Travel & Vacation
Vacation & Travel: Exploring History in San Juan, Puerto Rico (Part 2, Pictures)
One of the congress buildings in San Juan. During our tour of San Juan, Puerto Rico we stopped by this beautiful congress buildings.
Ceiling inside the political building, amazing art work. They had beautiful marble and artwork inside the senate building. It was really neat to see the art and read about the history of San Juan.
In their Senate building looking down into foyer at their Articles of Constitution The circular item in the middle of the foyer is San Juan’s “Articles of Constitution”. You can actually read the documents and sign the signatures.
Exploring Fort San Cristobal We had a blast exploring the Fort. The Fort had many amazing views of the city and a lot of neat history regarding the city of San Juan.
Following Dad through one for the long tunnels in the Fort. The fort had a maze of tunnels you could walk through. If you look to the right you can see a glow of a light. When the fort was built they used candles in those sections to help light the tunnels for the soldiers to see, (thankfully they use traditional lighting these days). I wouldn’t want to be in one of the tunnels when all the lights went out!
A large courtyard inside the fort. Inside the fort they had a couple large courtyard areas. You could stand in the middle of the courtyard and see people touring the fort in about every direction. I could only imagine what it looked like if the fort was buzzing with soldiers during it’s active days.
An upper section where they placed cannons to defend the fort. The fort was built approximately 150 feet up from sea level. On the upper sections of the fort the walls were huge! Most of the places we above your head but when you looked out where the cannons were located you could see a great distance and get more of perspective of how high you truly were.
Looking out of one of the cannon notches to the city of San Juan. It was amazing looking out the various cannon portals and seeing the city as well as ocean around the fort. In some ways it is hard to believe at one time that there were cannons sitting in these notches.
Gazing out at the beach and city around the fort. We are looking out of a “window” in the fort at the city and beach below. If you look in the upper left hand corner of the picture you will see a piece of the fort sticking up with two horizontal slits in it, that is similar to the “window” we are taking the picture through.
In the background of the picture you can see another piece of the fort. The fort is very long with houses and businesses along the outer walls of the fort. There is area between the larger pieces of the fort are longer and narrower which follow the coast line of San Juan.
As we were walking through the fort we found a friend on the grassy area. A large iguana (at least I think that is what it was) was stretched out on the grass right next to us.
We had a lot of fun in a few hours exploring San Juan, Puerto Rico. My personal favorite was touring the fort and learning snip-its of history about it. I am thankful for the opportunity to not only spend time exploring other parts of the world on our trip but also spending extra time with family.
A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Vacation & Travel: Exploring History in San Juan, Puerto Rico
Picture taken from inside Fort San Cristobal A few months ago my husband and I along with several extended family members had the opportunity to take a vacation and we flew into San Juan, Puerto Rico. (I know, I am a few months behind and trying to catch up on all the fun activities, trips, and events that have been going on this year. Bare with me I hope to get there eventually). The day we flew into San Juan we weren’t able to explore but we were able to see the city on the way back threw. After several days of fun cruising on the Royal Caribbean’s, Serenade of the Seas we had the a few hours to explore San Juan, Puerto Rico.
We were able to see both the Old and New San Juan. During our time in San Juan we were able to see and explore several historic landmarks such as the San Jose Church, the Governor’s Mansion, the Cristo Chapel, El Convento Hotel, visit the Condado section of New San Juan and we took a quick tour of Fort San Cristobal.
Jake and I thoroughly enjoyed walking through Fort San Cristobal. It would have been awesome to take a guided tour through the fort to learn about all the history behind it but since time was limited we soaked in all the information we could as we toured the Fort with our group. Fort San Cristobal is a large fortress on the island of San Juan that was built by the Spanish starting in the mid 1600’s but not complete until late 1700’s. The purpose of the fort was to protect San Juan from attacks. Fort San Cristobal was approximately 27 acres and stretched along the edge of the city. This fort was one of the biggest built in America by the Spanish. The fort was built to not only protect the city from attack on sea but from attack by land as well. I was impressed with the number of tunnels within the fort. One of the oldest pieces of the fort is the “Garita del Diablo” (the Devil’s Sentry Box) because sentinels would disappear from this post over the sea. The first shots of the Spanish – American War between Puerto Rico and a US Navy ship were fired by the cannons on top of Fort San Cristobal in 1898.
