13 things to do in the quad cities with your kids

            We have lived a lot of places and have tried to explore each area we've lived in. We lived in the quad cities (Iowa/Illinois border).  In the winters I used to have a hard time, because it was so cold, cloudy, and windy.  I have listed some ideas of what to do to help you get out of the house and keep those winter blues at bay. I have also listed some fun outdoors things to enjoy in the warmer months.

Spring/ Summer time

Quad city Botanical Center
This is a great place to go in the summer. On Mondays they do a dollar day! It has a splash pad area. The kids can build their own dam, play in the fake stream, & play in the sandbox area. My kids absolutely loved this place.  

Credit Island
It has a playground, beautiful view of the Mississippi river, and a great bike/walking trail. We also watched 4th of July fireworks from here. 
Splash Landing
Best splash pad & pool in the area. They have a darling, small kid area with a slide and a fun splash pad. They have another zero depth pool that has a cute kiddy pirate slide and bigger water slides for the older kids. Admission for 3 and older is $6 & at night it is only $3.
Niabi zoo
Small, but appealing zoo. They will sometimes do 2 free days a year. It has a train and a new playgroup area the kids love. It is smaller zoo, so going once a year is enough. 

Rocket park/McManus Park
This park is so cool. It has a lot of things there that accommodate special needs.  It has some awesome slides and swings. The kids love it. 
White Water Junction
My kids actually took swim lessons here. It is a lot less crowded than Splash Landing. My kids loved the slides there. It is also a zero depth pool. Great place to get some sun and let the kids play.
Quad cities river bandits baseball game
We went to a couple games and it is so much fun! Nothing more american than a baseball game. It is pretty cheap to get into games too. My daughter even won a t-shirt at one of the games for cheering so loud. 

First pic is  my daughter wearing the shirt she won

Fall/ Winter time


John Deere Pavilion
This place is really cool and it is FREE! You can see huge tractors and climb in them. They also have kid zone. You can check out the link here.

Pride of the Wapsi
A perfect Pumpkin patch.We have gone here twice and loved it. We went with a homeschool group. It included a hay ride, a pumpkin of your choice, an educational video on pumpkins, and access to their play area. On weekends they offer pony rides! The people there are so friendly! Go support them!

1-pumpkin they picked themselves 2-view from hayride 3-looking at chickens 4-petting sheep 5-sitting on the hayride

Happy Joes
This is a huge indoor play area with lots of tunnels and a small arcade. Go grab some pizza and a few tokens & enjoy a couple hours here. Seriously, getting out in the winter is necessary. Invite some other moms and go. 
Chick-fil-a
I love Chick-fil-a food. This is a great place for a play date. Grab some food, let the kids play, have some mom time to talk with friends.. win/win.
Story time at local library
We LOVE the library. We went to the Fairmount, Walcott, & Eastern branch. We lived closet to Walcott branch so we went erhe the most. The librarians there are so awesome, they took so much time to put together a great story time. Fairmount & Eastern do a fun dance party story time and ended with play time. Super fun!

playing at story time

Family Museum
This was a big hit with my kids. Their favorite part was the pizza place. There is a telephone that connects to the different play areas. Other kids would call in to order pizza & they had so much fun.

1- my son in the pizza oven 2- My daughter next to the phone & cash register 3- Firefighter dress up 4- veterinarian dress up & x-ray play area.

   We really enjoyed our time in the Quad cities and enjoyed a lot of what the city has to offer. I ran across a blog that has so much more about the area so check out Quad City Moms Blog for more info.

Beach Must Haves

    Can you believe it is already July? I feel like summer is flying by! On the upside, at the end of summer we are taking a beach trip. We are so excited! We will be driving so that means we can bring way more than we probably should. I will break down the top things we will need for our trip. Maybe it'll help you on your next beach trip.

Actual view from our beach house

This water though!

