I have traveled cross-country many times with babies and toddlers. Over the years I have found what is really useful and worth bringing even if it takes extra space and what to do without. When I am traveling by myself, I have a diaper bag for my baby and a backpack for my personal item. I will put the diaper bag in the overhead bin because it is usually bigger than my backpack and I will pack that as full as I can of everything I will need once I get to my location but I will use my backpack exclusively on the airplane because I can shove that under the seat and that way I won't have to keep getting up every time I need something. Here are my top 5 must-haves for traveling with a baby along with a few extra tips to help things run smoothly.
Airlines allow you to take carseats for your babies without charging you like a checked bag. I didn't know that the first time we flew with our oldest, so we left it in the car at the airport. For some reason I thought the car rental place would have them available for free but no, we had to pay to rent it for $45! So don't make the same mistake I did. I know I'm not the only one who feels like I have spent a fortune on baby gear and want my stuff kept nice. I don't want some TSA person ruining my carseat or stroller because they aren't being careful when they are tossing things around.
This Travel Babeez car seat gate check bag comes with shoulder straps to carry it like a backpack which is so handy when your hands are already full with baby, boarding tickets and diaper bags. It also has another strap handle making it easier for said TSA agents knowing where to grab instead of grabbing where ever and ruining something. I also love this car seat bag because of the bright color, huge ID label, strong material and also unlike most other car seat bags, this one has a zipper closure instead of drawstrings. I feel like drawstrings are just asking for trouble because they can get caught on other things so easily. You may also need a gate check bag for your stroller if you are taking one. My stroller requires us to buy their brand's padded stroller bag for the warranty to stay valid so you may want to look into that.
If you don't need your car seat at the gate or during layovers,you could just check it at the luggage check-in counter. Just one less thing to worry about. But, then again, if it is checked at the gate, you will know it's not going to be lost in transit or transfers and is on the same flight as you if you get delayed or something. Just something to think about.
Air flight is notorious for spreading germs and the last thing you want is to get sick while traveling. I'm not normally a 'germaphobe' but you have no idea who or what was touching the surfaces around your seat last. If you are traveling with a baby then you know they will be touching and sucking on everything in sight. A quick once-over with some sanitizing wipes will help set your mind at ease. These wipes are great for baby because they are alcohol-free.
You might think I'm crazy with this one, but hear me out. If you are traveling with a baby, especially a nursing baby this will be a godsend. I once traveled with my 7 1/2 month old across the country and she did great, she fell asleep in my arms right after take off. Unfortunately, my arms and back couldn't take holding her for that long. It was so uncomfortable! My husband kept trying to wedge the diaper bag under her so that she could rest on that instead but all the jostling woke her up and it all went downhill from there. Fast forward a couple years and we were flying cross country again this time were going to be living in NYC for an extended period. I packed the boppy so I could have it at our apartment once we got there and it was just too big to pack in the suitcase so we shoved it in the diaper bag. Wow, what a difference! I was able to feed my baby then she just curled up against me and fell asleep for the majority of the flight and the best part was that I still had my hands free. It was so worth it. If I was bringing an older toddler, I wouldn't use it probably because it would just be in the way but who knows they like to be held too? If you think your baby will fall asleep for any amount if time I would bring it.
I love babywearing. It makes things much easier when you need all your hands free for other things. There are many different kinds of wraps and I use different ones at different times. The one that is the best for travel like this is a ring sling. It is the easiest to use while nursing. There is no fussing with tying and re-tying everytime you want to get baby in or out. There aren't any knots of fabric located on you back that would be uncomfortable to lean against in your chair. And any adjustments that need to be made are easily done by tightening or loosening the fabric right at your shoulder so you don't have to worry about elbowing anyone while trying to get situated. This baby sling is made out of super soft bamboo and doubles as a blanket which is perfect since airplanes get so cold and you won't have to worry about the extra room a blanket would take up in your bag. Your baby can even sleep in this if you aren't bring a boppy.