It was wonderful learning about all the history in San Juan while we were touring the city. One of the neat parts about going on a cruise is we had a chance to visit a variety of different islands and learn about their history. We were simply amazed and grateful for the time to soak in all the history in these islands. San Juan was very fascinating, and like many of the other islands we visited, it would have been nice to stay a few days to learn more of the history and experience the culture.
The island of Puerto Rico is approximately 100 miles long and 35 miles wide with almost 4 million people. It is nicknamed the “Island of Enchantment,” and has a modern multicultural society which has been influenced by the Spanish, African, Native American Tainos and United States.
Facts about the city of San Juan, Puerto Rico:
- Land Area: 47.5 square miles
- Water Area: 75.4 square miles
- Population: 420,326
- Density: 2,110 per square kilometer
- Housing Units: 182,101
- Per Capita Income: $12,437
Another interesting fact of Puerto Rico – “While Puerto Rico is the oldest city under U.S. jurisdiction, most people consider St. Augustine, Florida the oldest city in the continental.” Informational facts received from To Puerto Rico
I will be posting more pictures in a few days explaining and showing more about our adventures in San Juan. It was a wonderful trip through the city filled with neat history. The piece that made it more enjoyable is that we spent with with extended family. What a blessing it is to have a chance to explore areas with family.
A Vacation To Remember series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Explore with a good attitude, look for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Magazine: “Family Fun” Magazine
We have been receiving the “Family Fun” Magazine for awhile now and love it! The girls have enjoyed picking out a variety of crafts and fun activities from the magazines. Each issue contains information and “how-to” demonstrations on crafts, recipes, activities, parties, family friendly articles and much more. If you are looking for a great family magazine packed full of ideas for the kids check this one out.
Love It – Skippies (Water Toys)
Our Skippies after a fun weekend in the ocean, still with some sand on them! My girls picked out a pool toy, Skippies by Fluid, to give to Daddy for his birthday a couple weeks ago and we got to try them out on our recent trip to Charleston. It was a BLAST playing with these floating discs!!!! I have to admit I was thinking of using the Skippies mainly for time in the pool because I thought we would lose them in the ocean with the waves. Since we didn’t have the opportunity to use them at the pool first we decided to test them in the ocean anyway. The whole family had a lot of fun playing with the “Skippies”! They floated really well, were bright colors which made them easy to spot in the water, and light weight so if one managed to hit you it didn’t hurt (we tested that theory, Jake even managed to hit me on the forehead one time). Plus they were easy to grab and throw even for the kids.
Several people in the water near us stopped us to ask about them. I was impressed with how entertaining they were and how easy they were to use even for our girls. It is a great time of year to check out these neat pool toys as the summer season begins to wrap up. They are not expensive and can provide a lot of fun entertainment for your whole family. I found them on clearance at our local Sports Authority when they were closing down the store on Laurens Road. I am looking forward to trying them out at the pool now that we tested them successfully in the ocean! They come in a pack of 4 and measure 3 inch in diameter. You can find them at Toy Splash!
“Love It” is a series of posts on items that I use regularly or seasonally in my household that I love! There are some items in our daily lives that make life more enjoyable, efficient, or just plain fun. I will be sharing with you some of the products that have been given to us (or to me) that have made it to the top of my list. It’s my way of giving a huge thumbs up!
Living on a Budget: Groceries $40 for 4
We were back to traveling again for part of the week so it was more of a challenge getting the grocery shopping trip into the schedule. It was our last family trip before the kids go back to school which included some work, exploring the area and going to the beach. Here is my weekly update on our Groceries $40 for 4.
Groceries from Ingles and BiLo Ingles Groceries:
- $13.37 at Ingles for 4 boxes Fiber One Strawberry Yogurt (4 count each), 4 boxes Danimals Yogurt Strawberry / Vanilla / Peach (6 count each), 1 Broccoflower (part Broccoli and part Cauliflower), 2 bags of Sugar Snow Peas, 1 container of Grapefruit Juice, 2 bags Broccoli Coleslaw and 2 chunky mild Guacamole Dips. (all the items were marked down on clearance for $0.50 to $0.99 or on sale plus I used a couple coupons from the yogurt boxes)
BiLo Groceries:
- $3.52 at BiLo for 1 gallon of Milk. (BiLo has the best prices in our area for milk, plus if you bring your own bag they will give you 5 cents off per bag you use, of course I forgot my bag in the van when I ran into get the milk real quick).
