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  • Family Travel, Giveaway, Sponsored

    3 Things To Do With Kids In St. Louis + Win A Two-Night Stay

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    So we’re here, right on the verge of the summer travel season and I know you’re scrambling to figure out what fun family trips you should take this year. Or is that just me? Please say no. Anywho, I am excited to get out the explore new places with my family this year.  We haven’t made any definite decisions yet but we are really open. Since the summer is the only time I would ever consider visiting the Midwest (y’all know how much I hate cold weather), I am looking at all the possibilities there. St. Louis is a city that always seemed interesting (maybe that’s the Nelly effect?) and a family trip there looks like it can be fun. I wanted to share a few cool things to do with kids in St. Louis that would keep them so distracted that they wouldn’t even think about playing on your phone (don’t you hate seeing kids on their phone while on vacation?):

    kiasedonaforroadtrips

     

    1. Butterfly House

    I’m not sure if I am excited about the Butterfly House more for myself or for my kids but I would probably visit even if I didn’t have my children. There are over 1000 species of butterflies here and get this, a firefly festival during the summer. Can we say fun?

    2. Six Flags St. Louis

    Six Flags St. Louis

    It’s not truly summer if you don’t hit up an amusement park. Apparently, the Six Flags in St. Louis offers some pretty thrilling rides which I know my husband is always down for…maybe this year he will finally talk me into joining him.

    3. The Magic House, St. Louis Children’s Museum

    If you’re a regular reader of this blog, you would know that we never visit a city without checking out their children’s museum(s). The Magic House would definitely be on our itinerary for St. Louis. Their exhibits look that they would be fun for both my 2-year-old and 5-year-old. Mixing learning with fun is always a plus.

    This is just a sample of the fun your family can have St. Louis. You can find 25 really cool ideas for your clan here including the St. Louis zoo and more.

    St. Louis with kids

    #FunnestFamily Contest

    Okay, so we are finally at the best part of this post! Explore St. Louis is hosting the #FunnestFamily Contest. To enter, you can share your family’s “funnest” picture or video with the hashtag #FunnestFamily on Instagram, Twitter or on the Explore St. Louis Facebook page. The contest ends 6/30/16. One entry per person.Head over to the contest landing page here for more details.

    One lucky winner will get:

    • A two-night stay at a St. Louis area hotel.
    • Tickets to several St. Louis attractions for the family.
    • $50 Visa gift card.

    Good luck and don’t forget to enter here!

  • Baby, Family Travel, Lifestyle, Mother's Day, New Mom, Sponsored

    A Pretty Great Mother’s Day Video

    I am so excited to share with you mamas that I am going to be partnering with Embassy Suites by Hilton this year, as part of their #prettygreat travel hacks program. Our family’s adventures are always fun and we create so many beautiful memories that I am happy to take you along with us for the ride and share tons of hacks along the way.

    Speaking of rides, before we set out on this year’s travel adventures, I wanted to share this pretty great video from Embassy Suites by Hilton celebrating Mother’s Day.

    It’s a surprising ride.

    It’s a terrifying ride.

    It’s a wonderful ride.

    It’s a pretty great ride. 

    Isn’t that the truth? Motherhood is the bravest ride I’ve ever taken and like the moms in the video, the scariest part is that I am in the drivers seat. Sometimes I don’t know where I am going but I try my best not to panic and to allow my internal GPS to guide me. So far, it looks  like we are heading in the right direction.

    What’s your favorite part of the video?

  • Activities, Lifestyle, Motherhood, Sponsored

    5 Ways to Celebrate Summer Indoors With Kids

    This is a sponsored post. However, all opinions expressed are my own. 

    Woot! Woot! Summer is only one month away and my little ones are very excited. As you will see, we have a really fun summer planned but if it’s one thing that I’ve learned over the past few years as a mom is that it’s important to always have some cool indoor activities for rainy or cool summer days. The warm toasty summer weather that most of my friends in the south are already enjoying is always fashionably late to New York City so we have to be creative. Our little crew refuses to allow the weather to shade our indoor sunshine so we decided on 5 fun ways to celebrate summer indoors to have an indoor celebration when it’s raining or not so warm outside. Here are 5 fun things to do indoor with kids instead of sitting at the window stressing about the weather:

    Summer-indoor-fun

    1. Throw a concert.

    There isn’t a kid who doesn’t get excited about a mic in their hands. Even a shy kid would enjoy a little concert performing for the family, lip-syncing to their favorite songs. Make the experience even better by letting the kids design and make their costumes.

    2. Ice Cream.  

    On rainy days, we can’t run outside to get an ice cream cone from the ice cream truck so having a little ice cream in the freezer is compulsory.

    indoor-summer-fun-kids

    For instance, yesterday was really rainy here in New York City, so we played around with summer toys and indulged in the new Nestlé® Drumstick® S’mores which comes in three delicious flavors: Toasted Marshmallow with Fudge, Toasted Marshmallow and Chocolate Marshmallow.

    Nestle-Smores-Drumstiks

    My son is a huge fan and he’s looking forward to trying out all of the flavors in the Smores variety box. My personal favorite was the Nestlé® Drumstick® Toasted Marshmallow with Fudge.

    marshmellow-fudge-smore

    The taste of marshmallow flavored ice cream, a rich graham cracker, chocolatey coating is very delicious. So yum!

    3. Summer Crafts Competition.

    Set up a competition for your kids with a cool reward. For example, whoever makes the brightest sun or uses shells from your family’s beach trip to make the coolest necklace is the winner. This is a great way to keep your little ones busy, get their creative juices flowing and keep their minds off of going outside.

    4. Host a fashion show.

    Fashion shows are really fun!  My daughter loves to play fashion show and we really have fun with it. I usually allow her to pick out her outfit. She gets to not only show off her outfit but to describe it to her “audience”

    5. Play with outdoor summer toys indoors. 

    I’m usually a stickler for playing with outdoor toys only outdoors but on rainy days this summer, I am going to let up on the kids and let them have fun with their bubbles and pool toys. Even if it’s for only a few supervised minutes.

    So those are 5 ways to enjoy summer indoors with kids. If you have any other ideas feel free to share it with us.concert

    I was selected for this opportunity as a member of Clever Girls and the content and opinions expressed here are all my own.