


Time for a little refreshment on Historic Route 66, at the Roadkill Café. On the other hand, maybe not.




Might as well swing by the Grand Canyon:




A short stop over in Sedona:



Then, it’s off to Monument Valley


Can’t go there without stopping by Four Corners Monument



Well, it’s time to head east. We’ll catch a red-eye flight to Florida, and check out Disney.



Then, into North Carolina to climb “On Top of Old Smokey”



Now, it’s off to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.



And a quick zip through New York City



Followed by a visit to Cape Cod, Massachusetts



And a visit to Boston…



There’s time for a quick visit to Salem, Mass.


We’ll take a rest beside a covered bridge in New Hampshire:


Well, our virtual vacation is over. Time to get Stellan back to his PICU home-away-from-home so he can get well and continue on his real life journeys.

We’re still praying for you, little fellow!

Clydesdale Munching on Feed

Stellan's Name Gallery - Bookworm

King J kept playing Bookworm tonight, determined to *find* Stellan's name on the board. TaDa!



He also suggested this:



And, Princess E thought this would be a great idea:

Not Me! Monday! - Stellan Style

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday!-Stellan Style! We're continuing this blog carnival in honor of Stellan, the precious 5 month old miracle son of MckMama.

This past week, I surely did not stay glued to my computer checking MckMama's website and twitter posts for the latest updates on Stellan. Of course, I have too much to do for that.

I totally did not get up at 6:15 every morning, and go straight to the computer just to see if there were any updates overnight.

I certainly did not make checking on Stellan the last thing I did before going to bed each night, usually after midnight.

I did not create a photo of Stellan's name in toothpicks and post it on my blog. I have not continued to try to find a way to make a more unique name gallery submission. There are not a gazillion much more creative images than I've been able to think of.

I did not join the Facebook group "Praying for Stellan", and I certainly did not join another Facebook group "Pray for Stellan".

I have not spent time every day praying for Stellan, MckMama, their entire family, and all those providers who are caring for him and making decisions on his behalf.

I did not wake up in the middle of the night yesterday, needing to pray, and spend some extra time with God.

My heart has not been terribly heavy this past week, worrying about a little baby I've never met, and just hoping his broken heart will be made whole.

I do not feel like MckMama is a personal friend, even though we have not met.

I have not cried the first tear over Stellan.

What haven't you been up to this week because/for Stellan? Will you not join us in holding this family tightly with prayer and lifting them up to our God?

Beer

Chicken Dish

I was specifically asked to provide this recipe for a yummy chicken dish.

Ingredients:

1 lb chicken breasts, cubed
1 can cream of chicken soup, diluted with 1 can of water
2 large spring onions, chopped with the greens
1 cup chopped raw carrots
1 can green beans, drained
1 teaspoon pureed ginger
1 teaspoon light soy sauce
Ground black pepper, to taste

Instructions;

Cook the chicken pieces in a skillet, using non-stick spray. Do not drain. When almost cooked, stir in the diluted cream of chicken soup. Mix thoroughly. Add the spring onions, reserving a little of the green tops for garnish. Add the carrots. Stir everything together and let it cook on med-low until the carrots are soft, around 20 minutes. Add the can of green beans, the ginger and the soy sauce. Stir it all together and warm it through. Season with black pepper, if desired.

Serve over brown rice.

Makes 3-4 servings.

A Freebie

I found a neat freebie I thought I'd pass along. Campbell's soups is offering free tomato seeds as part of their community gardening campaign. Click here to request yours.

The one caveat is that you need to have a can of Campbell's Condensed Soup in your pantry. There's a code on the bottom to be entered. So, if you use Campbell's Condensed Soups, you qualify.

Street Light

Spring

Today has been a beautiful spring day. I'm sitting here now, listening to the frogs and crickets chirp. You might think I live in the country. Far from it. I live in the suburbs of a decent-size city on the East Coast of the United States. I had to open the windows today, even though it is a bit chilly, just to listen to the sounds of nature.

The ivy that grows in my back yard seemed to sprout overnight. Such lovely, lush greens. Now, ivy is not my favorite thing, especially when it is on the ground, but the vines I saw were vertical, going up a tree. Okay, growing up, I called ivy "snake weed", because it was a favorite place for snakes to loaf around. Have I mentioned that I HATE snakes. To this day, I tend to avoid ground cover just because of my fear of snakes. I digress.

