Friday, June 17, 2016

Random Tid Bits

  1. I get invited to a lot of things on Facebook. I'm an art instructor, so each and every past student that created an art page I get invited to like. It's annoying at times, but I want to show my support, so I like it.

    Recently I get invited to like a page called: The United State of Women. I didn't hit that like button. It's not that I'm anti women. I am one. It's just that I feel like groups like that tend to think women are super heroes, should take over the job market, and should be free to do whatever they please. They often bash men. Yes women are important, but so are men.

    I'm a mother of boys. I just don't want to get on the man bashing trail. Yes the idea of being equal is great. I hate that women get paid less then men in some industries. On the flip side there are some jobs where many more men could do better than I could. I could do better than them in other areas. I don't think a woman (depending on the woman) would make a bad president. A job that requires a lot of strength might be better for a man. I'm sorry if this sounds like I'm against women. I'm not! At all! 

  2. I put mixed berries on the boy's plates one morning this week. Isaak left a few berries untouched. I said, "What's with those berries?" pointing at them. He said, "There's something wrong with them. They are bumpy." I forgot to tell him that I mixed a few mulberries I picked from work with the blueberries and Juneberries. They are bumpy like raspberries. 

  3. There are times where I pull an Alanis Morisette and think about things that are ironic. Just this morning I was flipping through stations on the radio. I finally found a station that wasn't blah blah blah talking. Tunes lift up my mood. It was a good song, but I can't remember what song it was. Just like that static happened. It was a Lincoln station an hour away. 


  4. The boys have their show for their theater camp today. I hope it goes well for them.

  5. The boys were impossible to get up and out of bed today. What's a Mom/Wife to do? I turned on Milli Vanilli, and sang to it. 


  6. Its's too bad that the real singers didn't get a whole lot of credit, and to be honest these two guys should have gotten some award for being great lip sinkers, and putting on a great show. Instead they lived the rest of their lives in shame, and one committed suicide. It wasn't just the boys that lied, the real singers lied, the band members lied, the sound guys lied, and most of all the producer lied. Were you a Milli Vanilli fan back in the day?

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Arbor Day Farm - Part 3

I heard so many good things about Arbor Day Farm that I wanted to visit.

There are 2 posts prior to this one about Arbor Day Farm.

Tucked away is a kid area. They have tables for arts and crafts, music, and another treehouse to climb on.


The boys loved the music area.



Right outside the kid area is a spider web they can climb on. Isaak in particular was drawn to this. He climbed on it when we walked by it, and when we were just about done with our trip to the farm.


They had 2 sets of sound things you could put your ears up to. It basically make the sounds of nature louder. It's pretty cool!


This squirrel seemed to pose for us. I wish I was quicker with my camera. I had plenty of time to take photos of it. It's just that at that time I had it put away - safe and sound in my purse where it belongs.
 

This butterfly seemed to follow us for awhile. I think it's a Papilio Troilus - thanks to a friend that apparently knows her butterflies. 


After seeing all my pictures it was worth the trip. Plan on it taking most of the day if you go here. They have a lot of trails. Some we didn't even go on. About the only negative thing I can say, is that the trails see to go off their map. We got lost. We tend to wander, then question where we're at. The map could have included more of their trails.

We didn't go to their apple stores. I would have liked to have done that. We were kind of beat at that time. It was in the 90s. 

Wednesday, June 15, 2016

Arbor Day Farm - Part 2

I heard so many good things about Arbor Day Farm that I wanted to visit. After loosing my camera I wondered if it was all worth it. The boys were excited when I said there was a reward for whomever finds my camera - if it just so happened to be in the house. They could download an app on their Kindles that cost money.

The nice people at Arbor Day Farm found it. The boys were a little bummed, but I certainly was excited!

I love how Arbor Day Farm has text on trees. It's kind of fun seeing what they say. I didn't take photos of all of them. 


Of course there are a lot of trees at Arbor Day Farm. If you don't like to hike, this may not be the spot for you. I thought it was fun!



A crazy tree with all kinds of knots.


There were honey locust trees scattered about. They are known for all their spikes. There is a variety that doesn't have thorns.




The Osage Orange Trees were all over. I guess the tree is great for making a bow for archery. They don't produce fruit you eat, but do produce a cool looking round ball that wards off bugs.

The fruit is also called a hedge apple, which is odd because it comes from an Osage Orange Tree. It does have a hint of an orange smell. The only edible part of it is the seeds. You can put them in your house to help ward off spiders.

Source

The farm is filled with apple trees. It's most known for their apples. Apple season is in the fall. Had we gone in the fall we could have picked an apple and ate it. Our last name is Apel. It's actually pronounced Aay-pull. I've always called Apples, Apels. "Hey Mica and Isaak do you want to split an Apel?" I'll say.

I was most interested in their Scarlet Surprise Apples. They don't sell them in the stores, and they are red all the way through the fruit!




Another variety of apples.




I don't remember if, "Lay Down" was by this installation, but it should have been.



This was a weaving that collected all kinds of nature things.



Other random things:


I'll end on the Kissing Trees. During this time where bad things happen in the world we all should give love.


Tuesday, June 14, 2016

WW: Arbor Day Farm {Linky}

I'm going to have to make this 3 posts. This is part 1 of the 3. If you like what you see come back on Wednesday towards the end of the day, and Thursday towards the middle of the day to see more. I'll be sure to comment on your blog each time you comment here.

The weekend before last we went to Nebraska City, where we spent most of our time at the Lewis and Clark Interpretive Center.

I heard so many good things about Arbor Day Farm that I wanted to go back. 

We drove 55 minutes to spend some time at Arbor Day Farm.


