A visit to the Mormon Battalion Historic Site is an absolute must for your trip to San Diego, California. After a whirlwind week of amusement parks, I know that my family is ready to move at a slower pace, but still have fun and be entertained.

The interpretive and interactive center commemorates what happened with the Mormon Battalion during the Mexican-American War. The visitors center was extensively renovated in 2010 including the addition of new technological enhancements that your kids will love. My mom had been to an early version of the center in the 1990s and she was beyond impressed with the updates!

Everyone from Grandma to my 7 year old son enjoyed the high-tech step back in time. There’s just enough entertainment value for your kids to not even realize that they are learning about history.

Volunteers dressed in period clothing take you from room to room or rather experience to experience! If your kids like the moving pictures in Harry Potter, they are going to like this exhibit! The characters in the pictures guide you through what life was like for several hundred Mormon volunteers who marched from Council Bluffs, Iowa, to Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and then on to California for a one-year United States Army enlistment. You get to hear the perspectives and stories from men, women, and children in the camp.

One of my favorite parts of the center was being able to discover our connections to the Mormon Battalion. We didn’t have any direct relations, but it was cool to discover some distant cousins like Lyman Stevens!

My kids love seeing how they are connected! It makes the experience come to life a little more for them.

At the revamped center, you can pan for gold, make bricks and wear replica period clothing. Authentic artifacts are on display, including muskets, bricks from the foundation of the Old Town courthouse and a cannon that the battalion rolled across the United States.

I loved that we ended our visit with time in the tower. The views were incredible!

The tower has binoculars and a map showing Old Town San Diego

I hope that this updated visitor’s center is taste of what all the similar centers will soon be. It reminded me some of the fun features at the Church History Museum in Salt Lake City. We can’t wait to visit more historical sites!

What other historical museums and centers should be on our bucket list? What ones have you been to that you have enjoyed?

The post Family History Tourism: Visiting Mormon Battalion Historic Site in Old Town San Diego appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Sometimes family history discoveries are even better than we can plan. At least that’s what happened last summer on our genealogy road trip!

Halfway between our home and St George is Fillmore, Utah. Home to not only Utah’s first state capital, but also to many of my Ashby, Cropper, Rogers, and Land ancestors. What was once a quick, gas station rest stop became a family history destination when I discovered our family ties to this interesting town.

I’d had my eye on the Territorial Statehouse Museum ever since seeing the billboard advertisements on  I-15.  Since we were heading South to St George/Disneyland, I thought it would be a perfect stop for us to stretch our legs and learn a little history. I checked the Family Search  Map My Ancestor feature on the app and discovered that several of my ancestors had lived and died there. Even cooler! And when we stepped inside, the museum did not disappoint!

While admiring the grand building plans for the first state capitol, I talked with the museum worker about the museum’s hall of ancestors. As I was telling him of my hope that I’d find our own ancestors there, a familiar face caught my eye.  The photos are in alphabetical order so my Ashby family was the first photo I saw.

Coming face to face with my ancestors in their home town was stirring. Did they walk these halls? Each exhibit in the museum took on added meaning as we pictured our  family in the town of Fillmore. The woman in the photo below is my 4th Great-Grandmother – Hannah Jones Rogers. She came to America from Worcestershire, England when she was 13 years old. I didn’t recall much of her story so she was moved up my list of people to research when we got home. I came across this blog through a source on Family Search. Come to find out – her spinning wheel and bake skillet are in the Daughters of the Utah Pioneers exhibit at the Museum.  I had viewed my family’s possessions without even knowing it!

Being inspired to learn more about Hannah reminded me of how grateful I am to know so much about her grand-daughter and my great-grandmother – Hannah Cropper Ashby. From an article posted on Family Search, I knew that Hannah was an accomplished woman. While being Mother of the Year for Utah in 1960, she was also a member of the Utah County Legislative Women’s Council for 10 years, precinct co-chairwoman for the Republic party in her area, chairman of the American citizenship for the Utah Federation of Women’s Republican Club, and many other literary and local positions.  