Anyway, it's been an overcast day. Just a few light showers now and then; but no major rains. The daffodils are blooming. The forsythia is bursting with bright yellow flowers. The grass is blooming. Oh, wait, should I even admit that? Yep, we've had so much rain in the last week that our grass took off, and has bloomed.

The trees are blooming. This is such a gloriously beautiful time of year. I am thankful that God gives us spring to enjoy.

Rain Clouds Brewing

Spring Hill Suites, Manchester, NH

We had made reservations at the Spring Hill Suites in Manchester, New Hampshire, almost adjacent to the airport. Not having stayed at a Spring Hill Suites before, I was not quite certain what to expect. Their suite was priced LOWER than a comparable hotel room. The pictures on their website indicated it would be roomier and have more amenities than our typical hotel room. The question was, would we be satisfied upon arrival.

At the front desk, we were greeted cordially. Everything was in order, and our room keys were programmed. One of the features I expect, and occasionally have to request, is that the front desk personnel not announce my room number. Here, I did not have to make the request. She simply wrote the information on the inside flap of my key holder and handed it to me.

I stepped back to the car to unload our baggage. We had just a few items, so a luggage cart was unnecessary. Imagine our surprise when, upon our return to the front door, we found the same woman holding the door for us. She had opened the interior door as well. It was a little thing, but it was a courtesy not often found, and greatly appreciated.

When I opened the door to our suite, I was pleased with what I found. Our suite included a partial divider, to separate the sleeping area from the rest of the suite.

In the main area was a kitchenette, complete with a chilled refrigerator and a small microwave. It was furnished with a small selection of disposable plates and flatware. Some might prefer traditional dishes, but for our family, the disposable was an additional convenience. Also in the main area was the sitting/dining/office area. It was large enough to hold an oversized loveseat, an arm chair, a table/desk, a coffee table and an end table. The layout was functional and not crowded.

In the sleeping area were two double beds, as expected. There was also a small closet, with enough hangers to handle all of the hanging clothes for our four night stay, including coats. There were two small chests of drawers, which doubled as TV stands. The two TVs were a pleasant surprise, and allowed us the convenience of kid shows separate from parent shows.

The bathroom was off the sleeping area. The only downside to the suite was that the sink area was outside the bath/toilet area. For many families, this is preferred. For our family, this is not. The drawback to the arrangement is that you must turn a door handle to exit before washing your hands after using the toilet. However, a benefit to it is that one person can be in the shower while someone else is taking care of teeth and hair.

I am very picky about cleanliness in a hotel room. I always walk through and check for reasonable cleanliness before settling in. Much to my delight, I found NO problems. No mildew in the bathroom, and no stray hairs either. The microwave and refrigerator were spotless. Other than a few scratches from wear and tear, there was no visible damage anywhere in the room. The paint appeared to be fresh, and the carpet showed no significant wear. The locks worked properly, too.

The complimentary breakfast was more substantial than some. The offerings included freshly made Belgian waffles, eggs, sausage patties, a variety of breads and cereals, a crock of oatmeal with several toppings, fruit juices and milk. Coffee, tea and cocoa were available 24 hours a day, and we consistently found them to be fresh and hot.

We plan to return to this facility on our next visit to the Manchester area.

Stellan in Toothpicks

Please continue to remember Stellan (and his family!) in your prayers.

Spring Rain

Shadows in Sunset

Clover

New England Trip

***Please, keep up your prayers for Stellan***


I want to share a few pictures from our weekend trip to New England.




This was along the interstate. The snow was coming down fast, and visibility dropped at one point to around 300 feet. What is interesting, though, is that the road stayed clear (and mostly dry).

These were on the table at the little restaurant where we stopped for lunch Sunday afternoon.

Daffodil

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Please Pray for Stellan

Baby Stellan and his family need our prayers. Those of you who know me, outside this blog, know that I've asked for prayers for this little miracle baby before. He is facing another round of challenges, and he is receiving the best (humanly) possible medical care.

Please pray for Stellan, that his heart is healed again.

Please pray for his parents, that they continue to trust God with their son's life, and are comforted.

Please pray for his brothers, sister, and extended family as they face this time of uncertainty.