                            Floaties, life jackets, & noodles
We are renting a place that is right on the beach & it has a community pool. So the first thing we are bringing is floaties, life jackets, & noodles. My kids are obsessed with the idea of getting a poop emoji floatie. They also asked for a laughing/crying emoji or swan floatie. The big swan is like $40! It is fun to have floaties. Maybe we will even throw in a beach ball.
                            Sunscreen
Sunscreen is a must for obvious reasons. I really enjoy Neutrogena sunscreen. I usually just get 30SPF. We burn easily and it works great & it smells so delightful.
                           Board games & cards
During relaxation time when we aren't at the beach or pool the kids may get bored. So we like to bring a few board games. They really like Chinese checkers, Chutes and Ladders, and Guess Who. We also bring Uno & face cards. Pretty much every vacation, we bring cards.
                           Baby Powder 
So I've heard and seen many things on Pinterest saying baby powder helps with the sand mess. So apparently once you are dried off you just put baby powered where you have sand and it comes right off. I am totally trying this out!
                            Goggles
So I should've mentioned this along with floaties, but my kids have to have goggles to swim. I am not sure what they think happens if they don't have them, but it's not good. I can't argue that after a day of swimming in a pool your eyes do get red & sting from the chlorine. So I will not be forgetting them.
                            Bathing suits
With all that swimming, you need a few bathing suits. I have found that if you wait til say July or August to buy bathing suits, you may be out of luck. I was on Children's place website just yesterday looking for a bathing suit for my daughter and they had nothing! How can this be? We still have 2 solid months of swimming. It's so frustrating. Luckily she already has 2. I was hoping to score a deal, no such luck!
                          Aloe Aftersun Lotion
I am sure during our beach trip someone will get a sunburn. I've tried the green aloe stuff and it is so dang sticky! So, I have found Banana Boat Aloe aftersun lotion. It smells yummy and really works. It doesn't have the cooling sensation, but it really helps moisturize your burned skin. Another trick to curing a burn is tea. My dad you used to make tea and put it in the fridge and make it real cold. Then he would put a wash cloth soaked in tea on the sunburn. It takes the red & heat out almost immediately.
                          A good book
Bring a good book. If you have older kids you may just be able to finish it! Recently I reread These is My Words. It is amazing. I have a huge list of books I'd like to read, I am hoping I get to read a little while relaxing on the beach.
                          Video Camera
We have a waterproof handheld video camera and we've loved taking it to the beach or in the pool. We will probably upgrade to a Go-pro before our trip. It is so much fun to watch videos from vacations. I don't like to spend my whole vacation videoing or taking pictures, but it is really nice to have some photos and videos from your trip.
    Beach trips have always been my favorite vacations. They are low key and relaxing. The best thing about the beach is it's fun for the whole family & it's free entertainment! Leave a comment below & let me know what you bring to the beach.

Everything red, white, and blue... My secret obsession

     

     Anyone who knows me knows I have an obsession with the 4th of July. Who can resist fireworks, BBQing, red, white, and blue decor, & freedom?! Every summer I look forward to the 4th of July. I love America and I love red, white, and blue. I always feel so blessed when celebrating this holiday. So many people have sacrificed so much for our country and we are free because of that. 

                                   

     My 4th of July favorites

-Big fireworks 

The show your city puts on should be pretty sweet.

-BBQing 

Grilled shrimp, steak, hamburgers.. sign me up!

-Parades

So many floats, some candy being thrown, maybe even water sprayed at you.

-Wearing red, white, and blue

Nothing makes me feel more patriotic than wearing those colors! I have had my kids 4th of July clothes picked out for months now. Target has the cutest stuff! I ALWAYS paint my nails red or blue

-Making patriotic looking food 

I almost always make a fruit trifle. It is made with angel food cake, whip cream (homemade baby!), strawberries, and blue berries. I've made rice krispy treats that are red, white, and blue. I also make a flag cake. Guys, I am obsessed! I want to do even more this year!

-Glow sticks

Yes, glow sticks. Red, white, and blue ones of course! I buy a ton if we are having friends over to watch our own little firework show so all the kids can have them. If we got to a big show, I usually just buy enough for my kids....maybe me too. I always begged to buy glow sticks as a kid. People would walk around selling glow sticks, cotton candy, and popcorn at our towns firework show. Everything a kid could ever want!

