Travel & Vacation: Beautiful Scenery on Our Rocky Mountain Road Trip (Colorado)
Beautiful Colorado Rockies
Our family enjoys going to Colorado. The scenery in the Colorado Rocky Mountains is beautiful. If you ever get a chance to drive through the Rocky Mountains do it. You’ll see wildlife and breath taking views. There are a lot of places to stop to hike, eat, camp, or sight see along the way too.
These pictures are from a road trip through the Rocky Mountains I took with my Mom, brother Josh, Aunt, Uncle, cousins and our two girls. We had a blast going through the mountains. Depending on where you go the roads can have a lot of twists and turns, but the views are worth it.
Our first sight of the mountains. We were driving to Colorado from Kansas and the girls were excited to start seeing glimpses of the mountains where we would be spending the next few days!
Driving up to Estates Park
They don’t call it “Rocky” Mountains for nothing…lots of cool rock formations
Coming into Estates Park. We stopped for a little bit to walk around, shop, and grab a bite to eat before heading on our way.
Neat statue at Estates Park
Driving up past Estates Park
Beautiful day in the mountains
Love just soaking all the beautiful scenery in as we drive
Still heading up higher into the mountains
Lots of evergreen trees on these mountains.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. 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!
Travel & Vacation: Colorado Rocky Mountain Wildlife
Elk lounging around near where we parked
I was going back over some trips that we had taken in the last few years when I came across a trip we took with my parents from Kansas to Colorado. There were a lot of fun activities and adventures from that trip so I thought I would share a little bit with you and maybe you will see something you might want to do with your family. I grew up going to Colorado for summer camp and vacation so I have made a few trips through the Rocky Mountains.
On this particular trip it was the girls first time in the Colorado Rockies. They loved it and thought it was amazing the number of animals that we saw on the side of the road and near where we were walking around. All of these animals were in their native wildlife settings, however, some were pretty close to local towns and hiking trails. They didn’t seem disturbed at all by us taking their pictures. We did keep a safe distance away just in case (we didn’t want to upset any of the animals).
The one on the left is the same one as in the first picture, but if you look closely to the right under the tree is another elk. These were spotted next to the parking lot where our car was in near Estates Park.
Mountain goat must have found something tasty to eat on the side of the road.
He looked up briefly to look at us and went back to eating again.
This little bird was making all kinds of noise on our hike and picnic.
There are chipmunks everywhere. You are not suppose to feed them, but they are very commonly seen around picnic areas scavenging for bits of food.
Two chipmunks hanging out on a ledge together
The girls want to pet or pick these little cute chipmunks up, but they are not tame and it wouldn’t be safe either. They were fun to watch scurrying around.
Elk sitting at the edge of the mountain looking down on the valley. It didn’t even turn to look at us.
Two elk eating food near where we were hiking.
Several hours later after our hiking, exploring, picnic, and other adventures we came back down the mountain and it looked like the same goat was still eating from the same area near the road. He must have found a lot of good food in that area!
A lot of places in the area have hummingbird feeders. If you want a few minutes you will see them coming and going. They are fast and pretty neat to watch.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. 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!
Travel & Vacation: Midwest Dust Whirlwind
Midwest Dust Whirlwind
On one our road trips while in Kansas the girls saw their first Midwest Dust Whirlwind. Some people also called them Dust Devils. In the past few years Kansas has been pretty dry so sometimes when a farmer is working his field or something else is stirring up a large amount of dust you’ll see a dust whirlwind pop up.
When the girls first saw it they thought it was a tornado. It does look like a tornado touching down, but usually happens on a dry sunny day. We were driving along Highway 34 West near Platner, Colorado when we saw this dust whirlwind. Hopefully, the Midwest will start getting some nice rain soon so these dust devils will not be as common. The Midwest is a large producer of crops for our nation and around the world. We have a lot of farmers in our family from the Midwest who could use more rain for their crops.
A dust whirlwind (or commonly referred to as a dust devil) is caused when a vortex forms from the dust that is being kicked up into the air. The dust will often form a swirling column that reaches up vertically through the air. The dust devils could last for several hours and can either be small or large enough for people to see for many miles. They are typically harmless other than you can get dirt in your eyes and hit by small particles of dirt if you walk or drive through one.
Dust Devil off Highway 34 West! Looks like a tornado, but it is made of dirt.