5. Snacks
This one is probably a no brainer but you can never have too much food for baby. Just make sure to pack any liquids you are bringing for baby in a separate container that you can hand to TSA so they can check them and also so they don't go through the x-ray. The air is super dehydrating so make sure you don't make only dry food. Obviously little pouches of applesauce or other food are great because they help keep things clean. I love these pouches because they are reusable. You can put anything you want in them and use them over and over if you like making your own baby food. Also anything that you can put on the tray and have baby feed himself will help keep him busy. These bowls with the suction bottom will help things from getting too messy. Or these are awesome because baby can only pull one piece out at a time.
Other Travel Essentials
The diaperbag is the only thing standing between you and disaster so you need to pack it carefully but obviously there are size restrictions. Think about all the things you would need if your luggage were lost. Extra diapers, enough wipes, change of clothes (at least 2 in case of spit-ups or blowouts), I bring ziplock bags for said dirty clothes so I don't have the choice of either throwing them away or letting them stink up my diaper bag. Do you use a white noise machine? I would pack that in the carry-on if you have one but if not and your baby needs it to sleep I would bring it in the diaper bag. You don't want to risk having the airlines misplace your luggage for a day or two and not have everything you need for baby to sleep well. Because if baby isn't sleeping well, no one will sleep well.
Those are my top 5. What do you absolutely make sure you bring when you fly with baby?
I was at one of my good friend's houses for lunch the other day. We both share a passion for yummy, healthy food and love making recipes for each other to try.
She served this amazing Thai Coconut and Mushroom Soup and it was definitely a hit with all who tried it. I was feeding my 10 month old baby Andrew some hummus but he kept looking at my soup so finally I started dipping his hummus in the broth and he couldn't get enough. I was somewhat worried it would be too spicy. (I'm kind of a wimp when it comes to spice.) But he loved it. That is also one of the great things about this soup. You can really tailor it to your own taste with all the different toppings.
The lime, coconut and the spice from the chili garlic sauce all blend so well and then you get the meatiness from the mushrooms. Mmm, and who doesn't love rice noodles? The have the best texture and really make this soup feel filling. You will love how fast this recipe comes together. Like 15 minutes start to finish.
Bon Appetite!
print recipe
Thai Coconut and Mushroom Soup
by Provident Princess February-15-2018
Ingredients
1 tsp coconut oil
1 jalapeno pepper, minced (seeded and de-veined
1 1/2 Tablespoon fresh garlic, minced
4 cups Vegetable Broth (chicken tastes good too)
1 (3-4in) piece of lemmongrass
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 (13.5 oz) can coconut milk
1 (8oz) package mushrooms, sliced
4 oz (small handful) dry rice noodles
3/4 teaspoon soysauce
1 teaspoon chili garlic sauce
1 1/2 Tablespoons fresh lime juice
4 Tablespoons cilantro, chopped
3 stalks green onions, sliced
Instructions
Saute coconut oil, jalapeno and ginger in a medium sized pot on medium heat until fragrant and soft. (2 minutes) Add broth, coconut milk, lemmongrass and salt and mushrooms. Bring to a boil and simmer for 7 minutes. I love to use my dehydrated mushrooms here and they don't need to be reconstituted since they are being cooked in liquid. (3/4 cup dry mushroom slices) Once 7 minutes have passed, throw in the rice noodles and cook 2-3 minutes. When noodles are done, take off heat and add soy sauce, chili garlic sauce and lime juice. I like to just use half of a lime which is about 1 Tablespoon of juice and then cut the other half into small wedges to serve individually. You can add all the cilantro and green onions to soup now or let others garnish their own with extra chili garlic sauce on the side as well.
Enjoy immediately.
Note: rice noodles really don't hold up well so I would only plan to make as much as you want for one meal without planning for leftovers. Or once you get to the point of needing to add the noodles, divide the soup broth in two. One to leave in the pan to continue cooking and eat immediately, then next to refrigerate and you can add the noodles when you are going to eat the rest.
I love Arches National Park. There is something so wonderful and grounding about being among the red rock of Moab. My husband grew up there so I have had an insider's guide to discovering all Moab has to offer. And, I'm going to share it with you! It is definitely where we like to go when we need to recharge.
Over the last few years it seems like everyone else has the same idea and Arches has begun to feel sooo crowded. Almost unenjoyable crowded, which is definitely not the point. I think most people think about visiting Arches in the spring, summer, and fall. But my favorite time really is winter.