Was it her time in this historic city that inspired her patriotic roots? Hannah was born in 1879 in Fillmore. Her mother Hannah Lucretia was also born in Fillmore in 1858 during the time that Fillmore was the capital city. I am grateful for these three generations of Hannah’s and their dedication during the early year’s of Utah’s statehood! What a treat to walk through the Statehouse Museum and get a peek into what their lives may have been like!

Visiting the Fillmore Cemetery

We also used the Map My Ancestors feature to find that several of our ancestors were buried in the Fillmore Cemetery. I downloaded the Find a Grave app to help us find a more precise location in the cemetery.

My kids are excellent at locating the grave sites based on pictures! We found them in no time. While we were at the cemetery, we fulfilled two photo requests as well. Find a Grave allows you to take pictures and upload them to their site for others to view. Easy service project to do with kids!

We loved our brief visit to Fillmore, a town we hadn’t given a second glance to from the freeway on previous trips! The Map My Ancestor feature of the Family Tree app helped us to connect to our ancestors in a new and fun way. Our visit was the perfect mix of connection and discovery. I understand and know these ancestors just that much more now!

We are eagerly planning more family history day trips in Utah – Brigham City, Price, Huntsville – to name a few! What place from your family history would you love to visit?

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Cherry Hill is a favorite family tradition that has lasted 40+ years. What’s the secret sauce to getting 100+ people together every year? Maybe it’s the delicious slices of pie on Saturday night, maybe it’s the races down Cardiac Canyon, or maybe it’s the campsite games and conversations. Whatever the reason, I am grateful to grandparents who have gathered us to together at Cherry Hill since I was a baby. And now I take my own babies!

This family-friendly place is nestled in Davis County. It’s grown from a campground with a pool to include a water park, rock wall, mini golf course, and more.

Seriously acres of activities to explore. I promise you will want to stay for more than a day. It seems to get better and better every year. I was content picking cherries there when I was a kiddo and playing tag on the playground.  Now there is so much to do, you may want a season pass to enjoy it all! 

Typically it’s tradition for us to close out our summer at Cherry Hill, but I’m thinking we need to sneak in another weekend in July! There’s brand new slides to check out and my kids are begging to go!

Cherry Hill is celebrating 50 years of being family owned and operated. To celebrate 50 years, they are giving away over $20,000 in prizes including Megaplex tickets, Lifetime products, ski passes, and much more every day of the 2017 summer season. Check out their website and follow them on Facebook for more information and to see a calendar of events.

Have you been to Cherry Hill?

What is your favorite part?

What are your favorite family traditions?

I’ve partnered with Cherry Hill and US Family Guide to let you know about their 50th Anniversary Celebration. All opinions are my own and I love sharing this fun, family tradition! 

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Honest confession. My husband and I were fantastic about date night UNTIL we had kids. Date night began to feel like a luxury when we added in the babysitting bill. We cut corners in the date night department and, let’s face it, our relationship suffered. When we did finally get a night out – it fell into one of three categories – a wedding, a business event, or the classic dinner + movie.  Not exactly thrilling!

This year we’re trying something new. We’ve brainstormed ten different types of date nights that we feel are beneficial and darn right needed for our relationship.  As we approach the new year, we are calendaring all the different dates in so each part of our relationship receives the attention that it needs! So grab a calendar and start penciling your own date nights in – I promise it will be worth it!

The Just Because Date – These are mini dates not tied to any holiday or special case. Basically just short and sweet ways to say I Love You throughout the day. It may be a quick walk around the block holding hands or my personal favorite – a delivery of chocolate covered strawberries and pumpkin cheesecake squares! Don’t they look scrumptious! My child were swarming as I took pictures, but I was able to save (almost) all of them for a mid-day break for my husband and I.

I had these delivered to our doorstep from Shari’s Berries and it definitely made for a #SweetestDay! They came perfectly packaged and ready to eat with my sweetheart! I think we need to try their caramel apples next! Little surprises like this help to keep our relationship fun!

