Camping Activities for Pre-Schoolers

1. Nature Scavenger Hunt
I made mine. I found images online that represent the items I wanted the kids to find.
You can find other variations

2. Glow Ring Toss
I purchased a six-pack of water and an assortment of glow sticks and glow bracelets at the dollar store.
The kids were more excited about the glow sticks alone and proceeded to throw them off the balcony as "fireworks."

3. Sidewalk Chalk
Target had 4-packs of Crayola sidewalk chalk in the dollar bins.
This was a MAJOR hit.

4. Bubbles
As much as the kiddos wanted the bubbles, they did not produce very well. I should've gotten or made a better bubble solution or some bubble-making toys.

5. Water Guns
A dollar each in the Target dollar bins. I was going to get water balloons but I didn't want to accidentally leave any balloons out in nature.
Only 1 gun was used as a water gun. The rest of the time, the kids were content to pretend to shoot the bad guys.

6. Coloring Books and Crayons
All a dollar each at the dollar store.

7. Insect Collecting Set
A dollar at the dollar store.
It has the observation container with a magnifying glass on it, an insect net, and plastic tweezers to help protect little hands and fingers.

7. Beach Toys

Purchased and brought by relative.
The kids were thrilled to play with the toys even though there was no sand. They liked digging the rocks into the buckets and pouring them out again.

The Frio River part 1

If I were to write about my week, it would be an entirely too long post. I'm breaking this vacation down into a few posts.

Last summer, my aunt and cousin invited me and my family to vacation with them at the Frio River. I immediately said yes! They had brought three other cousins vacationing with them in earlier years and just never got to include me as a child. Throughout the year, I was looking forward to this vacation and when it came time to plan, I had to politely thank them for the invitation but decline to go due to certain circumstances.

I was visiting with my aunt and cousin one week before the trip and they insisted that we go anyway, that we would work it all out. It took a couple of days of convincing, but we were finally able to accept and go along with them. So we planned and packed and planned and purchased and met up the morning of the long drive across the state.

We drove through Houston and somehow all ended up at Buc-ee's just before we got into San Antonio. Everyone else stopped to have lunch, Ryan and I drove straight to Concan. Once we arrived, we took a look around and ended up at Josh's. Goodbye "civilization"! We were able to make a few phone calls to check in with everyone, but after that, there was no service. No internet. No 4G. No wifi.

We waited for everyone to get to Concan before we went to find the cabin. Once we were there, we unpacked, relaxed and ate supper. We sat on the back porch, the kiddos played, helped cook and went to bed.

Read More! Frio River Fun Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4

Vacationing v 3

Remember my first vacation post?

Ryan wanted to take Ivy to Galveston but you have to pay for a permit to access any beach. I suggested that I get in touch with my girl-friend to see if we can park the car at the beach house. She said we could and we were off!

The seaweed was recently cleaned up so we had no trouble getting to the water. We had a nice time at the beach!

She really loved rolling and splashing in the sand and wake. 

My favorite people!

The sand was either too wet or too dry to make castles with. We did what we could though. 

Random Facts

1. I incorporate French, Spanish, song lyrics, movie quotes, and book quotes in my everyday vernacular. 

2. I want(ed) a lotus blossom tattoo that extends from my right shoulder to my right hip. Much like this one... 

I also want an owl and some kind of Texas pride. 

3.  Used to collect frogs. Now I have a thing for owls. I also collect a few strawberry items, magnets from attractions, pressed pennies, and sea/beach glass. 

4.  <-- has been my favorite number since I was ... 4!

5. I think I'm a very boring person. 

6. I used to have 5piercings. I want my septum pierced. 

7. Survivor: rape, anorexia, depression

8. I love animals. So much that I baby-talk to them. It's ridiculous. 

9. I have an 'undeclared' minor in dance. I've studied a large variety of dance including burlesque, pole, African, belly dance, and the standard dance classes (ballet, pointe, tap, clogging, jazz, and modern).

10. "I'm sorry... Sort of." 

40 Before 40

The real reason why I am posting is because I want to do something special. I'm at a point in my life when people think that at my age, there are things that I shouldn't do. This makes me sad. 

 

So I want to do a 40 before 40 list. I know this isn't an original idea. I'm giving myself 6 years to do these things. 

