Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Looking forward to a year of change

IMG_7040Today is the last day of the year. By the time you read this more than likely we will already have jumped into the new year of 2014.

As I reflect of our year and think of what the future holds, I can’t help to be somewhat emotional as we have made the decision of leaving the campground where we parked our RV for the past 10+ years or so and move on to new adventures.

We started out with a tent and quickly purchased a used pop-out trailer that my oldest son experience as a toddler. A few years later we got a travel trailer which our family of six still enjoys to this day. We love to discover new places and travel with it. But deep down, I think I will always have a soft spot from the place where we made friends through the years. The closest ones have also moved to NB this year. The years go by and changes happen.

As 2013 is slowly moving on and the New Year is just around the corner, I reflected on our time at Logo Land and how it was part of our family life for so many years.

  • My kids learned to RV and take care of it.
  • My kids learned to fish on the lake – caught many fish, got up close with turtlesIMG_8886, saw loons every year (with their babies), caught frogs and even dissected one, discovered what fish eat by dissecting their stomach, explore the woods, learn to identify birds and plants. Lots of homeschooling done in nature as you can see.
  • We have experienced three seasons each year with our RV there.
  • We celebrated Father’s Day and Canada Day in the area a few times.
  • We explored the area and discovered fun things to do with the kids.
  • We went blueberry and raspberry picking.
  • We visited a dairy farm with the owner of our campground.
  • We tried out geocaching in the area.

Bottom line, we had numerous memories made while we camp there during these years.

 2003_08_11_011 2005_05_21_09_40_50 2005_07_02_16_09_54 2005_07_19_07_25_34 2006_06_04_13_10_30 2007_05_28_15_46_02 2006_07_01_16_14_382007_06_16_16_40_082009_08_16_08_01_26 2010_07_29_11_32_162010_07_01_17_54_462008_07_11_16_13_56IMG_8349IMG_8369IMG_8382

As I write this post, I am a bit emotional of not going back there in 2014. Our RV is currently sleeping its last winter on the campground and in May we will leave the place knowing we had lot of pleasure and experience great things with our kids.

I think that Cobden and Logos Land will always have a special spot in our hearts simply because of the so many memories we have made there. But even though part of me is sad of leaving a more than familiar place I also look forward of what we will experience in the future and where our RV adventures will bring us. The plan for 2014 is to explore new campsites where we could place our RV – a place somewhere in between our home and Toronto so we can decide on a spur of a moment to go to the zoo, Canada’s Wonderland or go pick up peaches and nectarines near Niagara Falls. We will also do trips with the RV though these depend on the work my husband will have. Our dream will be to go to Florida either in 2014 or 2015. Our alternate trips might be Burlington, VT or around Cincinnati (near the border of KT).

Whatever our destination will be in 2014 I am sure that we will enjoy ourselves, discover new places, experience new adventures and have a great time with our kids. 2014 is a year of change for our family. Change is hard sometimes but it can also mean growth and new memories to make.

Happy New Year everyone!

Are you planning to do a change in your RV life in 2014? If so what is it? Please share with us what you are planning to do different.

Friday, December 20, 2013

Last Minute Gift Ideas

Technology Gift

iPad mini with Retina Display

 

Photo Enthusiast

Digital Photographers Handbook

 

For the Lover of Books

Ideas That Changed the World 

Boys and Girls Books of Adventures

Run 

Camp X

DK Sticker books

Explorers

 

Bibles

NIV Homeschool Mom’s Bible 

NIV Real Life Devotional Bible for Women

 

Games

Pandemic 

La Boca

Cinque Terre (The Five Villages)

Pinata

20 Express 

Nada!

Flash!

Monster Factory

Spin Monkey

Despicable Me Games

Boom Boom Balloon

Stomple

Pick and Draw

 

Kitchen

Keurig

Soda Stream

 

For the Crafty Child in Your Life

Rainbow Loom

Totally Awesome Rubber Band Jewelry

Loom Magic!

 

For the Cook in Your Life

Illustrated Cook’s Book of Ingredients

Illustrated Step-by-Step Baking

Illustrated Step-by-Step Cook

Illustrated Kitchen Bible

Pies 

 

Kids

Nanoblock  

Hearts for Hearts Girls Doll 

NERF Rebelle 

Costumes 

Rainbow Loom

Air Hog Atmosphere 

Easy Bake Oven 

Easy Bake Ultimate Decorating Pen

Playmobil Children’s Club and Disco

 

LEGO ENTHUSIAST

Brick City 

Lego Idea Book

Lego Play Book

DK Brickmaster Star Wars Battle

Lego Minifigure Year by Year

Lego Adventure Book Volume 1

Lego Adventure Book Volume 2

Lego Space Building the Future

Lego Build-It Volume 1 – Amazing Vehicles

 

Stocking Stuffers Ideas

Hasbro Canada

 

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Thursday, December 19, 2013

Lego Build-It Book Volume 1–Amazing Vehicles

Buildit1_cover_webLego Build-It Book Volume 1 – Amazing Vehicles
Published at no starch press

About the book

With just one collection of LEGO® bricks, you can build any of these 10 models—from the simple Go-Kart to the intricate Rescue Truck.

Handy tips and advanced building techniques will inspire you to create your own amazing models for even more fun!

My Thoughts

Once again this book is opening the reader to a whole new world – creating amazing vehicles with Lego.   As per other titles from no starch press, I am very impressed with the quality of the projects included in this book.  

If you have a child who enjoy building trucks and other kind of vehicles with Lego, this book is definitively the book for him (or her) to have.    Here’s the models you will find in this book.

  • Off-Roader buildit_008-009_thumb3
  • Go-Kart
  • Muscle Car
  • Stroller
  • Multi-Purpose Truck
  • Historic Racer
  • Classic Car
  • Wheel Loader
  • Street Rod
  • Rescue Truck

Here’s what the pages look like in this book.

buildit_022-023_thumbbuildit_034-035_thumb

buildit_038-039_thumbbuildit_116-117_thumb

The instructions are very clear and easy to follow as you can see.  You will have a detailed list of the bricks needed to build the model you wish to do and step-by-step instructions to follow.

I find the books on Lego from no starch press to be well done and very creative.  This particular book – even though it concentrates on vehicles – will bring some fun building time to your child.

Lego Build-It Volume 1 is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

Kindle

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to no starch press for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.