     As a kid I always loved fireworks and the 4th of July. This obsession grew with age. One year my parents took us kids to a beach boys concert in the city & it was amazing. Not only was the show amazing but they shot off fireworks after that were shaped like planets, smiley faces, and all sorts of stuff. I feel like this only fueled my love for America. Below I have a collage of my 4th of July obsession. It started from a young age when I had that ridiculously  hideous stylish tweedy shirt. I have now pushed my obsession on my children...don't even worry they look adorable! I wish some of these were more up to date.

1- flag cake

2- fruit trifle

3- side view of fruit trifle

4- red, white, & blue dress on my daughter

5- inside of flag cake, tie dye!

6- at the BIG firework show. My daughter is wearing a flag shirt I made her! My son is enjoying the show from inside my belly.

7- patriotic babies! I can't stand their cuteness

8- sporting tie dye & tweedy! 90's... ha!

9- my sweet baby girl. Pretty much EVERY summer I buy at least one patriotic bathing suit. 

   Some of you are probably thinking, wow this lady needs help. Maybe I do, but how can you go wrong with loving America and embracing all the red, white, and blue the world can offer? Please let me know your own obsessions!!

                                 GOD BLESS AMERICA!

8 things to bring camping with kids

   

    We really enjoy nature and being outdoors. Well, summer is here!! So we have been trying to go camping, fishing, shooting, & anything else we can & to enjoy the beautiful weather. Camping is one of our favorites. We have 2 kids, so camping can be tricky. Have no fear, I have 8 things to help your next camping trip be a success!

1- Bring glowsticks

My kids go crazy over these things. I am not going to lie, I really enjoy them myself.  My kids like them when it gets really dark, they are like a little night light in our tent. Not to mention, when they are running around outside I can always spot them by their glowing bracelets.

2- Blankets

I know you are thinking, blankets... yeah I know sleeping bags, something to keep the kids warm. I agree, but I let me kids bring their own blanket. It is a little piece of home and comforts them. 

3- Cards... UNO or face cards

We like to bring UNO or face cards along anytime we camp. Our kids love it. We play go fish, war, slap jack or just good old UNO. If you are camping for a few nights or even just one, kids may get bored. Or maybe you just want to keep them close by while you prepare dinner. Give them some cards and viola, easy entertainment.

4- BUBBLES

I cannot tell you how many times we've gone camping and what a big hit bubbles are. We went with a big group of friends and brought bubbles and the kids had so much fun playing with them. The nice thing about bubbles is it entertains a wide age range. So much fun!

5- Water guns/water balloons

I say water guns. Just for the simple fact there is no clean up. You can get them at the dollar store or walmart for so cheap. We get the $1 ones from walmart that are long and skinny that suck up water. Then we've brought a bucket and fill it with water. That way they can suck up the water from it and you don't have to sit under the water spicket trying to fill up those tiny water guns with the tiniest hole! (seriously, who thought that was a good idea!?) They also make water balloons you can fill up like 50 or so at a time. Super fun & quick to fill. Then after make a game of who can pick up the most balloon trash! 

6-Kid food

We have all been there, you cook dinner just to have your kids say that's gross or I don't like that! So do yourself the favor and bring some kid friendly food. Whatever that may be... go-gurt, apples, cheese and crackers, hot dogs. You get the idea. You won't have to worry about hungry & cranky kids.

7- wet ones/ baby wipes

Kids are just straight up gross. Somehow they manage to get dirty in any situation. So be prepared and bring those baby wipes. We've used them for cheetos face to dirty worm gut hands. Baby wipes save lives.

8- toy/book

Hear me out. I realize that camping is to enjoy the outdoors and whatnot, but it doesn't hurt to have a few action figures or a book to read while hanging at the campsite. I usually will have my kids bring a few tiny toys and a book or 2 to read. My daughter is a book worm and will sit in her camp chair and read for a long time. It is very relaxing & she is still enjoying nature. My son will take his action figures and play in the dirt or wherever. It's fun & relaxing. 

  That's all the things I can think of for now. These things have made our camping trips much more enjoyable! Comment below on the things you've brought to make camping a better time.

                         Happy Camping!