Five U.S. Travel Books Kids Will Love

Our children have always enjoyed reading and will spend hours a day reading, no matter where we are. Fortunately, they can read in the car and we often make a big Barnes and Noble order before a road trip. And while they mainly stick to fictional series, they do like to take a break for a puzzle or a game, or ask us trivia.  This week, we’re sharing some of our favorite travel books. You’ll notice a common theme of the National Park system, one of our favorite destinations on any road trip. (You can read about some of the dozens of posts featuring National Parks and National Park service sites here). And be sure to check out the special giveaway at the bottom of the post.

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Holiday Gift Guide 2022

The “gift of time” has always been one of my favorite phrases and one of my life mantras; I believe that spending time with someone is the greatest gift. I’ve been on a mission recently to pare down our possessions (aka get.rid.of.all.the.things) and have really adopted the “less is more” mentality.  I truly believe that the one of the greatest gifts we can give someone is to spend time with them.  It is in this spirit that I am (again) sharing a “gift guide” of sorts with ideas that inspire time together. We also think many of these ideas support local and small businesses, which is always a priority for us. 

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Holiday Gift Guide 2020: “The Gift of Time”

“The gift of time” is one of my favorite phrases; I truly believe that the one of the greatest gifts we can give someone is to spend time with them. This past year, we may have spent more time at home than on the road “adventuring”, but even at home, the gift of time was well spent reconnecting in ways that didn’t involve screens! This year, for our annual gift guide (check out our previous Holiday Gifts Guides from 2019, 2018, 2017), we are using the theme of the gift of time for the focus of our gift giving family and friends.

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Holiday Gift Guide 2019

It’s the most wonderful time of year- a time for thanksgiving, celebrations, and gift giving! Since my children were born, my husband and I have made a conscience effort to “gift” our children with experiences over tangible items. The material possessions we do gift them are purposeful- educational, enriching, and challenging. The past two years we have shared some suggestions (you can read my 2018 and 2017 gift guides) and this year we’d like to continue the tradition with some new ideas for the children in your life. And read to the end, we’ve got a GIVEAWAY TO LEGOLAND DISCOVERY CENTER!

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Holiday Gift Guide 2018

It’s “the most wonderful time of the year”!!!! I love purchasing gifts for other people- it truly makes me happy when I find something for a family member or friend that I think they will love. I know the most popular holidays for gift giving are still more than a month away, but I also know some people (like myself) like to get an early start. My 2017 Holiday Gift Guide remains one of my most popular posts, so I thought I would offer some additional suggestions for 2018.

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6 Ways, Besides Photographs, to Preserve Your Travel Memories

I love photos; I am convinced I am Shutterfly’s #1 customer. Not only do I print photos, but I also create lots of gifts and mementos of our travels through Shutterfly.  Look for an upcoming post on using Shutterfly to create unique memories of your travels. I also scrapbook, both as a hobby and as a way to preserve our family memories for my children. I literally have dozens of scrapbooks filled with thousands of photos. But today, I want to focus on things you can collect while you’re traveling so you have tangible reminders of your travels.. Many of these items can be displayed in a variety of unique ways so that they do not turn into clutter. Here are my top 6 favorite keepsakes:

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