Greenhorn Creek Guest Ranch

When I was a kid I heard, and saw on tv shows and in movies, where people would go on summer vacations where the kids would go fishing and swimming, spending time with their parents. I never really went on those type of vacations when I was a kid, and didn't think that they really existed.

For the past three years, we have gone to the Greenhorn Creek Guest Ranch.  This dude ranch is right outside of Quincy CA.  We have had a blast every single time that we have gone.  The kids love it, even though they are too young to ride out on the trails.  They go fishing, catch frogs, go swimming.  There are wagon rides to cookouts.  One night a week, the kids are able to race the frogs that they caught.  There is a game room with various games, that our son loves to play.  For the kids over 6 years old, they can ride their horses on the trails.

For everyone, in addition to the riding, there is a softball and volleyball games against the staff .  There is also a card night, a karaoke night, a guest rodeo, and a bunch of other activities.

For us, the best part about going is that we can go and have fun with our kids, and not have to worry about making food or cleaning up the room.  And we know that when we are on our rides, that the kids are safe and having fun.

We would recommend the Greenhorn Creek Guest Ranch to everyone.

Helping with the dishes

Our dog was helping with the dishes.  (Of course it is easier when the little one drops the bowl on the floor from the high chair)

TotSpot

TotSpot is a site that wants to be the place where you share informartion about your kids, as they grow up, with family members.  You can share photos, journal, or milestones with family.  Also, TotSpot is trying to be the place where you can keep these record for your own purposes.  They will soon be adding the ability to order baby books that contain the information and photos that you have uploaded.  These could be some very nice books, assuming that you consistantly enter information for your kids.

TotSpot allows you to specify access controls for who can access the site that you have set up.  In addition to that access controls, you can see a log of who accesses your site.

[TechCrunch]

My Own Shower

Our kids don't really like showers, but they don't mind baths.  Unfortunately, their baths take a lot of time, and use a lot of water.

I saw the My Own Shower at Smarthome, and I thougt that it would help the kids take showers.  I installed it on Saturday, and the kids seem to like it. We'll see if their current tendancy towards showers continues.

Bing Bang Boing

Now, this looks like a fun game.  Now why don't they make any games like this any more?  I mean, don't you miss the games that teach physics like this.  How bad are flying choking hazzards anyway?

http://www.youtube.com/v/58-LXdEkLtY

[via Boing Boing] 

Alphabet book video

This looks like a pretty cool book.  I am not sure how long it would last around the kids.

 
http://www.youtube.com/v/wnZr0wiG1Hg

Simpler Family Life ideas

This blog post has some very good tips to make family life easier with kids.  I really like these suggestions:

1. Self-sufficiency


2. One Calendar


3. Quiet bedtime routines


4. Reduce Commitments

[via The Blogfathers]

Adult lollipops

This post on Strollerderby mentions some hilarious, but real, lollipops.

The Kid's Song

Yesterday, I decided to listed to last.fm, which I haven't done in a while.  While listening, I heard The Kid's Song by Moxy Früvous.  This is a pretty fun song, that I think that the kids would like, and I don't mind.  I am going to check out the other songs on the album, to see if we want to get it.

http://xml.truveo.com/eb/i/2732558404/a/58ef677afb89fc040e3dec6de7dd6c26/p/1

Britax Sale

Amazon is having a sale on Britax products.  We really like the Roundabout, and have two of them.

Safety at Toys "R" Us

I received this email from Toys R Us a few days ago.  It looks like they want to sell toys that are safer for children.  They are now going to have stricter standards for lead in toys.  Also toys with PVC and toys that contain nickel-cadmium batterys are going to be restricted.

I think that this is a great step, but this seems to be more of a marketing message than real change.  For example, they are making these requirments only for products that are made exclusively for Toys R Us.  How much of a change will this actually be?

• How many manufacturers make products that are only sold through Toys R Us?  How many products will this affect?


• Will products exclusively sold at stores owned by the company that owned by Toys R Us be included?  For example, if a toy is only sold at Babies R Us and Toys R U will it be required to meet the new requirements?


• Since Amazon has partnered with Toys R Us, will the toys that are sold on Amazon complay with the new standards?

 

Father/Son Wii

Our son has been having trouble focusing on his school work, while he is at school.  We are trying different tactics to encourage him to do his work at school, so he doesn't get behind his class. 

What is working now is that if he finishes his work at school, we can play 20 minutes of video games, while his sisters are taking their baths and getting ready for bed.

I think that he really enjoys this time with me. A couple of days ago, when I was pulling into the garage, he came downstairs and told me, before I even finished getting out of the care that "I finished all of my seat work at school!"

It is nice to see him excited about hanging out with his dad.

Shades of Black

Shades Of Black is a great children's book that our kids love.  We actually just bought another copy, since the first really started to show a lot of wear.

The Mean Step-sister One

Our oldest daughter is into princesses, so it is not surprising when she talks about princesses.  One evening she came down stairs and said: "This is my mean step-sister one", referring to her nightgown.  What she meant by that was that it didn't twirl as much as some of her other ones.

Weeblock

This is hilarious.  I didn't realize that being peed on while changing a diaper was such a problem.  The Weeblock is supposed to prevent this problem.

 

[via drool.icio.us] 

Tiny Tots

We have decided to use a diaper service for our little girl.  We are using Tiny Tots diaper service.  In addition to not having a bunch of diapers ending up in the landfill, I am hoping that this will save a little money, as we will not need as large of a garbage can.

The only thing is that we need to make sure that her pants are loose enough to fit the larger diaper. 

Bad day

Sometimes I feel like this at work:

http://www.youtube.com/v/D4a1z7NLnNk