Our Quick Day Trip to Indianapolis Museums

Here we are again with another post about museums and our trip. We are afterall a homeschooling family and it is our job to share these things with you, right?

This past Monday was Martin Luther King Jr day. We continued our family tradition of visiting museums in Indianapolis.

As the kids get older it is surprisingly become harder to get them out of the house. I thought this would be easier by now. After all of us over sleeping, debating and arguing if we really wanted to go, and the actual act of getting ready to go, we finally headed out the door into the frigid 11 degrees to drive the 2.5 hours to our states Capitol. Oh golly I hope this was worth it.

Surprisingly, the kids didn't fight in the car nearly as much as I thought they would meaning they are probably saving all of their fury up for one magnificent moment. Thank the Lord.

Our first stop was the Eiteljorg Museum in downtown Indy. This is a Native American museum and while we had visited before, we’d never had a lot of time to enjoy the museum. So we stopped there. The first floor contained a special modern art exhibit by Native American artists, a large collection of wild west art, and a special exhibit of their Jingle Rails: The Great Western Experience exhibit.

We all loved the Jingle Rails section. It is incredible to see all of the landscapes they have made out of natural items! It was especially wonderful to see the places that we have visited: Yosemite, the Missions in Texas, the Rocky Mountains, the Sequoias, and more. So many details to discover and the trains are so fun to watch.

They also had a lot of fine art pieces including sculptures by Remington which were our favorites to examine and enjoy.

The second floor had a lot of art work on Native Americans and an exhibit about Indiana. In truth we didn’t spend too much time on the second floor as we were starting to get hungry for lunch!

The lower level has a fun area for the children but we determined that our kiddos are too old for it now so we decided to forego it. A wild west town, a wagon to pretend in, animal puppets to play with, and more. If you have time to go there with your kids I am sure they will love it!

Our next stop was to right next door to the Indiana State Museum. This museum is all about, surprise, Indiana!

To our shock and amazement Calvin saw a poster featuring the fossils of a Mastedon and was obsessed with it. So we all headed in that direction and I was so smitten to watch him ooh and ahh over it and just be totally enamored by all of the prehistoric artifacts they had that had been found in Indiana. This section included some pretty epic areas including Ancient Seas, Frozen Reign, Natural Regions.

After the prehistoric section (which by the way was enormous) we decided that we needed to leave because, well, LUNCH!

On our way to our next museum we stopped at Yujo which is a Ramen and Boba Tea place. It was very good! It is a counter service-style place and then you sit down and wait for them to bring them your food. Everything was made to order and everything was delicious. If you are a ramen fan and interested in what you got well, here you go:

Ramens:

Nick got the Yujo Signature which he loved because of the lemon zest broth

Emma and Calvin shared a bowl with the signature broth and just noodles

I got the Creamy Tonkutso bowl with a spice bomb on the side. It was really good.

Teas:

They were out of boba and I was not a happy camper but Emma and I still got tea. Emma got the milked Jasmine Tea and I ordered a Peach Oolong. Both were very yummy.

We all shared a large order of Potstickers and those were very good as well.

After our lunch, as we fell into yummy food comas we drove to Conner Prairie which isn’t technically in Indianapolis but is in Fishers, a northern suburb of Indy (and random fact where Nick and I lived before we had kids. Lots of good memories cruising around town).

We love Conner Prairie so much. In the cold Indiana months of winter they only have the indoor accessible (understandable!) so we perused all there was to see. As our children are older (still can’t believe they are 12 and 13!) they liked the more advanced projects. So we spent time putting electrical circuits together, assembled multi-step projects, and tried our hands in their handiwork workshop where this time it was all about sewing.

After that we started back home.

We arrived home around 7 and to our surprise Leroy had survived and hadn’t destroyed the house. I think we are slowly but surely getting this new family member to come around to our ways, ha.

It was a quick trip but a good trip. There have been years in the past when I have tried to get the kids to go to as many as 6 museums in a day and it was all just too much.

We decided that next MLK Jr. Day we will try to go to the zoo and the conservatory for the day.

But who knows if that plan will stick. After all, we have an entire year to change our minds!

Did you do anything fun on MLK Jr. Day? I’d love to know!

And finally we went home.

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A Rough and Wonderful Weekend

This weekend was weird.

I spent a lot of time away from the kids and Nick. I was working at camp and was gone basically from Thursday until late Saturday night.

When I am at camp I love it and enjoy my time there, don’t get me wrong, but man I missed my family.

Not to mention that when I got home the house looked like it had exploded.

Not only was I busy and gone but the kids had lots of activities this weekend.

Emma had the opportunity to perform in the ballet La Fille Mal Garde. She had 4 performances at Notre Dame. Thankfully I was able to get home to go watch the Sunday performance.

However at the same time Calvin had an awards ceremony for his ceramics work and I missed that.

The moral of this post is, it’s hard being a working mom.

Everything is a juggle and sometimes, like this weekend, I feel that I am not so good at juggling.

But it is wonderful to know that Nick steps in to pick up the pieces when I need to be gone. And we were able to split the parenting so the kids had someone at their big moments. The house got cleaned Sunday morning (I think the Lord understands!).

Sunday evening when we all returned home we were in the mood for something different so we decided to hit the road.

We drove up into Michigan to St. Joe and had pizza at my favorite spot, Silver Beach Pizza.

We ordered my favorite, margherita pizza and the antipasto salad.

After dinner we went down to the beach to play on the playground and to watch the sunset. It was so beautiful!

It was a great end to the weekend.

It was a rough weekend.

But it was a wonderful weekend

Here’s to this week!

California Day 5: California Coast

Such an amazing day! The day started out dreary and bleh weather-wise. It was rainy and stormy. The radar made it look like our future was bleak.

But then the forecast seemed to clear more towards the Cali coast so we headed out to the shoreline to do some exploring. We started in Newport Beach at the Little Corona Del Mar. The amazing Pepper and Pine blogger, Hana helped me to find this beach which I was so excited to take the kids to because there are tide pools to explore! During the day while Nick was working I kept going back and forth on where we should go that night. I didn’t want to ruin the evening by going to the ocean when it was raining and storming. However after looking at the radar and thinking of how cool it would be to go to the ocean when it was angry and tumultuous, I decided the ocean it was.

When we arrived we immediately found a parking place which was so nice. So far parking has been very convenient and easy everywhere that we have visited in California. The path to the beach was paved and a nice walk. Once we got down to the Pacific Ocean I was in love. I have never been to a shoreline like this. I expected either to see Barnabas Collins standing up on a cliff above us or to see the Goonies ship around a corner. Seriously cool.

We started just looking at the sand and finding fun shells and rocks to look at. The California coastline is protected so we couldn’t take anything with us. As we went further on down the beach we found the tidepools to explore. Emma and I loved watching all of the sealife there was in these shallow pools. Low tide had occured shortly before so there was lots to see. Meanwhile Calvin was climbing rock formations and exploring caves. And that is why I love nature and nature studies. There doesn’t have to be just one thing that we all are doing at the same time. We can find our own interests and explore parallel to one another. That is my favorite thing. Emma and I can be zoologists together and Calvin can pretend he’s a pirate all at the same time.