2. The Weekend Getaway Date – I just finished reading Balancing It All by Candace Cameron Bure (Full House) and the chapter on marriage really resonated me. Candace mentioned that she and her husband had different dating styles. He prefers weekends away while she’s fine with a night out together. They take the best of both worlds and make sure that they do both kinds!

In our ten years of marriage, we’ve only had a handful of weekend getaways, but they’ve been oh so worth it! The chance to reconnect uninterrupted is priceless!  The year that Lily was born and John and I were both in school/working full-time was especially stressful. My sister took Lily over night and we jetted to the Anniversary Inn in Salt Lake. After a full-night sleep and breakfast in bed, we felt much more like a couple and less like students/parents/employees!

3. The Couples Dates and Getaways – This next kind of date is similar to the last, but with an added element of fun! We love getting away with good groups of friends! We have a group of friends from college that travels together for a weekend every other year.  Each couple takes a turn hosting in their home town. We’ve been to Seattle, North Carolina, and Texas so far.

This year we headed down to St. George for some fun in the sun. We rented this home off of VRBO and it was perfect for us! It’s fantastic being able to visit our friends’ in their hometowns and getting tours/tips from a local!

We’ve also hosted several murder mystery dinner dates at our home that have been a blast!

4. At-Home Dates – Let’s face it – sometimes it is hard or nigh to impossible to get out of the house. As fantastic as the weekend getaways are, sometimes you have to make due at home! That’s when it is time to bring date night in! I’m not just talking Netflix after the kids are in bed! Years ago, I found a site that is chock-full of date ideas – The Dating Divas. Just what I need! They do so much of the work for you – including coming up with cute printables!

Can you keep a secret? This year I’m getting John the Year of Dates binder for Christmas  It is 12 digital date night kits for just $2.97. Now, I’ve done similar date kits before and we’ve had a blast! The kit is digital, you just print it off and put it in a 3 Ring Binder with Sheet Protectors and you are good to go!

On a budget? The Dating Divas have plenty of free ideas as well!

5. The Parenting Date – It’s important to me that we are on the same page as parents, but talking about the kids tends to overtake our dates. Our solution – plan a date that is all about the kids!

We choose a nice sit down restaurant and get cozy to discuss how our children are doing. We talk about each of them and how they are doing mentally, physically, spiritually, emotionally, and overall. We bring up specific thing we need to work on with them as well as things that we have seen them doing well.

One of the biggest game changers for us is writing our observations/goals for them down in a notebook. That way we can revisit our prior conversations on our next parenting date. I first heard this fantastic idea at a Power of Moms Retreat and I’ve loved it ever since!

6. The Educational Date – Part of the excitement of dating is doing something or learning about something new together. My husband and I recently attended the Uplift Families Parenting Conference together with some of our couple friends. Dinner, dessert, parenting tips, and entertainment! We heard from Matt Townsend – he was absolutely hilarious!

Another educational date that I have on my agenda is a cooking class! Leave me a comment with your favorite cooking classes in Utah so I can check them out!

7. The Recharge Date – Whatever religion you belong to, it’s nice to be able to get out together as a couple and recharge spiritually. For some that’s a hike in the mountains or serving in a soup kitchen together. Whatever it takes for you to feel more connected!

We are LDS so it is important to us that we continue to grow together on a spiritual level as well. We love going to the newly built Payson Temple. 

8. The Active Date – Sometimes you just need to get out and DO SOMETHING! One of my favorite dates was back in 2010 when I surprised John with a 3-hour ropes course and canoe outing. From rock climbing to the ropes course, we had an absolute blast doing something that wasn’t our typical date! Living in Utah, there are so many hikes, trails, and outdoor activities to enjoy. Not to mention all of the fun, active indoor activities!

We bought a Pass of All Passes off of Groupon that has come in handy for date night as well! We are totally planning date nights for Seven Peaks next year. Plus a game of mini golf or a play at Scera Shell are fun, too! Some other fun Groupons we have gotten include discounts to Sweet Tooth Fairy, Get Air Hang TIme, and Penny’s Cafe.

