A Glamping We Will Go! Part 2

Rule 1 of camping: PRE-MAKE EVERYTHING. It makes enjoying your vacation so much easier when you don't have to fuss with preparation nor cleanup. I mean pre-make everything. Pre-cut your lettuce and tomato for burgers. Pre-package your sliced veggies for dutch oven cheesy veggies.

Pre-wrap your bacon hot dogs.

Premake your fire starters.

Pre-crack your eggs so don't have to worry about soggy cartons or cracked shells.

Freeze your water bottles so you can use them instead of as ice packs. Plus you always have cold water!

 Pre-make, wrap and refrigerate your camporitos.

(Large tortillas, hashbrowns, bacon or sausage, cheese and eggs)

All you have to do is warm them up and add salsa!

Do as much as you possibly can before you go!

I'm a girly girl even in the woods. And I'm an over planner. And true to both traits, I've made detailed drafts of my best camping outfits for the weekend. So maybe this step is a bit overdoing it for most people. Certainly not for me. And at least it gives you a glimpse of what my personal camping comfort clothes are.

Leggings, t-shirts, and sweater boots. I mean, it doesn't get more cozy than this.

It is hot during the day, so a hat to keep the sun off my head and a swim suit under my tank makes it easy to strip down to once we walk to the lake.

It gets cold in the mountains the second the sun goes down. Be prepared. Bring a vest and a couple long sleeve shirts for staying warm when you're hanging out around the fire.

Thi is kind of redundant, but Colorado weather is bipolar. No joke. Be prepared and don't be afraid to layer.

I'm not even kidding. This is exactly what I'm packing:

Anyway, (I've done my Pinterest duty for the month) wish us luck this weekend and I'll let you know next week how it went! Have a good weekend everyone!

You can now follow me on Instagram! @thebrighterwriter

A Glamping We Will Go! Part 1 HERE

Strawberry Supermoon 2013

I know I've kind of been a little preoccupied and busy and honestly just over blogging lately. I've been writing every single day, sometimes even twice a day, for years. Some of it was published on my past blog MGEN, some of it for a couple of small magazines in New York, some of it on RESiNMAG.com, some of it for work, some of it for my degree and some of it just for personal cathartic decompression.

I think all the excitement of a new forum kicked me into overload when I started The Brighter Writer and after an entire year of posting nonstop, day after day, it just burned me out.

It turns out one of my posts is going to be featured in next month's goodhousekeeping.com (!!!!) and that was really just the kick in the ass that I needed to get myself back in gear.

So even though I don't have any crafts or recipes or whatever this week, the point of this blog was just to come as you are and write.

And so that's what I'll do.

Tonight's supermoon has been on my mind all week long. My love for the moon is evenly spread through its whole cycle and admitting how much I love it when it's full is sort of like a mother admitting she likes one child better than any other. But the truth is, I do. Maybe because I get to see Lady Moon as her whole self and not just a partial shading. Maybe because it makes me and everyone else do strange things. I'm not sure.

But there is another one tonight.
A big one.
The largest of 2013.
It will be 16,176 miles closer to us than on any other usual full moon.
It will be 30% visibly brighter to us than on any other usual full moon.
It will be magnificent.

Think of the moon as a woman in her mid-30's, who although is beautiful in everyday life, she only gets really dolled up and goes out to party once a year or so. And when she does, she goes hard. This is her night on the town. You won't see her at the club again until August 2014. So you better man-up and ask her to dance...

Arguments in the media are back and forth about possible increased risk of earthquakes and erupting volcanoes. Reminders that the supermoon of 2011 grounded 5 UK ships are in the back of traveling minds everywhere.  The tides being 18% larger on average throughout the world are worrisome in places of tsunami threat. Everyone seems to be on a heightened security.

All because of this shy lady:

June's full moons are known as The Strawberry Moon here in the United States. It was named by Algonquin tribes who knew by this moon it was time to start gathering up their ripened fruits. Across the pond in Europe, it's known as the Rose Moon.

So anyway, you can find me on my porch tonight, stargazing in a happy enchanted state, drinking strawberry martinis and nibbling fresh fruit. I'll be thinking about love. Do not disturb.

The Purpose of the Moon

by Tom Robbins (1979)

1

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear and sent it to Marilyn Monroe.
          Marilyn Monroe was so touched that she gave up everything—her career, her swimming pool, her wiggle, her telephone, her suicide, everything—and moved to the south of France to be with Vincent van Gogh.
          Did they live happily ever after? No, no one ever does. But they pretended to live happily ever after. And since all things become what we pretend they are, fake happiness is as good as the real stuff.