Most of the town is shut down from the lack of tourists so you really get to live like a local. Arches is pretty deserted so you aren't waiting in traffic trying to get from place to place. Moab does get snow sometimes and it is only about 5 degrees warmer that Salt Lake City up north, but the red rocks just suck in the sun's warmth and makes it really comfortable to be out and about during the day.
It is such a different experience to be able to be alone with your thoughts or letting your kids run free up ahead then when you are having to wade through hoards of tourists and stressing about losing sight of one of your children.
If you have been considering visiting Arches, I would definitely consider going in the winter. Especially if you are from out-of-town, then you can hit two birds with one stone. Stay up in Salt Lake City or in Cedar City and enjoy our world class skiing for a few days, then head over to Moab for a few days to take in the other worldly landscape that Arches has to offer.
A word to the wise though. Since there are so few tourists in Moab a lot of the restaurants are shut down til tourist season. There are definitely some to choose from. But my favorite, The Love Muffin on Main Street, is not open which is a must try if you ever have the chance. The Turkey Chipotle Sandwich is to die for. They make all their bread and roast the turkey in-house. Mmm I might just have to share my copycat version of it with you. One easy way to save money on a vacation is to not eat out and Moab has 2 grocery stores right in town to shop at. We almost always cook at home when we visit. When I am already trying to plan around naps, the last thing I want to do is waste 45 minutes 3 times a day sitting in a restaurant. Why not pack some muffins and fruit and head out on a trail early? Ditto picnic lunch.
If you can't find a way to visit Moab in winter, stay tuned. I have a post in the works about how to get away from the crowds and still enjoy amazing hikes with breathtaking arches.
Sometimes it seems like the only way to be able to afford healthy, organic food is to be rolling in the dough. But it's not. Sure, it would make it easier, but there are ways to afford feeding your family healthy food on a budget. I am going to share 4 of my most used tips on saving money on my food bill while buying nutritious food at the same time.
Buy in Season
Organic or Non-GMO food is expensive. There is no getting around that. But there are many ways to make it less expensive. The biggest way is to buy food when it is in season. I would suggest this even if it wasn't less expensive because food in season tastes better and is more nutritious than out of season food that has been sitting preserved in a warehouse for months or is being shipped halfway around the world.
I'm sure you know what I mean when I say that a fresh tomato bought in the summer has a completely different and richer flavor than one bought in the winter. Those ones are almost flavorless. Food that need to be preserved and sold at later times, either to keep markets stable or to always have available need to be picked earlier so they won't go bad. Food picked at the peek of ripeness have all the goodness of flavor and nutrients that are missing in out of season food.
Use Everything You Buy
Did you know that a recent study by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that Americans throw away almost $165 BILLION worth of food every year? That translates to about $2,200 for the average family of four. I don't know about you but that is a lot of money I'd rather spend on something else. There are so many ways to use everything you buy. Let's take mushrooms for example. When I use mushrooms in a recipe I will always either use the stems in what I am making or save them to mince up and put in our scrambled eggs for breakfast or in a meat dish the next day.
Fresh herbs are a big money waster. Usually you have to buy an already over-priced package of herbs for one recipe that won't even need the full amount. So you are left wondering what to do with the rest. Fresh herbs freeze wonderfully. I wrote an how-to post here with 3 different ways to do it. Cilantro is an herb that we seem to use a lot in our house. Maybe because we are out west and enjoy a lot of Mexican food. There is a popular fresh-mex restaurant chain near us that makes the best Tomatillo Ranch Dressing. Ever. We like to make a homemade one from a copycat recipe that calls for 1/2 bunch of cilantro. But whenever I make the ranch, usually I am making their Cilantro Rice too. It calls for 1/2 a bunch of cilantro as well. So what do I do? I cut off the stems and use those to flavor the ranch. Since it all gets ground up you won't even notice, then I can use the pretty leaves in the rice. And, did you know that the most flavorful part of cilantro is the stems? Score. Plus I'll have some extra to use as garnish and the rest to throw in our eggs the next day. Sensing a pattern? I will usually use the little pieces of left-over, cut-up veggies in either our eggs or on a salad the next day. When I am spending money on organic food, I want to make sure none of it is being wasted.
Learn to Like Leftovers
Ok, so I didn't know there were actually people out there who won't eat left-overs. ???