9. The Cheap Date – This segways into an important date in our family! The cheap date! Sites like Groupon and The Dating Divas are lifesavers for us. We are on a budget, but we don’t want to cut all the fun out! Here’s a few places we have found good deals!

Funsavers is another fun site where we have found great date night and family night deals! From hotels to spas – always check Funsavers first to see if you can get a discount. Here are some of their current deals:

10. The Written Date. One of my favorite parts of our courtship was our e-mails back and forth to each other. I worked from 8 am to 12 pm and John worked from 2 pm to 10 pm.  Depending on the day we also both had classes. This left quick lunch dates and Saturday dates. In between, we sent each other e-mails. We talked about his mission, my time at BYU-Idaho, and everything in between. I am much more at ease writing so this was perfect for me. Then when we did get together, conversation flowed easily because we’d already expressed so much in e-mails.

Thinking back on how fun this was, I am recommitting to the written date! With texts and e-mails – this is much easier now days. With our busy schedules, long conversations aren’t always the norm. E-mails on lunch breaks can lead to much deeper conversations when there is more time!

11. The Special Occasion Date.  Birthdays, anniversaries, Valentines – all of these deserve a little extra attention. This year my husband surprised me by coming home from work early with flowers. He also made me the most delicious Missouri mudcake!

Our anniversary is in December so I am thinking it will be fun to do this Christmas Countdown by The Dating Divas! It’s included in a bundle with ways to spoil your spouse all year long.  I am so excited to all of it thought out for me so that I can quickly personalize it to make it special for us!

Just typing up this post has got me so excited for our upcoming date nights! Whether you organize a babysitting swap with friends or you are planning more date nights in – I hope that you can find more time to spend together as a couple, too!

What are your favorite dates?

How often do you date your spouse?

I received a fall gift package from Shari’s Berries to review for this post. This post contains affiliate links for products that I love and believe in! 

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Staying at the Zermatt in Midway has been on my bucket list for ages! I’ve been through Midway and Heber dozens of times for the ice castles, Swiss Days, and on my way to Park City. Last fall we decided to staycation on a budget and found some incredible and inexpensive things to do in Midway, Utah. We even snuck in a stay at the Zermatt!

When I plan a vacation for my family, I like to pack as much fun and adventure into a weekend as I can. We love exploring the outdoors and Midway is the perfect place to do that. Here are some of our favorite things to do in Midway, Utah.

1. Family fun at the Zermatt Resort

We loved staying at the Zermatt Resort (and highly recommend it). The grounds and activities are open to visitors passing through as well. When you stay at the resort, a carousel ride for the children comes with your accommodations. If you are just visiting the grounds, you can purchase tokens for a small amount at the front desk. Be sure to pick up the goat food for only a $1 as well. My kids loved visiting and feeding the pygmy goats at Zermatt Resort. Stop at their gift shop and bakery for yummy pastries and the perfect little lunch packs for picnics and hikes!

2. The Fairy Forest on Mirror Lake Byway

The Fairy Forest was my daughter’s favorite part of our weekend trip to Midway. Every little girl’s dream! I was amazed at how much land it actually covered! The Fairy Forest is near a campground and is hundreds of little fairy vignettes made by individuals and families. From painted rocks to fairy birdhouses, it’s magical for little ones! Be sure to bring in art supplies for your little one to make their addition! Utah’s Adventure Family has great directions for how to get there. One piece of advice, wear shoes that can get wet. There is water in the creek bed that you have to cross to get there during certain times of the year.

3. Dairy Keen

Dairy Keen has to be one of the top recommended places to eat in Midway! You know, the train place! We eat at Dairy Keen anytime we are in Midway. Most peaceful meals my husband and I ever get because our kids love the train tables. During the warmer months, kids can eat outside on the train. Check out how much fun we had during our February visit!