2

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear and sent it to Marilyn Monroe. When she unwrapped the package and found the ear, Marilyn Monroe dished up her famous cat-that-swallowed-the-banana smile.
          Marilyn Monroe put the ear in a rosewood box on her dressing table. Every now and again, she would remove the ear from the box, pet it, blow on it, scratch it and giggle. Once, she hooked the ear on a silver chain and wore it to a party. She always intended to write the ear’s original owner a pretty thank-you note, but she never quite got around to it.
          Was Vincent van Gogh a fool?
          Maybe Marilyn Monroe was the fool. After all, Vincent van Gogh made a grand gesture and Marilyn Monroe received it frivolously.

3

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear and sent it to Marilyn Monroe. Some weeks later, the package was returned to Vincent van Gogh. It was marked, ADDRESSEE DECEASED.
          Vincent van Gogh checked into the matter and found that it was true. In his research, he learned that Joe DiMaggio had ordered that fresh red roses be placed on Marilyn Monroe’s grave every three days, forever. Not for Joe DiMaggio’s lifetime, mind you, not for the duration of Hollywood, its films and its cemeteries, but forever.
          Vincent van Gogh leaned against the dizzy crown of an epileptic sunflower. Said he, “After the end of the world, Joe DiMaggio is going to have some money coming back.”

4

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear and sent it to Marilyn Monroe. Whereupon Marilyn Monroe cut off one of her ears and sent it to Vincent van Gogh.
          Vincent van Gogh cut off his little toe and sent it to Marilyn Monroe. Marilyn Monroe sent one of her little toes in return. Next, Vincent van Gogh cut off an eyelid and posted it. In the return mail, he received an eyelid from Marilyn Monroe. Their friendship was growing warm.
          They exchanged ring fingers, tongues, belly buttons and nipples. One day, Vincent van Gogh cut out his heart and rushed it to Hollywood—but by then Marilyn Monroe had become bored with the whole affair and run off to Tijuana with Warren Beatty.
          Vincent van Gogh was shattered. Yet he should not have been so surprised. That is often the pattern love follows.

5

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear and sent it to Marilyn Monroe. Not long afterward, Marilyn Monroe flew to Paris, drove a rented car to the south of France and called on Vincent van Gogh.
          Following proper introduction, Marilyn Monroe produced a package of Hostess Twinkies. Because Hostess Twinkies always travel in pairs; because, like the coyote, the gorilla, the killer whale and the whooping crane, Hostess Twinkies mate for life, there was a Twinkie each for them to share.
          When the snack was done, Marilyn Monroe reached into her sewing basket, drew out a needle and a spool of green thread and proceeded to stitch Vincent van Gogh’s ear right back where it belonged.
          “There,” she said, licking a smear of Twinkie cream from the corner of her mouth. “There, you naughty boy. And the next time you want to clip off a piece of yourself as a token of affection, you might keep in mind the old Jewish custom. It’s less messy, more socially acceptable. Remember, to ear is human, but to foreskin is divine.”

6

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear and sent it to Marilyn Monroe.
          The severed ear reminded Marilyn Monroe of a crescent moon, and for hours she contemplated it by moonlight.
          She telephoned Vincent van Gogh. “Does the moon have a purpose?” she asked.
          Vincent van Gogh considered her question. He decided it was silly.
          Albert Camus wrote that the only serious question is whether to kill yourself or not.
          Tom Robbins wrote that the only serious question is whether time has a beginning and an end.
          Camus clearly got up on the wrong side of bed, and Robbins must have forgotten to set the alarm.
          There is only one serious question. And that is: Who knows how to make love stay?
          Answer me that and I will tell you whether or not to kill yourself.
          Answer me that and I will ease your mind about the beginning and the end of time.
          Answer me that and I will reveal to you the purpose of the moon.

7

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear and sent it to Marilyn Monroe. Paul Gauguin was aghast. “That was in very bad taste, Vincent,” Gauguin said. “Years from now, after you are dead and gone, you will be better remembered for cutting off your ear than for the beauty and truth of your art.”
          From beneath his bandages, Vincent van Gogh looked at Paul Gauguin and smiled. “Don’t worry,” he said. “Art takes care of itself. And what the world thinks of me when I am dead and gone is none of my concern. What matters is life. What matters is love. Yeah.”
          The next day, Paul Gauguin cut off his wife and sent himself to Tahiti.
          “Poor Gauguin,” sighed Vincent van Gogh. “He understood only half of what I said.”

