Activities

Last year I wrote about how I had chosen my word of the year to be Dance. I wanted to slow down and not stress the small stuff. Much harder than I could imagine – however, I feel I...

Visiting my grandmother’s farm when she was alive was like walking into an aviary. She loved the birds that would visit her feeders. From the return of her spring robins, on to the bright summer hummingbirds, orioles, and finches, then...

Last year, I felt like we spent a million dollars or something on gifts for Christmas. Since I'm not a millionaire, it turns out, all I remember is the debt we accrued. I can’t remember what we bought exactly,...

Everyone needs a little time away from reality once in a while. A chunk of time away from the rat race of life. A time to step away from the laundry, and the cooking, the cleaning. Time to turn...

Twice a year I get to do one of my favorite things-Throw a birthday party! I have thrown 7 birthday parties for my 2 kids and each time I learn a trick that makes throwing the perfect party easy...

If you are a mom to young kids, you know that most days feel like a snack free-for-all. Each day, I encourage my daughter to think of choices that include fruits, veggies, and protein rather than "snack" type foods. While we talk about it frequently,...

There’s a toy that’s taken the nation by storm. It’s in many of your houses (and scattered across many of your floors). It manifests in bracelets and rings and charms and figures—in just about anything the imagination of its...

It’s not too many years ago that I would have told you I’d never been to a State Fair in my life. In the last several years since being introduced to the “amazingly amusing” Iowa State Fair, I’ve experienced...

As my 30th birthday approached, I decided that I was not going to sulk into thirty. I wanted to go in with a BANG! And goodness, my husband made that happen by throwing me a huge surprise party. He...

Campfire, zip line, capture the flag, basketball, hide-and-seek, swimming, boating, water slides, singing, rock wall climbing, sleeping, eating, mini-golf, new friends, faith, independence, Pixie Stix, Dr. Pepper, the lake. Summer camp. Did you go as a kid? I did. Here's a...