Travel

You would have thought I was planning a conference involving world leaders with the logistics that went into leaving my kids. (Surprisingly enough, the trip did actually fall during the UN summit!) You also could have gotten the impression...

Last spring, I traveled for a week in Vietnam with my young family.  Around four o’clock in the afternoon, the intense equatorial heat finally loosened its grip over Ho Chi Minh City.  We threaded our way through the congested...

Hablas Ingles? Yo hablo Ingles. These were two of my ‘go to’ phrases that I commonly used during the first few months after our recent move to Madrid. I was mortified to speak to anyone in public. I would make my...

For my family and me, moving to Iowa in 2012 was, in many respects, like moving to a new country. Shoveling snow, combating gnats, and acquiring snow pants were all new to us. Over the past three years my...

A WHAT? You heard me right: "baby moon." A babymoon is a last hurrah trip before you welcome your little one. Corny? Absolutely. Like you needed an excuse to spend some quality time with your significant other! When Tom and...

Remember the commercials, my 80s generation moms? You know, the anti-drug campaign? The now classic, “This is your brain on drugs” fried egg. Or, my favorite: The furious dad walking in on the teenage boy, drug paraphernalia in hand,...

My husband and I both work in education, which means we only have two opportunities to take a vacation: spring break and summer. Unfortunately, this is when the rest of the world also goes on vacation, and prices are...

We asked my oldest daughter (17-year-old Rachel) where she wanted to go on this, possibly our last family vacation before she goes off to college. She chose New York City, so in spite of my trepidation, we went. Here’s the...

What is scarier: Toddlers on a plane or snakes on a plane?? I vote toddlers. I recently embarked on a trip to Florida and took our 21-month-old daughter along for the ride. I was excited to visit my grandparents but absolutely...

A popular destination for many Iowan families is the Windy City: Chicago. Many Iowans find themselves spending a few days in this popular destination, one of the biggest major cities in the Midwest, especially during the summer months. Being a...