This week I spent $16.89 on groceries. Even though I was under my budgeted amount for the week I was able to stock up on several items on clearance plus I will have a little extra left over for upcoming weeks. I hope that next week is an even better week and we can come under budget for the week even though we will have out of town guests staying with us for a few days.
It is my goal to give you regular updates on this budget section so you can celebrate the good weeks with me and thump me on the bad weeks! As always you are welcomed to join the journey with me. I would love to hear your story and how you are doing too. The purpose of our family doing this it to watch our grocery spending while allowing us to feed our family, enjoy life, share with others, and yet stay on track with our budget.
Living on a Budget is a series of ways our family uses a budget to help keep us accountable with our finances. Life doesn’t always go as planned. We have used some of the ideas I will be sharing for years while others are ones we are just starting to implement as we continue finding ways to be creative and have fun with what we have been given. Having a plan in place allows us the freedom to be smart with what we have been given, get more creative when it is a tight (week, month, year or a season) and when necessary live a much more simplified life. A budget helps us stay on track so we have more opportunities to enjoy the many blessings we have been given as well as share what we have with others. There is so much more to life than having all the stuff. We may not have the newest or greatest items in our house, we drive used cars, and wear hand-me-down clothing…..however, if our family is taken care of and have love for each other and others we have more than all the riches in the world.
Craft Activities: Silly Yard Animals
During the summer I came up with a variety of fun activities for the girls to enjoy. As I was going through the craft cabinet I pulled out google eyes, fuzzy sticks, pom poms, and glue! A lot of fun crafty ideas can happen with all these great items but I had a specific purpose in mind – Rock Animals! Rock Animals are always a huge hit and can occupy the girls for hours. Here is how to much Rock and other Nature Animals!
Step 1
Items for the craft – Google Eyes, Fuzzy Sticks, Pom Poms, Scissors and Glue
We are ready to get creative with Fuzzy Sticks, Glue, Google Eyes, and Pom Poms! Step 2
Have each child gather a pile of rocks, sticks, leaves, sea shells and other items from the yard. The kids are usually so excited to get started this step only takes a few minutes!
Karlie gathered some rocks, sticks and leaves to make into fun animals! Step 3
Once they have a pile of goodies from the yard help get them started on making their “animals”. I make sure the glue is ready to go, the craft is going smoothly, and answer any last minute questions before giving them the freedom to be creative!
Brina creating her leaf animal. Step 4
Let the kids imaginations go wild creating their own animals! Here are a few of the creations our girls came up with during their craft time!
Karlie made a rock replica of Daddy (love the green glasses)! I was thrilled to see them come up with “glasses” for their animals especially since our entire family (including the kids) wear glasses!
Brina's silly stick animal. Brina found several sticks and had a blast creating animals out of them!
Karlie's "scary" shark animal. She started out making the three eyed alien from “Toy Story” but decided it looked more like a shark, one of her favorite animals (she has been fascinated by sharks since she was 3 years old).
Brina found a brick in the rock garden and made a happy brick animal out of it (with glasses as well). I was excited to see them find and create a variety of different yard objects.
Cute rock with pretty purple hair. They found the various objects and were able to create the animals on their own. Although we went through A LOT of glue, so make sure to have plenty on hand! The rock animal craft kept our girls entertained for hours! It was so much fun checking out all their neat animals and hearing their stories behind each one. They left several of their treasures on the front porch to show their friends, family and neighbors. Skipper decided the pom poms were too irresistible and managed to remove a few from their animals so the girls spent the next day patching a few of their rock animals. The girls had a blast and it only cost me a couple dollars for all the supplies!
Vacation & Travel: Exploring Vermont
After our adventures in Boston we had the opportunity to head up to Vermont and spend a few days with Jake’s grandparents. We had a blast hanging out with them and the girls had a chance to experience Vermont. They thought the river was a neat place to explore!
Exploring Vermont Taking a hike with Daddy!
Down by the river! The girls were excited to see the river near Nana and PopPop’s house. They loved hearing Daddy’s stories of camping and having fun in Vermont.
Wild strawberries growing along the trail in Vermont Brina and Karlie enjoyed seeing the different trees, fruits, flowers and fun items along the hiking trail. They pointed out several wild strawberry patches!