After a hefty amount of time at the beach we decided to travel on. We (really I guess I should just say I) had seriously wanted to go see the Pirate’s Tower down in Laguna Beach. However by the time we drove the short distance to get to it, it was pouring again. So we decided to turn around and head back up north on Highway 1 (just saying that makes me feel really, really cool you guys). It was so much fun to stop at all of the beaches along the way and check out all of the cool coastal towns that all of the 90’s shows were about.

We stopped in Seal Beach for dinner. We found a great little dive type restuarant right on the ocean and they had some really good seafood. I had a Shrimp Roll and everyone else had fish and chips. I’ll say this all the rest of my days, it still knocks my socks off that our kids now like fish. Hallelujah!

After dinner we drove up to Long Beach for some ice cream and to check out the town. What a neat place Long Beach is! Such a cool, vintagey feel to the area. We ate at Long Beach Creamery and you guys, it was amazing! Calvin and Nick both had Burnt Caramel Ice cream, I had the Oolong Chocolate, and Emma had the Fennel and Cashew. Their wafffle bowls were amazing. We loved the place so much we left with stickers, coloring sheets, and a hat. Thank you Long Beach Creamery for such a fun experience!

Overall it was such a cool experience driving down Highway 1 with our kiddos and stopping wherever the wind took us. We’re having so much fun!!! Here are some more pics from the beach:

How We Travel and Why Sometimes I Don't Post About It

I know that everyone loves to travel and get away. We do too! But for me, it is truly a fun time and a vacation if we can cross a new state off our list!

We have been trying to get the kiddos to all 50 states. This trip of ours was out east and we were able to visit New York for the first time, making that our 29th State! Woo-hoo! We’re well on our way since we’ve passed the half way mark!

Our trip was already two weeks ago (I can’t believe it’s already been that long!) and we had such a relaxing time. We were able to visit New York, Pennsylvania, and Maryland. Because we were traveling with Nick for work this wasn’t exactly an ideal route that we took that I would ever recommend it, but I’ll be posting individually about the places we went. I swear, sometimes it takes me the most time to come up with HOW to format telling everyone about our trips. Otherwise they can turn into these long-winded accounts of everywhere we went that get super confusing…nobody wants to read those and I certainly don’t want to document our wonders in that way.*

So that is why it has taken me nearly two weeks to even mention that we were away, let alone where we went. The majority of our trip was spent in Pennsylvania. The kids and I ended Classical Conversations at the beginning of the month, hallelujah! I am feeling so burnt out with it all. I’ve been trying to pinpoint if it is with CC itself, the lack of time we have to study other things outside of CC, or something totally different. While I am still completely unsure about what it is that is troubling me I did know that I was ready for a break from CC and was ready to start something new. After a lot of research we decided to embark on a unit study. Knowing that we were going to be going on this trip and would be really close to Gettysburg is what made us decide to do a unit study on the Civil War. Emma loves history and Cal loves learning about the military so this helped them go hand in hand. A perfect pair for us!

I love when I can make our trips coincide with schooling. It’s a match made in heaven for me…after all like I always say, there is nothing more educational then walking in the footsteps of those who actually made the history you study in school. It gives me goosebumps just thinking about it! I love it so much. This is why we homeschool…well, that and I’m just about the nerdiest person ever but those two things, with their powers combined, are why we homeschool.

I also love when the places that we go allow us to explore more about our country or about our world in general. In case you’ve ever wondered how we pick the spots we visit, most of our travel has to align with where Nick is going on business. Then we get creative, spending weekends going around the area and discovering things that are a car ride away.

Friends, I’d love to know…how do you plan your travel? Do you look for unique adventures or do you relish going back to your favorite spots? Do you plan around your kiddos interests or around the destinations that you go to? Do you have any travel challenges (like all 50 states!) you are trying to accomplish? What do you love about traveling? I’d love to learn more about you and where you love to travel!

Comment below, kisses!

California Day 4: Hollywood Hills and Pinks Hotdogs!

Day 4 of our California Adventure…

After visiting three national parks we were ready for a bit of a break. So it was a good thing that Nick had to work because the kids and I needed an excuse to relax. We were beat.

We are hotel bound with Nick having the car…which has been no big deal! We are staying at a Residence Inn, Marriott. We have a full kitchen, a living room, a recreation area outside, a pool, and more! We are having the time of our lives just relaxing the day away in Cali while we wait for Nick to come back.

In the morning I got Nick off to the office and then waited until about 9 to get the kids up. It was heavenly! I was able to write, read the bible, and just relax a bit. So nice. The kids woke up and I took them down to breakfast. After eating I let the kids go down to the gym with me to work out. Believe it or not but this is their favorite thing to do at a hotel! They LOVE getting to go to the gym to exercise and mom is all for it. I love working out as a family. The fact that our little ball of energy boy burns off some energy is a major bonus too!

Then it was onto the pool where Cal swam, Emma and I laid out, and we enjoyed the Cali sun. So amazing and wonderful…especially after the polar vortex we have lived through back home in Indiana.

After swimming the children and I went upstairs for lunch. I made them rice and beans (which is their favorite…I love that our kiddos are so easy to please!) along with crudites, applesauce, and juice. Again, having the kitchen was a major bonus so we can eat what we want, how we want, in the comfort of our hotel room.

And then we did some school work. I had the kids bring workbooks that I bought at a resale. They had never been used and have a bit of all of the subjects in them. However I found that they might be a BIT outdated. For example, they refer to Notre Dame as Notre Dame College and then one of the sentences was something like “One day people who travel will realize Traveler’s Checks are a good idea to use.” Yikes. I think we’ll just leave these puppies at the hotel when we pack up to go…

But do you know what was so nice? Doing school outside! It was amazing! When you are a family from the Midwest you are amazed by warm weather. It is simply scrumptious! I couldn’t get over how foreign and kind the gentle breeze blowing was to feel.

After about an hour of school work we played some b-ball at the court in our hotel which was a lot of fun. Calvin is super cute playing basketball and showing us all of his skills.

And then Nick came home! Hooray because it was about the witching hour and the kids were losing it. But for being stuck in the hotel the day went by seamlessly and didn’t seem to drag on. It was very nice and relaxing. It could have been much, much worse.

When Nick came home we were going to go to the beach so we started out but then did the math of time (math of time sounds serious, right?) and realized it would be dark before we got to the shore. Boo.

So we decided to head into the eye of the monster and go to Hollywood.

You guys, I cannot tell you how much I hate being strapped into a car with Nick driving. He says I am just getting old and becoming a nervous nellie. I say he is getting old and can’t figure out how to drive anymore. Is this the fate of the rest of my days? I mean, what does my Mother-in-law feel? Does this feeling diminish? Because, legit, I don’t know if I can handle this.

Anyway , we drove up into Hollywoods Hills (somehow we made it alive, hallelujah) and found “the sign” to take some pictures. Of course right as we were getting there it started to rain. I think that is just going to be the theme of our week here. “And then we got there so it started to rain…” So California you are welcome, I guess our family brought precipitation to you… Ta-Da!