Apparently it's true. I don't understand it. I love leftovers. First, most things taste better when they have been left to sit and marinate over night. Second, it gives the cook (me) more time to do something else instead of preparing a meal every night. It is especially nice to have something already made when you know you are going to have a busy day/night and it's just one less thing to think about. Lastly, this is where you save a lot of money buy not throwing dollars down the sink. I just hate thinking about splurging on something only for it to be thrown in the trash. If you don't have enough for another full meal, keep reading below.
One last thought on this topic. I know that eating the same soup for lunch and dinner days on end is not fun. And food should be enjoyable I think. So if you always make enough for an army but your family doesn't make a dent in the amount you made, keep some to eat for a day or two, then portion out and freeze the rest for another time. (Most of the time they won't even realize it's leftovers that way.
Repurpose Your Leftovers
My husband always teases me because I save even the smallest amount of things. But I know it is worth it. Especially because I have 2 small babies right now and they don't eat big portions. It's so nice to just take a little something that is already made, and that I know is good for them out of the fridge without having to make something special just for them to have a snack. Saves me a lot of time. Which I need with babies 15 months apart.
This also translates to old family members too. Say you splurged and got a grass-fed roast or some pastured chicken. Most likely you aren't going to have enough for another full meal of that so why not shred it up and use it in burritos with some sauted onions and peppers to bulk it up? Or cut up some bigger chunks for soup. Or stick it on a salad. Or sandwich. The options are endless. One of my kid's favorite 'meals' is a clean out the fridge night where they can eat anything they want out of the fridge that is already made.
I have a lot to say on this subject but the post was getting long. For more ideas how to afford to eat healthy food on a budget, check outPart 2 and Part 3. It will deal more with actually how to buy organic food for less.
Leave a comment below if you would like to see any specific recipes that I mentioned above or if you have any tricks you use to make your food budget stretch.
Or what was supposed to be the family garden, that everyone was supposed to help out with. But somehow turned into a solo project for you.
So how do you dig yourself out of this project?
Here are a few tips to re-engage your kids or begin teaching your children how to garden. And love it.
Focus on Fast Growing Plants
Your children probably don't have enought patience to wait the whole growing season to reap the rewards of say, a big pumpkin. They will need a little instant gratification. Or as instant as it gets when it comes to gardening.
It doesn't matter what it is you plant at first. Your children will just be thrilled to see the first leaves and stems sprout from the seeds they planted.
Lettuce grows very fast and continues to grow until it gets too hot. Other fast growing plants are: spinach, radishes and zuchini.
Plant Things They Like
Once your children have seen the fruits or their labor begin, they will work hard to be able to sample them. Grow food that your family likes. Great ideas are sugar peas, strawberries, tomatoes and carrots.
Gardening is so much more fun when the results are tasty.
Give Children Ownership of a Specific Area
You can instill a sense of pride in your children if they have ownership of a certain area. It is also easier for them to keep up on the maintenance of the garden if they know exactly what they need to do.
Give Your Children Their Own Tools
One of the things that seemed to make the biggest difference in my children's attitude and willingness to work in the garden is when they had their own tools. I bought them garden gloves, a trowel shovel and a weeding tool. The first pair of gloves I bought were just cheap cloth ones I found at the grocery store. They weren't great, they slipped a lot and were hard to maneuver around tiny weeds so I would recommend something like these that have microfoam on the outside. Not only do they grip much better, they also keep out water which the cloth ones did not. Leather ones would also be really durable and water resistant too. Both of these options are only a dollar or two more than the cheaply made ones I first got but will last and work so much better.
Work Along Side Your Kids
Work is always more enjoyable if you are doing it with someone else. Children will be more willing to work if they have the company of their parents and siblings.
This is also a great time to have meaningful conversations with your children. Kids will talk more about things that are bothering them when they have something else to focus on.
Keep it fun and non-stressful
Don't get too ambitious. Start small. Everyone will get burned out and resist gardening if the area is too overwhelming. You can always add more space the next year if you find that your family handled this year well.