Vermont wildflower boutique made by Brina and Karlie They made a cute little boutique out of the wildflowers they picked along our hike (and a pine cone)!
Karlie being silly at the Cabot store! We went to the Antique Mall and the little shops in the area. The girls had a blast tasting several of the Cabot cheeses!
Exploring Quechee Gorge in Vermont! Quechee Gorge was fun to look at and see with the girls. They thought it was a LONG ways down!
Karlie enjoying a popsicle at Nana and PopPop's Karlie thought it was so cool Nana got “rocket” popsicles!
Brina thinks the popsicles are delicious! Dessert after supper – a colorful popsicle (what a perfect treat)!
Karlie having fun in Vermont! Playing in their new garage!
I followed the girls and Daddy down to the river. While Daddy was cutting a tree that was in the path I startled the girls! They didn’t hear me over the chain saw running, this was Brina’s expression! Guess next time I should announce my arrival.
PopPop and Daddy splitting some wood. Daddy and PopPop got through the stack of would they had to split while we were there that week. The girls found the splitter fascinating to watch and even did one themselves.
Karlie and Brina blowing bubbles. Blowing bubbles, always a fun summer time activity!
Brina and Karlie hanging out with Nana! The girls enjoyed their time hanging out with Nana and PopPop!
Ready for a swim in the river! Who is ready for an ice cold swim in the river!?
Brina found a stick in the river The water was pretty chilly but that didn’t bother Brina! The girls had a blast finding sticks, building a dam and splashing around in the river.
Daddy and Karlie heading to the river On the way to the river. It was so much in Vermont, the river was a favorite!
Sunning themselves on the rock! They were perfectly warm playing in the water but when it was time to come back up to the house they suddenly got cold! This was their solution to sit / lay on the big rock in the yard to warm back up. It only took them a couple minutes (if that) and they were back up playing again!
Having the kids makes every activity an adventure. The girls loved their time with Nana and PopPop in Vermont. We are thankful for the opportunity to spend a few days with them. A lot of great memories that the girls will treasure from that time with Nana and PopPop!
“A Vacation To Remember” series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Clamming and Playing at the Beach!
We had an amazing trip up north to see family in the New England area. Our family were blessed to have an opportunity to spend a few days with Jake’s cousin and his family! It was a wonderful weekend full of awesome memories and fun times together. Thanks Matt and Jen for sharing your family with us! We went clamming for the first time ever!!!
Clamming near Boston! During low tide we all went to the beach to go clamming! What a fun gooey adventure – Karlie’s explanation of clamming!
They found one - Daddy and Karlie digging up a clam! Daddy and Karlie found a clam and are digging it out of the mud!
Such a great adventure, searching for clams! We walked around barefoot in the sticky mud looking for clams. When your feet hit something hard (like a rock) you would reach down in the mud and pick up the clam. In less than 30 minutes we had a basket full of fresh clams for our evening meal.
Got another CLAM! YAY!!! Daddy and Karlie got another clam, oh boy! This is FUN!
Karlie covered in mud but so proud of the clam she found all on her own! A child’s dream event…..walking around in sticky mud in search for dinner! Karlie had a blast finding clams and was so excited to get a chance to eat the food she caught! It was a neat experience and gave us an opportunity to explain a little bit more about the ocean, high & low tides, and clams. Brina chose to stay on shore, she wasn’t into the sticky muddy mess!
Basket full of delicious clams! Matt made two amazing clam recipes for dinner that night – one dish was baked clams and the other was fried. His homemade tartar sauce was out of this world!!!
Every kids dream (at least kids like Karlie) mud, digging for clams, low tide, and fun at the beach! Karlie thought it was the best adventure! She just giggled at the muddy mess and had a blast trying her hand a clamming! I didn’t get as many pictures of Brina because she decided clamming wasn’t something she wanted to do (all the sticky mud didn’t appeal to her I guess) and since the rest of the family was out clamming I was able to get a couple pictures of Karlie and Daddy splashing around in the mud.
Most unusual door handle for a gate! There was a race in town so we had to stop a few minutes by a bridge to let the joggers pass. As were were stopped we had a chance to check out the town a little bit. We were next to a nice house with this cool outside gate that lead into their yard, it is an arm holding a hammer, the girls thought it was hilarious. Pretty creative!