4. Provo River Falls

This easy hike was about 23.5 miles outside of Kamas on Highway 150. Just look for the signs to Provo River Falls! I took my two oldest on the quick hike with me. The trail was less than a mile with various overlooks to the falls. Simply beautiful!

5. Midway Ice Castles

The Midway Ice Castles were easily our favorite winter activity of last year. My daughter went down the ice slide at least a dozen times and was enamored with meeting the Frozen princesses. You can check out my review here for our favorite tips of how to get the most from your ice castle experience. The ice castles will open in February, but advance tickets are on sale now for 45 percent off! Do yourself a favor and avoid the lines by buying online! These would be a great stocking stuffer.

6. Fall Foliage Drives

There are several beautiful drives in the Midway, Utah, area. Just remember to bring some cash for the National Forest fees. It was $6 for the weekend. There are dozens of picturesque pull offs on the side of the road just like this one. The Mirror Lake Scenic Byway

From Midway, you can also access the Alpine Loop and Cascade Springs – two of our family’s favorites as well! You can see some of our hiking tips for Cascade Springs here.

7. The Crater

The Crater at Homestead Resort has been on my bucket list ever since I saw it on a television episode. It is a geothermal spring in a 55-foot limestone rock beehive-shaped enclosure. You can swim, scuba dive, and even do a paddle-board yoga class in the crater. Reservations are required for the activities, but you can peek in and do a tour of the crater every hour on the half hour for free. Keep small children by the hand. We all loved seeing such a unique natural phenomenon and I can’t wait to go back with my husband to swim!

Also free, is the hike to the top of the crater. The view of Midway is absolutely incredible! We hiked the stairs with the kids and were able to peek down in to the crater (it is safely covered, of course!)

8. Homestead Resort

After you check out the crater, be sure to stop in the gift shop at Homestead Resort for some homemade fudge. The resort has seasonal events all year round that are family friendly. My kids had fun checking out the scarecrows during our visit. In December, you can take a sleigh ride to visit Santa or do a breakfast with Santa – so much fun. Check out the web-site for more details!

We enjoyed walking the grounds and reading the historical markers – some of the buildings are beautiful! Like a step back in time.

I hope you get to visit some of these beautiful places near Midway, Utah! It truly is a beautiful area to visit! If you would like to follow more of my travel adventures (including some uber-helpful Disney tips!) please be sure to follow me on social media!

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Do you have the travel gene? Does your suitcase never quite make it back into storage before your next adventure? If so, you may identify with the travel bloggers we will meet today. Take a look at a day in the life of a travel blogger and see what you discover. From beaches and mountain vistas to skype chats and wobbly wi-fi, the story of a travel blogger fascinates me and I think it will do the same for you.

1. Meet Jessica of Team Wiking.  She is a mama of two with exquisite photography that will have you packing your bags to go wherever she is featuring.

Photo Courtesy of TeamWiking.com

From a romantic rue in Paris to city guides in her home state of California, Jessica’s photo essays and writings have been featured in Apartment Therapy and Design Mom. See what a day in pictures looks like for this blogger and photographer.

2. Next up is a blogger living in my home state. The Utah adventure list for my family just doubled thanks to Michelle from A Local Wander.  From the fun of local splash pads to incredible hikes around the world, so many things from her blog have been added to my bucket list.  Michelle travels with her four children, including her adorable twins.

Photo Courtesy of Alocalwander.com

Find out the one word that she uses to describe their life right now and the blogging hours she shares with Camille from The Six Sisters Stuff (I talked with Camille at the Build Your Blog Conference about how she juggles blog and family. She generally works the same hours as Michelle so head on over to see what those are!)

3. This next blogger is a woman after my own heart. I’m a better early bird than a night owl and so is Jessica of Suitcases and Sippy Cups. This mom travel blogger has been featured on Disney’s Family Fun web-site and had me at 10 Ways to Entertain a Toddler in a Hotel Room. That information is gold for families traveling with children. Her weekly travel tips and worldwide travel guides will convince you that travel with children is completely doable.