I'm kind of going backwards because the greenhouse is the last spot we stopped. That's where I lost my camera. I set it down, and didn't realize that it was missing until the next morning. Panic set in. We drove all the way back just to look for it. We couldn't find it at home, in our car, or at the farm. Finally the staff picked up a sign, and there it was! I got it back! YAY! It's exactly where I thought it might be. It works just fine. Thankfully I had it in a case.



Inside the greenhouse they have experimental trees growing all the time.


There's a cute sit down spot by the greenhouse. They hold craft classes at the tables.


There is one main treehouse, then others scattered about on the trails. This is the main one.




 Inside the tree house is a wasp nest someone found, and a working bee hive.



Looking down from the top of the tree house:



This is another treehouse.



They had big huge chairs we could sit in. Mica was cooperating, and Isaak was not.


This reminds me of the 3 little bears for some reason.

 

Travis decided it would be funny to walk around with his shirt up. He walked right by a family with his belly hanging out. I just had to shake my head and laugh.


Have you taken any small road trips this summer? We're not going on an official vacation spot, just small places here and there this year.

 

Camp Number 1 - Check

The boys started their first camp of this summer break. It's their favorite: Omaha Community Playhouse.


Only Mica was kind of a sour Apel about it. 


He said, "Mom I don't think I want to do this camp next year."

I asked, "Why?"

He said, "Because they make us stand around a piano and sing. Then they gave us homework. it's summer break. We shouldn't have to do homework."

I said, "That's too bad you feel that way. It was always your favorite. Singing kind of goes hand in hand with acting. The homework is just learning the songs you'll sing at the end of the week."

He said, "I also think some of the boys in my class aren't very nice."

I asked, "Why?"

Mica said, "Because they talk about ghosts."

I said, "Oh that's not very cool. Just remember that you talked about Ouija Boards just last week. Mica you're not getting out of going to camps. You and your brother can go. It gives you experiences that you can't get at home."

They are memorizing Michael Jackson's Bad, and No Good Deed from the musical Wicked.

I hope he ends up liking his camp! He's kind of that in that in between stage of I want to play with Legos, BUT apps are cooler. I get annoyed with my brother for having googly eyes on his face, BUT I'll go out of the house with sound headphones on. I think it's immature to talk about ghosts, BUT I'll talk about Ouija Boards. Life moves way too quickly. Stay young as long as you can kid!

Monday, June 13, 2016

The Majority of Parents Have ZERO Activities Planned with their Kids this Summer

If Memorial Day weekend marks the unofficial start to summer, then why do the majority of parents have no activities planned for their children once they’re out of school? Do you fall into this group? If you do, you are not alone. The sign up for summer camps is around March here. It's hard to wrap my brain around summer time in March. I do however get on it. Not all, but many camps are less expensive than daycare is.

According to a recent nationwide survey of 1,000 parents commissioned by Groupon, 57 percent of respondents said they had absolutely nothing planned for the family this summer. Which is baffling, considering that a whopping 99 percent of those parents DO want to do something fun and exciting with their kids over the summer months. Not all parents can take time off work, or afford a vacation. The thing is, is get aways do not have to be expensive. If you're really strapped for cash, you can have a staycation. It helps to stay in a hotel. There's always something fun and different to do around where you live. Parents were also asked in the survey what the perfect summer looked like with their children, and the results were expensive. According to respondents, the idyllic summer consists of: 
Though respondents reckon that the total cost for those experiences would come in at around $43,154.87.

“Many parents aren’t aware of the number of affordable local activities they can do with their children over the summer months,” said Greg Rudin, head of fun things to do at Groupon. “By taking full advantage of the amazing things to do around their neighborhood, building long-lasting family memories can be done on just about any budget.” The average family will travel nearly 600 miles together over the summer, according to the survey, with most vacation destinations between four and five hours away by car.

A day at the beach was considered the top family activity, followed by visiting an amusement/water park and having a classic backyard cookout. Most – 85 percent – look for vacation activities within their home state. Parents in the West were most likely to want to take their children overseas with those in the Midwest least inclined to do so. When it comes to travel outside of mainland USA, the Bahamas and Australia are among the dream destinations.

Unsurprisingly, the internet is the top source of inspiration for summer vacation ideas, ahead of word of mouth and traditional advertising, the survey revealed. The survey also reported that parents are now looking to give their children experiences rather than gifts – and said their kids were 18 times more likely to benefit from an experience throughout their entire lifetime than a toy. “Research has shown that people increasingly value experiences over material things, especially with friends and family,” Rudin said. “Now is the perfect time to get out there and create those memories by trying something new that you’ve always wanted to do together.”



Top 10 Essential Family Summer Activities:



  •   Beach
  •   Water park/amusement park
  •   BBQ
  •   Out of state visit
  •   Movies
  •   Road trip
  •   Hotel stay
  •   Camping
  •   National monument visit
  •   Fishing
  • Top 10 Dream Family Vacation Destinations:
     
  •   Hawaii
  •   Disney World
  •   Bahamas
  •   Australia
  •   Washington DC
  •   Miami
  •   New York City
  •   Virginia Beach
  •   Canada
  •   Japan           
  • For inspiration on some great things to do with your family this summer, click here.

    Disclaimer: I did not receive anything in exchange for writing this post.

    Disclaimer

    The opinions on this blog are my personal take on products and topics relating to motherhood. This blog is a personal blog written and edited by me.

    I am not compensated to provide opinions on a variety of topics. The views and opinions expressed on this blog are my own. If I claim to show knowledge of certain topic or product I will only endorse products or services that I feel, based on my expertise, are worthy of such endorsement.

    If you have any questions about this blog, or want to get in contact with me please email me at: anapeladay@gmail.com