Children's Garden at Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis

One of the greatest challenges of traveling with a child Little Arrow's age (16 months) is that they have a never-ending need to move. Even more so when a toddler is cursed with blessed by a rambunctious personality like he has.

During our 8-hour drive to Lake of the Ozarks in Missouri last week, I knew I needed to plan the a good break point for him to really get his fill of exploration on his own two feet (and out of his car seat). Fortunately, recommendations for the Children's Garden at the Missouri Botanical Garden in St. Louis popped up from two of my go-to family travel blogs, The Mother of All Trips and Visit Flyover Country.

My husband was convinced I merely wanted to visit one more botanical garden in my quest to see them all. Always a naysayer, that guy!

Unfortunately, we didn't have enough time to explore much of the gardens outside of the children's area. But I can still attest that this is an ideal outing with two little ones. We parked the stroller at the entrance to the children's garden (which is completely gated off from the rest of the park), and let the boys loose for several hours.

The Children's Garden is a pretty amazing play area, coming from a mom who knows her way around a playground or two.

I loved how this tree house was tucked away for kids to climb up to.

Advantages of All Inclusive Family Holiday Deals

The following post was supplied by the Direct Holidays travel website. I'm still learning all about the concept of European "holidays!"

It’s no wonder more and more people are choosing to stay within the UK for their summer vacation,
nowadays. With the cost of some holidays through the roof, it can be a little frustrating when you
have to be frugal. It’s easy to get carried away when considering a summer holiday, with activities
and meals and full itineraries. If you want to have the opportunity of escaping home turf this year, be
sensible and take a look at the various holiday deals online.

You may be surprised at what you can afford, especially when you consider what all inclusive holiday deals actually entail. Sure, the initial outlay may be more than what you’d usually spend, but if you break down what’s included, you’ll be pleasantly surprised at how much such a vacation saves you.

Think about it – when you do manage to go abroad for your holidays, it’s not just the cost of a flight and accommodation that hits you. Whether you’re in a half board hotel or self catering apartments, you still have to find the money to feed yourselves. That ice cream your daughter would love? The can of pop you would like to quench your thirst? It all adds up and your spending money will be gone in no time.

Hiking at Muscatatuck Wildlife Refuge

In preparation for our move to England, we haven't been doing much exploring or traveling (aside from our trip to Missouri earlier this week... I can't wait to share more about that!). There just seems to be so many tasks that need to be done around here, and we're saving as much of my husband's vacation time as we can for exploring Europe.

But a few weeks ago, I was desperate for a day out. I wanted to be reminded of how fun my kids are, away from battles over the same toy, 4 a.m. wakeups, and food being flung from high chairs. In other words, we needed a break from the day-to-day routine.

It was a sunny and unseasonably warm Saturday in early March. The hiking trail at Muscatatuck National Wildlife Refuge in Seymour, Indiana was calling out to us.

It's one of our favorite places. As is usually the case there, we didn't see another soul until the volunteer at the nature center greeted us. Instead, we shared the trail with sunshine reflected on lazy steams of water.

Minted.com Review and Giveaway

I am far from an interior decorator, but I do enjoy adorning my walls with travel memories. My dining room features a canvas print of this picture. My living room is decked out in photos I have taken on various trips to Europe. My hallway has black and white prints from Paris. When we decorated Big Arrow's big boy room, we chose airplanes as a theme. We use a blanket my husband got in India as our bedspread. I love to be inspired by and reminded of travel adventures all over my home.

Because of our upcoming move to England, one of my goals for 2013 has been to be braver. I know this experience will force me out of my comfort zone in so many ways. But I want to embrace the experience with open arms. When else in our lives will we have this chance? One way to encourage this is to, once again, surround myself with positive messages.

So when minted.com (you might know the site as a popular place for wedding invitations) contacted me to host a review and giveaway, the first thing I did was type "travel" into their search feature. When this print popped up, I knew it had to be the first thing to hang on the walls of our new home in England:

We're Heading Back to England... And Plan to Stay Awhile

As you may have read, a couple of months ago my husband and I traveled to England without our sons. And while it was a kid-free getaway, it also involved househunting, school touring and attempting to learn to drive on the other side of the road.

Because we're moving to England!

My husband works for a large, Fortune 500 company. And while working for "the man" (as I like to tease him) has its drawbacks, one of the perks was that we might have an opportunity to move internationally for a period of time. We've desired that kind of experience for our family for years. With facilities all over the world, we didn't know where or when something would come our way. And then I got the text that changed our lives back in November when he was there on a routine business trip.

