When Amazon Kids asked us to come up with a fun project to share for the debut of their new Original series, Lost in Oz, now available on Prime Video, my mind went straight to our recently discovered passion for letterboxing. Are you letterboxing? You need to be letterboxing! It’s so much fun and it’s the perfect hobby for kids who are adventurous problem solvers just like Dorothy.
When Dorothy finds her mother’s magic travel journal, she is transported to Oz. In order to return home, she must find every element on Oz’s Periodic Table of Magic. Check it out…
Dorothy’s story reminds me of the adventures we have had letterboxing this summer. Letterboxing has been around for almost 20 years but somehow I’ve managed to miss out on all the fun until now. If you loved the rock painting/hiding/finding craze that took over this year, then this takes that to the next level.
Basically you use clues to search for hidden weatherproof boxes containing special rubber stamps. Once you find one, you add a stamp to your own letterbox journal to grow your collection. It’s the perfect way to get active and “search for magic” in your own world.
Scarlet and I have been having an amazing summer. She’s nine (!) so we’re halfway done with summer breaks. Gah! I try to make every minute count… until I’m exhausted, and then I sleep. Then I wake up and remember: Only 8 more summers to go! This line of thinking keeps me inspired to spend as much time together as possible with the little love of my life, Scarlet. So a few weeks ago we flew down to Puerto Vallarta (only 2.5 hours from LA), rented a car, and hit the road to drive up the coast of Nayarit. You may be thinking “Driving through Mexico?!? Isn’t that dangerous??” You may be right, but it’s not as scary as you think. We had a 98% awesome experience driving through Nayarit, with one pretty serious bump in the road. I’ll tell you about it when we get to that point. So here’s what we did on our adventure: I would do it all over again, and Scarlet agrees. If you’re looking for a unique perspective on how to travel to and experience Riviera Nayarit – getting outside of the resorts and getting a taste of actual Mexico – you’ve come to the right place. I’m not gonna sugar coat it for you – there are plusses and minuses to doing it this way, but I have to say I would rather do it this way or not do it at all, despite everything that happened.
Get the full scoop on driving through Nayarit after the jump… (more…)
AHHHH! Tomato season is here!!!! So much fresh garden bounty! Gather it up and make this fresh tomato soup recipe… It’s a beautiful thing, right? Holding those bright red babies in your hands? I’m just chomping at the bit for tomato recipes as all of my varieties start giving up their sweet fruit. Of course you can save your tomatoes for later in the year by canning them – just head over to our ever-popular post on How to Can Tomatoes (Without a Canner).
If you aren’t feeling up to all the work (it’s easy, but time consuming), go ahead and make this fresh tomato soup recipe. Most recipes call for canned tomatoes, and that’s great, but why not make some cozy delicious tomato soup with fresh tomatoes? It’s easy and extra tasty, I promise, but the technique is a little different. I made this recipe for soup from fresh tomatoes for my in-laws, nieces, and nephews with some grilled cheese paninis last weekend and they all told me I should start selling the soup. I feel like selling soup is hard, but making soup is easy. So here’s my recipe for Tomato Soup from Fresh Tomatoes. Mess around with it as you will, to suit your tastes, but this is a good basic starting point and just the way my family likes it. (more…)
Joshua Tree is a magical place. You hear that, and you believe it, but then you go there and you really feel it. It’s one part nature, one part outer space, and some third indefinable part that seems to come from the dry desert air or the general hippy vibe. It’s a place where kids can really feel that they’re standing on Earth, and that the Earth beneath their feet stretches out in every direction, encompassing a wondrous and mysterious planet. So let’s go over what to do in Joshua Tree with kids.
So I took my kid out to Joshua Tree, where we met some friends and their kids who came from Los Angeles like us, and some other friends who came all the way from Chicago, and we made some new friends who traveled all the way across the pond from London. We had a truly fantastic time. Here’s what to do when you take your kids to Joshua Tree.
First things first, be prepared with WATER. So much water. So much more than you think you will need. Even getting in and out of the car will dry you out, the air is dry, the weather is hot, and you will always need more water than you think you will. The rule of the desert is TURN AROUND when your water is half gone. This is SO KEY. People die in the desert all the time. The number of people we saw on the trails without water was astounding. So take note and bring so much water.
Where to Stay: You can air bnb a lot of really cool homes. You can camp in the park (make your reservation months and months in advance!). Spin and Margie’s Desert Hideaway is pretty cool. But for a group of kids, I recommend Hicksville Trailer Palace. I can’t give you the address (they keep it a secret until right before your trip), but it’s close enough to the park entrance to allow you easy enough access and far enough into the desert to feel perfect isolation. It’s a collection of trailers surrounding a pool. Bring your own food to grill and firewood, and of course some wine and beer. There’s mini golf, ping pong, and some arcade games for the kids too. They’ve got a tee-pee you can light a fire in, and a library full of books for the kids. Also bb guns and archery, which was a blast. We stayed in the trailer called the Fifi, because we call Scarlet “Fifi.” Don’t ask me why, I don’t know. We just started calling her that and it stuck. This is our trailer… And this is my Fifi.
What to Do: In Joshua Tree, you should stop by the Noah Purifoy Outdoor Museum, which is where I took the photo at the top of this post. You can just park and walk right in, there’s no tickets or anyone working there. Keep a close eye on the kids because all of the installations are rickety (they’ve been out in the elements for about 50 years) and potentially dangerous for climbing on, but just wild and fun to explore. Give yourself about 45 minutes to run around and check things out. Ask the kids what they think each installation is, imagine it all as spaceships or homes of old pirates. Again, bring water, there’s no water here.
If you are there on the right days, and you make a reservation in advance, you should schedule a sound bath for you and the kids at the Integratron. Kids can only go with advance private reservations, but it will be worth it.
