Taos {Town Visit}

On one day of Snowcamp we took a break from skiing and spent the day wandering around the town of Taos. Taos has a really cute downtown square area with all kinds of shops, restaurants and galleries. (LOTS of galleries) We ate lunch at La Cueva which was delicious.  I had shrimp tacos, which I …

crepe stand, taos ski valley

Taos Mountain Crepes and Coffee

With around 8 chairlifts (not including three beginner lifts), Taos Ski Valley is not a giant mountain, but there are still some great spots to stop in for a little mid-morning snack or a late afternoon coffee. Growing up I never used to stop while skiing.  My dad is of the throw-a-smashed-pb&j-in-your-pocket-and-eat-it-on-the-lift school of thought …

camp meals, summer sausage, cheese and crackers, blue tin bowl

Camping Menus

  Last summer, when we went on our annual two week camping trip to Colorado, I really tried to document our Camping Menus. We are always so hungry at camp from hiking and being outside, so the food is one of our favorite parts! This first picture is a standard lunch meal for us: a …

North Korea

Since reading The Orphan Master’s Son, I have picked up several other books on North Korea.  All of a sudden it’s like I CAN. NOT. LOOK. AWAY. I am obsessed.  The escape stories.  The starvation in camps stories.  The day to day COMPLETE LACK OF FREEDOM.  Every time I think I have read the worst …

Heifer Village

[pe2-image src=”http://lh6.ggpht.com/-UAVbq0XoGA8/U6p0db2aW8I/AAAAAAAAUZ4/DLhG3wrFP8I/s144-c-o/IMG_6246.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/201303HeiferVillage2012LRZoo#6028759100229835714″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_6246.JPG” ] One of Little Rock’s best outings is a visit to the Heifer Village downtown. Heifer Village is next to the main building for Heifer Project, an Arkansas based nonprofit working to end hunger. [pe2-image src=”http://lh3.ggpht.com/-3lvMw_YcELQ/U6p1A41JLJI/AAAAAAAAUZI/eesosnAlNK8/s144-c-o/IMG_6256.JPG” href=”https://picasaweb.google.com/100212479652479288017/201303HeiferVillage2012LRZoo#6028759709304564882″ caption=”” type=”image” alt=”IMG_6256.JPG” ] Here is a description from their website: Heifer …

venice, venice from the bridge of sighs, venice architecture, canals, mediterranean cruise, carnival, cruise ports

Venice, Italy

Venice, Italy: A Few First Impressions This post is part of a continuing series about a Mediterranean Cruise I took with my thirteen year old daughter in the fall of 2012.  Today I am talking about Venice! You’ve seen Venice in movies, pictures and books all of your life, but still, there is nothing quite …

Let Freedom Sing

Let Freedom Sing is a new book this season about the Civil Rights Movement.  Vanessa Newton is the author and illustrator of this striking picture book. The story follows the major events of the Movement where individuals let their lights shine, beginning with Rosa Parks and ending with Lyndon B. Johnson’s signing the Civil Rights …

the orphan master's son, adam johnson, north korea books, novels

The Orphan Master’s Son

  The Orphan Master’s Son by Adam Johnson is a thrilling, stay-up-until-you-can-not-hold-your-eyes-open tale of a young boy who is searching for meaning (and just trying to stay alive) in the most repressive nation of our time. Set in modern day North Korea, The Orphan Master’s Son reads like a futuristic George Orwell novel.  I kept …

National Civil Rights Museum

I mentioned briefly last week that we visited the National Civil Rights Museum in Memphis, Tennessee. When you walk up to the museum, almost the first thing you see is this balcony where Martin Luther King Jr was shot and killed on April 4, 1968. Inside the museum we watched a film about Martin Luther …

Mediterranean Cruise Ports, Dubrovnik, Croatia, Old City, European Travel, Mediterranean Cruise

Snapshots of Dubrovnik, Croatia

    If you are planning a Mediterranean Cruise in the near future, you should know, The Port of Dubrovnik, Croatia is worth the price of your entire cruise. So make sure it’s on your ports of call when you book. Settled on the Adriatic Sea coast of Croatia, this little gem of a port …

Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See?

Since we saw the pandas at the Memphis Zoo on Sunday, we’ve been reading this Bill Martin Jr/Eric Carle treasure, Panda Bear, Panda Bear, What Do You See? I love all the books in this series, but this one uses all endangered animals, so it is a great learning tool. The way these books progress …

Potato Kale Soup, Italian Sausage, Recipes with Kale, Soup for Dinner, Soup for Winter, What's For Dinner, Easy Dinners

Potato Kale Soup with Italian Sausage

This potato kale soup with Italian sausage is a standby at our house for years since a friendly neighbor gave me the recipe. The kids request it if it’s been several weeks since it’s been on the table.  It mimics Olive Garden’s Zuppa Toscana, but they also add bacon to their soup.  I added the …

weekend in memphis, memphis with kids, memphis hotel, memphis activities, peabody

Snapshots of Memphis

The kids had some extra days off for Presidents’ Day, so my mom and I threw the boys in the car and took off for a weekend in Memphis. We left early Saturday morning and drove straight to the National Civil Rights Museum.The main building of this museum is closed for renovations until January 2014, …

A Long Walk To Water, Linda Sue Park, children's novels

A Long Walk To Water

At the recommendation of a favorite teacher, I picked up A Long Walk to Water by Linda Sue Park for the kids at the library. It is based on the true story of one of the lost boys of Sudan, who leaves his village during an attack.  He is separated from his family and left …

bonhoeffer biography, bonhoeffer, eric metaxas, books, book and tea, lovely combo

Bonhoeffer

In January I joined up with a fellow blogger who was hosting a read-along of Bonhoeffer’s biography by Eric Metaxas with the understanding that we would post our thoughts on the first half of this book today and then do the same for the second half of the book on March 15. I’m so grateful …

Ruby Bridges, Civil RIghts for Kids, Children's Books, Robert Coles, Through My Eyes

Ruby Bridges

A few weeks ago for Martin Luther King Jr Day, we watched the movie, Ruby Bridges. It is such a wonderful movie.  Mary Polly first saw it in elementary school and so we checked it out at the library and watched it as a family after she told us about it.  Simon was a baby …