The farmer working his field is kicking up enough dirt to create this Dust Whirlwind that can be seen for miles.
It was amazing to watch the swirling column of dirt raising high up into the sky.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family, ways we relax, and tips on how to make trips more enjoyable. 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!
Organized Chaos: Picnic & Travel Supplies
Our Picnic and Travel Supplies Organized
Our family loves to be outside and travel! We keep some of the travel supplies we use regularly on hand for these occasions so that we are prepared. We don’t always need all these items for each trip or when we go outside, but when it is necessary it is easy to locate so we can use them.
These small containers with lids that we used for the picnic and travel supplies, you can find for a $1 at Dollar Tree, have been useful in helping our family get and stay organized! Once the items are placed in containers, we put the lid on, and labeled them. We picked up the shelving a long time ago at Sam’s Club, but you can find it at a number of stores including Walmart, Target, Home Depot, and more.
Picnic & Travel Supply label ideas to get you started:
- Sunblock
- Bug Repellent Bands
- Hand Sanitizer / Wet Wipes
- Disposable Forks
- Disposable Spoons
- Disposable Knives
- Disposable Utensil Sets
- Decorative Tape
- Candy Gifts
Most of these items probably make sense to you, except maybe the Decorative Tape and the Candy Gifts. Well, let me explain why those are in this section as well and on the shelf with the other travel items. The decorative tape is used usually before we travel to make or decorate a special surprise for the kids (especially if it is a long trip). Sometimes we have actually brought a roll with us as we travel for various fun activities during the travel. We do use the decorative tape for other occasions as well, but for the most part it used before traveling adventures. The candy gifts are in the travel section because when we go on long road trips, usually 5 hours or longer, we try to pack special treats for the kids to enjoy along the way. This helps break up the trip for them. I usually get the treats a various times throughout the year as I find great deals and put them into the container. As we prepare to leave for an upcoming trip I pull out a couple items and we are good to go.
Disposable utensils, decorative tape, and candy gifts! Ready for the next road trip adventure!
The Picnic & Travel Supplies are organized on the middle shelf in this picture!
Organized Chaos: Organizing Our Arts & Crafts Supplies
General Craft Supplies
Our kids love to do crafts! In the summer months, on the weekends, or evenings when the kids have some extra free time they like to do crafts. Throughout the school year they have to do various projects for school so our art and craft supplies come in handy for those tasks as well.
The general arts and crafts supplies are stored in our storage closet on one of our shelves in individual containers labeled with what is inside each one. Whenever the kids want to do a craft or need something specific all they have to do is get the container out, use whatever item they need, and put the container back once they are finished. If they use up all of one particular item they write that item on the grocery / shopping list (or tell us if we are nearby so we can add it).
When the kids were younger we had a lot more containers of art and crafts supplies. Now we have narrowed it down to the supplies they use the most and will fit on one shelf in the storage room. We still have a couple drawers and other containers on the very bottom shelf for specialty or specific items that do not fit into these categories, but they are easy to access when they need them as well. Also, the girls have crafts that were give to them in their own rooms, Organized Chaos: Kids Crafts & Activities.
These small containers with lids that we used for the arts and crafts supplies, you can find for a $1 at Dollar Tree, have been very useful in helping our family get organized! Once the items are placed in containers, we put the lid on, and label them. We picked up the shelving a long time ago at Sam’s Club, but you can find it at a number of stores including Walmart, KMart, Target, Home Depot, Lowe’s, and more.
Here are some of the container labels we used for our arts and crafts supplies to get you started:
- Stencils
- Small Crafts
- Glitter
- Craft Sticks
- Modeling Clay
- Crayons
- Google Eyes
- Beads & Necklaces
- Fuzzy Sticks (pipe cleaners)
- Water Color Paint / Paint Brushes
- Finger Paints
- Stamps
- Pom Poms
Our organized storage room – the top shelf in this picture is where the arts & crafts supplies are located!
Organized Chaos: Cleaning the Top of Kid’s Dressers
Messy dresser top
There comes a point when certain areas start to accumulate too many random items that they need to be cleaned. For some reason in our house any available flat surface becomes possible game for these types of items – from the kitchen counter tops, dresser tops, table tops, the floor, and more. I am hoping this is somewhat normal for most houses and if anyone finds an airtight solution to this problem please let me know. After awhile the little things piling up on flat surfaces really starts to bother me whether it is in the kitchen, bedroom, or somewhere else in the house. Honestly, I lose track of how many times a week (or a day) I clean off the kitchen counter tops and other places.