You can also head out to Pioneertown, which is pretty cool but not something you can spend a whole day doing. It was created as a tourist attraction in the 1940’s, that never really caught on, but was used as a set in many amazing westerns. It’s having a renaissance now, and is home to Pappy and Harriet’s, where you can see some amazing music shows. Kids may or may not be into that (mine wasn’t), but you adults will definitely enjoy it. Don’t make it the priority of your visit, that should definitely be Joshua Tree National Park.
In the Park: When you are ready to head into the park (and you can’t skip the park – you CAN NOT), start at the Joshua Tree Visitor Center. You’ll need to buy yourself a pass to enter the park if you don’t already have a national park pass. Here you can also grab a map, and ask for the (free) Jr. Park Ranger booklet (which also comes with a pencil). The kids will learn a lot from this, LOVE filling it out, and if they complete the whole thing, they will get a badge at the end of your trip. You can also pick up sunscreen, extra water, etc. at the visitor center.
Now you can drive from the Joshua Tree Visitor Center to the other end of the park, the Oasis Visitor Center, in about 60 minutes. You’ll get to experience two deserts, the Mojave and the Colorado, and the unique features of each. But of course you will want to stop. The best spots for doing an easy hike with kids are Hidden Valley and Barker Dam. I like Hidden Valley for its space-like rock formations, but be warned that your kids will want to climb all over them. The whole loop is about a mile and mostly flat, except for the piles of rocks they will definitely want to scramble up.
The drive up to Keys View is worth it and really only about 20 minutes out of your way (round trip) if you are doing the loop. From here you can see the whole Coachella Valley, all the way to Palm Springs and the San Jacinto mountain range. What’s most interesting is that it is the only place where you can actually visually observe the San Andreas fault. It’s that ridge running right down the middle of the valley. Also note the snow on the mountain tops.
Stop in a few turnouts to marvel at the Joshua trees. Kids will be as amazed by them as you are.
If you keep going, you can check out Jumbo Rocks or go all the way to the Cholla Cactus Garden (FYI it’s pronounced “choya”- I had to ask about that one). Our kids were wiped out from excessive rock climbing so we headed back to town for ice cream and a swim.
Then they put on a nighttime talent show for us on the little stage at Hicksville, before we made s’mores, soaked in the rooftop hottub and headed back to our trailers. That’s one happy kid.
Make your way to Joshua Tree with your family, and if you’ve already been, tell me what I’ve missed. We will be heading back in the fall, as soon as the weather cools down a bit. Happy travels, friends!
Thank you Clorox® and Cotton for supporting my work-from-bed lifestyle by sponsoring this post and by making my bed so irresistible.
Good morning from Pretty Prudent Headquarters, I mean BEDquarters where, I must confess, too much of the work-from-home business happens. I’m not proud and I also own a desk in a nice home office, but it’s so very far away, and so much less covered in comfy plush white cotton bedding. With all of the action this bed gets, oh, um, that’s NOT what I meant. Eww. My bed looks a lot less like a lux hotel room service pic…
And more like a diner kitchen…
and a haven for dirty kid footsies…
kitty butts…
and frequent art sessions. Yes, I even paint in my bed!
With my dreamy commute, there comes the challenge of keeping these cotton sheets clean and bright. After all, you can’t put a sparkling white photo filter on real life. That is where Clorox® Regular-Bleach comes in. It’s basically the Instagram filter for real life.
Clorox® Regular-Bleach and Cotton make a good team. By choosing non-synthetic fibers like cotton, which tend to produce and trap fewer odors in the first place and release odors more easily during washing, I have less odor retention in my linens and a fabric that is soft, durable and easy to care for. Check out this fun retro video that they made to illustrate the cotton vs polyester laundry challenge. Additionally, adding Clorox® Regular-Bleach2 not only removes tough stains and keep whites brighter longer, but sanitizes laundry to kill 99.9% of bacteria, which causes odor.
When it’s laundry time, use bleach on cotton or bleachable fabrics (avoid bleaching wool, silk, mohair, leather, spandex and non-fast colors), for whitening and/or stain removal in 3 easy step:
Sort laundry by color
Add detergent
Fill bleach to maximum line or level in dispenser OR add measured amount of bleach to dispenser or wash water
Measured amount:
1/2 cup/4 oz. for standard machine or high-efficiency machine wash
1 cup/8 oz. for extra-large washer or heavy stains or soiled load of laundry
Add clothes and start wash.
For basically everything you need to know about stain-fighting and laundry magic, visit Clorox.com
There is nothing like a fresh-from-the-laundry set of white cotton sheets.It really helps with my work productivity.
Thank you Clorox® and Cotton for supporting my work-from-bed lifestyle by sponsoring this post and by making my bed so irresistible.
In celebration of the first week of Summer vacation, here is a fun watercolor painting exercise for both kids and grown-ups, beginner or experienced artists. It’s easy and cute and a great way to practice color blending and wet-on-wet watercolor technique.
I was headed to a BBQ last weekend and about an hour before we were leaving I remembered that I had promised to bring a side dish. I opened my fridge to dig around and all I had was some asparagus and cherry tomatoes. I was like, what I can make with one pound of asparagus and a cup of tomatoes that’s big enough for a party? I found some cavatappi in the cabinet and went with pasta salad. This one was a big hit at the party, and one I will definitely make again and again. If I threw some chicken in it, it would be a full meal. Get me Roasted Asparagus Pasta Salad recipe… (more…)
I wasn’t sure if Clare would be into an Elephant & Piggie party, she is after all turning 10 herself in just a few weeks but she was totally on board with joining in on the fun with some of her first friends. Tweens will keep you guessing like that.
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