Brina having fun in the sand at our "private" beach! Matt found a super cool beach area that we had to ourselves. There was water, sand, and plenty of fun for all the kids! Brina thought it was pretty cool sitting on the “island” (or sand bar in the middle) and playing in the sand.
Floating along together! Super fun! The kiddos had a blast floating on their boogie boards! It was low tide when we arrived and as we swim, grilled out and played the tide slowly kept coming back up. The kids discovered that they could get on the boards and the current would take them away. Sometimes they would race each other and other times they would link together so they could float along as one big team.
Our own private beach area! Perfect spot for the kids to play, have a BBQ, and relax! Our “private” beach, it really was a neat place to play! See our pile of shoes, line of beach chairs, water to splash in and sand to play around on. The sand in the middle was a sand bar with water flowing on either side making it a little island for everyone to enjoy (or at least until the tide rose high enough to cover the entire sand bar)! We had a super fun time exploring and playing with cousins!
Tide is moving in and covering the sandy island, Brina and Karlie are having a blast digging in the sand as the water continues to rise! The girls love a chance to play in the water and sand! As the tide was rising and the current was picking up they decided to spend some time digging on their island to help make the water goes faster!
Neat little town on the island! We could see this cute little town and light house on the island from where we were swimming! The island is so tiny they don’t have running water or electricity (even in the winter)!
Karlie with a full dump truck of sand, life at the beach is so much fun! Digging up the sand to fill up the dump truck! It is amazing how entertaining a toy can be on the beach!
Brina digging in the sand at the beach! Brina built a few good moats and dug some big holes on the beach! One hole was so big that if you weren’t careful it could wipe you out going through it (you don’t expect for the ground to drop several inches on shore).
She cracks me up! Karlie thought it was hilarious when the waves flipped her dump truck full of sand! Karlie tickled silly by the dump truck being tipped over with the waves. Fun times at the beach!
Brina building up her castle moat! It takes some serious concentration to build a castle and moat, however it can entertain for hours!
The girls had so much fun with their cousins and friends at the beach! Fun time at the beach with their cousins and friends. You never know who you might run into while playing at the beach!
We are thankful for the amazing opportunity to spend a few days with extended family! We truly are blessed with a wonderful family. The cousins played together so well and had a blast. It became obvious that Jen and I hit the same sales during Vacation Bible School week because we managed to buy the exact same swimsuits for the girls. All four girls had matching suits and we didn’t realize it until we were pulling them out for the kids to wear!
We started out that morning clamming followed by swimming and playing so we had a chance to explore three different beaches near Boston all the same day! Thanks Matt and Jen for showing us how to gather clams and for a fun day at the beach! What great memories!
“A Vacation To Remember” series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: Family Fun – Boston, MA
Going to church with our cousins! The girls had a blast spending time with their cousins in Boston. They thought it was great getting a chance to go the early service at their church!
Beach time! The girls having a blast at a Boston beach. Their first exclamation after getting out of the van was “BEACH ROCKS” and then proceeded to collect all the beach rocks they could carry. The beaches in the South have seashells but not beach rocks so they were convinced these were amazing commodities and should gather them all. They quickly learned that the New England beaches contained MANY beach rocks. I think we still managed to collect a few but not nearly as many as they initially intended.
Jen picked up some fun Red, White and Blue Star Marshmallows for S'mores! Both the kids and adults had a blast roasting these cool marshmallows over the fire! They made awesome S’mores!
Daddy and Beanie watching the waves on the edge of the water! The water was MUCH colder in Boston (compared to South Carolina and Georgia). Everyone had a grand time swimming in the water. I was actually surprised how long the kids stayed in the water with it being so chilly!
Brina concentrating on roasting her marshmallows. It’s not every day you get to roast marshmallows on the beach in your swimsuit, life jacket and covered in sand. What a great day!
Karlie roasting her stack of Red, White & Blue marshmallows! Karlie talking and roasting. We had to make her go wash off before doing the marshmallows because she was covered in sand from head to toe, she loves playing (digging) on the beach!
Brina at the beach! Brina being festive at the beach. It was a lot of fun playing at the beach for several hours!
Karlie hanging out at the beach! Karlie stopping only for a moment for me to snap a picture. She was enjoying her time swimming and playing the in sand!