We then drove all through the town and found Pink’s Hotdogs! Y’all I am not a fan of hotdogs, practically at all, but these dogs were amazing! So yummy! We also got the holy-Moley fries which were the best french fries ever. French Fries with guac and nacho cheese? Yes, please!

After the yummy dinner we drove down Santa Monica Blvd and then down Hollywood Blvd. We just cruised, taking in Groman’s Chinese Theater, Hollywood & Vine and all of the other iconic places. So surreal to be there! Now I feel like I understand 90210.

After that we went back to our hotel and went to sleep. The end. It was nice to get out and see the town. I am loving being in Cali and understanding the whole vibe thing that people always reference. There really is a different feeling here. We’re loving ourselves. And again I feel like I should shout it from the roof, “I can’t believe we’re in California!!!” Because legit, y’all, never thought this was going to happen. God is so good! See you tomorrow!

California Day 3: King's Canyon & Sequoia National Parks

I’m just going to be brutally honest.

Day 3 was rough.

Going into King’s Canyon Emma and I became horribly, horribly carsick. However, it was worth it because King’s Canyon was gorgeous! We arrived first thing in the morning, I mean, the Visitor’s Center wasn’t even open yet. So we were able to walk through a loop that showed us the General Grant tree. It was magnificent. The air was cold and crisp and invigorating. It was an amazing sparkling day. It’s hard to describe the dazzle that was in the day there.

There were hardly any people around the walking loop and it was so nice to be able to take our time. We were able to study the bark, the foliage of the sequoias, and just really take in all of the details of God’s creation.

Part way around the walking loop we came to a hollowed out felled sequoia that had even been used as a worker cabin back in the day! Nick and Cal enjoyed exploring and walking through it while Emma and I continued walking and taking photos with our cameras. Emma is turning into quite the shutterbug which is so fun to watch and encourage.

I should clarify that we walked and skated around the walking loop because half of the thing was downhill and complete ice. That’s always fun. Not. It was so icy we literally walked down it with Nick going before us and then saying “okay not put your foot there, now over there, now on top of that pile of snow and pivot to over there.” I’m sure years from now we’ll laugh at this. We made memories for sure.

After our near death experience on the ice (not really) we went to the visitor’s center where, you guys! The whole entire building was covered in snow. COVERED! It was a lot of snow. It made me feel like a wimp when I was back home complaining about 6 inches of snow back in Indiana. Yeesh.

Day 3 was slated for King’s Canyon and Sequoia National Parks. They are connected and you can go from one park to another.

Except the road was closed due to snow.

This caused us to have to drive and hour and a half out of the way to get to Sequoia.

Then when we got to Sequoia we weren’t really AT Sequoia. Meaning that the Foothills Visitors Center is just that, in the foothills and then you drive for about an hour to the Giant Forest.

Once we hit about 4000 ft elevation it started to get foggy. Then about 5000 ft it got really foggy. And about 6000 ft it was scary foggy. We were driving on a one lane road around the mountain, winding and steeply rising. But we couldn’t see. Like at all. At all, at all. Zero visibility. It was the scariest thing ever. Couldn’t even see the hood of the car. Thankfully we crept on and saw a parking lot sign and dove into that area to wait out the fog. Or so I thought. Nick parked the car and said he thought it would be best if we just went back down the mountain since we couldn’t see the sequoias anyway.

I got out of that car.

There was no way I was going to be strapped back into that metal death trap to be dragged back down the mountain in zero visibility fog. Friends, your girl had a major anxiety attack. It was bad. I at one point told him he was going to have to just go back down without me, I would stay there and live on the mountain and wash my hair with rain water or something. I didn’t have a solid plan but at that moment I was legit serious, just leave me here, I am not going back down with y’all. Lord have mercy!

The trees looked so eerie and cool all at the same time with the fog.

I love this girl. This is her look when you tell her to touch the tree and to be in awe of nature. So funny!

Thankfully there was a museum right there. I felt like Bilbo Baggins walking along the mountain and stumbling upon a door. We were able to go check it out and while we were talking to a park ranger the fog lifted a teeny bit. Enough that we decided that since we were that close we should continue to drive higher to go see General Sherman, the World’s Biggest Tree. Sure enough by the time we got up to it the fog had lifted completely and it was a gorgeous crystal clear blue sky. It was so much fun to walk through the trees.

And then it was back down the mountain. It was getting lateish and we had to get going since Nick was to start working the next day…our fun days with him are done but it was so fun to have a little bit of time with him.

Side note here, the kids just love hanging out with him. I’m so proud of my guy. He works so hard to provide for his family and has the most integrity I’ve ever seen in, anyone! I just love him so much.

I did remember that on the way down the mountain we made a stop at Hospital Rock and saw the petroglyphs on the rocks. I barely remember this because I took a dramamine and felt like a tranquilized bear when we got to the rocks, ha.

On the way we came across a town called “Lindsay” and I was so excited that I made Nick get out and take a photo of me with the sign. My whole life I have had my name misspelled so it was so great to find a town with my name!!!

We headed back to LA and then to Ranch Cucamongo where we are to stay for the rest of the trip. After we unloaded the car (or minivan rather, the kids think it is the coolest thing ever to be driving around in a van) we went to eat at Lazy Dog Restaurant which was just what the doctor ordered after a long day of driving and hiking and exploring and freaking out! I had a margherita pizza, everyone had fish. WHICH by the way is the weirdest thing ever that our kids now all eat fish. God is good, y’all! I never thought that would ever happen but here we are.

Our last stop of the night was to the grocery store to pick up some food for lunch the next day. Do you know what our kids love to eat more than anything? Rice and Beans!

It was a bad day. It was a great day. I guess it’s all about perspective…and not getting stuck on the top of a mountain.

Onto Day 4 and whatever exploring we are able to do!

You can read all about our trip to Yosemite and you can read all about our first day in California! I hope you’re enjoying reading about our journey. Travel with family is one of the most rewarding things we can do in life!

California Day 2: Yosemite!

If you want our kids to successfully wake up at 6 am, I guess you have to be in a time zone that is 3 hours behind our time back home. This was the first time I’ve ever been able to wake them up without kicking and lots of yelling.

We all woke up and got ready. We ate breakfast in the hotel (can we all just say an Amen to how great it is when hotels have free breakfast???) We filled up our water bottles, loaded up our Trader Joe’s groceries into the car (for picnics) and headed to Yosemite!

I’m still kind of in awe that we are here. That all the way from Indiana we were able to come here to see Yosemite and California and all of this greatness! Yosemite is iconic. It’s the National Park that is on all the posters and park whatever you get. It was the first one, it is incredible. However because of the distance and the expense I never even considered planning a vacation out to here. But God did. ;)

Emma said “I’m very enchanted by California”. She thinks it is terrific. She loves the air and the weather and all of the rolling green hills.

It took us about an hour to get to Yosemite from Fresno where our hotel was. It was a nice drive. We were surprised by the amount of snow there was since in Fresno it was about 50 degrees. A huge change to say the least.