8

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear and sent it to Marilyn Monroe. Immediately, he had second thoughts and fell into a deep depression.
          “Oh, why was I so presumptuous?” he asked. “An ear is much too intimate. And what if she doesn’t fancy ears? I might better have sent violets or phosphor. I should have sent potatoes, toothpaste or brush strokes of significant width. That ear will offend her, I know it. Oh, they ought to call me Vincent van Gauche. I’ve blown it again.”
          In the midst of all his fretting, a note arrived from America. “Dear Mister,” it began, “Thank you so much for the silk purse.” Vincent van Gogh relaxed. He grinned from ear to....Oops.

9

          Vincent van Gogh cut off his ear. He wanted to send it to Marilyn Monroe, but he didn’t know how to go about it.
          He couldn’t afford to deliver it in person. They had no mutual friends. And were he to send it to her movie studio, a stout woman in a tweed suit would be certain to throw it away.
          Dare he trust it to Railway Express? To United Parcel Service? To Brink’s?
          Vincent van Gogh’s ear was his love. Unable to send it through normal channels, he went out into the wheat field and sent it by crow.

Wheatfield With Crows, Vincent van Gogh, 1890

A Glamping We Will Go! Part 1

So.

We're trying this camping thing again. Last year's trip was a failure, but we're optimistic that this go-around we (I) will be better prepared.

True to form, I've been in a list making frenzy the last 2 weeks even though we still have an additional 2 weeks before the big trip. I've raided our local Dollar Tree a dozen times and I am convinced that my shopping trips over the last 14 days have targeted me as a total lunatic. I tried to explain to the check-out girl that last year's trip was a disastrous battle and all of this preparation is, in fact, combat related but I don't think she bought it. She just doesn't understand what it is to plan a vacation with this particular thunderous three year old. There is an entire army inside her cute little toddler sized body. An army which is prepared to fight, to defend, and who has been trained to go straight for the jugular. She is a defiant whining machine. When she's good, she's sooo good. But when she's chooses the Dark Side.... I break into sweat when I even think about it.

I'm simply in combat training.

I've been hardened and strengthened.

This camping trip is going to be fun, damn it.

Anyway, The Family Dollar is currently stocked up on Summer supplies. Paying a measly dollar for anything that will be fun, keep her busy, and could possibly get broken or left behind is not so bad. I'd much rather go the cheap route than to buy the exact same thing at Target or Walmart for more money.

1. Glow sticks, glow bracelets, glow wands, glow necklaces, glow hats, glow EVERYTHING. $1

2. Binoculars $1

3. Hand held tent broom $1

4. Magnifying glass with built in tweezers and holding cell for any buggies you may find. $1

5. Antibacterial wet wipes $1

6. Flashlights AND batteries $1

7. Disposable plastic table cloths so if you spill something you can toss it instead of attracting a thousand flies and bees. $1

8. Fly Swatters $1

9. Water guns / squirters $1

10. Beach ball, blow up floaties (assuming you have a lake near by) $1

11. Travel bottles! Transfer your bathroom things like shampoo / conditioner / lotions AND your food condiments like mayo, mustard, ketchup into smaller bottles so they take up way less room in the cooler or bag. $1

12. Freeze packets for cooler. $1

13. All grilling supplies you may need including grill scrubs, metal spatulas, napkins, hot pads/gloves, dish towels $1

14. Playdough that can be thrown away after being rolled around in sand, leaves or dirt. $1

15. Face paint (because it's fun) $1

16. Crayons, blank paper and clip boards to make rubbings of leaves or bark. $1

17. Tap lights to put by Kalynn's bed at night in case she wakes up scared. $1

18. Plastic hair caps to put over food bowls and keep flies out while you eat. $1

19. 3 for $1 mesh laundry bags to keep your filthy clothes seperate from your clean clothes

20. Butterfly (or Daddy's head) catching nets $1

21. Sand toys $1

22. Sidewalk chalk for drawing on trees or rocks or whatever else $1

23. Paper towels, paper plates, toilet paper, and plastic silverware $1

I'm telling you, my husband as well as many of you, may think I'm out of control, but I assure you, this place is amazing.