The base to a bonfire near us on the beach! It was hilarious watching the guys carry out the jungle gym, it was the base to a big bonfire next to us.
Karlie contemplating her next sand project! Karlie was frequently found creating a castle, a big moat, or some other creation in the sand.
Beach chickies! They love the beach so much it is such a chore trying to get them to pause for a picture! Jen picked up the snazzy head bands and stickers, super cool!
The jungle gym is now buried under all the other stuff, it's going to be a big bonfire! The bonfire is getting bigger! There were HUGE bonfires up and down the beach. This was one near us. From where we were located we could see 12 other ones!
The jungle gym bonfire is up in flames! It was amazing how big the bonfires were on the beach. You could look down the beach and see rows of them!
We had a blast spending time with our family up in Boston! Thanks Matt and Jen for sharing your weekend and family with us. We had a lot of fun relaxing and seeing the area with the whole family. Thankful for the opportunity to spend some time with everyone. It was a lot of fun hanging out and exploring the area. Many amazing memories were made over the weekend!
“A Vacation To Remember” series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
Travel & Vacation: 40 Plus Hour Road Trip Together
Our family recently went on a forty plus hour road trip together. A lot of fun memories were created on our road trip up to New England including time spent with several extended family members. Here are a few pictures of our journey in the van:
Sleeping beauties in the van! Thankful to have girls who enjoy a long road trip. I had to smile when I looked back and saw them fast asleep with their toys on their laps.
Seriously, who needs a pillow when you have your sisters head to sleep against! This was a popular sight on our 40+ hour road trip. The girls would be quiet so we would look back and see them sleeping soundly with their heads together. A sister comes in handy for a pillow in a pinch!
Look out Boston here we come!!! We had a blast staying with family in the Boston area. Thankful for our time together with extended family!
Going through the "Big Dig" in Boston The girls thought it was neat going through the long tunnel under the city!
The girls enjoying one of their DVDs with head phones. We have a DVD player we can set up in the van which we use for long road trips. Our policy is if the road trip is longer than 5 hours we will put in the DVD player. The girls were VERY excited to go on a long road trip because they got to watch a couple movies.
Beautiful day and amazing scenery. We enjoyed the beautiful landscape on our drive up north. The green trees, puffy white clouds and Vermont Mountains in the distance. One of these years we need to head up to New England during the Fall, I bet it is breathtaking when all the trees are turning.
Little goodies and toys kept the girls entertained throughout the trip. Karlie watching a video while Brina plays with her remote control car. They had a blast playing in the car and exploring when we stopped.
Connecticul Welcomes Us! Yay! Even though we went through a lot of different states on our journey I was only able to capture a few state “Welcome” signs. It was hard to time the pictures and at night none of them turned out well. We made a brief stop in CT after trying three exits to find gas and a working restroom for the kiddos (I didn’t realize how many Mom/Pop gas stations didn’t have working restrooms).
Downtown Hartford We only spent a few hours in Hartford, CT on our trip. The girls said next trip they want to explore it more!
Welcome to Pennsylvania! The traffic in Pennsylvania was less but the roads were much rougher. We saw some beautiful scenery throughout the mountains of Pennsylvania!
So busy painting they completely ignored my request for a picture! These books were a big hit, obviously! The girls are always game for crafts and had been begging to “paint”. I found the solution at Big Lots in their clearance section, paint books that use water pens to paint. Less of a mess for us and more fun for the girls. All we had to do was fill up their pens a couple times along the way.
Beautiful river at sunset We were blessed to see a lot of wonderful scenery on the way.
Our girls resting in the van! Despite the many hours on the road the girls were such troopers. They did not complain at all even though they spent a lot of hours in the van. It was neat to see them have fun, entertain themselves, and get excited about exploring the different areas we stopped. Thankful for their sweet adventuresome spirit. They even slept a good 5 to 7 hours as we were driving through the night! Needless to say they were rested when we got home (Mommy and Daddy were exhausted). For tips on flying with the kids check out Tips on Flying with Kids.
“A Vacation To Remember” series is a reflection on our recent trip and ways we relaxed. Life is short and we were thrilled to have the opportunity to build memories with family and explore of of the most amazing places during our time away. Go with a good attitude and looking for fun and it will be an awesome trip jammed packed with positive memories. It is refreshing having some time away from the regular routine. Make it a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet new people and learn. You just might see or try something new that takes your breath away!