Then we had about another hour of a drive to get to the visitor’s center in Yosemite. We took our time and meandered along. We stopped and took pictures, we enjoyed the views.

The first place that we stopped was my absolute favorite and it wasn’t even anything nature! It was the historic hotel, The Wawona Hotel. It was amazing you guys and it wasn’t even open! It was so cool to walk around and to look in the windows (yes I’m a weirdo like that!). It reminded me a lot of the resort in Dirty Dancing. You know the one.

After that we kept going and stopping along the way. We stopped at the Wawona Campsite to stretch our legs. The kids LOVED playing along the rushing river and climbing over huge felled redwoods. There is nothing better for a Wild and Free Momma then to see her kiddos playing in nature.

We did see lots of aftermath of forest fires. It was sad and very desolate looking. It reminded us a lot of the way the Smoky Mountains were looking last year when we visited.

As we traveled on and on it kept getting foggier and foggier. When we got to Tunnel View we were so excited! We drove through the Tunnel, the view opened up and…

There was nothing.

Nothing.

It was just fog.

Fog, fog, and more fog. Oy.

We got out to take some photos and then back in the car to keep driving. I felt a little bit like we had driven to Walley World to find it was closed…

Our next stop was at Bridalveil Fall. It was a gorgeous waterfall. We made the hike or skating up to the falls and everything was frozen from the spray. It was a slippery trek but we all had lots of fun and lots of laughs along the way.

Once we reached the Yosemite Valley the fog had cleared and we were able to see more.

We stopped in the Visitor’s Center to get the kids their Junior Ranger books. Their Ranger program is intense you guys! The kids had to go to a Ranger talk, pick up a back of trash, go on a scavenger hunt, and fill out the book. Whew! It was a lot to do but the kids learned a lot. They have two museums to enjoy, one is in the Visitor’s Center and the other is on its own called Yosemite Museum.

Before we went to that one though we went and had some lunch. We took our picnic lunch to the Majestic Hotel. It was, well, Majestic. It was quite fun to walk around and see what we could discover. They have some beautiful decorations and furnishings. Gorgeous, you guys!

In the Yosemite Museum is where we met with a Ranger and she was making a beaded necklace. It was super fun to watch. There was also an Indian Village to go through. We learned so much just through reading the signs, particularly about the foods they ate and the way that they prepared them.

By this point I thought Yosemite was nice but I couldn’t say that I was in LOVE with it. You know, what I mean? I mean, we went to the gift shop and everyone was grabbing items like it was Super Market Sweep and I was just kind of “meh” about it all.

But then we kept going!

We took a shuttle bus to the Lower Yosemite Falls area and walked down to the falls. It was amazing you guys! It was incredible. Breathtaking,

And after that I was in love with Yosemite. And fairly certain that our kids are weird.

From the Lower Yosemite Falls we took a stroll to the Yosemite Valley Lodge area which was really neat too. There are lots of outbuildings to stay in and then there is the lodge with a cool place to eat, Base Camp Eatery. So neat! And they had a Starbucks, praise the Lord because by this time ( I think it was about 4) this Momma was fading fast! That cup of hotel coffee from breakfast had worn off a long time ago.

The Lodge is on the shuttle loop stops so we were able to hop on the shuttle to go back to the Visitors Center to our car.

We then started back towards Fresno. On our way back out the fog had lifted enough that we could take in El Capitan and then we stopped at Tunnel View to get a better, well, view ;) There was a little funny thing at El Capitan. We stopped to get pictures and the face of this mountain just goes straight up, it’s incredible. I said “look you guys, there are people on the top! People climbed it!” There was a brief pause and then quietly from the backseat Cal says “um, those are trees”. And he was right. They were trees. ha.

On the way out of the park we came across 4 deer that were grazing next to the road. They were so pretty! I am pretty sure these are mule deer that we had learned about at the Visitor’s Center. We only have white-tailed deer in Indiana so it was very interesting to see another type of deer. They are so cute, especially the little baby one! Can I just take it home? Will it fit in my carry on? Please?

There was a ton we didn’t get to see either because of the weather or because of our lack of time. The Mariposa Grove was closed. Glacier Point was closed. There was lots of roads that were closed because of the snow. But we’re so happy with what we got to do. We feel like we got to see quite a bit and experienced the grandeur of Yosemite. And that, right there was the point.

By the time we reached our hotel back in Fresno we all were pretty beat and decided pizza in the hotel room while watching an American Pickers episode sounded pretty great.

We are having such a great time. Every place we go we are able feel this sense of awe and thankfulness that we are there.

California Day 1

California!

You guys!!! We are in Cali! I cannot believe that I can even type that.

Y’all know we’re trying to get the kids to all 50 states. The kids also had never been on an airplane. We always knew we would get them on a plane but had no idea when we were going to do that.

Thankfully (Thank you, Jesus!) this all came together seamlessly so we could all go to Cali with Nick for work.

How amazing is God that He gives us the desires of our heart? I am in so awe of that.

So Day 1 was incredible. I was so worried that traveling with the kids would be stressful or something would go wrong but it all went really well.

We drove to Chicago to take a non-stop flight from O’Hare to LAX. So right there I said it…we were traveling in 2 of the biggest and craziest airports in the world.

We also packed everything in basically carry-ons. We had one bag that we checked but other than that we all had one carry-on and one personal item.

We did have a tiny delay when Calvin’s backpack got detained for security to look through further. We learned that nothing freaks out a Calvin faster than detaining his Hobbes for inspection. Thankfully we were on our way in just a jif with Calvin and Hobbes safely reunited.

When we got on the airplane we discovered the free movies that were offered. Nick sat with Emma and I sat with Cal so the kids could each have a window seat for their first flight ever! It was wonderful and so delightful to see his little face when we took off and when we got above the clouds. It was a very bumpy flight. So much so that the pilot got on at one point to assure us there was nothing wrong with the plane, ha. Even with that Calvin randomly said to me “I really like flying”. Little did I know that Emma was two rows behind us not having such a great time. She was one of those flyers that had to puke into a bag. Poor little thing. But other than that we all did great.

When we arrived in LA we retrieved our luggage, got our rental car (Hertz is amazing BTW!) and we were off! It was so great to be in LA after the dreariness of Indiana…even if it was raining when we arrived in Cali.

We quickly found a place for lunch…where else but In-N-Out? It was so yummy and the kids loved it! It was just what the doctor ordered after a long morning of driving and flying. We did have to eat in the car because 1) it was pouring out and 2) there were a kajillion people in the restaurant, so we decided eating in the car was the way to go.

That was Calvin’s burger by the way. We’ve entered that stage where boys can eat you out of house and home. Where Emma, Nick and I order at a restaurant and then we just tell them to double everything and bring it for Calvin. How one teeny little boy can eat so much food is beyond me.

And then we were off to Fresno! We were able to make some stops along the way to break up the 5 hour drive.

First we stopped in Bakersfield to get groceries at Trader Joes. The kids were so cute looking through planters at the shopping plaza. “Look Mom, a roly-poly! Ants!” You can tell we definitely were in the dolldrums of winter back at home for us to be amazed by bugs!