*This article originally appeared on https://familyshare.com/258/how-to-teach-gardening-skills-to-your-kids
There is nothing better than eating fresh, flavorful food grown from your own garden. When you take a bite of your first summer-sweet strawberry grown in your own backyard, you'll know exactly what I mean. This is what strawberries are supposed to taste like. Their flavorful, juicy bursts of goodness will bring a smile to your face. Grocery store produce that's been stored in a cooler for months, with its bland taste and waxy exterior, just doesn't compare to what you can grow at home.
Unfortunately, many of us have absolutely no idea how to go about planting a garden. As many would-be gardeners have discovered, it takes more than just a bit of dirt and some water to grow award winning produce. Here are a few tips to help get your garden blooming in no time.
Decide what kind of foods you like
The idea of planting foods that grow easily is tempting. But if you don't like what you plant, then you won't eat it. Ask your family what kinds of fruit and vegetables they like, and plan from there. Also, check if those plants will grow in your area. A great resource is the USDA's plant hardiness zone map.
Find a good location for your garden
Once you know what kind of plants you can grow, you will need to find a place to establish your garden. Make sure that it gets plenty of sun and adequate water.
Prepare your garden's soil
Your plants will have their best chance of being successful if they are planted in rich soil. There are many ways to amend your soil. Compost, fertilizer, and potting soil amendments are just a few of your options. Find the option that works best for the produce that you are planting. Various websites, such as this one, offer suggestions to help you get started.
Follow Instructions for Planting Times and Depths
All plants have different planting and growing seasons as well as specific depths that the seeds need to be planted. Make sure you follow the directions on the package.
Start Small
If this is your first garden, don't over do it by planting every type of vegetable known to man. Choose a few you like and start there. You don't want to overwhelm yourself with too much to manage the first year. Make it enjoyable. If you want to expand the next year, that would be the time to do it.
Consider Fruit Trees
One last tip is to consider planting a fruit tree or two. Trees are a great option because they only need to be planted once, but they continue to produce fruit year after year with minimal maintenance.
Gardening can be an entertaining hobby that pays for the time you spend by providing you with cheap, high quality produce. If you're willing to make the commitment and do your research, then you too can enjoy the bounty of a homemade harvest from you very own backyard!
Comment below and tell me what you are planning to grow this year!
I am really excited to share this post today. It's all about how to grow garlic at home.
Growing your own garlic is so easy! Anyone can do it. Seriously.
Have you ever had some store-bought garlic so long that it started to sprout? Perfect, you're halfway there. If you just stick that clove in the ground and it will grow into a head of garlic next summer.
Now is the perfect time for planting bulbs; flowers or garlic. Anytime after the weather turns cooler in the Fall is a great time to plant. You just need make sure you plant before the ground freezes. Luckily, with how weird the weather has been this winter our growing/planting season has been extended.
Charlotte and I spent a wonderful morning in the garden and it was so fun having her help me with the planting. Though of course she just wanted to dig them all out afterwards.
Directions:
All you need is a head of garlic from the store. Just the regular kind you buy to cook with.
Break apart the head of garlic to get the individual cloves. One clove will grow into an entire head of garlic next year. One of my friends brought me home some popular garlic from a recent trip to California. I'm really excited to plant it. It's been so hard not to use it all because it is so delicious, I hope it grows well here. Fingers crossed.
You only want to plant the biggest ones because they will yield the biggest crop next year. Just save the small ones to use in the kitchen.
Go out to your garden and turn the earth under. Basically just loosen up the dirt and add in any compost you might want to.
Once your dirt is turned over, dig holes 6 inches apart all the way around and about 3-4 inches deep. If you don't have raised garden beds you might want to think about leaving space for a walkway depending on how many cloves you plant.
I use a stick like this to dig. I feel a little like a cave woman digging in the dirt with a stick but hey, it works. And Charlotte loves it too.
Next stick your garlic clove in the ground with the point sticking up. You will want the top of the garlic about 2 inches from the top of the dirt once you fill it in. And, doesn't everyone garden while juggling a baby? Charlotte is learning young.
Cover and repeat for all remaining cloves. I like to dig one hole at a time because my dirt is really loose and falls back into the holes easily making it harder to go back and stick the cloves in. But you could dig all your holes first, then stick in all the garlic cloves, then cover all at once.
You're done.
See what did I tell you? Easy! And you'll love cooking with your homegrown garlic next year.
