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Five Events and Festivals to Help You Embrace Winter in Edmonton
Every year I want to embrace winter and be more active outside. Then the snow and cold wind hits and I just want to run inside and hibernate. You would think with growing up in Canada I would be used to it by now, but my mind is still stuck and longing for warm sun and beach days. But since Edmonton is the Festival City, they don’t let a little snow and below freezing temperatures stop them from having fun. There are great festivals year round that showcase culture, food, art, and recreation. Here are five festivals and events that make you want to go out and celebrate the winter…
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Dreaming of Campfires – 2016 Campground Reservation Dates
Current temperature is -22°C, windchill -31°C (that’s around -7 and -24 F for my American readers) and summer is a long ways away. But it’s never too early to start thinking about summer fun and camping trips, as reservations are opening up earlier this year to make room for the heavy demand. Reservations for some Canadian National Parks, including Whistlers, Wapiti, Wabasso and Pocahontas, began on January 13, while all other roadside campgrounds operate on a first come, first serve basis. View their reservation services here. If you haven’t had the opportunity to visit many Canadian National Parks, now is your chance. Canada will be celebration their 150th birthday in 2017 and National…
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Time to Take to the Skies: A New Low Fare Airline & Year Round WestJet Flights to Europe
If you’re in Canada some air travel news broke today that’s to the traveler’s advantage. A new low-fair airline launched today, offering flights from seven smaller Canadian cities. NewLeaf offer flights from Abbotsford, Halifax, Kelowna, Hamilton, Saskatoon, Regina, and Winnipeg, and has flights as low as $89 one way and max out at $149 one way for a regular ticket. There are fees for baggage and on in-flight food, but they are hoping to add US sun destinations by the end of the year. For all the details check out NewLeaf’s website. In other travel news, my favorite Canadian airline, WestJet, announced today that it will now offer year round…
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We Have a New Favorite Playground and It’s Well Worth the Drive!
We headed out of Edmonton this afternoon to neighboring Spruce Grove. It was a beautiful fall day so we went for a leisurely walk through their trail system at Heritage Grove Park and then played in the Japanese School (now home to Spruce Grove Playschool) playground, corner of Mohr Avenue and Main Street. We still had a bit of time left before heading home so I looked up playgrounds in the area, seen some brightly colored pictures and headed towards their location. Rotary Playscape at Fuhr Sports Field on Jennifer Heil Way, Spruce Grove is an explosion of fun! There is so much to climb, slide and play with, including…
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Road Trip Idea – New Dinosaur Museum
If you’re looking for a family road trip idea this fall, look north to Wembley, Alberta. It is the site of the new Philip J. Currie Dinosaur Museum, open to the public on September 3, 2015. Being only 19km west of Grande Prairie will make it easy to find accommodations for a fun weekend getaway. You can learn about the dinosaurs found in the area before you go, by checking out Kids Zone on their website. When you visit you can become a volunteer in the lab and clean fossils and bones. Or take part in one of the many interactive school programs. If you are feeling really adventurous, take…
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Road Tripping With Children 101: How to Keep Your Sanity
Well hello, it’s been a while! Since my last post, we finished up our first homeschool year. Academically, the year was great! Chloe was able to explore her interests and learn about new things through many hands on experiences she would not of accomplished in a brick and mortar school. Personally, I learned lots about myself and how to take care of myself during my many crazy and chaotic kid-filled days. I can’t wait to start in the fall with new techniques and strategies (more to come on that later). The summer has been a busy but exciting one! In Alberta, and many parts of Canada, summer…
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Christmas, Christmas lights, dinosaurs, gingerbread playdough, homeschooling, Lego, Nutcracker, puzzles, pysanka, Saskatoon, Travel, winter
Winter Adventures – Part 2
December was jammed packed with activities! Road trips, concerts, birthdays and Christmas parties, seasonal crafts and decorating, and then Christmas! Christmas with a 5 and 2 year old can be pretty intense but overall it was a fun, memorable time. We started off the month with a road trip to Saskatoon to see the live stage show Mickey Mouse Music Festival. We made a couple stops along the way to see some sights, hit up the pool at the hotel and the morning of the show we visited the University of Saskatchewan to see some replica dinosaur bones! The girls had a blast at the show, dancing and singing…