Then we stopped along the side of the road to check out the amazing almond trees in blossom. It was so lovely to see that we just had to stop and get some photos. You have no idea how much I wanted to make Emma change into her Matilda Jane dress but I fought the urge to not be a spazz mom and didn’t make her change. Y’all should be proud of me.

After that it was back on the road for the rest of our trip. We made it to Fresno just in time for dinner. And where did the kids want to eat? Sweet Tomato’s. Have you ever been there? It’s a soup and salad buffet. We used to have two or three of them by us but they’ve gone out of business. The kids were like, spastic, when we told them there was one nearby. So of all the cool places to eat we landed on…Sweet Tomato’s. It was good though and we had a good time. It’s always fun to try new things and to see what varieties of soup they have or specialty salads.

After dinner we went back to the hotel and guess what? We went to bed. Yep, it was 8:00 and we all went to bed. But back home it was 11:00 so we were all tired since we had woken up at 5!

And we all decided it was a good idea to get a good night’s sleep since the next day we are headed for…Yosemite!

Can’t wait! Day 1 was fun and fairly stress free except for the fact that the children bickered and argued the entire day. To the point that Nick was using adages like “don’t make me pull this car over” We should earn some type of award for successfully traveling with preteen children who don’t like the others tone. Oh Lord. As you can see below, we look a bit frazzled.

Oh and last but not least we found where Halos come from! You can share with your kids that we found Halo Heaven! Isn’t it just the cutest?

And that was Day 1! I don’t think you can’t ask for much more out of a first day!

Now…onto Yosemite!

Holiday Nights in Greenfield Village

Each Christmas we visit Greenfield Village in Dearborn, Michigan for what is arguably the best holiday experience ever…Holiday Nights.

Last year, of course, was no exception. 

We could write so many posts about our experience there.  The weaving, the glass makers, the carolers, the model T rides, the food, the entire experience?  All worthy to write about.

Ringing in the Yuletide while walking along streets lined with greenery and lights is magical.  Add that the street is within a handcrafted village made of original historic homes and it is absolute heaven.

Upon our arrival we were greeted with free hot cocoa to enjoy in the line and a map of where to go once we were through the gates.  Once the event was open and we were through the admission gate we made our way to the Model-T rides.  Authentic Model T rides through the village are such a fun experience and it is such an amazing way to see the village bustling with holiday excitement.

After our amazing ride we walked along the streets to take in the sights and smells. Chestnuts actually roasting over an open fire piqued our noses.  Next to the vendor they were selling hot cocoa and hot apple cider in the cutest souvenir mugs in all the land (still using mine daily for my coffee!). 

And then we went ice skating!  That’s right, real life, ice skating!  It was amazing and fun and silly.  A huge bonus is the skates they have for you to borrow, for free!  It is so nice to go ice skating without having to lug around skates or to pay extra money to borrow a pair of blades.

After our ice skating experience (the only picture I got was the one above!) we went and got some food. After all, as much fun as we have ice skating, we’re kind of like a hot mess. Hats traded, gloves lost, who knows where Nick went. At least the kids had fun and we all had some laughs. And we earned that food! They have so many yummy choices to eat. Each year we’ve gotten a roast beef sandwich but this year we decided to mix things up and we got a ham sandwich! The roast beef and ham are cooked on a spit over an open fire and when you order it they cut the meat to order. It is so much fun. They also had a huge cauldron and we could not pass up the smell so we got a bowl of their chicken dumpling soup. It was amazing!

One of our family’s favorite areas is the Liberty Craftworks area. We were able to watch a lady weaving on a giant loom, watch glass blowing, and tin works. It is so fun to watch!

The whole night was cloaked in nostalgia as we passed groups of carolers singing while warming themselves around bonfires.  Each turn was another holiday moment we each talked about storing up for days when you feel blue.  So many things to be seen around each corner…like Santa reading from his nice list at Robert Frost’s home!

My favorite moment was touring Noah Webster’s home, decorated to celebrate New Years Eve!  It was so festive and fun to see how they lived back then.

The evening ends with a group of carolers leading a procession across the green up to the town hall with lanterns.  When they come to the town hall you realize that every single caroler is in traditional nineteenth century clothing.  All at once you are transported back to a place in time where everyone in a town knew one another and would gather for fun and memory making.  As songs are led and letters to Santa are read a camaraderie develops, not only with the carolers leading the event but with the strangers around you. It is a precious moment, fragile and fun, a time that you don’t want to see end, despite the cold..  The evening ends with Santa coming to say farewell and fireworks start from afar to show the reindeer where to land.  It all is magical and festive. 

To end the night with thousands of strangers singing “silent night” in harmony is a feeling that brings such wonder and honor to the Christmas season. 

We know you will love Holiday Nights as much as we do!

Our Wonder Collective’s Summary

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Pros

This is the most family friendly event. Despite thousands of tickets being sold for each evening there is never any drama... No skiving, yelling, or rudeness. Everyone is kind and friendly.  

This is an educational event as well as festive. Listening to Thomas Edison's original wax recordings on his own phonograph in his workshop and seeing the desk where the Wright brothers worked out their calculations is very wonder filled.  If you are homeschooling this can totally be counted as a field trip.

Cons

The Weather-there is nothing that can be done about this but this is an outdoors activity and it is Michigan.  It can be bitterly cold so make sure you come prepared!

There is a lot of walking. Although we see lots of people with their kids in strollers we have encouraged our extended friends and family to wait until your kids are a bit older before coming. To each his own but that is our opinion.

Additional Suggestions

• If you are going on a model-T ride we highly suggest you get in line when you first arrive.  The line seems to become progressively longer as the evening goes on. 

• Bundle up! I feel like I cannot say that to you enough. This year it was in the 40’s and we still bundled up. Don’t be deceived by warmer temps…standing outside in the middle of winter is still standing outside in the middle of winter no matter how warm it may seem when you are sitting in your hotel room.

• Budget extra money: Please be aware that food is not included in the admission ticket. If you are going to want to eat or drink while you are there then make sure you plan on extra money for the event. All vendors take credit cards/debit cards so you don’t have to bring cash. There are other things to purchase as well. One of our favorite purchases are the lanterns they sell at an open air tent just down the street from the Wright Brothers shop.

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We know you will love Holiday Nights at Greenfield Village! If you’ve gone, please comment below with what is your favorite thing about the event.

Indianapolis for Free: Fun and Educational Destinations

There are times when you go to a city with kids in tow and you find that quickly, your spending sky-rockets! I know if we are not careful the price of gas, hotel, the valet, all of the eating out with the fun extras (hello milkshakes!), the souveniers, the justified educational purchases from gift shops, and all of the parking fees can really start to add up to an eye popping amount that will shock and surprise you when you get home.

In our home state of Indiana, Indianapolis is just a hop, skip, and jump away. With Nick and I having lived in Indy, it is fairly easy to find deals or know where to go for bargains. If you’re needing some pointers on how to save money, here are some of the places we go and things we do:

The City Market

Located on Market street, this cozy brick building is a historic market which is now filled with food vendors of every imaginable food. We love this place because everyone in our family can find something they want to eat. Also, because everything is purchased a la carte you can find some great deals on meals there.