In the bedrooms the big spot for these types of items to accumulate is on the kids dressers. I want them to be able to keep their treasures, decorate, or show off special items, but at some point it needs to be cleaned and organized. Sometimes a lot of the clutter items are just things that are not put away in their proper place. Instead of putting them away they just lay on the dresser top for awhile. Other times it is some fun trinkets they got at a party, won, or received. No matter what it is or why it is there the chore of keeping the dresser tops clean, organized, and dusted pops up quite frequently around our house.
While the kids room is the one I am talking about today I have to admit our dresser tends to get hit with these items as well. Jake and I are as guilty as the kids in loading up the dresser top with items that do not belong on it. Even though this area tends to get messy more quickly if you clean it off regularly it won’t take very long before it is looking good again.
Cleaning off the dresser is quick, easy, and makes the room look so much cleaner:
- Take everything off the dresser
- Dust the dresser off
- Put away the items that did not belong on the dresser
- Straightened up the special treasures you decide to keep or that belong on the top of the dresser
Looking good Karlie! It always makes me smile to see what special items they specifically choose to keep on top of their dressers.
Organized Chaos: Kid’s Bookshelves
Kids bookshelf
Our family loves books! It has always been something we have done together. When the girls were little we would read to them everyday. Now we read more chapter books, library books, and special books together as a family. We do a rotation on who gets to pick out the next chapter book we will read as a family. Sometimes if Jake is traveling he may miss a chapter or two otherwise we usually do this activity together.
When the girls were little we barely had any kids books. We started collecting them, the kids got some as gifts, and they have also bought some with their spending money. Over the years these books have accumulated. For one of their gifts a couple years ago Jake made the girls a bookshelf for their room. They LOVE it! For the most part they do keep it pretty neat, but every once in awhile it needs a little cleaning and organizing.
As you can see from the picture above they have books piled on top of the books on the shelf, books leaning all directions, random items that are not books on the bookshelf, and various books out of place. Since they keep it in decent order it doesn’t take long to freshen up the book shelf, put books away, dust, and we had it looking better in no time.
We have their books arranged in specific order. On the top are the kids classics and chapter book series. The 2nd shelf down we have more chapter books or series. On the 3rd shelf from the top we have the Golden Classics and soft cover books. The 4th shelf from the top contains all the kids reference and educational books. On the 5th shelf from the top we have hard cover books. The very bottom shelf contains more hard cover books, including some series.
Bookshelf is all dusted and organized!
The next big bookshelf project I need to do is to go through all the younger kids books. Our kids have outgrown a lot of the smaller books so I need to decide which ones to keep, donate, sell, etc…. I have slowly been starting to do this by giving some of the younger kid books to kids who I know enjoy those types of books. I love looking into the kids rooms and seeing them reading books either on their own or together. It makes my heart happy. The learning to read fluently has been a journey for our family. Part of my hesitation in going through and getting rid of some of their smaller books means I have to admit my little babies are growing up and to a Momma’s heart it kind of makes me sad. Not sure if I will ever be truly ready, but I will eventually go through the books and eliminate some more kids ones so that it will make more room for their more advanced reading books, just not today…
Organized Chaos: 3 Simple Steps When Cleaning Out the Kids Toy Cabinet
White Toy Cabinet
The white toy cabinet may look clean on the outside…however, that is not the case when you open it up and look inside of it. It has items placed randomly all around and is in a bit of a disarray. Today we are going to talk about organizing the toy cabinets. Our kids love playing, but for some reason the items they play with do not always find the correct homes when it is time for them to be put away. Despite the fact that most toys have a specific location where they call home. Whether it is that they are in a hurry, don’t want to take the time, or are not sure where to put it, who knows. Every once in awhile the white toy cabinet, like everything else in the house, needs a good cleaning.
Sometimes when you are cleaning out the kids stuff you find little treasures that the kids have kept for a variety of bizarre reasons, a candy wrapper from a friend, a 1 inch scrap of paper they are saving to do a craft, a piece of ribbon, or some other item that they stuffed in the cabinet for later use. There are times when the cabinet is so full of items and disorganized that it cannot even completely shut. I often wonder why these instances don’t trigger some thought process that says “Hey time to clean me out, please”! Maybe it does, but they don’t want to do it at that particular moment in time! Thankfully, as the kids are getting older I am starting notice more occasions were they will voluntarily notice a mess and clean it up by themselves. These precious moments makes my heart happy!
