Raising Cubs in a Campground

When Instagram came on the scene it was so much easier to post there and slowly but surely my little corner of the Internet got covered in layers of dust - so much dust that after three years I didn't think it could ever be found under the multi generations of dust bunnies! A friend asked me yesterday if I had a blog and I mumbled something about yes....a long time ago....that little spark of a conversation and another discussion with a client about mobile blogging got me motivated to try the ten different password options so I could try to log back into my Campground Cubs account.  It only took four tries and I was in! Will I jump back into blogging full time? I'm not sure.... I'm a busy mom who runs a business. We left the campground almost two years ago, but the margin the move to town created in our lives is so precious to me that I guard that time very carefully. I've picked up some new hobbies, learned a lot, thrown some fun birthday parties, and taken...

We waited a long time for the Great Pumpkin this year as it was back in t he summer months that I chose The Peanuts Gang as our Halloween costume theme. I knew that once I started working again in September I wouldn't have the time to come up with costumes so I started watching Ebay for Snoopy hats in July, and FINALLY in early September I finally scored this one for under $10.  You can get them on Etsy too, but I prefer this tight knit instead of the crocheted look.   The big pumpkin and the one with Elsa's name grown in it were grown in our straw bale garden . The rest belong to my sister-in-law who brought pumpkins to her parent's house for our annual Halloween photos and pumpkin carving. It is much more relaxing to snap pictures days before instead of the night of. We've been doing this for a couple of years now .  Details on how we put together our version of the Peanuts Gang can be found below each character's photo, but first, here's the whole...

Back in March when I was researching things to do over spring break in Minnesota I came across the RAD Zoo website . RAD stands for Reptile & Amphibian Discover Zoo and is located in Owatonna, MN. Once I showed Sam a picture of Big Al (their 12 foot alligator!) he couldn't stop talking about how much he wanted to go. To be honest I was a little unsure whether it was worth the cost of admission for our family of five, but now that we've been there I can tell you it's well worth it! (In full disclosure - we were given tickets to go from the nice folks at the Rad Zoo for our first visit in exchange for writing a review of the RAD Zoo, but we have every intention of going back some day and know it will be worth every penny.) What makes this unassuming warehouse turned reptile & amphibian haven so much fun?  Well, just take a look at the photo below.... Holding a python is just one of the cool things my kids got to do. Granted to hold it, we paid $5 for the opportuni...

*disclaimer* I am not an expert on this subject. I'm just a mom who's on her third time down the potty training road who wants to record the journeys for those moments when I'm parenting teenagers and want to laugh at myself for thinking this was hard. I am also not telling you what YOU should do with your own children. Every child/family is different and what is right for my family might not be right for yours. Please don't take this post the wrong way. Moving on....  According to the experts Elsa was not ready to potty train. She showed no signs of readiness. She was a poster child for diaper companies - she would cry and cry when I didn't put a diaper on after I changed her diaper in the morning. The girl loved her diapers! I don't  blame her! It's all she's known! Where else was she going to go? And that was our launching point for potty training.  I spent the past week teaching her that the best place to go is on the potty. Why train her bef...

If it weren't for these photo dump/ journal entries I wouldn't have much of a blog book for 2013! I had to triple check these photos to make sure they were actually APRIL photos since there are SO many that were of snow storms!  It's hard to imagine snow as it is 89 degrees today! Summer is in full swing and we are busy as ever! I hope you are all having a wonderful summer so far! p.s.   Esther , remember this photo from my previous post? YOU are the winner! Let me know what you'd like your necklace to look like (all pink beads, 1 pink/2 white, or 2 baby blue/1 pink????) It's up to you! Congrats! ...