Please pray for the medical staff, that God guides their decisions regarding Stellan's care.

Please pray for the continued testimony to God's glory through the lives of this precious family.

To receive updates, please follow this link: Stellan

Stonyfield Farm, Londonderry, NH

We decided to go check out Stonyfield Farm, to check out their organic dairy process. It was an exciting visit. They normally offer tours, but on the day we visited, plant tours were stopped during construction. We still had a great time in the Visitors’ Center.

On arrival, we walked around to see just what they had to offer. There were many indications this would be a moooooving experience. There were cold cases filled with product for sale, including their milks, yogurts, and ice creams. We were invited to sit at a table where there were games for the kids, an activity booklet, and an educational video. The video was quite interesting to the adults, and probably geared more toward the middle- and high-school crowd.

While we were at the table, the attendant brought out a tray of full-size products to sample. We knew they offered samples; but we were expecting tasting spoon sized samples. The King had discovered a yogurt flavor in the sale case that he wanted to try and they welcomed him to try any flavor in there. Between us, we sampled their yogurts, smoothies, baby smoothies, kids yogurt cups, kids yogurt tubes, and soy yogurt. We barely touched the offerings they provided. Our tummies thanked us for the delicious goodness.

Before we left, we picked out an additional sampling of the items that appealed. We had to limit our purchases somewhat, since we needed to eat them prior to our return home four days later.

It was a great visit, with fun, educational activities for babies to seniors. One day, I hope to return for the full tour.

Unfortunately, my camera card seems to have fried, and I cannot upload the pictures. Once they become available, I will add them to the post.

Tapping a Sugar Maple

Tudor House

We drove by this place tonight and had to stop. Please pardon the picture quality. It was dark out and I set my camera to ISO1600. Beautiful!

Wordless Wednesday

Hotels and Motel Safety

How does a family find reasonably safe accommodations in hotels and motels?

Well, my opinion is that SAFETY IS THE FIRST REQUIREMENT! I believe all vacations should include planning for safety.

I strongly recommend that reservations be made only at hotels/motels that offer controlled entrances and interior corridors. In other words, if they only offer rooms that open to the parking lot, I will not even consider them.

Consider requesting a room on the second or third floor. Room windows that are above ground level are a little more difficult to break into than those on the ground floor. Always keep the windows locked when they are closed. Definitely keep them closed whenever you are not in the room. Consider keeping them closed all the time if you have young children in the room. Accidents take seconds and can have disastrous results. Now, I recommend staying on the second or third floor in case there is a fire. The lower floors require fewer flights down if there is an evacuation. Of course, consideration must be taken if you have someone with mobility issues, or someone in a wheelchair. In those situations, it may be more appropriate to request a ground floor room.

Consider requesting a room near the stairs. Again, if there were a need to evacuate, being close to the stairs reduces the time it takes to escape.

When staying in the room, select a location to keep all your critical items, meaning those items that cannot be easily replaced if you were to lose them. For example, room keys, personal keys, pocketbook, wallet, ID's, etc. This way, if you wake up during the night in a dark room, with the fire alarm going off, you can grab your items as you evacuate. We'll cover evacuations in more detail later.

Upon arrival, be sure to check that there is a smoke detector in the room. If it doesn't have a flashing light, request that it be checked by staff.

If you have young children, consider packing outlet covers in your luggage. Should you be fortunate enough to find you have extra outlets, plug them so that little fingers don't find them.

If you are carrying valuables, keep them with you, or turn them in at the front desk for safekeeping. Now, that may not always be feasible, like with your laptop. Do you really want to leave it in the care of the front desk? Not me. I suggest using a laptop security cable and anchoring it to a heavy piece of furniture. Be careful of tables. It will do no good to wrap the cable around a table leg and have the table lifted. Personally, I like to wrap it around a shelf of the TV armoir, or the frame of a sleeper sofa.

When you are in your room, be sure to use all available door security options. Some places offer deadbolts, others have security bars, some have both. Also, put the "do not disturb" sign outside your door.

Many hotels now will write down your room number instead of announcing it. This is a good thing. I would ask for a new room if my number were announced where others can hear it.

Take a few moments after checking in to READ the safety information provided for you by the hotel. You will probably find some information on the back of the door. The rest will usually be in the information left on the table or desk.