1. Something I've never done before 2014 - Tube the Frio River
2. Something I've never done before 2015
3. Something I've never done before 2016
4. Something I've never done before 2017
5. Something I've never done before 2018
6. Something I've never done before 2019
7. Something I've never done before 2020
8. Get to pre-pregnancy weight
9. RUN a 5k
10. Half marathon
11. Bike over 100 miles
12. Write a kids book
13. Aerial silks class
14. Indoor rock climbing
15. Get a tattoo
16. Pet a tiger
17. Take a cross-country road trip
18. Hot air balloon flight/ride
19. 40 Random Acts of Kindness (with a Twitter/Instagram Hashtag)

 

This list is only almost half-way done. I wanted to be able to post the comple list for my birthday but I haven't figured all of them out yet. I will update to finish this later. 

Obligatory Birthday Post

(People think I'm joking about this.)

Today is my 34th birthday. In the midst of my morning snooze, the sweet sound of "Happy Birthday, Momma" floated through whatever dream I was having that is now long forgotten. Even my subconscious knows that her words are more important than anything my brain can make up. 

Today I am going to get anything and everything that I can for free. I have a lot of freebie coupons! I absolutely love the link I found for all the birthday freebies. 

Breakfast = IHOP

Lunch = Schlotzsky's & Wing Stop

(Surprise freebie! The girl at the counter gifted me with a free soda, sweetheart!)

Surprise freebie = Snowcone!

(It was actually for Ivy)

Ivy helped me out by opening my gift and card from my in-laws. 

Coffee = Starbucks

Dinner = Genghis Grill

(Look it! Free dessert too!)

Dessert = Marble Slab; I planned on getting this for dessert but since our waitress gifted me with dessert, I skipped it. 

I decided to be silly today. I went out and got a birthday crown and I wore it out in public today. If anyone said happy birthday to me, I wanted to take a selfie with them. 

 

Where can YOU get BIRTHDAY FREEBIES?

 

Birthday Freebie List from Freebie-Depot

Purging

We inherited some bedroom furniture from Ryan's grandmother. A year after repainting and using the two bedside dressers, I finally finished repainting the matching dresser. It was a challenge to get upstairs and my old dresser has just been sitting in the open room upstairs for about a month. 

Well, I was productive today. The first thing I tackled was a corner of my bedroom. It has been piled with 90% of the contents of my vanity and other random things. I bit the bullet and threw out all of my old makeup and got rid of trash in general. My corner isn't perfect but it's on it's way. The vanity also needs to be sanded and painted. Another project for another time. 

After that, I decided to take care of the open room. My old dresser was placed so that there was only enough space to walk through. There are also storage bins that were randomly in the middle of the area. The dresser and bins were pushed to the perimeter and straightened up a bit. Done for now. There's floor space!

The last job I did today that still isn't complete is unpacking my car. I was hoping I wouldn't have to and I was inches away from not needing to but circumstances changed. My car was packed to the brim. The only thing open was the drivers seat. The passenger and back seats and floors are all clear now. The trunk is next. This is probably why I cleaned the open room up. Shhh... Don't tell anyone. 

A couple days ago, I cleared out my old dresser drawers of clothes I don't wear and had no real hope of fitting into again. 

I'm working on trying to simplify and minimize. 

Wish me luck. 

A Day Out

Yesterday, we spent the entire day at home. Inside. Doing nothing. Because we are all suffering from allergies in some fashion. Today, though, we were all feeling ok and I found a discounted ticket price at the Perot Museum in Dallas. Off we went!

Aaaand, just because...

Quite Contrary

Should've named her Mary instead. 

I want apple juice! 

Hey! This isn't water! 

Play barbies with me! 

*walks off leaving me with Barbie in hand* 

Pick what snack you want me to have! 

I don't want that!  

Don't get me any crackers. 

Wha-a-ha-a-a-a! Where are my crackers?!

*Just did something she wanted to do*

I haven't gotten to do that in a long time!!

ETA: I wish I could stay but I don't!

This is such fun.

Vacationing v2

Annual beach weekend. 

Me, Jess, Mandy, Chris

Tara

Robin, Amanda

Seaweed

Nail polish

Tasty beverages and food that was just ok.

Kindle book and early-to-rise reading sessions and reading from dusk to dark. 

Staying up past my 'bedtime' and still being the first to go to bed. I really trust my gals.  

Late evening stroll/sit/lay on cool evening sand just talking. 

I can't say it how I want to. It was random that Jess invited me into her life about 9 years ago. Then we moved and still kept contact with each other. I can't thank her enough. She is one of my best friends.