I've also packed phone books instead of newspaper for fire kindling just because they are compact and it's easy for us to rip out pages as we need them. We bought sturdy Coleman inflatable mattresses with battery operated pump so we don't even have to bother with the roll-up sleeping pads this time around. (What a pain in the ass those were.) I've also discovered that the pump which inflates/deflates our mattresses is perfectly compatible with our Space Bags so bringing pillows, sheets and blankets only take up a quarter of the space in our car. 

Here's our offical 2013 camping list:

Laugh if you may, but I've thought of absolutely everything. I've even placed a hold on every children's camping book they have a our local library (which I'll pick up tomorrow) so that I can psych her up for the next two weeks and make sure she's super excited.

I chalked last year up to a great learning experience and one that I did not take lightly. Having an over abundance of things to do and being realistic and smart about the things we need to pack is going to help out tremendously. I don't have the luxury of a constantly well behaved angel of a kid. Don't get me wrong. I love her so much I want to squeeze her tiny little precious head off sometimes but I mean, come on. She's a crazy, energy filled, 3-year-old only child. I need a plan of attack. And a back up plan of attack. And a back up for my back up.

Over reacting, you say? How can a face so cute be so out of control, you say?

Yeah, right.

Over and out.

Want to hear more from me? You can now follow me on Instagram! @thebrighterwriter

A Glamping We Will Go! Part 2 HERE

.

In A Nutshell

It's been exactly a year to the day that my family moved to this gorgeous state of Colorado. The last 12 months have been tragically bat-shit crazy yet amazingly beautiful all rolled into one. The major "to-do list" of things I set out to accomplish here have been checked off as well as an entire column of things that crept up on me throughout the journey.
This blog, like many other things in my life, has taken a back seat while I focus more on the doing and enjoying rather than the documenting and capturing. I must have lost track of time... No matter who you are or where you come from, every single person has tested themselves to find out if they have super powers, right? Turns out, I do not. I can only fully be in one place at a time, the computer just has not been that place lately.
Anyway, I'm getting off track here.

This year...

My point today, and one I've been devoting a ton of my concentration to recently (happily or not) is about a certain relationship that has absolutely dropped off the map for me. A relationship that I cherished more than I clearly should have. A relationship that has forever changed the way I love, the way I view chemistry, and even in some aspects, the way I am as a wife and a mother.

Sometimes in life, the stars align a certain way, the universe tilts just so, and paths cross our lives in just the perfect timing. It doesn't happen often, and I'm a firm believer that it doesn't happen to everyone, but when it does, it's like catching lightening in a bottle. Like "magic", so I was once told. There are certain circumstances in life and unexplainable connections that happen, that are so completely undeniable. Inconvenient or not.

So when and if it happens to you, and that bottle gets tossed out to sea like a wish, a take-it-or-leave-it sorta wish, it is absolutely heart breaking. Not just for the people involved, but for the entire Universe. It's a slap in the face really to the stars and the moon who worked so hard to bring everything together.

Kurt Vonnegut once said: "We are here on Earth to fart around, and don't let anybody tell you different."

This is a false statement.

 You cannot snuff out your lightening and replace it with a fart hoping none to be the wiser. Earth is not for farting around. Earth is for farting a straight and specific path directly to your lightening, like it or not. I do not believe you can just go back to regularly scheduled programming once you've had a taste of that magic. I do believe, however, that by trying to pretend it didn't happen, or whatever you're doing, you're being an asshole. So stop it. Because I really truly miss you.

And you know who you are...(...!!)

All that being said, I mainly wanted to take some time to catch up on our lives over here at the Fuller Farm.

This is me, changing the subject.

We've taken some new jobs, new outlooks, new vacations, and bought ourselves some new shoes. Jason's birthday, Mother's Day, and the closing of my sister's new monstrosity of a house have all gone underway without a hitch (or at least minimal hitches). With my girls-only trip (kids not included) to Paris(!!!!!) quickly approaching, this Summer has already made its presence known as the great and powerful season of 2013. I hope to find you all in great spirits and thanks again Blogspot for another great round of letting me babble on. Cheers!

By the way, if you're in need of a cute spring cleaning picture, here's your daily dose:

Surprise Anniversary post

My husband and I are on opposite ends of almost every spectrum. We see things through completely different lenses.

I eat vegetables and he eats meat-lovers pizza.

He watches sports, I watch reality TV.

He listens to Rise Against, I listen to good music.

He's up the bean stalk, I'm down the rabbit hole.

I'm "End of the World," He's "Life Goes On"

He farts loud and a lot, I only fart once a day and even then it's nothing to write home about.