Be sure to check outside of the market for a super fun free library that has revolving shelves of books. Kids can push the button and watch the machine spin around. I think our kiddos would have spent an hour at this thing if we had let them.

Soldiers & Sailors Monument/ Circle Center Monument

If you are looking for something to do with your kids be sure to check out the Monument in the middle of the city. The monument also serves as an observatory of the city. It is free to go in and climb the stairs, there is a small fee if you want to take the elevator instead.

Holliday Park

The Holliday park located on the north east side of town is a great place to spend some time. With ruins to explore, trails, and a great playgound, you’re bound to be able to make some memories at this place. Admission is free and the park is open from dawn to dusk.

Farmers Markets

Indianapolis has so many varying neighborhoods and communities tucked in around the city that it is easy to find a farmers market going on. With laid back vibes and live music these community events always keep us entertained.

Monon Trail

The Monon Trail can seem never-ending…in a good way! Winding throughout the city there is lots to do along the trail in addition to simply enjoying walking the trail. When we lived in Indy we always enjoyed the Broadripple Village neighborhood which has an eclectic vibe and friendly atmosphere. The trail also has a lot of playgrounds dotted along the way which is so much fun for kids.

Other places I’ve read are free but we haven’t visited (yet!) are:

The Indiana State Police Museum

The White River State Park

Indianapolis War Memorial

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If you have other things you love to do in Indy that are cheap or free, let us know by commenting below! I am sure all of the other readers will love to know your secret destinations as well!

How I Keep My Cotton Picking Mind While Traveling with Kids

y’all.

Y’all…

It is 9:12 pm and I am writing this from the Wonderland of Alcoa, Tennessee after a car ride that started at 7:30.

In the morning.

That’s right. That’s almost a 14 hour difference if you are exceptionally good at the math.

There are times that writing is therapeutic to me. When I find myself in a Courtyard by Marriott on the edge of an airport is one of those times.

When I opened up my laptop and took to writing I had no idea what to tell you all but then it hit me that perhaps the fact that I am avoiding my children right now is precisely what we should talk about. For while I am typing away the kiddos are down at the pool presumably practicing their back stroke and having a truce from the grievous acts that occured in the car.

Don’t get me wrong, I know we have good kids. I know one of them has autism and I know they both are in those awkward preteen years. I get it. But in the midst of the fighting and the attitudes and the rule for spacial domination, I can forget and can’t for the life of me remember why exactly we wanted to take this trip? Not to Tennesee but the journey of parenthood altogether. Was life really more horrible than this?, this exact moment seemed more idyllic in my mind back then? Someone, please fill me in. I think I need a reminder.

There are times in traveling with children that it is hard. Scratch that. Go back. Replace hard with excruciating. I know that Instagram or Facebook or this blog can paint some picture-perfect images of family life on the road.

But perfect is hardly the case. We argue. A lot. We have some attitudes that are hard to contain. We have bad habits, mean spirits, and hot tempers. We are human in need of grace. We are broken.

There are times being broken when I, as a mother, find myself especially broken. When I want to take names or wring someone’s throat or just scream. But I can’t because we are all together in a teeny car or a teeny hotel room and losing it just won’t fix anything.

Early on in our days of travel I knew that I was going to have to do something if we were all going to survive vacations and traveling together. Thankfully I have found ways to deal with the times that I need to collect my self. I am an introvert by nature and so many times I find myself overwhelmed with having to be with people (even if they are my people) and needing to be my best for them.

Enter Dad.

When I need a break I have Nick take them to the pool. Or to go outside. Or anywhere. When I have been with the kids all day while Nick has been working there are sometimes days when I need him to take the kids. We still have hard days even when we’re traveling and when we’re having a hard autism day it takes an even bigger toll on me.

Enter Videos.

During the day when I need some time to have a breather I will often plug in the laptop and have the kids watch something on Netflix or on Amazon Prime.

Enter playgrounds.

Finding playgrounds in the areas that we travel to has proven to be one of our greatest highlights. You get to interact with the people who live where you are and there are some serious playgrounds around the country! Fresh air and exercise always makes us all feel and behave better. Many times I will play with the kids or walk around the playground while they’re playing but if I have work to do I will sometimes bring a journal and sketch out blog ideas I have.

Enter the bathroom.

Of course this is desperate but if I need some private time I will sometimes just lock myself in the bathroom. It’s just like being at home, teehee. This at least affords me time to read the bible or a magazine or pretend I am not holed up in a hotel bathroom to try to fend off the little rascals outside of the door. I don’t exercise this option but find I do use it more when we are doing homeschool on the road and we are butting heads a lot about work.

Thank goodness for the library.

If you are a homeschooling family and you are traveling. You should find the local library. It should be one of your first stops. I remember making this observation when we were traveling north of Chicago. Nick had a meeting and we weren’t allowed in our hotel yet so the kids and I had an entire day to roam around. We found a library and spent the better part of the day there. So many books with time on our hands to sit and enjoy. Games and puzzles and toys to play with. Interesting scenery and things to see that aren’t at our library. It was such a great time. Pair that with the fact you have to whisper, it makes it really hard to have a whisper battle with your sibling which is sometimes a big win for us!

Enter Working Out.

A lot of our trips we are traveling with Nick for work which consequently means that we do have a rental car but it is in Nick’s name and therefore I am not allowed to drive it. This is fine with me actually because having no where to go during the day means that 1) I can’t spend extra money just loitering around town shopping and 2) we have no choice but to get school work done if we are hotel bound.

On the days that we are hotel bound though it can frequently feel like a prison sentence. Not having anywhere to go when you have things to do and cooperative kids is not that bad. Enter day 5 of not being able to go anywhere with kids who really don’t want to be doing the same thing again and it feels like a life sentence.

I find that working out (with or without the kids) helps keep the peace, not only with my inner self but with the kids. Also, working out outside is an added bonus as we all get some fresh air and Vitamin D, we clear our heads, get out our wiggles, and all together feel better.

Things we have done to work out? Well, I will take the kids to the hotel gym either in the late morning or early afternoon. There is hardly ever anyone there at those times. The kids feel super cool getting to work out with mom in the gym and I get to get my workout in. Run. Most times hotels are on an access road making walking or running convenient. Also, we sometimes have relay races in the parking lot grassy areas or we find games the hotel has on loan. We’ve found hotels have things like frisbees, cornhole, tennis racquets, and other things if we just ask.

So those are some of the ways I have found to get even a couple of minutes peace and quiet to have time to settle my thoughts, pray, regroup, and then head back in to be a referee between the two while we are couped up trying to get school done or whatever adventures we decide to go out and have.

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If you have any more ideas for how to keep your sanity while traveling please, hook a sister up! I NEED them! <insert picture of a crazed Lindsay over here pulling out her hair">

Smoky Mountain Fun: Our Dollywood Review

Dollywood has always been one of those pie in the sky destinations for our family. This fall our family spent a few nights in the Pigeon Forge area and while we were there we had the opportunity to visit Dollywood. Having visited the area a few times before we, of course, had seen Dollywood advertised everywhere! Since the kids are getting older (funny how that happens!) and have been begging to ride roller coasters we were excited to try it out with our preteen kiddos and decided this would be the perfect trip to visit the amusement park.

