Disney Inspired Apples – Tips and Tricks (she: Adelle)
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Disney Inspired Apples – Tips and Tricks (she: Adelle)

ByAdelle Belnap

Hey Everyone, it’s Adelle from Packed with Fun, the official blog for Get Away Today. We love all things Disney, and let’s face it, candied apples are one of the best things about fall. So, we combined two of our greatest loves and have put together four different types of Disney inspired apples.
Some tricks for making your own apples – freeze your apples the night before dipping them in caramel. Then, be sure to refrigerate your apples for as long as possible before dipping in chocolate. Again, we recommend overnight if possible.

Now, onto the Disney-fication of your caramel apples!

Pumpkin Carving Party Ideas {With 3 FREE Printables} (she: Brooke)
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Pumpkin Carving Party Ideas {With 3 FREE Printables} (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Happy October to you all! It’s Brooke from Blissful Roots. This is easily my favorite time of year! And while baby boy number four will be here in a matter of weeks, I’m still trying to squeeze in any Halloween crafting, baking, and partying that I can. We have our other three boys’ birthdays this week, so we’re in full party-mode around our house. I’m just hoping this little guy waits until after the big party to make his arrival. My four-year-old was very cordial five years ago, and waited until the day after my twins’ birthday to make his entrance into the world, so I’m crossing my fingers that will happen again (at LEAST the day after all the birthdays, even a few days later would be better!).
Today I have some fun pumpkin carving party ideas, and FREE printables to share with you. My dad’s side of the family has a fun pumpkin carving party every year, and we’ve only been able to make it a few times. I wish we could make it more often because we have the best time! Since we don’t make it to the family carving parties very often, I’ve decided it’s high time to start our own little jack-o-lantern making party. Here are a few of the ideas I’ve come up with for our party:

When to Go to Disneyland: A Month By Month Guide (she: Kim)
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When to Go to Disneyland: A Month By Month Guide (she: Kim)

ByKimberly w/Get Away Today

Hey Everyone, it’s Kimberly from Packed With Fun, the official blog for Get Away Today. Right now we are in the midst of my favorite time of year to visit the Disneyland Resort: Halloween Time. Which is actually kind of funny, because Halloween is totally not my favorite holiday. But, Halloween Time at the Disneyland Resort is so festive and such a celebration of fall that I can’t resist. One of the questions all of our employees at Get Away Today are regularly asked is when is the “best” time to go to Disneyland. The answer is it completely depends on what you want out of your Disneyland vacation. So, to make things a little bit easier, I put together When to Go to Disneyland: A Month by Month Guide. I hope it helps with your Disneyland vacation planning!

http://www.skiutah.com/passes/passports
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Save Money in New York City- 5 Tips for Families (she: Allison)

Byallison l.

Hi, it’s Allison from Tips for Family Trips! Last summer, I finally(!) visited New York City for the first time to celebrate my 40th birthday. It was a family vacation and we wanted to do it right, so we planned obsessively to find the best attractions, hotels and transportation for a price we could afford.
New York City is expensive, but it’s an exciting and truly American city that most of us want to see at least once. My family had a wonderful trip and we’d love to return. Hopefully it won’t take me another 40 years!
If you’ve been to New York City, I hope you’ll share your own favorite places and money-saving tips in the comments!

ABC activities
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ABC Activities for Your Pre-Preschooler

ByBrooke

Hello, hello! It’s Brooke from Blissful Roots. How are you all? Finally settling into your school routines? My twins just finished their third week of school, and my preschooler began Thursday, so we’re definitely into the school routine at our house. I do have to say it’s a bit strange not having a little one around all day (although that will be changing in about six weeks when baby boy number four arrives). I miss doing fun and simple educational activities with my youngest. We still do things here and there, but with school and other activities keeping us busy, we don’t have a lot of free time to do some of the activities we used to.
And considering baby number four hasn’t even been born yet, it will be a while before I need to pull out my ABC activites again. But before I put them away for too long, I thought it would be fun to share them with you. Some of these activities date back to my first grade teaching days, and some are ones I’ve discovered recently in this technology-filled world of ours. My boys always loved doing these at home before their preschool years. We only have ever done one year of preschool with our boys because I love doing things like this at home for FREE! I promise if you do just one of these a day (along with reading) with your three-year-old, he/she will be more than ready preschool, and much more. So, let’s get started!

Adirondack Park
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Adirondack Park for Families (she: Allison)

Byallison l.

Happy August from Allison at Tips for Family Trips! I know that many of us are getting into the back-to-school groove, but I can’t let the summer slip away without sharing one more top vacation destination – Adirondack Park in New York.
August is one of the best times to visit the Adirondacks because temperatures are cool and comfortable, while the park’s many lakes are just right for swimming and canoeing. If you love colorful autumn leaves, then fall in the Adirondacks is unbeatable.

