International Children's Book Day

Today is International Children's Book Day.  The only way to celebrate is to share some favorite children's books!

I can remember lining up my collection of Little Golden Books when I was a kid, and playing library. I especially loved anything illustrated by Eloise Wilkin.

I loved reading Mr. Pudgins to my younger sister & brother.  Unfortunately, it is out of print.

I read aloud to the kids quite a bit.  (Ok, I used to read more when the boys were younger - but I still try to make it a regular part of our week.)  Over the years, some of our favorites have been:

Little House series
The Borrowers series
The The Indian in the Cupboard series

hmmm, and I wonder why Colin likes reading series so much?

We're currently reading the The Chronicles of Narnia -- just started Prince Caspian.

Nate just told me his favorite kids' book is Caps for Sale.

Colin named a few more series, but then came up with the Curious George books. He loved listening to those books over and over again!

And Lydia is currently loving anything with Kipper the Dog.

I'm sure as soon as I hit post, I will remember more and so will the kids.  OH!  Can't forget 17 Kings And 42 Elephants.  And Hug!  And Hush! A Thai Lullaby.  And . . . well . . . I could probably be here all night if I don't stop and just post.

What are some of your favorites?

Tell Me Thursday - Travel with kids: Tucson

This sweet picture was taken in the Space exhibit of the Pima Air & Space Museum in Tucson, AZ.  We headed to Tucson a couple weeks ago for a short trip away.  Bo & I originally visited this museum before Colin was born, so it's been more than 10 years.  A visit as an adult couple, and a visit with 3 kids is definitely different!

All the kids had a great time looking at all of the airplanes and helicopters. There are over 100 outside alone!  The day we went it was windy and a bit chilly, but that didn't dampen the fun or the excitement. I was happy to see that they had food available in the museum, so we were able to go straight to the museum after our drive from Mesa, look around for a bit, have some lunch and then look around some more.

 Even though Tucson is only a couple hours away, we decided to spend the night because I have wanted to visit the Arizona Sonora Desert Museum since we moved out here in 1999.  Since we were in Tucson, I didn't want any chance that we missed the museum again!  It turned out a good plan to visit the 2nd day of our trip, as the wind had died down and the sun came out.

I considered the cost of admission for one day vs. an annual membership and decided to purchase a family membership.  For only $12 more, we can visit as many times as we want before next March.  And, having a membership means that we WILL make the trip to visit throughout the year.  In fact, Nate already asked if we could go again for his birthday.

When we were walking the trails, I called it a museum and Lydia (3yo) stopped, looked at me and said "MOM! Stop calling it a museum.  It's a atonimcal* garden obviously!!" (botanical garden)  I admit I was secretly pleased that I'm raising a child who recognized a botanical garden vs. a museum.

We had an absolutely lovely day, and if we didn't need to be back in Mesa in time for music lessons we would have stayed until they closed.   Everyone enjoyed themselves and the trails and exhibits were great.  Colin took over the map and did a great job navigating us through and making sure we hit all the high spots.


And, of course, my favorite eatery of Tucson is Eegee's.  Bo always brings me back Eegee's when he travels there for business, so it was nice to grab one on our way out of town.  The flavor for February was Cherry and it was delicious! 

As far as the details of traveling with the kids, it was a dream.  I am so fortunate that all 3 of my children are excellent travelers. They kept themselves amused on the drive, adapted easily to the hotel (we chose a suite with a pull out bed), and were well-behaved while visiting the museums.  It helped that they were outdoors quite a bit and were able to run and move as needed!

Travel with Kids: Road Trip

We left for a road trip on Sunday.  We headed to California, where we're spending a few days at Disneyland and then our last couple days on the beach. It's a trip we've planned for almost a year, and a great one to be our last trip of 2010.

Our kids are great travelers.  Without any prompting, Lydia packed her own backpack for the trip.  She chose to bring baby dolls who are smaller, because they fit easily into the backpack.  She packed her iPod Touch and headphones, as well as her favorite blankie and a few lollipops. Exactly what I would have packed for her. (and have packed for her numerous times in the past.  It's so nice to see that she was paying attention.)

The boys did the same, bringing things that would easily fit in their backpacks and keep them entertained on the road and at the hotel. They both packed their own clothes as well, and while Bo went through them to check, very little needed to be changed or added (Nate underestimated his need for underwear . . . but otherwise they would have been fine.)

The car we took on the trip is smaller than our minivan, and we weren't sure how the kids would do sharing a single backseat.  To my delight, they did just fine sharing a small backseat for the 7+ hours we spent on the road.  They kept busy playing with their electronics for part of the trip, looking out the window for part of the trip, and we all listened to an audiobook for a few hours.  The only frustration was the delay caused by road construction -- nothing within our vehicle.

I planned in advance, knowing we would have a refrigerator at the hotel, and brought 3 bags of snacks and food as well as drinks.  The food I brought has given us the freedom of not freaking out over the cost of eating out, since we have only had to eat one meal out per day. It's not easy to eat inexpensively within Disney, but since I brought breakfast items, lunch items and snacks I've been able to keep the food costs low on this trip. Bringing food from home has also lessened any frustration from my picky eater refusing to eat restaurant fare. If necessary, he can order just a drink while we enjoy a meal, because I know there is peanut butter, crackers and apples waiting in our room for him to eat.  On the other end, eating out just once per day allows my adventurous eater the freedom to try new foods because if he doesn't like them, there's peanut butter and crackers back in the room! 

The kids have settled into the routine of staying in a hotel with no problems.  Lydia immediately came into the room and unpacked her small bag into one of the drawers. The boys knew they needed to make an ice run and scouted out the ice room as we headed to our room the first night.  Everyone jockeyed for position in one of the 5 sleeping spots, but there were no arguments or complaints -- just simple discussion about who was a bed hog and who kicked off the covers.

I started 2010 with a wish to travel more as a family, and we definitely spent a lot of time traveling this year (both as a family and Bo & I independently for work.)  I am grateful that I'm raising 3 kids who are excellent travelers, and I can't wait to see where life takes them.  In fact, I can't wait to see where 2011 may take us!