Binkies and Briefcases

This has been our best family vacation summer yet! We spent last weekend without tv, without tablets, and without anything else that started with a lowercase i in front of it (except my phone because I was using it as a camera to capture our memories). Remember when I told you about the Encore resort where we stayed in Florida? The same company reached out to our family and told us about another resort they have just 45 minutes from our house! This time we had the chance to stay in a the charming Country House at the Spring Gulch resort in New Holland, which is in the heart of Pennsylvania Dutch country in Lancaster area. So, of course I jumped at the chance to see this awesome vacation spot so close to home. Thank you to Encore for working with me once again! 

Spring Gulch is a family resort that offers spots for camping in tents or RVs, cabin or chalet rentals, and a few rental homes as well. We were taking five kids and a few adults along with us, so we decided to stay in the Country House. It was a perfect choice for our family. This is a four-bedroom house that sleeps up to 12. There were 2 single beds and 5 double beds throughout the house. It also had two bathrooms, a living room, and a full kitchen.  [Read more…]

I would like to thank Dutch Wonderland for inviting our family to their kid-friendly amusement and water park in Lancaster, PA this summer. We had an amazing time! 

I love Dutch Wonderland because of its manageable size, family-friendly environment, and because they really do have something there that EVERY member of the family can enjoy. (My personal favorite is the diving shows.) Plus, can we talk about all the shade trees all around the property? That alone makes such a difference when you are outside in 90+ degree weather in July.  And I love that the water park area, Duke’s Lagoon, is included in the cost of your ticket. 

I think Penny might have been a little excited about the merry-go-round. 

But there was plenty to do for everyone else as well. 

Obviously, I highly recommend Dutch Wonderland. But getting ready to go on a family vacation, whether it is for a whole week or even for just one day, as a foster family does present some unique challenges. Today I want to share a few tips that worked for us on our visit to Dutch Wonderland and some things I wish we would have thought to do in advance. Some of these tips are specific to foster families, but many of them apply to biological families as well.  [Read more…]

I love our large pantry, I really do. But if you are anything like me, then every time you try to organize your pantry it is a pretty spectacular failure. Not this time, though. I think I finally got it right. And just so you know, I am not exaggerating. The pantry was HORRIBLE. Eight people are currently living in our house. And this is what the pantry looked like. 

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