Are looking for a way to encourage your child to write this summer break? Well if they are a Minecraft fan then they should love filling out this Minecraft Character Story Design Sheet. As Zane filled this sheet out he even announced this was lots of fun, which writing is one of his least favorite …
Last summer TJ had taken his vacation, but we decided we were going to have a staycation. We wanted to fill our days with things we could do without spending too much money. As I’m sure everyone has dealt with, we have gone a little over budget and the timing wasn’t perfect as it was the week of my husbands vacation that we became a little short. That’s okay, we still made due with what we had and had some fun.
Here are just a few inexpensive things you can do with your kids while on vacation or when you have a family day.
My husband did a little research and found a park (Blue Lake Park in Fairview, Oregon) that had tons of fun things for us to do. So we packed a picnic lunch and headed to the park for the whole day.
We had to pay $5 parking at the park, but it was so worth it. The park had play structures, fishing, a water play area, and a lovely exploring garden which the boys only had time to glance at as the day was coming to an end. We had so much fun and will be putting this park on our day trip list for sure!
One day my husband took the boys on a walk to the store for donuts for breakfast and to the nearby park to play off the sugar while I had a conference call with a client. Then we spent the day filling up the pool in the backyard and just enjoying the sunshine. Sometimes just staying home is so much more enjoyable than getting all your stuff together and throwing the kids in the car for a long tiring drive.
There was a charge to attend the zoo, but we saved a little money by leaving the zoo to eat and coming back with our hand stamps. We may have paid close to the same amount for the food, but their was more food and when you are doing that much walking it was worth it. Plus when we got back we got a better parking spot!
The boys don’t get to go to the Oregon Zoo very much, so this was a big treat. I was torn between the Oregon Zoo, Portland Children’s Museum, and OMSI. But with the perfect zoo weather we had to be outside!
My birthday landed on our special staycation week and to celebrate we just had a few friends over. It’s been a long time since we have had friends over so the boys were so excited to see their “aunties” and “uncles”. We enjoyed the warm summer evening after the boys went down and played board games. We used to have friends over almost every month long ago, I think we will have to start a game night with our friends again.
This is our favorite trip of all. We made it through the week with a tight budget so the beach was a little bit more of a splurge. We love going to Seaside, OR. I love it because I’m just not a sand person and the beaches in Oregon aren’t really about swimming and water.
But Seaside is great because you have the aquarium, the boardwalk, the carousel, and the arcade. Oh and you can’t forget the candy shops and toy store too!
One of our favorite things to do when the backyard pool isn’t filled is going to the local Splash Parks. They are a great way to have fun for free, especially on a hot day. This was actually at the same park that we went too with fishing and fun play structures. But we also have a local splash park that we love to go to as well
The most recent activity my boys have gotten into is fishing. Zane loves fishing and has already caught three fish this summer. Zarek likes getting into the action too, though its just safer to not put a hook on his pole! The boys have been enjoying going to Small Fry Lake. I didn’t get to go with the boys this time round (darn work), but my mom did and they had a blast!
What do you do when you are a little short on money but want to have some family fun?
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AT&T was kind enough to let me try out the HTC One M8 (read my review) & HTC One M9 together so that I could compare the two. I need to upgrade phones and I wasn’t sure which phone would be the best for my next upgrade. While I was comparing the phones I wanted …
When you are start considering designing or redesigning of your blog you can be faced with a lot of questions. One of the first questions you should ask is how much should you invest in the blog design.
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You have four main options for choosing your design a free WordPress theme, a premium WordPress theme, a customized premium WordPress theme, or a customized WordPress design. We will be exploring the pros and cons of each of these to help you decide how much your site is worth to you and how your investment will benefit you.
By mccheek
Just like a mobile home a free theme will have predesigned colors and style and it may not match you and your style. Plus hundreds of the exact same blogs are out there due to the theme being pre-constructed. But just like a mobile home you can live in it for a time until you run out of room and you are tired of that one cupboard that just won’t stay closed. Especially since it was offered to you free from a relative.
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: A Free Theme doesn’t represent you and your brand but you can live with it.
Just like a manufactured home you can find a premium theme that is very inexpensive and you can choose the siding, the carpet and counter tops, but once you get it into the mobile home court you realize your home looks just like some of the neighbors homes. But you at least you have a home that has new appliances and keeps you dry. This may work for a time until you realize that you are tired of your friends getting lost every time they try and find your house and it becomes time to upgrade your fridge.
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: A Premium Theme doesn’t represent you and your brand but it functions.
My favorite company to purchase themes from is MyThemeShop (Affiliate Link). I am affiliated with them, but that is only because I love them. There themes are amazing and the control panels for their themes are easy to work with and well made.
By LancerE
Just like a modern stick built home you can have a customized theme built for you. A builder will give you multiple floor plans to choose from to create your new home. Then you get to pick the flooring, the wall color, the counter tops and the appliances. You get to have a home that really showcases your style and gives you some special functions you have been really wanting.
Even though you live in a house that may be the same floor plan as your neighbors your friends will still know which house is your house. Plus now you will not be embarrassed to invite your boss over for dinner.
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: A Customized Theme starts building brand recognition and makes your site more professional.
Just like a custom built home you can invest in a Custom Design. Your imagination is the limit. You can have any flooring, walling, appliance, and more that you could possibly want. You can change the floor plan to fit better with your needs and wants. You could even have a swimming pool built into your dinning room for swim-dining!
You can create a place that is all about you and your style. Your friends will know your home instantly even on the first visit and you will be inviting you boss over for monthly dinners just so you can show off your beautiful home and brag.
Pros:
Cons:
Conclusion: A Complete Custom Design represents you with a unique layout and images and functioning.
I hope this gave you some things to consider as you are choosing the level of investment you want to make into your blog.
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I decide this week to prep and cook everything I need for the week. That way I could just assemble and reheat my food quickly and easily. One of my favorite meals so far has been these delicious Sweet Potato Tacos. On my cooking day I baked four to five sweet potatoes and cook up some …
Father’s Day is coming up, time to start finding gift ideas for your husband or dad. If the dad in your life is anything like TJ then he loves tech gifts. I wanted to share this really awesome list of great tech gift ideas for fathers that AT&T shared with me! We will also be …
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