10 Things To Make Vacations More Fun and Memorable

We've all been there. We spend hundreds, maybe even thousands of dollars on a vacation, only to be disappointed when we get home. Things didn't go as planned or live up to all our expectations leading up to said vacation. It doesn't have to be that way though. Life is about experiences! And, even if those experiences aren't what you planned, they can still be great and make your life all the richer for them. A little planning and a lot of attitude can make even the smallest of vacations memorable. Here are 10 strategies we use to make each trip we take amazing and wonderful.

Please, Don't Be Quick To Judge

I try and stay away from anything remotely political or religious on here, but I have to take a moment to speak up. My heart is breaking over the news of the death of Western Lowland Gorilla Harambe and the enormous loss of this critically endangered animal. I am a bleeding heart for animals and the proper treatment of them and was even a hard core vegetarian for almost 2 years. However, my heart is also breaking for the mother of the little boy who was in the enclosure with Harambe for almost 15 minutes. Let me share my own zoo experience with you and maybe your heart will soften just a little bit for her.

Differences in Patriotic Holiday's

We have several patriotic holidays throughout the year that help up remember and honor those who have served (and are serving) to keep our country safe and defend our rights. While these holidays are great for enjoying a day with good food, friends and family, and a day off from work it's important to remember why we have these holidays in the first place. Here's a list of all of our patriotic holidays, when they are, and WHY we have a day set aside to celebrate each one. 

Cliche Selfie Date

This last weekend we spent three days in Las Vegas with some friends of ours. On our last day we had a few hours to kill before our flight and wanted something fun to do without spending any more money - Vegas will bleed you dry and we were tapped out! We decided we were going to walk around for an hour and take every single cliche selfie we could think of in that amount of time. We actually had a blast doing this, it cost us zero dollars, and we had a good laugh at ourselves looking at the pictures in the airport. This idea could really be taken to any city you visit, or even your own home town if you need a free date. Grab the camera, get out there and get silly. Here are our favorite pictures from that little jaunt. 

Parenting Sure Has Changed

There are always memes going around on the Internet about what life used to be like "when we were kids" and how coddled today's children are. I have to say that I agree with most of them. While I do believe that seat belts and bike helmets are a step in the right direction, there are a lot of other changes that I think are not only unnecessary but downright ridiculous.

Watch Ya' Mouth

It's not very often that I see a video on Facebook that makes me laugh. Usually I sit there wondering what the heck everyone else is seeing in it. However, this morning I saw a video that had me laughing so hard I had tears coming out of my face! With just this little piece of plastic, and a couple of siblings, hilarity ensues. I will definitely be playing this game with my family and/or friends very soon!!

Run a Race!

I had a great Mother's Day yesterday! One of the things on the agenda for the day was The Color Run with the girl. I would highly recommend this activity for all ages and activity levels, especially if you do something like the Color Run, that is designed specifically for fun. It's only three miles, most people are waking, and it's not even times so it doesn't even matter how long it takes you!

Leprechaun Trap

I never really thought of trying to trap a Leprechaun when my kids were little. We always did the green eggs and pancakes every St. Patties day breakfast, and I usually made some sort of Shamrock cookie or special treat for that night, but my creativity never went beyond that. One of my school teacher friends was talking to me the other day however, about setting a trap in her classroom and how much the kids were getting into it. Such a fun idea! I found this trap over at The Crafting Chicks and thought I would share it. I'm keeping this idea for the grand kids some day, it's just way too fun. Head on over and check it out!

Shamrock Smoothie

I love mint! And this time of year I am always tempted to head to McD's for their Shamrock Shake. I am a good girl and resist that temptation, but damn they are good! I am happy to say that I have come up with an acceptable alternative to that devil of a shake however. It's healthy, fresh and so delicious you won't even miss it's fast food counterpart. Your lips and butt will thank-you.

The Ziploc Barf Bag

Oh my gosh, where was this idea when I was in my child rearing years?! A friend of mine told me about this, as her kids were ALL just sick with the stomach flu, and I thought it was genius: using Ziploc bags for barf bags. How many times in my children's youth did I have to clean out the barf bucket by the bedside because things came on too quickly to make it to the bathroom? With a Ziploc bag you can zip it up and throw it out. No mess, no stench. This is even more perfect if you have kids prone to motion sickness in the car when a bathroom just isn't available...and at less than 10 cents a bag that's the perfect solution in my book! Road trip anyone?

March Holidays

Well, here's a regular post I haven't done in quite a while.... and for that I deeply apologize. We need every excuse we can get our hands on to have little mini-parties all of the time!! I really need to be better about inviting friends over for silly holiday parties, especially now that my kids are gone and not here to celebrate with me any more. I am going to pick one of these this month and have a gathering! I will report on what I decide to do. In the mean time, pick one of your own and have your own unusual party.

4 Great Kitchen Organization Ideas

I have been hard at work the last couple weeks gutting out and deep cleaning my kitchen. I get very stressed out when things are cluttered and unorganized and I had a few cupboards that really needed some serious attention. I tried to keep things stacked and in containers, but it just wasn't enough. I was tired of having to dig for what I needed and wanted a system where everything was super easy to get to. I am extremely pleased with what I came up with and thought I would share my ideas. Get ready to get organized! You're life will run SO much smoother.

Kitchen Accessory Bar

I am in the middle of my annual organization cleanse. I try super hard not to get a bunch of stuff to clutter my house, but it's amazing how much I need to organize and de-junk every year. At the moment I'm working on the kitchen (probably one of the hardest rooms to work on). I spend a LOT of time in this room, and want it to look great but also be extremely functional. I'm very proud of my latest idea in here.

Get More Creative!!

This is a completely shameless plug for Aaron's new book. I am very proud of him right now. It's an awesome book on how to be more creative at everything you do in life and has really motivated me to get off my duff and get going on some of the things on that long "some day" list. Check it out, you won't regret it! 

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Big Ball of Fun

I saw this idea for a game kicking around on the internet this year that I wanted to give a try. Wrapping a bunch of "prizes"  up in plastic wrap and making it a contest to see who could unwrap the most things. It seemed like a good idea so I set about making it a reality for our Christmas Eve gathering. It was  HUGE success and unanimously voted to be a yearly tradition from here on out.