DIY Father's Day Painted Canvas with Photo Frame

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Men are always so hard to buy gifts for. While some Fathers may be OK with a tie, Mr. BBH doesn't want any gifts.  Handmade gift are alway accepted in our family though. I painted a tie for my dad when I was little and he still has {it in the back of his closet}.  One year for my Grandpa (z"l), I painted the name of all the grandchildren on a pair of shoes for my and he actually wore it for years.   

I found these really cute Create-A-Canvas with a photo frame at Michaels, and knew that I had a really fun gift for Mr. BBH.  

Materials
Create-A-Canvas
Paint
Paintbrushes
4x6 Shutterfly Photo Print ($.15 order online & pick up at Target)

You can leave the entire photo inside.  There is a film on the plastic insert that you can peel off before inserting your own photo.  It is much sturdier if you leave in ON while painting (we did not and it was flimsy). 

For me, the hardest part of the project is letting your kids be creative and do whatever they want on the canvas alone.  Baby Bear started out very colorful then made a blue mess.  

I let the canvas dry and had her add a 2nd layer.  You could also add a masking tape design or a vinyl sticker with a saying or name to peel off later.  

Have your kids sign and date the painting and insert your photos! 

What are you crafting for Father's Day?

Tales of my Prima Ballerina

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Baby Bear took a ballet class.  I was expecting her to wear a cute costume and do a few pliés and sashays across the stage and we would kvell over her cuteness.  It would have fulfilled all of my hopes for Baby Bear's first dance recital and I would have been more than fine with that.

Who knew that "I'm the line leader" meant that Baby Bear was the prima ballerina! Imagine my surprise when she stood in front of the class and everyone [semi] followed her movements! 

She is the one in the front with the white tights! 

Baby Bear takes a bow

The night ended with a rose for the ballerina.  I remember my grandma got me a bouquet of mini roses in fancy long plastic box with a bow around it.  

Outing with Great Grandma

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My grandma, their Great Grandma took 

us out for a *Special Day*

Here are a few snapshot of the THREE whole dollars that GiGi gave them and what Baby Bear did: 

Breakfast with Birds-Traveling with Kids Part 4

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The coolest breakfast that we had was not a breakfast with Disney Characters, but a breakfast with wild birds!  The Jimmy's Fish House and Iguana Bar was attached to our hotel {kids of guests eat free} and there is an amazing view of the harbor.  Every time we were there, we saw incredible birds hanging around.  The best was George, a white crane.

We were told that George has been coming around for years to steal eggs at breakfast time.  He would run away if you got close to him, but he was not shy if he was close enough to grab your eggs off of your plate. 

Good food or not, this is the place to go if you want to do some wildlife watching. If you look in the water from the dock, we spotted some beautiful large fish. The first day we were there, we could see dolphins from the porch and there have been manatee sightings this week too.  

Busch Gardens-Part 3

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We took the girls to Busch Gardens.  

I had never been there before and knew that Baby Bear would love going on the rides and Mini loves Elmo.  They have a Sesame Street Safari area for kids.  

Mr. BBH tried to win a big stuffed animal.  It was really fun to watch him try!  I know if he did it a few more times he would have been able to do it, he is really strong! 

Baby Bear was just at the tip of the OK height for Sesame and she liked the rides.  There were no lines, so it was great for her to get to go on all of the fun mini rides.  We even briefly saw Elmo at the Sesame show.  {it was canceled after a few minutes do to Grover having a leg cramp. wtf?} 

The parts where you could see the animals were for kids over a certain age which was really disappointing.  We took a train ride through the preserve and saw some from afar.  It got too hot after a few hours so we stopped for lunch and went back to the hotel.  Mini got a little too hot and we stopped in the first aid station to have her looked at.  Thank God, she was just too hot.  

Family Tips:

• Bring your own water bottles, snacks, hats, sunglasses, lots of sunscreen
• Make sure that weather is on the cooler side and go early enough so you are there when the park opens and not in the heat of the day
• Pay the $5 more for the premium parking so you can get to and from your car more easily.  There is still a small walk, but no tram ride to the entrance.  
• Busch Gardens is better for kids under 3 {free! over 3-Baby Bear cost $96!} or kids  tall enough to go on all rides. {There is a certain height you have to be UNDER to go on the Sesame rides and a gap between the height to go on the big rides.}
• Buy tickets online {they are $10 less} 

phil & teds stroller giveaway + sale!