Discover her one trick for keeping writer’s block at bay and her favorite quiet place to churn out the blog posts. You may have a similar quiet place in your own home town.

Enjoy the wander lust and let the day dreaming for the next vacation begin. Be sure to check out the rest of my A Day in the Life of a Blogger Series. Yesterday, it was all about the foodies! 

A Day in the Life of a Craft/DIY Blogger

A Day in the Life of a Family Blogger

Who is your favorite craft blogger?

Who are your favorite travel bloggers to follow?

What blogger would like to take a look at behind the scenes?

The post A Day in the Life of a Travel Blogger appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

Our favorite winter activity is opening this Friday! My kids still talk about the enchanting ice tunnels, slot canyons, ice slide, and glacial waterfalls. The Midway Ice Castles must go on your bucket list this year!

For my tips and tricks of when to go (avoid all the crowds!) and what to take – read this post from last year. My family and I will be heading up there very soon this year so we can give the latest updates!

Here are the details.

WHAT: Acre-sized, all-ice castle in Midway, UT. One of four Ice Castles in America.
WHERE: 2002 Soldier Hollow Rd Midway, UT 84049 USA
WHEN: Opening this Friday at 6 pm!

VISUALS: — Amazing ice features including archways, tunnels, slot canyons, ice slide, caverns, glacial waterfalls and a frozen throne.
— Kids and families squeezing, squishing, sliding, stomping and crawling through parts of the stunning, Narnia-like display.
— Natural frozen ice tones during the day; colorful LED-lit ice set to music at night.

Be sure to follow Ice Castles on Facebook to get the latest updates and even win tickets! Tickets are only available online this year. Get your tickets here.

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I just got back from a week-long visit to my sister, the lovely Cambria from Live to be Inspired. She moved across the country to Pennsylvania and just had her first beautiful baby girl! I was spoiled with dozens of newborn snuggles – in between making meals and doing tiny, adorable laundry, of course.

On the last day of our visit my sister decided that she was up for a road trip. We made the drive to Gettysburg and had just enough time to see the highlights of the historic city. Here are our top five recommendations if you only have a day or a few hours in this amazing place!

1. David Wills House

Many of the museums close between 4-5 pm, but we were able to spend about 45 minutes at the The David Wills House. This was perfect to help us get our bearings of the city! The Civil War refresher course was definitely needed as well. With several interactive exhibits and short films, it easily kept the attention of my five year old nephew. Plus we were able to get maps and brochures to help us navigate the rest of Gettysburg.

Seeing the room Abraham Lincoln slept in and must have pondered the Gettysburg address in was awe-inspiring. There is something uniquely special about learning history in the places where it actually occurred. I could scarcely imagine the more than 50,000 soldiers descending upon this tiny town, much less losing their lives there. The statistics were astounding and the accounts of brother vs. brother, friend vs. friend where heart-wrenching.

2. Gettysburg National Military Park

My father, the history officiando who we had on speed dial during our trip, highly recommends beginning your visit at the National Park Service and Museum for the Gettysburg National Military Park. We arrived after hours so we were out of luck! But if you do have time, the Gettysburg Cyclorama is an excellent way to see the scope of the battle before going out into the fields.

You could truly spend hours walking the paths, but with evening approaching we spent a few quiet moments on the ridge across from the cemetery admiring the beauty of Gettysburg and feeling humbled by what took place there.

3. The Soldiers National Cemetery 

We crossed the road to the Soldiers National Cemetery – something I definitely did not want to miss as part of our evening in Gettysburg. My sister paused at the entrance with her little boy to talk about silence and respect for the soldiers and what took place there. It was a sweet moment to witness. It is important to teach our children facts and dates, but it is just as vital to teach them the morals and feelings that encompassed such events.

As you walk the paths of the cemetery, you truly get a feeling of treading on hallowed ground. The sacrifice of each man buried there became very apparent and embedded in my heart.