My point is, we've learned how to compromise and happily at that. Things seem to somehow always turn out on the upside. I'm the left to his right. He's the white to my black. We've finally picked up the right rhythm. It took us a minute, but now that we're here, I wouldn't trade my journey for anything if it meant changing the outcome.

I will preface this post by saying I personally hate surprises. Like, I hate them. If you were to plan a surprise party for me and I didn't see it coming, I would flip out. Like a lot. I'm a planner. My husband knows this. My friends and family know this. I need advance notice even if I'm going to sneeze. It is not amusing to have things thrown at me. I may act like it's not a big deal on the outside, but inside I will secretly hate you. I will hate you a lot.

Jason on the other hand, loves spontaneity. He has no problem flying by the seat of his ass with an open schedule and not a care in the world. This works splendidly for us. I can plan things, months in advance, in complete secrecy, than then when I spring it on him, it's still spontaneous for him. This is why for our anniversary this year, I've planned out a weekend away that he knows absolutely nothing about.

Well, until now that he's reading this...

So Jason:

A few months ago I told you that Horsetooth Reservoir was having its seasonal marina opening party and that my boss desperately needed extra bartenders because it was our busiest weekend of the year at JJ's. I made you take days off of work because if I picked up shifts, there would be nobody around to watch our daughter.

I totally made all of that up.

I have no idea when the marina opens up at Horsetooth and I don't even know if they throw a party when it does open. I'm not going to work. My mom is here from LA to watch Kalynn and since we both have 3 days off work, I'm planed a secret weekend away.

I've rented us a 2 story, 3 bedroom cabin in the mountains which is walking distance from downtown Estes Park and still somehow totally secluded.

We have 2 nights and 3 days of total alone time where we can hit up The Stanley Hotel for cocktails and fancy desserts. Or we can head downtown to see live bands play at the local taverns. Or, since I bought us a weekend pass to Rocky Mountain National Park, we can pack a picnic lunch and a hike up to Bridal Veil Falls. Or we could go fishing since I secretly stole your drivers license and got your fishing permit when you weren't looking. Or we can bum around the cabin and do nothing. Or we can go to a movie at the Historic Park Theater. Or we can go have a classy dinner at some up-scale restaurant.

Whatever you want to do is totally OK with me, just know that whatever you choose, I'm wearing my wedding veil all damn weekend. You know, because it's tradition. Plus, if I wear my veil people will ask why I'm wearing it and then we get to say it's our 2nd anniversary and then they give us free stuff. Theoretically. It's a theory that still needs some testing.

So happy surprise "cotton" anniversary weekend, lets go!!

The Legend of Horsetooth Rock

So when Jason and I were first looking at places in Fort Collins to live via the Internet from California, we didn't know this town at all. The street names were completely foreign, we knew nothing about the neighborhoods and even less about the surrounding landscapes. We finally settled on a quaint little apartment sitting on the corner of Horsetooth and Timberline Road. Horsetooth is one of the busiest streets here in Fort Collins, named after the 25 mile long Horsetooth Reservoir located in the same county. Never one time did it occur to me to ask where the name Horsetooth came from. So it wasn't until months after living here that I came to find out the mountain directly in front of our little college town that was shaped so oddly was, in fact, Horsetooth Rock.

I always thought it looked funny, and now that it has been pointed out, OK yes, I see how it may look a bit like a horses molar.

After doing a bit more research, I've also come to find out this mountain has more of a story to it than just the coincidence of looking like a horses jacked up grill.

According to the Native American legend, The Valley of Contentment, (which is today's Horsetooth Reservoir) was at one time the responsibility of a giant. The Giant's job was to protect the wild animals in the valley from getting hunted by Chief Maunamoku and his tribe of Indians. So when the giant got in his way, the Chief led the Indians to slay him. The Chief himself went directly for the giant and in killing him slashed the center of his heart first, then the right, then the left with a tomahawk from the heavens. Upon his death, the giant turned into stone and his slain heart turned into what is now known as Horsetooth Rock.

Yes, well, isn't that pleasant?

There's actually another side to the story that the giant was super evil and that Chief Maunamoku saved the village people (the regular kind, not the YMCA kind) by coming to their aid and defeating the beast. Either way the story is told, the strange formation in the rock is the petrified heart of the giant. Years later, a group of fur trappers and traders decided that the mountain looked more like a horses tooth than a giant's slashed heart and shortly after the name Horsetooth started showing up on maps. So... Horsetooth was, in fact, their final answer.