(Please note my husband's calm, matter-of-fact tone, complete with practical details like train ride duration. Then note my tone. It appears I'm having a panic attack. This is us in a nutshell.)

And now here we find ourselves, planning to set off "across the pond" for the next three years.

A little FAQ to sum up the situation:

Mad About March

It's March Madness, and this is Indiana... so what else would I post on a Friday other than this?

From my son's preschool field trip to Hackman's Farm Market. No barn in the Hoosier state is worth its wooden exterior without a hoop, right?

In all seriousness, our family basically closes up shop and shuts down business for the NCAA men's basketball tournament. Afterall, my degree hails from basketball powerhouse and small-school-done-good Butler University.

Enjoy the tournament, whoever you cheer for! (As long as they're not playing my Dawgs...)

What We Spent on Spring Break

Cost of family travel is a common topic among parents. And this recent article in the New York Times definitely got the family travel blog group I'm a part of buzzing. In it, $4,500 is given as the cost of a "budget" trip for spring break.

Say what?! I don't know about you, but $4,500 and "budget" don't belong in the same sentence as far as I'm concerned. So I thought I'd take a look back at what our trip to Florida for spring break last year cost our family of four.

I outline our expenses below. You'll see that we spent well under $2,000. And by no means did we keep a tight watch on our wallets while there. We ate out often (at least once each day, usually at sit-down restaurants). We still went to major attractions, like the Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa. And we stayed in a 2-bedroom condo across from the beach. I didn't even really think of this as a budget trip. 

In fact, this was the most expensive trip we took all year. The rest of our travels in 2012 involved driving, staying with family, or both. So we were comfortable taking on the expense of this vacation, knowing that our other travels were significantly less.

COSTS for 2012 Trip to Madeira Beach, Florida

DAY 1

Dinner out at sit-down restaurant:                                                                                        $50
Groceries:                                                                                                                                  $103
(included diapers, wine, beer and beach toys in addition to food supplies)

DAY 2

Toll at Fort De Soto Park:                                                                                                          $0.50
Lunch at sit-down restaurant:                                                                                                  $45
Dinner (pizza take-out) :                                                                                                            $14

Day 3

Expenses at Farmer’s Market:                                                                                                   $10
($5 for 2 empanadas, $5 donation for balloon animal)
Lunch at sit-down restaurant:                                                                                                    $32
Dinner at sit-down restaurant:                                                                                                  $60

Day 4

Zoo admission:                                                                                                                              $48
Lunch at zoo cafe:                                                                                                                         $27
Seafood dinner take-out:                                                                                                            $48
Ice cream:                                                                                                                                      $10

Day 5

Lunch at sit-down restaurant:                                                                                                     $35

General

Equipment rental:                                                                                                                         $48
(Included jogging stroller, baby swing and pack n play. $48 is after I used a $20 gift card.)

Rental Car:                                                                                                                                      $306
(included 2 car seats for 5 days)

Vacation rental:                                                                                                                             $406
(2 BR, 1 bath condo across the street from beach for 4 nights)

Flight to/from Indianapolis/Tampa for 3 people + 1 lap child:                                               $538      
1 checked bag:                                                                                                                      $40 ($20 each way)

TOTAL:                                                                                                                                             $1820.50

You spent HOW MUCH to take me to Florida?

Ways we saved:

·        Free fun at places like Fort De Soto Park and hours spent on the beach across from our condo.

·        A trip to the grocery store meant we always ate breakfast at the condo and the adults had an adult beverage each night when kids were in bed, instead of drinking at restaurants or bars.

·        We stayed across the street from the beach instead of beach front. We also only stayed 4 nights instead of a full week. With kids so young, we find this is a good length of time. Plus, my husband doesn't have to use as many vacation days and we can take additional trips throughout the year.

·        Our condo did not have a pool, which was a huge price break when comparing similar properties in the area.
 

·       My parents dropped us off and picked us up at the airport, so we had no parking expenses.

Ways we splurged:

·       We rented car seats, a stroller, pack n play and baby swing. We also checked a bag. I despise lugging stuff through the airport and it was much easier to have those items waiting for us upon arrival.

·       Our 2-bedroom condo. We avoid staying in hotels for more than just a night or two because our kids are so young. Everyone sleeps much better this way.

·       When pricing flights, there were several options that had one stop which were $50-$100 less than the direct flight we booked. But it was so nice to have my toes in the sand within hours of leaving Indy.

·       We love to eat out when on vacation, so while we could have had more lunches and dinners at our condo, we enjoy trying out great restaurants in the area.
 

You can't put a price tag on memories like this.

 

This post is a part of Travel Tips Tuesday at Walking on Travels and Suitcases and Sippy Cups.