4. The Pub & Restaurant

To round out our visit to Gettysburg, our last stop was dinner. As we poured over restaurant recommendations in the area, we all agreed that we wanted to eat somewhere unique to Gettysburg. Hoping to find a place with a touch of history, we discovered The Pub & Restaurant in Historic Lincoln Square. Right across the street from the David Wells House! Our request to eat out on the patio gave us a perfect view of the history-steeped establishments on the square. Be sure to have quarters on hand for the parking meters around the square.

I love dining family style so we selected several appetizers and a pizza to share. The food was as amazing as the surroundings. The fresh baked Italian bread smothered in cheese and flavored with garlic was a favorite as well as the Southwest egg rolls with an avocado dipping sauce that stole the show. The Caprese pizza was just as much a crowd-pleasure with its fresh spinach, house Bruschetta mix, and mozzarella and Fontina cheeses. Feast your eyes on the ooey-gooey yumminess!

5. Child-Friendly Gettysburg

Our visit to Gettysburg was relatively child friendly. With more time I would do the junior ranger program for children at the Visitors Center. The interactive programs allow the children to experience for themselves what it was like to be a soldier in the Civil War by handling equipment, documents, and uniforms from the era (in a safe and age-appropriate manner, of course!)

While I was at the David Wills House, I picked selected a board book, The Story of Abraham Lincoln for my children’s souvenir. My children are ages 2-7 years old so it was right on their level of reading and understanding. It is available for purchase at the store or you can order it ahead of time to prepare your children for their visit to Gettysburg. My five year old nephew and I talked about Gettysburg in a simplified manner on the ride there and I think that it helped to pique his curiousity.

My evening in Gettysburg was just enough to whet my appetite for a return visit. While I am grateful for the brief time I had to walk the hallowed paths, I am eager to return to places of such historic significance. There is so much we can learn from our past and pass on to our children!

Have you been to Gettysburg?

What is your favorite historical place that you have visited?

What historical place is on your bucket list to visit?

The post What to see in Gettysburg if you only have a day! appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.

It has been the summer of road trips for our little family. Lots of family reunions and weddings. With so many little ones,  I like to have lots of tricks up my sleeves in the car. Just you wait – I have a fabulous post coming up soon with all the tricks that have worked for us!

Today I am sharing one of the easiest tips – fun and interactive music. Since our oldest was born we have been building our CD collection. We have everything from lullabyes for nap time to my daughter’s music practice songs.

For our last road trip of the summer, we headed up to Bear Lake and, as luck would have it, I was sent Groove Kid Nation Rhythm Bears to review. Perfect timing! We are all about doing bear-themed activities on our trip to Bear Lake so Rhythm Bears fit in perfectly.

I turned on Rhythm Bears when I could tell the children were getting a little antsy. Rhythm Bears is all about drawing kids into the music with rhythmic call and response games so I knew it would help get their wiggles out. From my six year old to my almost two year old, all three children were clapping, stomping, playing percussion, and vocalizing to the beat. (Shhhh … don’t tell, but my husband got into a couple of the songs, too!) Our favorites were the Train Song, Kalimba, and Teddy Bear Picnic. I adore the children’s voices on the CD – certifiably darling, I tell you.

The style of the music is described as soulful folk hoedown. As a former folk dancer (surprise!), I loved all the different musical instruments introduced including harmonica, fiddle, acoustic guitar, acoustic bass, clarinet, kalimba, ukulele, and even didgeridoo. Each song features a new instrument and fun ways for children to play and sing along.

Kyler loved dancing to the music of Rhythm Bears

Rhythm Bears met our road trip test. We were able to listen to it on repeat for quite awhile without wanting to toss it out the window or hide it from the children. We even forgot to turn it off when the children fell asleep. That means it has my husband’s stamp of approval as well. Love adding fun and educational CDs to our road trip collection.

I received one or more of the products mentioned above for free using Tomoson.com. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers.

What are your favorite road trip CDs?

How do you entertain your little ones in the car?

The post On the road again – road trip music with Groove Kid Nation appeared first on KeepMovingForwardWithMe.