(Scroll down to RSVP; you can also RSVP with Listen to Lena!) In the mid-1960s, Walt Disney’s dream was to build a family resort destination like no other. The dream became a reality when Walt Disney World Resort opened in 1971, featuring Magic Kingdom as the centerpiece. If you’ve ever wished to gaze upon Cinderella’s castle,…
#NikonMOMents, part II: Canada Day (sponsored post)
I was never more patriotic than when I left Canada to work and travel abroad for three years in my mid-20s. Being away from home soil, connected to strangers in another country by flags and shirts of red and white, is a powerful experience. I’ve celebrated Canada Day with ex-pats both in Covent Garden (a…
PC spells “summer”
We are a house of label-lovers. We happily squander money that should really go to savings because we like brand-name stuff. Clothes, shoes, makeup. You name it. But when it comes to food, there is one private-label brand that’s always knocking out the branded competition in our fridge and pantry: President’s Choice. I think in…
How to make a Skylanders Portal of Power birthday cake
He had begged me for months. “Mommy, I’m serious: the only kind of cake I want for my birthday is a Skylanders Portal of Power cake.” Oh, that’s all? Right. I’ve proudly made and decorated each of my kids’ birthday cakes every year. It’s kind of my thing. But my “thing” also involves renting a pre-formed Wilton…
Wordless Wednesday: SLOTDOG makes hot dogs into haute dogs
African Lion Safari
I was about seven or eight years old the first time I visited African Lion Safari. We owned a grey Cutlass, or something equally domestic, and the one and only recollection I have of that day is of the baboons. One yanked the antenna off of our car, while two of his little friends cheekily…
Aruba: one of the best island getaways you’ll ever take
I first went to Aruba four years ago when The K Man was a week shy of two years old and Miss Q was growing in my belly. We got a killer deal from TravelZOO and stayed at the Occidental Grande Aruba. Loved it. Loved Aruba. It’s one of those places that feels like home to…
#FamilyTravelCA chat: vacation photography
If a picture’s worth a thousand words, then a picture from vacation must be worth a million. Join this month’s #FamilyTravelCA Twitter chat on Tuesday, May 27 from 9 to 10 p.m. EST with hosts @Listen2Lena, @ChildMode, @SassyModernMom and @FeistyFrugal alongside moderators @kidsumers, @RossanaWyatt, @Candace_Dx and me! We’re talking pics, photographic memories and tips to make…
Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Punta Cana
Big B and I went to Las Vegas for our honeymoon in 2007. It was a wild idea: get married in The Bahamas and honeymoon in Vegas. Kind of backwards, but we’re weird like that. It was January, and I was totally unprepared for how frigidly cold it would be. I mean, it’s the freakin’…