We are so glad we did! Y’all if you have never been to Dollywood you are definitely missing out. I can say that we had no idea what all there was going to be to see and experience. Our kiddos were 10 and 12 when we visited and they had so much fun in the park. Truly a place made for family with fun and faith interwoven, it is a haven where you don’t have to worry about inappropriate displays or if attractions will be too scary.

We arrived pretty much first thing when they opened. I enjoyed that they do not open at dawn’s early light because this momma always feels very bad if we don’t cram in as much as earthly possible. I mean, we’re paying for it so we’ve got to get our money’s worth, right? So I am right on track with Dolly’s thinking that we all need our beauty sleep so we should all go a bit later. They opened at 10 am and it was a perfect time to set out on our day’s adventure!

The main street is very disney-esque but the thing I loved is that you didn’t get the feeling that they were trying to be Disney. We’ve been to plenty of other places that are trying to be something they are not but this was not the case at Dollywood. They are their own attraction and they own their own unique identity and flavor. The main street was a great place for our family to get out sea-legs so to speak. We could tell when we walked in that Calvin was very overwhelmed by everything there was to do so it was nice to have a bit of a stroll before we jumped right into activities.

We walked down main street and found ourselves in the Craftsman’s Valley area, an adorable area with shops and craftsman galore. We loved looking through the glassworks store before deciding that we were ready for our first ride. We sat down as a family and became acclimated with the park through the map. They also have a very immersive app that Nick and I each downloaded onto our phones. Sometimes it was handier to look at the paper map and other times it was nice to refer to the app…I would say you should definitely use both when you are there. Also, one of my homeschooling mom tricks is I make my kids use maps. Things like directions, map keys, distance…so many things are understood and learned through maps and in these days a lot of kids are not learning how to use maps. It’s fun for them to practice using the map and being in charge of helping the family find our destination. *Okay I’ll step off my little cartography soap box now, but we just love maps!

Once we walked to the ride Calvin got scared but Nick and Emma had a blast riding the Barnstormer. Calvin and I remarked how it was almost as much fun watching the rides as it was riding the ride. Maybe not. but it was fun to watch!

I will spare you the joy of reading every.single.blessed.thing we did as you would be here until doomsday reading everything we did. Suffice it to say…we had an amazing time! To break it down for you there were three categories of things we enjoyed: the sights, the food, and the rides!

The Sights

Dollywood is for everyone which I love! I remember my grandparents visiting when Dollywood first opened back in the ‘80s and I can understand why now. Tons of seating including droves of lovely rocking chairs to rest and relax in. Older people were there, families, young adults, seriously…everyone. I’m guessing one of the reasons so many retired folks love this place is because there is so much to do outside of amusement park rides.

To be truthful, on a Dolly Parton fan-level we were pretty much non existent fans upon arrival. Then we came across her museum, Chasing Rainbows, which tells The Dolly Parton Story. It was so amazing to see her actual momentos and treasures from her journey to success, to see her story unfold from where she started to where she is now. Such an amazing story of God’s provision. And now we are huge fans of hers. If you want to see all of her awards, her gowns, her shoes, her purses, her magazine covers, then be sure to go spend time in Chasing Rainbows.

Another one of our favorite things was the train! A coal powered train from Alaska that was used during WWII, the beast has been at Dollywood since it opened and is so iconic to the park. It was so much fun to ride and see all of the sights around the park. A must-do if you visit.

Other fun things included a drum garden to make music, and statuettes like this axe to try to get out of the ground. Calvin insists he got it to wiggle ;). There were animals to see, shows to attend, concerts to listen to, you name it.. So many things to do!

In the Craftsman’s Valley area they had so many hands on projects and shopping to do. Seeing as we visited in the fall there were lots of Christmas ornament options. There were woodworkers to watch, iron forgers to get lost in their process watching, and you could even blow your own glass. The kids went to the candlemaker and dipped their own candles.

The buildings are amazing to see too! So many building are designed to look like historic Smoky Mountain buildings…the chapel and the mill were some of our favorites.

Something super surprising to find in an amusement park…Towards the tip of the park you will find an incredible sight…the Nation’s largest Bald Eagle Sanctuary. We’ve seen eagles several times….we have a family of eagles that live outside of our lake cottage but this was absolutely awe inspiring. This National Parks caliber sanctuary gives you a chance to watch multiple eagles soaring in their own environment. You simply must check this out!

Another aspect of Dollywood I would like to add is that they always seem to have a fun theme or something going on, on top of the already amazing selection of attractions. While we were there the Harvest Festival was going on. Craftsman from around the country were all around to watch and there were Southern Gospel Singers, Country and Western Acts with concerts every few minutes. Even comedy and dance based musical shows. The extra sights were so much fun to take in and enjoy as we walked along.

The Food

You guys all have to try the cinnamon bread from the Grist Mill! I’m looking at you. That was the number one thing people told us whenever we would mention that we were planning on visiting Dollywood. And it is as good as everyone told us it would be. A sort of monkey bread loaf, this pull apart treat was enough to feed our family of 4 as a snack. I believe it was $7.99 so it was a bargain for a snack for all of us!

Beyond the cinnamon bread, all of the food we had was amazing. We didn’t do any of the sit down restaurants but we did sample quite a bit of food throughout the day. Fried Green Tomatoes, Jumbalaya, Funnel Cake, Ice cream…incredible. My favorite though were the fresh made pork rinds. People like them so much you can buy them by the bucket. A large bag was enough for our family to snack on through the day. You can see Nick in the photo beside eating the said pork rinds because we aren’t a proud people…we can post our eating photos.

The Rides

I am not a ride person. I can’t say I’ve ever been a huge ride person, but I do remember being young and experiencing the thrill of going on rides for the first time.

It was such a blast to be able to experience that with our kiddos and to see the looks on their faces when they got off of rides. For the most part they absolutely loved them!

Emma started off the excitement because after riding her first ride with Nick I talked about earlier, she was really wanting to go on more rides. Calvin however, still was not having any of it.

We all decided to go on an indoor ride and we all had a blast…it was fun and thrilling but not too scary.

After that Emma found a fire ride that she wanted to go on. This is the face of a girl who went on her first official roller coaster. She was so cute talking all about it and being flushed at how exciting it was! After seeing Emma’s excitement Cal started to warm up to the idea of going on a coaster but still wasn’t sure. Which is why having smaller rides is just perfect! They rode a smaller “tween ride” (as they called it) and had a blast together. I love when they have fun together.

Another ride they loved doing together was this lumber jack ride where they had to pull themselves up to the top and then the ride would lower them in unexpected intervals before they would repeat the process all over again. If your kids somehow have pent up energy to get out after walking miles and miles around the park then this is the ride you need for them!

If you have kiddos who are younger or do not like roller coasters, there is still so much to do! It’s basically an amusement park where the roller coasters are not the center of things to do.

