Maiden voyage on the PF-Bobber

For the last month or two our family has really enjoyed fishing together. We pack up all of our fishing poles, tackle boxes, snacks and head to what my Hubby decides is THE BEST place to fish that day. It could be one of many places along the Columbia River, the Snake River, the Yakima River, or even a random pond around where we live. When we get there we set up our little fishing spot, pull out our fishing gear, and fish and fish and fish. Usually without any success. Although, Perry has been known to catch a frog or two.

So, for the last month Trevor (Hubby) has been doing countless hours of research on different boats and rafts. He was convinced that if we just had a small boat to get out ON the water we could start catching fish. So, for our anniversary last month I surprised him with the Excursion 5 from Amazon.

Of course, with our busy schedule we weren’t able to get it on the water until yesterday. We decided to go to the local mud hole and got it all set up. We were pleasantly surprised with how much room it had. It fits 5 of us pretty easily and it’s even pretty easy to maneuver. The first time off the dock it was just Trevor and Perry rowing with Nora, Dani and Stephie as their passengers and they didn’t have any problems (We bought an extra set of oars).

After a few times around the dock, us girls left Trevor and Perry there to fish ON the water. Low and behold, about 30 minutes later I got a text with the next picture… Perry caught a fish!

We all agree that the $125 price tag on this boat was worth it! Trevor even let me name it because I bought it for him. I had several names on my list of options but finally settled on the PF-Bobber.

We anticipate many more adventures on this little boat and highly recommend one for your family if you are looking for some easy and cheap family time.

How do you spend family time? Do you like to do things on the cheap like us? I’d love some more ideas.

Oregon Coast or Bust!

We are packed and ready to head off on our next adventure. You see, the Oregon Coast is our happy place! It is the place that reminds us that God’s mighty hand needs to be the guiding force in our lives. The ocean reminds us that we are so small and God is so great. Do you have a favorite vacation spot?

I’d love to share with you my most recent ah-ha discovery when it comes to packing for 8 people. Bins instead of luggage! It’s brilliant right?! Everything stacks nicely and I can fit 2 kids worth of clothing and shoes in one bin. As you can see some of the family has not bought into this idea yet but I bet they will by the next trip. I also packed all of our toiletries, curling irons, meds, etc into separate smaller bins that also stack great in the back. Add the stroller, a few odds and ends, and Monster’s metal detector and we are on our way.

Do you have a favorite packing tip? I’d love to hear from you.

Visit Boise Idaho without breaking the bank!

This last weekend we decided to take a small family trip to Boise from our hometown in southeast Washington to visit my father who has been in the hospital for a couple weeks. With some money saving ideas we were able to visit Grandaddy and make it a vacation. I wanted to share a few of the ways we were able to take this trip with a family of 6 (plus my mom) without spending a ton of money.

• Look online and plan out your hotel in advance. I was able to find a hotel for an average of $117/night for 1 room (we needed 2 because Grammy joined us).  I was able to get this rate because I did the entire booking online. That was a savings of almost $100/night. It included a warm breakfast including waffles, sausage, eggs, etc, a very nice indoor pool, hot tub, sauna, steam room, and workout center.

• Get a cargo carrier for your vehicle. In the past when Grammy joined us on vacations we needed to take a second vehicle (we have a Toyota Highlander that seats 8) because we couldn’t fit all of us and our luggage.  Recently I found a nice soft cargo carrier at a yard sale for just $20 and on this trip alone it saved us at least 2 tanks of gas in Grammy’s car. Ours is a lot like this one and as you can see it’s worth the savings with just a couple tanks of gas you didn’t have to buy.

• Research gas prices along your route. I will be honest I am not the one in our family that does this part, hubby does it. For instance on this trip gas was cheaper in Washington and Idaho so he was very careful not to need gas in Oregon. It isn’t a huge savings but a little bit can go a long way.

• Plan your meals. Obviously we were able to save a lot of money because the hotel had free breakfast and for dinners we got food we could cook at our hotel in the microwave. The first night we ate frozen pasta bowls and spent less than $3/ person on dinner. The second night we went to the store and got some finger foods and shared them in the hotel while we watched a movie. For lunches we did eat out because we were going from one attraction to another and didn’t want to take the time to make food. So one day we went to McDonald’s and the last day we had our first Chick-fit-A experience. Also, be sure to take along snacks so you aren’t tempted to pay convenience store prices.

• We were able to visit three of the main family attractions in Boise, World Center for Birds of Prey, Aquarium of Boise, and Zoo Boise. We were very impressed with the prices of each of these attractions and you would not have to do all of them in a single trip. The Birds of Prey exhibit was very neat as it houses many endangered birds and teaches about the importance of conservation. The Aquarium of Boise had a lot of touch pools with many different types of fish, sharks, and sting rays. Zoo Boise was my favorite. We have been to a few zoos in our day but this zoo offers a much more personal experience with the animals. We were able to be within a few feet of some of the most amazing animals on earth, where at bigger zoos the animals are a fair distance away and you don’t necessarily get to see their size and colors up close. We also got to feed a sloth bear for just $3 (we bought one cup of meal worms and shared) and you could also pay $3 to feed a giraffe (we weren’t there long enough for giraffe feeding time)!