Tips:
you may want to put a layer of mulch like leaves over the dirt to help insulate the garlic over the winter.
Being frugal doesn’t mean you are a miser afraid of spending
any money. Frugal to my mind means that you use your wealth and resources deliberately.
Maybe it is just the accountant in me and I can’t get rid of the debit/credit
mindset.
When you use an asset it either can be for another asset, an
expense or a future liability. I don’t know about you but I want to feel like I
am getting value for the money I use,
not feeling like I just flushed it down the toilet.
My husband and I made the decision for me to work at home
raising our kids instead of in an office bringing home a paycheck. He works
hard to provide for our family and I work just as hard to respect that and use
our money in the most prudent way. That
isn’t to say that our purchases are strictly practical, that would suck the fun
out of life (and that’s when you turn into a miser).
No, what that means is that I try to use our money as
economically as possible. For instance, if I want to take my kids to a museum I
will look and see if they have any free days or discounts. Many times they do
and it just takes a little looking. So in this instance if I found out they do
offer a free day I would wait and go then. I still will be able to do what I
want and provide a fun, educational experience for my kids. The same experience
they would’ve had if I had paid full price, but instead I would have saved at
least $30 which I can now have available for something else. We can still have
nice things. We just have to choose which of those we want to set as a
priority.
There is a quote by Gandhi I came across recently that I
loved:
“There is enough on
Earth for everybody's need, but not enough for everybody's greed.”
I feel like that can apply individually to our lives as
well. There is enough for your needs. Enough even your wants (greed). But you
have to work within your financial constraints.
We might not all be able to take the most lavish and extravagant
vacations without a second thought about where the money is coming from but
there is probably a way to have meaningful, amazing travel experiences in
another way. And this doesn’t just relate to travel. This idea can apply to
every other facet of life.
I believe that we can have all the experiences we want in
life if we just look for a way to make it happen. When you live providently or
frugally, you feel like you have more. Not just for yourself but for others
also. When we save in so many little ways it makes it easier to give in big
ways. Life is abundant, there are so many opportunities out there and I plan to
make the most of them. If this is something you resonate with, then follow
along as I share my adventures and my frugal tips that make them possible.
Are you wondering how to use extra jalapeno peppers or how to make your own crushed red pepper flakes? This summer I grew 6 plants of jalapeno peppers and 6 anaheim peppers so even after making all my salsa, apricot jalapeno jelly and enchilada sauce, I still had about a gazillion peppers I needed to find a way to preserve. You can cut them up and dehydrate your peppers (see my post about dehydrating bell peppers). But I was already using my dehydrator on some eggplants so I decided to do it the old fashioned way.
All you need is a needle and some strong thread. Wash all your peppers first, then after you thread your needle, tie a knot at the bottom of your thread tail which will act as an anchor for the rest of your peppers. Grab your 2nd pepper and poke the needle not through just the stem or it will break when it dries. You need to poke it through the green base just under stem so you have a thick, solid foundation. Now pull the needle and slide the pepper all the way down to the one that you tied around the knot. It works best if you alternate which direction it is facing, left/right, front/back. And follow all the way up the string. You don't want too many. They are heavy at first. I think 20-25 worked great. Once done find a well ventilated area and hang for a few weeks.
After your jalapenos are dried, you can leave them on the string in your kitchen. They really are so pretty. Or you can take them off and put them in a plastic bag still whole. Or what I think is the best is to make your own crushed red pepper flakes out of your dried jalapeno peppers. Normally crushed red pepper flakes have cayenne peppers in them which makes it pretty hot. Using just jalapenos tames it a bit which is nice if your family is like me and can't really appreciate a lot of heat. Homemade crushed red pepper flakes can be used in anything that just needs a little kick
FYI- you can see in the picture I was experimenting by using some green jalapenos that hadn't turned yet. I was trying to see if they would dry more mild if they were green but they all ended up turning red anyway.
I have always tried to nurture a love of science and especially space with my girls. They love to play on NASA Kids Club building rockets and driving the Mars Rover. When I heard that there was to be a total solar eclipse in North America this August, I just knew we needed to go. Luckily, the closest point of totality to us was only 3 1/2-4 hours away. Salt Lake City was going to experience 94 percent but I wanted to experience totality.
