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By Nicole, on 03.02.10
When I was in college, I always dreamed of taking a summer off to travel around Europe. School or work always seemed to get in the way, and I never got my summer backpacking around Europe. Now that I am older and have kids, I still want to pack up and travel. However, as an adult with a job, house, and a whole host of other responsibilities, it isn’t quite that easy. So here is the plan:
When the kids are older, we are going to take a year off and travel the world with them. We will likely wait until the kids are in the 9-13 years old range. I want them to be old enough to remember the trip, but not so old that they are too cool to hang with mom and dad for a year.
I don’t know exactly where [more...]
By Nicole, on 03.01.10
Poison Dart Frog native to Costa Rica
Today is Monday. I’m back at work and dreaming about a vacation 180 degrees from sitting at my desk. Lately, Costa Rica has taken a prominent place in those dreams. I keep thinking of Trekking through a cloud forest looking for interesting animals, watching a light show from a volcano, seeing monkeys frolic on the beach, swimming in a thermal spring and basking in the warm tropical sun. It sounds pretty perfect to me right now.
There are other reasons that Costa Rica is high on my list. It is a short flight from Miami, about 3 hours. A 3 hour flight with 2 small boys should be fairly painless (I can hope right, don’t ruin [more...]
By Nicole, on 02.26.10
Q at Gumbo Limbo looking at the Turtles
I love a dollar as much as the next person, if not more. And when you have kids each dollar spent adds up really quickly. An afternoon at the zoo or museum at $10-$15 a pop becomes a $40-$60 outing! And for my kids, who might get tired or cranky or want to go home mid-visit, this isn’t the best investment for us. These are some of my favorite free or almost free things to do with my kids.
Don’t worry, it’s not a real turtle
Gumbo Limbo Park in Boca Raton – Free, donation requested. [more...]
By Nicole, on 02.25.10
Our Siesta Key Vacation Group – 2009
Just about everyone has taken some type of family vacation. Whether it is immediate family only, with the grandparents, visiting family, just about everyone has had some type of experience with the family vacation. This year, I propose you try the friendcation.
What is a friendcation? It is basically, a vacation with your friends rather than family. We try and do one every year. For the past 4 years, we have gone to Siesta Key (Sarasota) in Florida. We rent a condo, and play on the beach for a week. It is fantastic! The kids have friends to play with and the adults have friends to hang out with. The first year we did this vacation, it was just 3 families [more...]
By Nicole, on 02.24.10
I’ll come right out and say it, I am cheap. I cannot justify spending $300+ dollars a night for a simple hotel room, just because it is a Disney hotel. I know there is a “magical” quality to staying on site and a convenience factor for some. For our family, I find a better alternative is staying as close to the parks as we can in a Suite-hotel. This works for a few reasons.
1. You have a kitchen. Not depending on Disney for each and every one of your meals is nice and saves you quite a bit of money. Also, you are able to keep a stock of kid’s snacks. For Babies, having a kitchen for milk, formula, etc is especially crucial. Lastly, for kids who have waited in lines all day, sitting down and waiting for dinner doesn’t seem to appealing.
2. Separate [more...]
By Nicole, on 02.23.10
Q at Disney
We enjoy taking our kids to Disney. It is relatively close to us and can be a great weekend get-away. However, after going to Disney many times, we have a few tricks to make the visit extra special.
Tip #1: Schedule a breakfast at the Crystal Palace in the Magic Kingdom. It is a character dining experience that is located at the end of Main Street USA. You get to see Winner the Pooh, Tigger, Eyeore, and Piglet. While the kids enjoy the character experience, that isn’t the reason we go. You can make a reservation to eat here before the park opens. So you get to take these great pictures of your children on Main Street USA, in front of the castle, etc and no one else is [more...]
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