• We also really like to take advantage of small stops on our way to and from our destination. On our way home from Boise we found a beautiful bridge with a gorgeous view in Perry Oregon. Had we not been willing to go a couple miles off the highway to this view point we would never have see this part of God’s beauty.

  If you have any great ways of saving money on family vacations I would love to hear them!

~Amanda

 

 

 

Beating Summer Boredom

I’m Bored… How many times do you think you will hear that this summer?

Now, I am not one to think it is my job to keep my kids entertained every minute of summer, but I do try to help them find ways to use their boredom to be creative. So, this summer we have decided to put together art books. I find art projects and lessons on Pinterest then make an example and teach my kids how to do the project. Today I will share with you the first 3 projects of our art books.

1. Watercolor Shapes-  What we used: a blank piece of white copy paper, a small card board circle, a medium cardboard circle, a rectangle, crayola watercolors, a black sharpie and a pencil. First, We traced around the shapes with the pencil until we achieved the look we wanted. I traced the shapes for the younger kids as they weren’t able to hold the shape still and trace it without the shape moving. Next, we filled each space with it’s own color. After all the paint was dry we went over each line again with with the sharpie.

What we learned: use card stock instead of copy paper and to achieve darker colors use less water in your watercolor.

 

2. African Akuaba Doll scratch art- What we used: Card stock, 96 count crayola crayons, black acrylic paint, sponge paint brush, a paper plate (to put the paint on) and a thick nail. First we colored all over the card stock with the crayons. As you can see there is no specific way to color your paper. Next, cover the paper with a thin/medium coat of black paint using the sponge paint brush. Allow the paint to dry overnight.

After the paint is dry use the nail to scratch off the paint in the shape of an African Akuaba Doll.

What we learned: doing this project later in the evening will be easier if you are expecting a younger child to be patient waiting for paint to dry, it is easier to lightly draw the doll with a ball point pen and then scratch off the paint, every few scratches rub the scratch with the tip of your finger so the paint doesn’t peel too much and you may want to go over the scratches with the end of a pair of scissors to make them thicker.

3.Oil Pastel flowers on black construction paper- What we used: oil pastels and black construction paper. For this project the only instructions I gave were to color a flower/flowers and take up as much of the black paper as they could.

What we learned: you can use a paper towel to smudge the pastels to give it a much different look and using light and dark colors together makes the oil pastels stand out better.

After we are finished with our projects we put them in clear plastic sheet protectors and place them in our individual art books. Below is an example of the binders we are using for our books. We purchased them for only $.88 at Walmart.

How are you helping your kids beat the summer boredom?

Family Adventure!

We love adventures! Our summer goal is to go on as many road trips and family adventures as possible. Well, school got out on Friday, June 10th and we went on our first family adventure on Monday, June 13th.

We decided to head East and check out the Fort Walla Walla Museum for our first adventure. We all love history and being from the Pacific Northwest we REALLY love to learn about the history of our area. This museum is packed full of awesome information about both World Wars, local agriculture, military, transportation, an old time pioneer village and much more.

Our favorite part of the museum was the pioneer village. There are 15 original buildings from around the Walla Walla area that have been filled with real artifacts, making the little village seem so real. Seeing all of the the tools, furniture, and clothing made it easier to imagine how the old pioneers lived. We highly recommend this museum to anyone looking for a day trip from the Tri-Cities or any other city near Walla Walla. The only thing we would do differently next time is bring our own lunch and picnic at the play area instead of spending $60 at a restaurant.

On our way to Walla Walla we happened upon a small sign that said “Blue Mountain Lavender Farm 4 miles.” So, on our way home we decided to drive the 4 miles and check it out. We were so glad we did! It was a cute little house and the backyard had several rows of lavender. They had lavender lemonade samples and a cute little lavender themed boutique where you could by soap, lavender wands, and much much more.

A few of their lavender rows are you-pick. They provide the scissors and you cut your own bundle of lavender for just $7/bundle. We came home with 2 bundles, a couple items from the boutique and some great memories. We will definitely go back soon!

Be sure to check back often to see what we are up to this summer.

Here are the kids with the lavender bundles we picked.

In this picture the kids are checking out the replica prison at the museum.

Summer Dream

Schools out for SUMMER!  My kiddos last day of school was today.  I am finding it hard to admit that next September I will have an 8th grader, a 3rd grader, and two 1st graders. However, I’m sure by August we will all be ready for a little more routine back in our lives, but for now we are dreamin’…

We sat down together after school today, wrote out our “summer dreams” and put them on this awesome board (made by my awesome co-worker).  We talked about all of the fun things we wanted to do, both together as a family and individually. I felt like putting them on paper and hanging them at the top of the stairs would be a great way to keep them at the forefront of our minds, give us something to look f.orward to, and give the kids a reason to get their summer chores done each day.

A couple of my favorites include, going camping, going to the hydroplane races, and staying home and doing nothing, picked out by my only introverted child 🙂 What is on your Summer Dream list?
Here is what ours looks like..