So this weekend we packed up the car and drove to Idaho. Unfortunately, everyone else in the western United States thought the same thing. My husband and I thought about renting a camper but there weren't any available in the western United States. Most of the hotels were booked. I found a 2 star for $750 a night! No thank you.
I knew quite a few people who were going up and camping out in their extended family's backyards and many farmers decided to open up some space for people to set up for the night, but usually with no utilities. That wouldn't work for us since we would have both our babies with us.
Luckily, I found the Sun Shine Camp on Facebook. A woman decided to turn some of her dad's farm land into a camp ground and they had some vacancies. She had cleared the land and had port a potties dug and it was right in the path of totality. Not only that, but it was in the most idyllic spot.
It was gorgeous! Wide, open views of a property surrounded by the famous Snake River with lots of shade for trees. Fire pits stocked with wood and lots of peace and quiet. Which was amazing given that over 300,000 people traveled to the same area to view the eclipse. That's in addition to the people who already lived here!
The kids had an amazing time. There were horseback rides available.
I even risked an allergic reaction and joined in. The hour or 2 of itching after were totally worth it. Saddest day of my life when I realized I was allergic to horses. But that's a story for another time.
The girls got to float in the calmer part of the Snake River that wound through the property. A perfect way to cool off during the heat of the day. Wasn't my dad the sweetest to take them? Totally made their day.
Lots of shade to sit out and relax. Aaralyn brought along a book of course. She's a girl after my own heart.
This was the first time we had gone camping with both babies. Needless to say, we got very little sleep and a VERY early wake up call.
Now it was time to pack up the site and get ready to watch the eclipse over the next few hours.
Unfortunately, the solar eclipse fell on the first day of school so we had to make it a quick trip back to Utah so the girls wouldn't miss any more days. Otherwise, I would have loved to combine this trip with a few days in Yellowstone.
My husband was hoping to hop in the car right after the eclipse to hopefully get a head start on the aforementioned 300K other people but while packing the last few things in the car a few minutes before the eclipse he realized our car battery had died!
Luckily this Japanese family near us had a cordless car battery jumper. Have you seen these things? They are awesome. Tiny, and best of all if your car dies with no one around, you can now jump your car yourself. We totally bought one after this trip. What a life saver!
Next thing we knew, Bailey's beads appeared. Which is when all the mountains and valleys are backlit by the sun and it looks like little beads of sunlight shining on the edge of the moon.
Totality was awe inspiring. There really are no words to describe the feeling and visual. It got eerily silent and the temperature dropped at least 20 degrees immediately. It looked like there was a 360 degree sunset. It was beautiful. I am so glad we made the effort to go. I hope it will be something my children remember forever.
It was so worth the 7 hour trip home. Oh, and there was the cutest old lady standing in the middle of one of the back roads we tried to take out of there. Do you want to know what she was doing? Handing out hundreds of homemade cookies that she had baked and frozen just to hand out to us travelers. She was so excited and said it was the best day of her life. What a selfless act of kindness to show to so many people she had never met in her life and would most likely never see again. I mean just think of the hours and hours of baking. What an example. I want to be like her when I grow up. She definitely made our long, crawling trip back to Utah more bearable.
Silver Lake is hands down the most beautiful, easiest nature hike for children. Located in Big Cottonwood Canyon just minutes from Salt Lake City, Silver Lake has it all. The trail starts at the parking lot and has a boardwalk through a marsh that leads into a more wooded area. The change in terrain and landscape is so fun for kids. They can go down to the lake on different viewing platforms to see the ducks or look for fish. And, there always seems to be someone fishing which is really fun to watch.
The lake itself is in a little basin surrounded by mountains so the scenery is just breathtaking. Especially in the late spring when all the wild flowers are blooming.
This trail is our go-to lazy Sunday outing. Quick and not strenuous, which means the adults can enjoy conversation and relax while letting toddlers walk by themselves and the older kids roam ahead with plenty of things to catch their interest...it seems like we see a moose at least half the time we go among other wildlife. Oh and don't forget to catch the visitor's center in the summer. They have a lot of great exhibits for the kids to learn about the environment and even a junior ranger program where they can earn another badge for their collection.
Whenever someone visits Salt Lake and asks for a recommendation for a hike, Silver Lake is the answer.
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