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Monday, May 23, 2011

Summer's coming! Let's make plans!

Can you believe that summer is right around the corner? I know I can't! It seemed like just last week we had chilly weather and snow here in Pennsylvania. Now we're coming towards the end of May, and my son's last day of school is on Friday. The school year seems to go by in a blink of an eye. Now's the perfect time to start making those summer plans. Since my children are at a great age to start doing little mini vacations. Mainly we stick to staycations but this summer, we're making some travel vacation plans. I was thinking of some great family friendly vacation stops for us.

One place I would love to take the kids to, and yes its a little cliche, but we'd love to see Disney World. Even just Florida in general! I'm not sure if I'd want to do this in the summer, since I wouldn't be able to handle that much heat. There is so much to do in that area. The Wizarding World of Harry Potter at the WB park brings the inner geek out in me. My son would love to see what he's only seen in the movies. My daughter would go nuts for the Disney princesses. Disney is like it's own little world within a world.

Since I am not a "native" of Pennsylvania (Moved here when I was a preteen), I will have to take my kids to Ocean City, Maryland one day. I grew up in a town by the city, and I miss it dearly. I have so many wonderful memories of the beaches, boardwalk, and the horses out at Assateague Island. If I could convince my husband to move out there, I would in a heartbeat.

When my husband and I went out to Montana this past winter, we were lucky to visit Yellowstone National Park. Montana was beautiful. Yellowstone takes your breath away with its beauty. There are a lot of programs for children, teens, and adults. We've never seen Bison in person before, and when we went in January (we were lucky to spend New Years Eve there), we must have seen thousands! I would love to spend a week camping with my family there. You get so in touch with nature, and you truely appreciate the world around you.

Erie, Pennsylvania is a great little area to check out. Theres an indoor waterpark that we've stayed in before, we've had great service there. They have so many little splash zones for kids, and perfect indoor waterslides for adults! There's also a great little theme park called Waldameer. Theres perfect picnic areas if you'd like to pack a lunch, spend the afternoon at the theme park, and then spend the evening watching the sunset while the kids play on the beach of Lake Erie right off Presque Isle State Park.

If you are coming to Pittsburgh area this summer, you will have a blast with your family. We've got the Pittsburgh Zoo, which we've spent many summer days. I enjoy it as much as the kids. They have an aquarium too! The Carnegie Museum of Natural History and Art has a lot of child activities, encluding sleepovers at the museum! We plan on making a few stops at the Children's Museum of Pittsburgh for the first time this year as well since my children are at the perfect age for this. We are so excited!

What summer activities do you have set in store? I can't wait to make new memories with my children, and watch their faces light up with wonder!


I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Alamo blogging program, for a gift card worth $25. For more information on how you can participate go to http://alamoinsiders.socialmoms.com/about3

Wednesday, May 11, 2011