Pin It Now! With my recent stroller obsession to find a great stroller for camp, I came upon some great stroller sales on zulily.  There is a zulily phil & teds Stroller Sale and Giveaway 5/15-5/18!  

It looks like the perfect stroller for Baby & Mini for camp since it has the double seats

 {the jump seat is removable}, large wheels, storage basket and sun canopy.

I am entering to get one for me and a reader! If you are interested in winning a new stroller please comment on my facebook page with which color you like the best from here! 

 Save up to $150 on 4 stroller styles in this zulily sale
5/15 at 6am PT – 5/18 at 6 am PT:
o Navigator
o Dot
o Smart Stroller
o Promenade

A little about the Navigator:
• Buggy and Second Seat that can adapt to changing needs with 26 riding options spanning birth to toddler for one or two children.
• Infant Car seat compatible with one or two car seats
• Highly maneuverable frame with compact one-hand fast fold 
• The world's first Auto Stop(TM) inline(TM) stroller 

Could this be our stroller?  Be sure to see how to win in the above post!

**This post contains affiliate links and I will be compensated if you make a purchase after clicking on my links.

Florida Aquarium-Traveling with Kids- Part 2

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We took the girls to The Florida Aquarium in Tampa.  

The girls and I in front of the aquarium

It was a pretty good drive from where we were staying in Clearwater Beach. 

Some of the exhibit is hands on touching with sea creatures like the Horseshoe Crab and you can also see them through the aquarium glass. 

Notice I am the only one touching the crab!

A majority of the aquarium is more like a zoo with marine life.  In the zoo part, there is land, sea, and sky animals.  Most of the birds can roam around freely.  The upper part in the zoo has a Madagascar exhibit where they have Lemurs and other animals from Madagascar. 

There are some of the traditional style aquarium rooms to see.  Baby Bear's favorite was the Grouper because he does look like Mr. Grouper from Bubble Guppies.

We also love the pigmy seahorses because her horse at camp is a pony.  We talked about how they were similar and different.  There is a whole room with different kinds of seahorses and pipefish (a straight body seahorse)

It was more of an indoor zoo then the aquarium type that they have in Chicago. They also have an outdoor waterpark that we did not go to and a dolphin boat tour. (Great plus so bring suits and towels to take advantage of this).

Other info: to buy tickets go here

General Admission	Regular Price	Online Price
Adults	$23.95	$21.95
Seniors 60+	$20.95	$19.95
Children under 12	$18.95	$17.95
Children 2 & under	Free	Free

Admission / Wild Dolphin Cruise Combo	Combo Value	Online Price
Adults	$49.90	$39.95
Seniors 60+	$44.90	$35.95
Children under 12	$40.90	$31.95
Children 2 & under	Free	Free

 

Traveling with Kids- Part 1

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We left early not knowing what the airport would be like. The Toledo Express Air (TOL) is really small, so parking was no problem.  The lot is right in front of the airport and easy to bring all of our stuff inside.  

{We borrowed a City Mini Double Stroller, and it is great! Two sleepy girls, no problem taking them into the airport.}

Once everyone was awake, they had a great play area for little kids.  

They are Step2 play things, a company located in Ohio! 

Baby Bear has been on a plane before many times (Mini once) but this is Baby Bear's first flight where she is able to really understand and ask questions about flight.  

It is so cool to be able to see the development in Baby Bear.  Her favorite is to ask a yes/no question.  She will ask the question and then say "yes or no." These are great cues to go into depth about the world around us.  

Win a Trip for 2 on Allegiant Travel!

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Baby Bear Hugs will be traveling to Clearwater Florida on Allegiant Travel on Thursday! Follow along as we share our family trip and travel experience and enter to win one of your own!!

Enter on the Rafflecopter below! 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

*******************************************************************************Thanks to everyone for entering! Winner will be posted when they email back the confirmation!