So anyway, I've wanted to hike to the top of this giant's heart ever since I've laid eyes on it. I've been bugging my sister for months to come climb it with me, but we've never been able to sync our schedules...

...until last Thursday.

 5.5 miles round trip to a 7,260 ft summit is the funnest thing ever to do on a boring spring morning. What a blast! The trail is partly laid out in a nice friendly fashion and then the end you're actually climbing up a stone wall and hoping to find the top. Had we not run into a couple other hikers on the way, we most likely wouldn't have found our final destination.

So the moral of the story is... Don't take your local giant for granite.

(I'm so funny)

Also, if you live near Fort Collins, climb the rock. It's an amazing view at the top. On a clear day you can see parts of Wyoming so I've heard.

And now it totally makes since why my nephew randomly found a set of Giant's toes at the Spring Canyon Park which sits at the end of Horsetooth Road.

A Night At The Museum

Let me just preface this post by saying I have the best sister and brother-in-law that a girl could ever hope for. Not because of the things they do for us, but just because of who they are as people. They're the reason we're out here in Colorado and the reason we've felt as content as could be. Kalynn has quickly become best friends with her cousins Finn (age 5) and Harper (also age 3) and the three of them running around together yelling, laughing, and squealing is truly everything I thought it was going to be. They're absolutely hilarious to watch as a collective group.  So when my sister called and asked if we wanted to go to the Denver Children's Museum for Finn's 5th birthday, of course we were all over it.

Except...

This time we got to spend the night.

Like, grab our sleeping bags, throw on our pajamas, bring our pillows and sleep anywhere we choose all night long.

Apparently, once a year the museum allows a group of 30 people total, parents and kids included, to make a small (!!!) donation in exchange for renting the place over night to let us have the entire building all to ourselves.

I think I may have been more excited than my own child.

My husband and I took a trip back to his hometown in up-state New York a few years ago and visited my mother-in-law at The Strong National Museum of Play where she was working (Hi Penny!), so I sort of knew what I was getting into when they say children's "museum." Because at first I was thinking how boring it would be for a kid to go check out art exhibits and statues, which in my mind was what it was like. But no, no, no. I was very wrong.

The museum was closed to the public around 5pm, the doors opened for us at 6pm. The place is huge. I was hoping we had enough time to satisfactorily play in all the places we wanted to.

First thing we checked out was the veterinary room. Complete with doctor smocks, plastic stethoscopes, clip boards, play computer, phone and desk. We learned about pet health and safety while bandaging up patients (and throwing stuffed animals across the room at each other).

We hit up the apothecary shop, the garden, the fish pond, the blacksmith store, and the play kitchen. And yes, our daughter wears a tu-tu even with her pajamas. Big whoop.

There is a market provided by Whole Foods with tiny little shopping carts and healthy play food.

There is even a check out stand which goes smoothly after the negotiating of who will be checker and who will be shopper.

There is a romp room made up as half underground ant hill and half squirrel tree house. The kids are free to dress up as any animal and rummage for giant nuts and seeds.

The pillow acorns found in the bird's nest was a favorite for our bunny and platypus.

There is a paint gallery room for creating matching masterpieces together:

There's even a room devoted to the magic of bubbles where they drop down from the sky while kids jump up and down in science smocks and safety goggles competing to be the one who pops them first. Talk about team work, these kids spent hours manipulating all kinds of soapy suds to soak themselves in and blow on each other.

 You can even make a giant bubble from floor to ceiling in the bubble booth to stand inside of.

In the kinetic room you can literally play with the laws of motion. Plastic balls the size of  baseballs get sucked into the walls and spit out down ramps you build yourself. Kalynn learned all about momentum, gravity and how to build and test.

 Having the ability to run around a full sized fire truck in a miniature little fire hat and jacket was really fun for her as well as a great way to show community awareness. The fire station had everything it needed to show how firefighters help save the day and that they are on our side.

When it finally was time to get ready for bed, after our complimentary pizza (and wine!) we chose a nice soft corner of the lilly pad down in the infant room and rolled out our sleeping bags.

Waking up to coffee, pancakes and a few hours to do it all over again wasn't too bad a way to start the day.

I honestly couldn't have had a better time. The staff that stayed over night with us were so unbelievably welcoming and I don't think I've ever seen Kalynn, or her cousins for that matter, ever have a better time. If you have one of these sort of places in your area, check it out for sure. If you spend the night or not, the price is worth the experience!