Life Archives - Page 2 of 79

Let The Summer Begin!

July 7, 2017 by Lauren Kreativ

My favourite part about the summer is spending time with friends and family! In the summer we go camping in our travel trailer. It’s called the #SilvaBulletRV.

A post shared by bigdaddykreativ (@bigdaddykreativ) on Sep 12, 2016 at 1:57pm PDT

Camping is so much fun because we get to see our camping family. We have become very close with some friends at our campground. They are just like part of our family. I am so excited for when we go to Ohio because I will get to ride in a go-cart by myself! Ohio is going to be so much fun because we are going with our camping family. I am so excited!

A post shared by Wendy {mapsgirl} (@mapsgirl) on Jul 23, 2016 at 11:48am PDT

l love to go to the park and play with my friends at camp. Going swimming at the campground’s pool is so much fun. I get to make big splashes when I jump in! Swimming is the best this year because I can go to the pool with friends, and not have to have Mom and Dad come with me. I never swim alone, because it is not safe.

A post shared by Wendy {mapsgirl} (@mapsgirl) on May 29, 2016 at 10:16am PDT

Summer break is awesome because we don’t have to do any school work! Lots of popsicles and freezies for all those hot days. Even if it rains, we still have fun! I like to ride my bike and go on bike rides with my friends!

A post shared by Wendy {mapsgirl} (@mapsgirl) on Aug 10, 2016 at 10:39am PDT

Last year in the summer was lots of fun. We went to Universal Studios! I went on a few of the roller coasters!

We went to 3 campgrounds on the way to Orlando. While in Florida we stayed at 2 campgrounds. We stayed at 3 more campgrounds on the way home. We were so excited to go to the Wizarding World of Harry Potter. It was amazing! We tried some Bertie Botts every Flavour Beans, Butterbeer, Frozen Butterbeer, and Chocolate Frogs. We had lots of fun at Universal Studios.

I cannot wait for the rest of the summer. We have a lot planned. It’s going to be so much fun!

TTFN,
Lauren

Let summer begin! ~ Wordless Wednesday

June 7, 2017 by Wendy S

A post shared by Wendy {mapsgirl} (@mapsgirl) on Jun 3, 2017 at 3:56pm PDT

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Education Fun: Fractions in Between #education #fun

June 1, 2017 by Wendy S

With summer just around the corner, finding fun ways to keep the girls’ minds active is very important. Keep it fun is even more important…especially when working on fractions!

Figuring out fractions can be a challenge! This competitive game will help your child evaluate the differences between fractions, from largest to smallest. Your child will become more comfortable converting, comparing, and using fractions after just a few rounds. Using a calculator can be a big help, especially if the values of the fractions are complex. This game is great for a rainy day and when your child needs a different setting to practice fractions. It’s quick and easy to set up, so let’s dive in!

What You Need:

Deck of cards with the face cards (jacks, queens, and kings) removed
Construction paper (any color)
Black marker
Pencil
Scratch paper
Calculator

What You Do:

Have one of the players create a game board by turning a piece of construction paper horizontal, or landscape. Trace two rows of three cards, with space in between. In between both rows, draw a greater than symbol (>).

Ask one of the players to shuffle the cards and deal 6 of them face up in the spaces on the board. Place them down in the order they are dealt from top to bottom and left to right.
Explain that the numbers on the top are the numerators, and the numbers on the bottom are denominators. Each player should determine if the statement that their cards make is true (based on the x > y > z game board). The fractions should decrease in value when moving left to right.
If they need to, players can use the calculator and divide the numerator by the denominator to find the decimal value of the fraction. The calculator will be especially helpful with complex fractions.
If the statement is correct, the player gets a point. Play moves to the next player.
Continue to play until the deck is finished.
The player with the most points wins!

Let me know what your family thinks of this fun game!!

Ready for some sand and sun! Tips for planning a family vacation #travel

April 18, 2017 by Wendy S

Life has been busy. Too busy. We need a break!

A post shared by Wendy {mapsgirl} (@mapsgirl) on Aug 31, 2016 at 7:03pm PDT

Craig and I have been talking about taking a trip and just getting away. This year will be our 15th Wedding Anniversary which is another great reason to put our feet in the sand and relax.

Picking a date

With 2 full-time jobs, a part-time job, various activities and other commitments, finding the time to go away is not easy.

We sat down with our calendars, figured out when activities would be winding down and when commitments wouldn’t be impacted and chose 2 potential times — a week in June or beginning of January.

Figuring out your budget

Yes, vacation is supposed to be fun and you don’t want to miss anything, but coming home to a mountain of debt is not the best way to end a vacation.

Craig and I have been putting some money away in a vacation fund. Plus we have some gift certificates to Flight Centre that we’re going to take advantage of.

A post shared by bigdaddykreativ (@bigdaddykreativ) on Jan 19, 2017 at 5:31am PST

We did a few searches on the internet to get a ballpark idea of what our options might be. Then we headed to Flight Centre, sat with an awesome travel advisor and, asked a ton of questions. Knowing the amenities at the different resorts, what the beaches are like, and activities for the girls is just as important as the cost. During the conversation, we decided to focus on the June dates as the prices for January were just too high (almost double?!?).

After the conversation, we walked away with 4 different resorts in 2 different places that were all within our budget.

Do your research

With the 4 locations in hand, our next step was to read reviews and talk to friends.

TripAdvisor.ca is one of our “go-to” sites for travel information. There are a lot of reviews on all 4 of the places we were looking at. It’s good to read the good and bad reviews to get a broad sense of people’s experiences.

A post shared by bigdaddykreativ (@bigdaddykreativ) on Apr 19, 2014 at 12:01pm PDT

Craig and I started a spreadsheet to keep track of the pros and cons of each place we were considering. We noted things like the cost, the number of stars, the number of pools, activities for the girls, types of restaurants and links to the resort’s website and Trip Advisor. Seeing all of the details in one place makes comparing so much easier!

With the magic of social media, we got lots of opinions from friends when Craig asked on Facebook. A few people had been to one of the resorts that we were looking at and we actually had one friend who had been to both! She gave us some great information as she was able to do a great comparison.

Making the final decision

With all of the options laid out in our spreadsheet, we started making the decision of exactly what we wanted. One resort has a waterslide. Another has more restaurants. And on it goes.

The girls were very excited about the idea of a kids club and teen activities. The waterslide is a must. And, of course, they liked the idea of free wifi.

The girls were all for free wifi, but truly that is not a deciding factor for us. Most resorts have free wifi in the lobby, some have wifi available for purchase in the rooms and a small number have free wifi everywhere. Craig and I have Roam Like Home with Rogers which is available in both countries that we are interested in which means that if we need to get in touch with family, we will be able to. Plus being able to share our memories with friends and family right away on social media is really nice too! They can see all the fun we are having. I like to back up my photos to Google Photos so having access to data is important to me.

So what will it be?

Happy Birthday, Storm! ~ Wordless Wednesday

November 22, 2016 by Wendy S

Happy 1st Birthday, Storm!

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What You Need:

What You Do:

Picking a date

Figuring out your budget

Do your research

Making the final decision

So what will it be?

Share your Wordless Wednesday post!

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