Frugal Seasonal Family Getaways

If you can deal with dirty looks from your kid’s teacher, then consider heading off on a pre-Christmas getaway.  Families working with a tight budget, who want to sneak in a winter vacation before Santa Claus comes to town, must act now. Dozens of family-friendly vacation destinations are offering money-saving deals for clans who complete their travel before Christmas Eve, including: California:  Don’t wait to do Disney during your child’s winter break from school.  Rather, if you want to save big on hotel accommodations, travel during the first three weeks of December.  That’s when you will find deals like the … Continue reading

Thanksgiving Themed Family Getaways

Thanksgiving is less than two weeks away; do you know where you’ll be gobbling up turkey this year? More importantly, what fun family activities do you have planned for the long holiday weekend besides stuffing your face? A few million Thanksgiving diners will be heading out to the streets of New York prior to chowing down on turkey and all the trimmings. The massive crowds are just part of the biggest Turkey Day event in the country—-Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. At 9 a.m. sharp on November 27th, more than 10,000 Macy employees and volunteers will gather at 77th and Central … Continue reading

Entire Family Gets Kicked Off Plane—What would you do?

Imagine spending thousands of dollars to fly yourself, your pregnant sister and your four young children from Detroit to Seattle, but instead of getting to your final destination without incident you end up at a police station in Phoenix and details of your horrific encounter are splashed in newspapers from coast to coast. Hard to fathom, right? Well, that’s exactly what happened to Wendy Slaughter just a few short weeks ago. Slaughter, her four young children, and her expectant sister were traveling on a Southwest Airlines flight from Detroit to Seattle and had gotten as far as the Phoenix Sky … Continue reading

Earth Hour – Fun in the Dark

Tonight, March 29, 2008 is the second annual Earth Hour, sponsored by the World Wildlife Fund. The idea behind this hour is to raise awareness of steps we can all do to fight climate change. It’s an international event. The idea is simple, turn off your lights at 8 p.m. to 9 p.m. your local time. Turn off those computers. You can leave on security lights, the fridge and the heat! Millions of people around the globe are participating. If you go to do a Google search today, you’ll see even they have “turned off the lights”. This hour is … Continue reading

More Places To Take Your Little Ghosts And Goblins For Some Safe Halloween Fun

Now I’ve done it. Yesterday I posted a blog with a picture of my daughter wearing her very first Halloween costume. She happened to catch sight of the photo featuring her in the spotted Dalmatian creation and insisted I get it out of the closet for her. She then spent the better part of the day trying to squeeze her 3-year-old body into the costume she wore when she was a year old. Never mind that we have her new costume for this year, which fits just fine. No, she wanted to be a pooch–the power of suggestion! If you … Continue reading

Family Fun In Phoenix

I told you about my agonizing delay in Phoenix, Arizona in a previous blog and now I am here to make amends to the Valley of the Sun. The city, while scorching hot for most of the year, is wonderfully kid-friendly and is home to a number of unique attractions that will have you forgetting about the heat and focusing on family fun. Arizona Science Center Whether they are chasing each other through a giant sneezing nose, or shooting paper airplanes from a mock air traffic control tower, your kids will love exploring the hands-on exhibits and interactive displays at … Continue reading

Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix (2007)

It’s official, Harry Potter is back. At 12:01 a.m. last night, we sat down in a theater to preview Harry Potter & The Order of the Phoenix. Normally, I wouldn’t go see a movie so late, but my daughter is so eager to see the film, I wanted to preview it first. She’s a huge fan of Harry Potter, both the books and the films. Please note that this review will contain major spoilers if you have not read the books first. Background At the end of Harry Potter & The Goblet of Fire Harry came face to face with … Continue reading

Renaissance Fair Family Fun

Good Day my Lords and Ladies! We just returned from the Colorado Renaissance Fair. These festivals are held all over the country. I urge you to take the kids and go to one. They are great fun, and are even a little educational. You will see people dressed in period costume – knights, lords, ladies, fairies, pirates, and even dragons. The workers even talk in accents. None of it is perfectly historically accurate. I’m pretty sure they didn’t have “Ye Olde Cash Machine” in medieval times. But all of that can raise a lot of questions about history. Why did … Continue reading

Ways to Savor Summer Nights

While some parents are busy belting out “It’s the Most Wonderful Time of the Year,” I am desperately trying to squeeze as much outdoor fun into what’s left of my daughter’s summer break. Classes resume next week and neither one of us is ready to say so long to the season. My family spends a ton of time outside during the summer months, and this year has been no exception, despite the record-breaking heat. Now that the new school year is about to start, we are trying to get in as many outdoor adventures as possible. Since I telecommute, I … Continue reading

Upcoming Genealogy Events – Week of June 10, 2012

This could be your week to take a genealogy class, or to check out a genealogy workshop or event! There are a bunch of them happening, all across the United States, each and every week. Maybe one of the genealogy events in this blog will be taking place near where you live! Today, June 10, 2012, there will be a Greater Chicago Jewish Festival. The Jewish Genealogical Society of Illinois will be there to answer questions and share tips on researching Jewish family history. The festival starts at 11:00 in the morning and will end at 6:00 in the evening. … Continue reading