TripLearning

1. Houston Zoo 2. Houston Children's Museum 3. Miller Outdoor Theater 4. Houston Arboretum 5. Edith Moore Bird Sanctuary 6. Museum of Natural Science 7. Museum of Fine Arts Houston 8. Health Museum 9. Mercer Botanical Gardens and Arboretum 10.San Jacinto Monument

Our family decided to celebrate my dad's birthday on Sunday. We enjoyed lunch at Pizza Hut (it's nice to eat at places and get to know the staff- plus pizza is always a good deal with a big family) and then we headed toward Ocean City. Yes, it was Labor Day weekend and we were driving towards the beach, but we stopped on the West side, so traffic wasn't bad. What was our destination? A museum called Wheels of Yesterday. It is on the south side of the road across from the West Ocean City outlets. It is an inconspicuous white one-story building. There are a couple antique buses and a car carrier setting out front. Stepping inside we found a quaint shop full of antique style signs, car books, and collectibles. The man behind the counter was quite friendly and immediately told us the price of admission. $5 for adults and $3 for children 12 & under, although he said he would not charge for our 1 year old twins. I also had a coupon from my DE Entertainment Book for ...

Wow, I have not had time to blog for a long time. I apologize to anyone looking forward to hearing about NYC, but I will touch on our brief trips there in another blog. We are currently travelling to SC to see my husband's family and I thought it would be nice to blog about a current trip. As I was packing last night I thought about how much easier it used to be to pack for a trip. Now, not only do I have to think about what I need, but I also have to plan for four children. It's a good thing we have a 12-passenger van because we have so many accessories with us right now. Here's a list: 1. jogging stroller- nice to outdoor activities like a trip to the zoo 2. snap-n-go stroller- needed for restaurants and stores (car seats just snap onto lightweight frame) 3. 2 pack-n-plays 4. nebulizer & meds- just in case our oldest has something trigger his asthma 5. bottles & formula 6. nursing pillow 7. snacks 8. 2 suitcases 9. pillow, blanket & stuffed animal...

We quickly decided that when travelling with children we do not like to stay in hotel rooms. Our main reason is that our children don't want to miss out on anything and if we want them to go to sleep then we have to shut off all the lights and go to sleep too or hide out in the bathroom. That is not a vacation to us. So, a few years ago I found the website that has solved our problem. Are you ready? It's www.vrbo.com and it stands for Vacation Rentals By Owner. Now we are able to stay in a condo or a house for about the cost of a hotel room (depending on the location and season). Examples: We rented a 3 bedroom, 2 bath corner condo unit for a week on the beach in Alabama for about $115 a night in March. We rented a 3 bedroom, 1 bath duplex unit for $80 a night for 2 nights in New Orleans at the end of February. We rented a 3 bedroom, 2 bath home for a week in the mountains of VA outside Winchester for less...

Instead of a romantic getaway for our 10 year anniversary, we took a couple days to get away as a family. We have been to the Lancaster, PA area several times in the 5 years we have lived in Maryland. It is about 3 1/2 hours away. On this summer trip we decided to go to Dutch Wonderland (only open during the week in the summer & some weekends in May, September & October) and the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. On Wednesday we went to the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania . They had family days in August, so kids were free. Normally the prices are $8 for adults, $6 for children 6-17 and FREE for kids under 6. So we saved $6 on the admission of our 7 year old. The railroad museum is a large building with many trains and displays. They have a great kids area with hands-on activities and displays. We had about 2 hours until closing, so we spent most of our time walking up and down the aisles between all the full-size train engines and cars. The kids enjoyed being able t...

I am totally new to blogging, but finally decided I may have something worth sharing. I am not into telling anyone with internet access about my personal life, but I was thinking about all the places I have been in my short life and all the trips we have taken as a family and thought that by sharing about these places I may in some way educate and inspire others to visit where we have gone or venture into new places they desire to see and experience. My husband and I have 4 children. The oldest is 7, the second one is 4 and the youngest two are 2 months old. Our 7 year old has already been to 26 states, our 4 year old has been to 25 and our 2 mo old twins have been to 3. I have travelled to 32 states, plus Canada, Scotland, England & France. Evan, my husband, has been to 34 states, plus Mexico, Canada, Scotland, England and France. Our family is committed to travel and we sacrifice in other areas of our budget so we can afford to take an extended family vacation each year as...