Woodwater Farmhouse

Our big vacation every year is to the Finger Lakes region of New York. Sure there's wine...water...boats and more...BUT we spend our 6 days hiking, eating, camping, eating more and going to the NASCAR race each year.  We are getting faster with three miles round trip hike up and then down this beautiful gorge. I wanted to offer some tips for hiking the gorge...maybe some of you might be going there someday...after all it's ranked number 3 in the nation for beautiful state parks  and for great reason.  The trails, waterfalls and too many to count photo opps, brings our family back every year.   My TOP 5 Tips for family hiking/visit  to Watkins Glen State Park - Gorge 1.   Wear comfie shoes but ones that can get wet.  Although you don't get "soaked" there are parts of the trails that get wet from continuous waterfalls. 2.   No dogs allowed (booo).  They don't allow you to leave your dog in the vehicle e...

I am so happy to introduce you to Kendra Thornton today. She is my guest here at The Joys of Home Educating .   I am a travel advocate, TV spokesperson , PR businesswoman , proud wife and mama of 3.   I am a long time travel expert who has been packing my bags and traveling the world since I was 3 months old! However, no matter where I have been, I've found my utmost desire in life is right here in my own home. Today, I have taken my excitement for travel and brought it to you with some of my favorite travel tips and tricks for enjoying my home city of Chicago. Enjoy! As you all know from reading this blog, we are travelers. We love a fun educational trip and love to share all the details with you all!  Today Kendra is bringing you the best spots to visit in her town - Chicago!   Home is Where the Heart Is Chicago makes for an incredible place to visit and an even greater place to live. Between the theater, shopping districts, and unique eateri...

*Post may container affiliate links. See policy at bottom of blog.  In just a few days I am packing up all four of my children (ages 4-25) and hitting the open road!  We are traveling from NY to NC to see my ailing father.  After a few days in NC we are back in the truck heading further South to SC (I was born in Charleston, SC) to visit my aunt and uncle for a week. My husband, due to work, won't be joining us.  My oldest son will be flying home mid-vacation.  I will admit I am anxious about traveling this far with the children without my husband to help out. Especially the home trip without another adult helping.  Keeping the children occupied (using DVD player as a last resort) is important to me. With some preplanning and forethought, I was able to put together some great Travel Containers for them!  Keeping with a tight budget is a must since the trip (gas alone) is costing us a pretty penny.  Finding a lot at Dollar Tree sto...

Road Trip – preparing 101 August will be here in less than 24 hours as of this blog post.   I am preparing my mind, body and soul for being away from our safe happy home for more days than we will be home -  in August.   Picture I took from my trip to Relevant Conference a few years ago.   We have two road trips scheduled!   (One of which hubby is coming along and the other – longer trip – it’s me and my 4 children!) We have taken road trips before….DVD’s were our saving grace. However, this time the children seem to have outgrown the DVD novelty and I need to come up with other ways to keep them from melting down, fighting…asking “are we there yet?”   Sure, we will bring the old stand-bys: the IPads, DS and LeapFrog products…but I want some more…learning fun…activities that will spark conversations among the family. Planning a road trip with three kids under 10 can be a mind boggling task.   There are a ton of helpful blo...