Hello from somewhere over the Atlantic Ocean! We touch down Friday morning and I can't wait to blog all about our trip! Thanks for stopping by...I will drop by your blog this weekend!
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Packing for one is hard enough…
Making sure your significant other is bring everything they need is twice as hard…
Packing for two kids on top of that feels like you are packing for an army!
For this trip, we decided to try Space Bags. These bags are great! We were able to squeeze ski clothes for four people into a medium sized suitcase.
Using three different Space Bags, we packed four heavy jackets (two adults and two children), four pairs of ski pants, three pairs of goggles, three pairs of mittens, two pairs of ski gloves, four scarves, and four hats!
Currently we have three suitcases, two carry-ons and two personal items. Our house looks like a hurricane has hit it!
We have also tried very hard this time to make sure that we do not overpack. We are probably underpacking. I have tried to look at everything that I want to bring differently. Instead of 8 pairs of pants, I am bringing 4 heavy duty ones. Instead of 10 shirts, I am bringing 5 with the intention of doing laundry every few days since we will have this luxury.
I guess that is what it is called! Imagine my surprise when I was exploring one of the travel blogs that I read regularly, Travels with Children,and saw a link to my post about thirteen things to do while traveling with small children in New Orleans. It was featured in Minnemom’s article, titled “Finding More Fun, 12/06/08“. I wish I had found the post earlier! Thanks so much!
We are halfway through the Passports with Purpose raffle! Check out the prizes that still don’t have any raffle tickets sitting in the virtual bucket!
Make sure you visit the prize page and make a donation to this great cause! You might be a winner!!!
On a side note, today begins my first day of the 30 days of Blogging challenge! We will see how I do! Stay tuned!
We will be traveling internationally in a few days and I am trying to figure out if we need to travel with the birth certificates. When we traveled a few years ago, we brought my son’s passport and his birth certificate but we never had to use it. I did a little searching and found mixed information. A lot of sites say the birth certificates are handy to have in case you need them, but other sites say that they are not necessary if you have a passport. Has anyone had any experience with this? Have you traveled and needed your child’s birth certificate or did the passport suffice?
We have been busy preparing for our trip…wrapping presents, picking up last minute travel things, charging batteries up, and checking the passports…900 times! The pictures I have included for Photo Friday, hosted by Delicious Baby, are from one of our Atlanta trips. Check out Delicious Baby to see great pictures from other travelers!
We went to the Georgia Aquarium while we were there. The Georgia Aquarium has some amazing exhibits. My son especially liked the whale sharks thanks to Go Diego Go! Unfortunately, the aquarium setup leaves a bit to be desired. You explore the exhibits off of a main room and it is sometimes difficult to get back to the main room due to the crowds. It is well worth the trip, but I recommend you make it on a weekday in the afternoon. In doing this, you will avoid the massive weekend crowds and the school trips. We waited and waited, but were glad we did! We also saw my mom’s family friend, Garrett Atkins (Go Rockies!!!), beat the Braves.
Jellyfish!
Go Garrett!
For Christmas last year, we went to Gatlinburg, TN. Gatlinburg is a beautiful city. Unfortunately we didn’t see a lot snow but the kids were able to go ice skating and feel the man made snow at the bottom of the ski slope. Downtown Gatlinburg is quite busy and I have to admit that it made me feel like I was on the strip in Panama City during Spring Break! That being said, it is a lovely part of town and is full of great little shops. We went to Dollywood and I took the kids ice skating.
Watching the Zamboni clean up the skating rink…a definite highlight for the week!
My sister and my husband eating snow rather than riding down the slopes!!
Running around and having some fun!
This is part of Photo Friday! Visit Delicious Baby to see photos from places all over the world.
Thirteen Things to do in New Orleans When Traveling With Small Children
1. Audubon Aquarium of the Americas — What a fantastic aquarium this was! It is a great place to get out of the hot (or cold) weather. See seahorses, white alligators, penguins and sea otters. You can also touch a stingray or a starfish. You can view an IMAX — our personal favorite–Hurricane on the Bayou or Bugs!
2. Zoo — After exploring the aquarium, head over to the zoo. If the paddle boat is running, buy a combo ticket and take the paddle boat to the zoo. It will drop you off at the back of zoo and take you back to the aquarium when you are finished. You will find river hogs, sea lions, jaguars, monkeys and rhinos!
3. The Quarter — The first place we always stop is to take a horse drawn carriage ride around the square! Make friends with the horse’s owner and your child might get to feed the horse a carrot!
4. Cafe du Monde — After you have walked around the quarter, take a rest at the cafe and have some world famous beignets. The kids will love them!
Have the wipes handy!
5. Streetcar — The kids will love a ride around town on a streetcar!
6. The French Market — A great place to pick up touristy items. Keep a close watch on your children and leave your stroller at home. During the peak season, it is crowded and hot. The aisles are tight, however this is not something you will want to miss! The deals are incredible.
7. Aunt Sally’s Pralines — Another great stop for a special treat. Watch them make pralines in the window and then go in and buy one for a quick snack! The gift shop is great and the divinity is divine!!
8. Swamp Boat Tour — Even though it is a little drive from downtown New Orleans, you will want to make the trip for a swamp boat tour. The kids will love seeing the gators swarm the boat and they might even get a chance to hold a baby gator!
9. The National World War II Museum — Great for the history buff! Meet with a volunteer World War II veteran!
10. Paddle boat down the Mississippi — The Steamboat Natchez is great for day cruises or dinner cruises. The boat travels up and down the Mississippi River while the captain points out various landmarks.
11. Riverwalk — Take the kids down along the Mississippi River to play in the grass, sit on a bench, or wander by the fountains. When you are finished go shopping in the Riverwalk Marketplace.
12. Bubba Gump Shrimp Company — This restaurant is kid-friendly, loud, and serves fantastic food! We love the shrimp!
13. New Orleans Ghost Tour — If your children are a bit older, they will love to take a spooky ghost tour. You will walk around the quarter while a tour guide tells you spooky stories about the different buildings and landmarks!
Get the Thursday Thirteen code here!
The purpose of the meme is to get to know everyone who participates a little bit better every Thursday. Visiting fellow Thirteeners is encouraged! If you participate, leave the link to your Thirteen in others’ comments. It’s easy, and fun! Trackbacks, pings, comment links accepted!
View More Thursday Thirteen Participants
So yesterday, I freaked out about how much luggage we are planning on taking to Europe with us. For part of the trip, we will be staying with family so we are going to have unlimited access to a washer and dryer. That being said, we are still taking two car seats, a suitcase full of ski stuff, Christmas presents for the whole family, and everything has to work in snowy weather! I called Delta yesterday and found out that for our ticket purchase timeframe, we are still able to bring 2 bags each. Since we had to buy four tickets (no more lap children for us), that is 8 bags total! Now, we are in no way planning on bringing that many pieces of luggage but it is nice to know that we can if we need to!
Stay tuned to find out how many bags we actually pack!
On a side note, Passports with Purpose is off to a fantastic start. I went to the First Giving page to check it out. In two days, Passports with Purpose has raised 810 dollars! How fantastic! I can’t wait to see what it raises over the next month. If you haven’t checked out the prize page yet, don’t forget to! There are some awesome prizes!