It’s a mess, not sure where some of that stuff came from in the toy cabinet
Here are 3 Simple Steps I use when cleaning out the kids toy cabinet:
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If it is broken – throw it away
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If they no longer play with it – give it away
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If it is out of place – put it away
Much better! Now they can actually find the toys and items they are looking for in the toy cabinet!
After going through the cabinet and applying the three simple principles as well as wiping down the inside and outside of the cabinet it is pretty much done. Sometimes there are a handful of items I am not sure about or want the kids to make the choice about what they want to do with them, but otherwise it is done.
While these steps sound really easy there have been times especially when the kids were younger and watching me clean out the toy cabinet I hesitated on some items. They may not have played with it this month, but maybe they will again next month. In those cases I usually held onto the toy for a little bit longer and if they hadn’t played with it by the time I cleaned the toy cabinet out again it was time for it to find another home.
I am a sentimental person so I like to keep special items. The problem is no one has a house large enough to keep everything so while I may hang onto things longer than some people eventually I have to admit when it’s time to let it go.
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Organized Chaos: Kid’s Closets
What a mess!
We live in a home with imperfect people. Life has a way of getting messy. Over time the busy messiness of life over spills into other areas such as our closets. It happens to all of us, including our kids.
On this particular day when I opened the closet I noticed several things out of place – clothes out of their specific baskets, shoes not lined up, headbands askew, and the hair accessories organizer not even hung up, hang up clothes in the wrong spots, crafts all out of sorts, and more disorganization.
Thankfully with the system we have in place it usually doesn’t take too long to get everything back in shape and looking good again. The kids are not always “excited” about cleaning out their closets, but they do enjoy it once it is done. It does look much better to Momma too!
Here are some closet organizational systems we already have in place that make the closet clean up easier:
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Organized Chaos: Jewelry Organizer
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Organized Chaos: Hair Accessory Organizer
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Organized Chaos: Kids Shoes
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Organized Chaos: Closet Clothes Baskets
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Organized Chaos: Kids Crafts & Activities
Once all the items listed above are checked, organized, and put back into their proper places there is only one thing left to do. Make sure all the hanging clothes are properly on the hangers and put them in their correct places. For our family we switch out cold and hot weather clothes depending on the season. In South Carolina we typically have a longer warm season then some other places so we are a little heavier on the short sleeve shirts and tank tops than on the heavier winter long sleeves and sweaters.
I used a picture from the colder season (the long sleeves show the different sections better than pictures with tank tops). As you can see her long sleeves / vests are on the left side of her closet with her short sleeve shirts in the middle and her dresses on the right side. In the summer her tank tops would be on the left where her long sleeve shirts / vests are located in this picture. We do pull out the kids winter dresses and replace them with summer dresses as well.
Looks so much better with everything put away and organized nicely!
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Travel & Vacation: Look Out the Car Window (Charleston, SC)
Through the leaves in the blue sky and you’ll see a plane coming into Charleston
Whether you are flying into Charleston, SC or driving there is always plenty to see. Our family always sees something new or different every time we go to Charleston. There are a lot of learning and teaching opportunities if you just look out your car window while going down the roads. Sometimes we take the little stuff for granted. When the kids see something they will often ask about it.
I did not grow up near the ocean or port so I learned about more of these things later in life. The first time I saw the ocean was when I got engaged to my sweetheart. Yes, that’s what happens when you grow up in Kansas (the middle of the 48 states) and about as far away from the ocean as you can get.
Some really nice private boats are docked in one of the inlets nearby
We usually see this factory when driving to and from Charleston. You can tell when they are doing certain things because there will be a faint “wet paper” odor in the air. Usually that smell will be coming from KapStone Kraft Paper Corporation in North Charleston. It’s not a bad smell just unique which peaks the curiosity of the kids riding in the car with you.
The kids are always on the lookout for the cargo containers being moved around. If you time it just right you can see the huge crane picking up cargo containers and loading (or unloading) them from the ships. They think it is neat to watch.
One of the cargo ships coming as we cross over the bridge.
The “Travel and Vacation” series is an insight into our trips together as a family and ways we relax. 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!