Plan to stay safe on any trip.

St. Patty's Day Recipe

In honor of St. Patrick's Day, I thought I'd post a recipe. This is what our family is having for dinner tonight, along with roasted fingerling potatoes.


Cabbage Hotdish

Ingredients:
1 medium head of cabbage, coarsely chopped
1 can tomato soup
1 lb ground beef
1 medium onion, finely chopped
2 cloves chopped garlic
Salt and pepper

Directions:
Saute onion, garlic and beef until thoroughly hot, but not completely cooked. Season to taste
with salt and pepper.

In a casserole, alternate layers of cabbage and meat. Pour the can of tomato soup on top.
Bake 1 hour at 350F.

This recipe reminds me so much of cabbage rolls. It just doesn't require as much work.

How can I plan a frugal family vacation?

Time and patience.

It is possible to have a thoroughly enjoyable family vacation, without breaking your budget. We've been doing it for years. I will be sharing with you the planning techniques I use to plan wonderful, exciting vacations for our family.

Who will most benefit from this blog?

*Families, couples and singles
*Those who want to capture memories that last a lifetime
*People who want to explore both well-known and lesser known attractions
*People who enjoy learning while sightseeing

What kind of things can you expect to find here?

*How to save money on flights, train travel, car rentals and accommodations
*Reviews of individual hotels
*Reviews of incentive programs
*Finding activities that are fun, yet inexpensive

Please leave me your comments. Pleaes let me know what helps you, what you want to hear more about, and feel free to suggest any ideas you have.

Blog Changes

I'm starting to make some changes to the appearance of my blog. What do you think of it?

Many thanks to The Blogger Guide for helping me with this process.

Someday soon, I'm going to figure out how to make a new header and give it a neat background. I'm open to suggestions....

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This past week, I did not go on a field trip with my daughter’s class and allow her to walk around in only shirt-sleeves because she left her jacket at school. I also did not eventually give her mine when the temperature dropped from chilly to cold, and end up walking around without one myself. I, of course, would not let her forget her jacket.

I did not make tiramisu again, for the second time in a month. It’s really not unhealthy, so it wouldn’t matter if I did; but it is really not delicious, and no one would want to eat it again so soon.

I did not enter worship service late yesterday because I was not outside chatting with a friend.

I did not allow my cat to have an empty frozen vegetable bag to play with. He did not reach into the trash can to get it, and he did not wallow on the floor with it like it was laced with catnip. He does not do such silly things.

I did not put off doing my taxes again for another week. I had them done back in January.

I have not secretly enjoyed the rain we’ve had for the last several days. Our trees are not greening up, and they certainly are not blooming so soon. Spring is not just around the bend.

I am not shamelessly asking everyone who visits to leave a comment, just so I can see who is here and say “HI”.

Was there anything you did not do this week?

Recession Fashion

I'm joining in the fun at Kelly's Korner to share some ideas for great, but inexpensive fashion. Check out Kelly's blog to see where this started.

Now, I'm no fashion queen, and I am really quite conservative, so my fashion taste may be a bit different than others. And, just what is wrong with MOM jeans anyway? Hmmm? :-)

Anyway, here's my input....

There is a little shop inside a number of airports that I just adore! It's called Bijoux Terner, and almost everything in the store is $10 (some are 2 for $10). They sell shawls, watches, men's ties, lovely costume jewelry (from flamboyant to conservative and back), wallets, and purses. My favorite items are the pashminas, which are a lovely type of shawl. Perfect for chilly days, and really quite warm on colder days. They fold nicely, and take up very little space, which makes them perfect for travel. I have them in a rainbow of colors.

I also like to shop at Claire's/Icing. They have a clearance area in the back where they sell items with an original price of $9.99 or less at the bargain rate of 10 for $5. I have sensitive ears and need the nickel free earrings. I am able to buy them for a paltry 50 cents a pair. Sometimes even less, like when they have two or three pair on the same card. I have lots of earrings for different holidays and seasons. Also, it's a great place to get them for my Princess. What a bargain!

I buy many day-to-day clothing items from Wal-Mart. For example, this dress came from Wal-Mart.