Calvin’s very favorite area was the carnival area. There were lots of games and rides for younger children. We enjoyed the bumper cars collectively as a family. Be warned though that these are not bumper cars where you smash into people going every which way, there is a track and you have to go the way they tell you. I wish I had known that in advance as it was a little bit of a different idea for Calvin to understand, but after the first go round, he was a pro.

The kids loved the carousel! I love that our kids seek our carousel’s to ride wherever we go. It is always such a sweet memory and fun to pick a certain horse to ride on.

We feel so blessed that we had the chance to visit. The special needs accommodations they offered were so helpful for our family (I’ll be writing about that in another post). In short, Dollywood has taken the sanctity of our great nation and somehow combined that with thrills and fun for an idyllic theme park experience.

Our Wonder Collective’s Summary

Pros:

• There really is something for everyone. They don’t just say that…it’s true.

• There’s lots to do…you won’t be able to experience everything in one day. You won’t get bored.

• It’s a foodies dream. Seriously, so much food. Good food, for good people. Southern down home food with culinary twists thrown in.

• I don’t know how they do it but it is the best taken care of, cleanest, most peaceful place. It’s amazing.

• The best value is found with their multi-day tickets that cut the price of each day way down.

Cons:

• The ticket prices are very expensive. Once we were in and experienced it I felt that the cost of the ticket was justified and makes sense. But when you haven’t gone before it seems like a lot of money. Plus it is a lot of money to pay if you are taking your entire family.

• You cannot bring your own food into the park. You can leave the park and re-enter with your hand stamped but seriously, the place is huge and the parking lot is massive. If you plan on leaving make sure you are ready for a trek (even with the tram) to get to your car and get something to eat.

• Perhaps we are a bit directionally challenged but even my husband who has a degree in planning out cities admitted that the layout seemed a bit wonky. It took most of the day for us to get our bearings and feel that we knew where we were going.

Our Wonder Collective Suggestions:

• Drink water and lots of it. Iced water is free at all food vendors. Make sure you ask for lots. Lots and lots and lots.

• Wear comfortable shoes (of course!)

• Make a note of where you are parked. The parking lots (mulitple!) are massive and you’ll take a tram from the lot into the park .

• They have a service to have all of your purchases waiting for you at the front…use that service! It was so nice to not have to keep track of who has what bag and to make sure Sue Ellen (there’s no Sue Ellen) still has her bag and on and on. The less you have to carry the better, right? I will also say that keeping your receipts all together instead of shoving them into the depths of your purse makes retrieving your items a lot easier…not that I would ever do that but you know, just in case, don’t do that.

• If you are thinking of going make sure you get on their website and sign up for their email list. I did and I am not constantly alerted of deals they are having!

• When you get the cinnamon bread from the Grist Mill, just go ahead and get more than you need. You’ll want to take some home or to snack on later on in the day. The later in the day it gets, the longer the line becomes so go ahead and only wait once.

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Enjoy Dollywood! Comment below with your suggestions or questions. I’d be happy to help!

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Quick Travel Update: Tennessee, Indy, and Beyond!

Hi sweet friends!

We have been around the big blue yonder! This post is unlike my normal posts because I am just dishing about my life. Which by the way, feels so nice!

The last few weeks have been crazy!

We ended October traveling together to Kentucky, Ohio, Tennessee, North Carolina, and Georgia. We landed home just in time for some good old trick or treating through our neighborhood and then it was back out for more fun on the go.

Last week we found ourselves tourists in Indianapolis…we had a blast and it was fun being touristy as that was where Nick and I first lived when we got married. It was fun to check out new places and to reminisce about the old.

Now we are back home and I feel that I am trying as hard as I can to get my bearings before the fun of the holidays kicks in. I find that this is the time of year that makes or breaks the holiday season. Not having a clean and organized home before everything picks up can turn the fun into chaos in a heart beat. Trust me, I know from experience!

So I am here sifting through the piles of laundry, organizing our attic area to make way for a gift wrapping station, and purging toys and clothes that we no longer need in an effort to make room for the new we know will be coming from friends and family.

It is so easy to become overwhelmed or even bitter through all of this…I’ve been there. But I just want you to know, we are all so blessed! Me, you, everyone! This time of year with the leaves colored gem colors it is so obvious how God give way above and beyond what we need. He gives to us so we will be happy and content and joy-filled!

I hope this leaves you inspired to find contentment in your chaos, to be grateful for the grunge your kiddos bring in, and to seek out the serenity of the every day!

I love you all!

Planning our Trip to Georgia

I shared before how I plan our family roadtrips in order to get the most out of them for the least amount of money.

I wanted to share with you now how I am planning our next trip to Georgia.

I chart our route and looked for larger cities that we will be passing through.

I see that we are going through Lexington, Kentucky and Knoxville, Tennessee. I have nothing relatable in my head about either one of those places (do you guys? Do I just live too sheltered of a life?) so I Pinterest them to see what there is to do.

It looks like in Lexington there are some horse race type parks to check out but nothing that is screaming “us” so I’m moving on. I will also point out Lexington is about 4 hours from our house. I want to make sure we cover some distance in the first day of our trip so Lexington is about the closest place I would be willing to go to. Otherwise we’ll have too much traveling to do the next day as we make our way to Georgia.

So the next place I’m going to look up is Knoxville.

There look to be some things but I am not sure if that is where I want to be for very long. We are after all driving through so we don’t have a lot of time to spend.

I now check out our memberships’ reciprocal programs. We have memberships through the ASTC and the AZA. I see that there is a zoo in Knoxville that looks promising but we still have to pay 50%. That’s a great deal, don’t get me wrong, but I just want to make sure that that is something we commit to do with our time. After all, a zoo takes a large chunk of time to go through.

I check out the National Parks website and, duh! I see that Knoxville is just a hop, skip and a jump a way from the Smoky Mountains National Park. BINGO!

I think we might go that way. We love hiking and exploring so going that route ensures lots of fresh air, exercise, and it’s darn near free.

In case you’ve never been to the Smoky Mountains, it is near Gatlinburg and Pigeon Forge. This is a really neat area but a huge tourist area that makes it really hard to stay on budget. I am sure we will do some things there but we try to steer clear of this area. An example of the area is when we went mini golfing. We went to a scabby kind of place with flaking paint and it was $60 for the four of us. Seriously. That is why we try to plan carefully what we do in the area and we look for budet friendly items.

The Smoky Mountains park spans over 800 square acres over North Carolina and Tennessee. While it is technically one park there are several sections and areas of the park including Cades Cove, Cataloochee, Clingmans Dome, and more. While there are lots of things to do I think we are going to be focusing on the Cades Cove area.

Cades Cove offers some of the best opportunities to spot wildlife. When we’ve been through the Smokies before we have spotted deer, bears, elk, and coyotes. We like Cades Cove because of the settlement you can explore as well as the nature. We’ve never had a lot of time to explore the area though, so I think that will be a perfect option for us.

We are so excited for our trip and can’t wait to get to the mountains!!!

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I hope this kind of “me talking outloud to you helps you to see the madness behind my method for planning our trips. I can try to do this with another trip if it helps you! Let me know, friends!