So here it is, the end of 2009. I have been inspired by those bloggers who have recently recapped some very cool adventures over the last year. Simultaneously, I have been nudged by Mara at Mother of All Trips to dream, as she does just about every Monday, of trips that lie ahead.  Thanks to the state of California my husband now has more time to take family trips  (read: furlough) and we have a tighter...

Continuing on my quest to find gifts that the kids can create, I decided to give beading a try. When I was young I remember having a tackle tray with beads in different compartments. I think I more collected them rather than actually used them for something artistic, much like all those sticker books, chicken rings, and collecters cards I coveted. Even as an adult, its hard not to get intoxicated by bowls...

I was recently invited by Sharlene at Double the Adventure to join a game of blogger tag. The idea is to share three travel secrets; destinations, favorite hotels or restaurants, etc.  The goal is to create a virtual index of some well kept travel secrets from travelers all over the world. Katie from Tripbase is keeping the list as bloggers keep the tags going.  Here are the recommendations I would give...

There’s nothing like bringing a community together than a local holiday celebration. In early December our town puts on a tree-lighting ceremony complete with a night-time small parade and a chorus of kids between four and nine years old singing holiday songs.  Locally we’ve been lucky with the weather, having a stretch of sunny days mixed in with a few foggy and windy ones. Enough sunshine, though,...

My friend had a fabulous idea to take the kids to a place where you can paint your own pottery. A fun activity and a way to make some gifts that are from the kids – all rolled into one. What could be better! After a little research I found a large ceramics studio not far from our house – Alpha Fired Arts. Here’s the way it works: for a small fee ($7 for kids, $9 for adults) you can pick out...