I also like to shop at Kohl's during their semi-annual clearance. Granted, when I buy the stuff, it's out of season. But, hey, when you buy a dressy top or winter sweater for less than a cup of coffee, it's okay to store it until the next season.

I like to shop at outlet malls. Generally, I don't make a special trip; but if there is one in the area, I've got to stop by. I don't care as much about big name fashions; but those are great places to buy really nice undergarments for bargain basement prices.

Finally, I actually enjoy shopping at thrift stores. Granted, many times the fashions are dated, and I leave those behind. But, just the other day, I came out with a lovely denim skirt, and a pair of jeans with fancy beading at the ankles. Neither of them showed any noticable wear, so the $2 price was a real bargain. I can guarantee that they will show lots of wear by the time I'm done with them. HaHa!

So, that's the end of my recession busting fashion tips.

Wordless Wednesday

Not Me! Monday!

Welcome to Not Me! Monday! This blog carnival was created by MckMama. You can head over to her blog to read what she and everyone else have not been doing this week.

This past Saturday, I did not sit up at my computer, with cell phone in hand, to see exactly what would happen when we sprung forward. My phone went from 1:59 to 3:00. My computer went from 1:59 to 2:59, then to 3:00. I did not have trouble getting up to go to church on Sunday because of too little sleep. Not me, I always wake up early.

I most certainly did not put a dead fish from my daughter’s fish tank into a plastic bag and stick it in my refrigerator because it was still under warranty and it was too nasty to go out. My little princess also did not inform me that sticking her fish in the refrigerator was really nasty.

I did not sit up half the night reading a novel instead of sleeping. I absolutely must have sufficient sleep, and it would be totally out of character for me.

I did not eat an entire bag of “fruit slices” candy all by myself over the course of the last week. That would be entirely too selfish, not to mention that it isn’t good for me. I always eat only healthy foods and would not eat that much candy.

I did not teach my daughter the origins of the names of the days of the week. Nor did I help her learn a little geography and ancient history by using an atlas and the first chapter of Genesis. She did not figure out that the Garden of Eden was somewhere in or near present-day Iraq. I did not teach her these things, because I do not know about these things myself and am far past the age of learning new things.

I did not thoroughly enjoy having my daughter home for three days because of the snow. We did not play in the snow. We did not go to the library and spend two hours reading by a big picture window.

I did not find a gigantic cobweb on a figuring in the corner of my dining room and just leave it there. Surely, I did not. I would never do such a thing. I also would never leave a load of laundry sitting on my couch all weekend. I am much too organized for something so, well, disorganized.

King J and I did not sit in separate rooms of the house, on separate laptops, and e-mail, IM or chat on Facebook. For goodness sake, we're in the same house, and would never do something so silly.

Well, I think that about covers all the stuff I did not do this week. What did you not do?

Make Your Own Pizza

Yesterday after church, a group of us went out to Uno's for lunch. Kids eat free on Sundays and we were still celebrating King J's birthday. Hey, we might as well celebrate for a whole weekend. Anyway, Princess E ordered her usual...the "Make Your Own Pizza" kids meal.

So, the first thing they do is bring out a platter with a baked pizza dough and toppings. The chef puts on her "bibonya" (pronounced bib-own-ya), and begins to assemble her masterpiece. Of course, laying the foundation of sauce all the way to the edge eliminates the crust. For our Princess, crust is avoided.

Next, it's time to pile on the toppings. Now, if it were me, I'd put the cheese on first, then add the other toppings. Not the princess, though. Oh no. See, the pepperoni has to be positioned as a face. Then, the cheese is the hair. It's a face pizza.

Next, it's off to the kitchen to pop the pizza in the oven. First, our server helped the Princess spray the pizza pan. Can't have the pizza sticking, now can we? Notice the pan of chicken on the floor. I sure hope that isn't being served. Gross!

It's time to put the pizza on the prepared pan. See the cheese "hair"?

It finally occurred to her that she might like to have some cheese elsewhere on the pizza, so a quick modification was in order.

The final step in the process is eating the pizza. Here, you can see Princess E has gobbled down the whole thing, save the little piece remaining in her hand. I'm not sure how she managed to eat it all. She's never done that before.

Of course, it came as no surpise when she started complaining of a stomach-ache an hour or so later. Another lesson learned.

Coming up next...Not Me! Monday!