Lake Placid, a two-time Olympic host city, is located in the Adirondacks, and my family had the opportunity to visit this lovely town last June. Here are some of the fun activities we recommend in Adirondack Park.

halloween at southern california theme parks
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Halloween at Southern California Theme Parks (she: Kimberly)

ByKimberly w/Get Away Today

Hey everyone, it’s Kimberly from PackedwithFun.com, the official blog for Get Away Today. We specialize in Southern California vacations and I love sharing insider travel tips and tricks here on “Or So She Says.” The Southern California theme parks are always fun, but one of my favorite times to visit is during the Halloween season. Now, just to be clear, I love Halloween, but I don’t do scary. I know there are a lot of people that love to be scared to death, and if that’s what you’re looking for, Southern California is the place for you, too. Each September – October, the major theme parks celebrate the holiday and the events range from G-rated fun for the whole family (my personal cup of tea) to good luck going to sleep at night for the next month or so. Since October is a really popular travel month due to U.E.A. and other fall breaks, I wanted to share a brief overview of what you can expect during Halloween at Southern California Theme Parks:

back to school mad libs
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Back to School Mad Libs Round Up (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Hello, hello! It’s Brooke from Blissful Roots here with you today. I’m always so excited to spend time here with Mariel and her readers! And I’m always so excited about this time of year. Fall (my favorite season) is on the way, back to school time is just around the corner, and this year it will mean baby boy number four in October for our family. So many fun things to look forward to.
I like to try and add a few new activities to our countdown each year, just to mix things up a bit for my boys. In July, our family took a big road trip from Utah to Arkansas. I packed up a ton of activities to keep my boys busy during the 23 hour (one way!) drive. And ya know what? The big book of Mad Libs was their favorite! It was mine too, actually. I love how my four-year-old already knows that a noun is a person place, or thing (thank you, Mad Libs). And we all get a kick out of how funny our stories turn out. My twins laugh and laugh and laugh over them!
So, I thought I’d see if I could round up a few back to school Mad Libs to add to our countdown this year. They are the perfect way to add a bit of light-hearted humor to what can be a kind of scary first day.

family mailbox
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Family Mailbox Fun! (she: Veronica)

ByVeronica

Hello again! It’s Veronica from Nine A Plenty. I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! It’s such a fun time for families, but I always can count on my kids getting stir-crazy. They do much better with routines and things they can count on. Lately, we’ve had a bunch of craziness, so I thought it was time for a fun activity that brought them closer together. Thus, the Family Mailbox has begun!
What is a Family Mailbox? Well, it really can be anything you would like it to be. That’s the best part. For us, we’ve been writing little notes to each other. These can express love, appreciation, something the other person does to make you happy, something you admire in them, etc. I’ve been surprised at how excited they were to do this for each other. Our mailbox has been full and it’s been fun to “deliver” the mail.

http://www.skiutah.com/passes/passports
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Tips for Visiting Utah’s Dinosaurland in Vernal (she: Allison)

Byallison l.

Hey there! It’s Allison from Tips for Family Trips and today I’m sharing my tips for visiting one of Utah’s most under-rated vacation destinations – Vernal. The Vernal area is Utah’s Dinosaurland, and if you haven’t been there lately, you might be surprised to find how much the area has grown and how many fun activities there are. Vernal is located about three hours’ drive from Salt Lake City, so for us, this was an easy weekend getaway.
Here are our recommendations for a fun weekend visit to Dinosaurland in Vernal:

children's book and activity
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Children’s Book and Activity… A House Is a House for Me (she: Brooke)

ByBrooke

Hey, Or So She Says readers! It’s Brooke from Blissful Roots. How was your 4th of July weekend? Fun, and festive, I hope!
I’m sure if you’re not sick of hearing it by now, you might be soon, but I pulled this children’s book and activity from my first grade teaching files. I’ve been wanting to share it for quite some time, and finally have gotten around to it. It’s the perfect activity for a lazy (or bored) summer day, and you can actually add to it all summer long!
This is the book you’ll need. It’s called A House is a House for Me (click here to listen to it on YouTube). Have you heard of it? If not, it’s one you need to add to your collection as soon as possible. It talks about all of the different houses in our world. A hill is a house for an ant, a web is a home for a spider, the sea is a house for a whale, a husk is a home for a corn cob, etc. So many clever ideas in this book! It makes your children (and you!) realize how many things house things in our world.

bike parade
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Fourth of July Bike Parade (she: Darleen)

ByDarleen

Happy Fourth of July! Do you have any exciting plans tomorrow? There is something extra special about festivities that happen around the Fourth of July. Well, this is Darleen from Darling Darleen, and at our house we go all out on this patriotic holiday. I make sure we are all donned in red, white and blue outfits…of course! When we lived in the Northeast we spent many 4th of July holidays in Boston and on the beaches in Cape Cod, attending the parade and fireworks show. Since living in the South, we’ve picked up a tradition that many of the neighborhoods do, which are bike parades! This was new to us, but we love the idea.
We love this because you can take your party on the go–whether hitting up your town’s annual parade or having a festive picnic at the park. Visit the dollar store or your local craft store just a few days prior to the 4th or better yet TODAY. They usually mark down holiday party items a couple days before the actual day. Pick up paper pinwheels, streamers, garland, flag picks and the inexpensive what-is-this-used-for items. Chances are most of it will look pretty darn good on an 8-year-old’s bike.