admin, Author at 3 Kids and Us

Family Vacation Planning: Travel Strategies for Adventure Seekers

September 12, 2016 by admin

Family vacations are where great memories are made and there is every chance that you can create plenty of future topics of conversation, if your family is the sort who like the great outdoors and are always on the lookout for some adventure.

If fun and adventure are what you are all about as a family, there is a good chance that a vehicle like the Jeep Wrangler will tick all of the right boxes. You may also be keen on the idea of planning a vacation that meets your thrill-seeking requirements.

Family discussion

One of the keys to successful vacation planning is to ensure that everyone gets some input in the planning process, including younger children.

By the time your child has reached school age, they will often have formulated some ideas about the sights and sounds that interest them and places in the world where they might like to visit.

Even if you understandably get the ultimate sanction as to where you are heading for your next adventure, there is no reason why a good family discussion won’t help you to formulate some ideas and encourage your kids to suggest some things they would like to do when you get there.

Get creative

Although it can be useful to stick to standard tours when you travelling and get the guided insight to a particular venue that every other visitor enjoys as well, it can prove to be a strategy that sees the kids get bored very quickly.

You will often be rewarded with some much unique experiences and many more talking points from the trip, if you aim to get a bit creative and work on putting together your own itinerary, which includes excursions and locations that are not on the usual list.

Do some searches before you go and find some reputable local travel guides who might be able to set some things up for you.

Where to go

Every family is different and you may prefer to snorkellingto hiking or biking might be what everyone enjoys.

Obviously you will want to try and find a location that combines a mix of what everyone likes to do, together with some amazing local sights to take in and add to your excitement and enjoyment from the adventure.

You might decide that the mystical destination of Machu Picchu offers the perfect family adventure, or it could be that the Galapagos Islands are the ultimate destination. What you should find is that a lot of these sorts of venues will offer you almost as much adventure as you can handle, plus some opportunities relax and take it all in at the end of a busy day.

Take the Galapagos Islands as just one example. You should be able to get the adrenaline pumping with a mixture of rafting, biking, snorkelling and maybe even sea kayaking, combined with some simply amazing and breathtaking scenery and wildlife to appreciate.

Sit down with the whole family and start planning a vacation adventure like no other.

Rob Nicholson is a Father of two and as a keen off-roader, enjoys involving the family in his hobby too. It’s great family bonding time! He writes about off roading and other family adventures for parenting and travel blogs.

Details Every Mom Should Know When Buying Their Daughter’s Prom Dress

September 7, 2016 by admin

Shopping for a prom dress with your daughter can be an exciting and bonding experience but it can also be frustrating if you aren’t up to date on all the rules and details of prom these days. The dress trends and guidelines have massively changed since you attended prom so do your research before heading out to shop.

Check the dress code of your daughter’s school. Many schools have strict rules concerning modesty, beginning with that short dresses must be at least 17 inches from the waistline or at least mid-thigh and completely cover your daughter’s rear end when dancing. Some schools have other considerations such as prom dresses shouldn’t go lower than the bra line, have a completely open back, or show your daughter’s belly button. Therefore, it’s wise to know what’s not allowed and what your guidelines are before you begin shopping.

Research the current prom dress trends. This season, it’s all about modern flair, and how many colors can be worn throughout the seasons, especially the elegant-looking black. If your daughter wants a slimming, classic look, suggest a black dress in jersey or even lace. The two-piece gowns showing just a tiny bit of skin are also popular as is one-shoulder gowns.

Know which dresses fit your daughter’s physique the best and will flatter her. If your daughter has a curvy apple figure, try an empire waist dress because they’ll show off her bust line and flare out over her hips. If your daughter is petite, suggest a shorter bandage-style dress or a two-piece fit and flare dress because she’ll feel lost in a long gown. Just make it a goal to find something that makes her sparkle like a princess.

Know the actual rules of prom dress shopping today. For example, if your daughter is attending someone else’s prom or a junior prom, it’s tradition to wear a shorter dress. However, if it’s her senior prom, teen girls often opt for longer, elegant prom dresses. In addition, once your daughter finds her dress, it’s customary to post a photo of it on social media to make sure no one else buys it. Things sure have changed, haven’t they?

Shop at reliable prom dress shops. Pick a boutique that carries thousands of the current dresses so that you and your daughter can peruse a selection online and then try on a selection in-store. If you can, find a shop that not only has exceptional customer service but will assist you in today’s rules by keeping track of which dress your daughter ordered to ensure no other classmate wears the same one.

Be prepared for shopping day. In order to have a fun and successful day, eat a good breakfast before you start and make sure you discuss the budget. In addition, bring an emergency kit, complete with hair supplies to experiment with, band-aids, and snacks to keep energy up.

Prom has really changed in its trends since you went to prom, but you can help your daughter look gorgeous and appropriate if you follow these trends.

Do Your Part For Mother Nature. Recycle Now!

September 5, 2016 by admin

Nowadays, almost everybody in the world is aware of the damaging effects of pollution and global warming as well as diminishing resources. While most people would probably admit they could do more to help the environment, they at least do a little. Needless to say, there could be a range of very negative consequences if the world doesn’t change its ways, and that’s why every little helps even if more could be done.

Some people have taken to cycling to work as to reduce their carbon footprint by not using their vehicle. Obviously, this isn’t always possible depending on the distance between a person’s property and their place of work, but many people are choosing to carpool or use public transport in a bid to reduce harmful emissions.

Most households take recycling seriously, and the majority of homes in Australia are provided with recycling bins to make sure waste doesn’t get thrown into a landfill unnecessarily. For the most part, separating plastic, cardboard and glass is a simple enough task, but there are situations when that duty isn’t so easy.

Take, for example, home renovations, which often result in a huge amount of waste. That waste could include bricks, glass, wallpaper, and general junk, and when there’s such an overwhelming amount of it, many homeowners will simply go back and forth to their nearest tip throwing everything straight into a bin. However, there’s an easier way to dispose of waste, and it also allows homeowners to do their part for the environment.

West Bin is an example of a company that provides a skip hire service to the Perth area, and there are plenty of other reputable companies that serve other areas of Australia. Hiring one of these companies makes recycling easy – so easy that homeowners aren’t required to lift a finger.

How Skip Hire Companies can Help Homeowners Recycle

For many people, the main advantage of hiring a skip is that they won’t have to dispose of waste themselves. However, they might be less aware of some of the other advantages, especially with regards to the environment.

Separating waste materials responsibly – Part of a skip hire company’s job is to salvage whatever materials they can, and they’ll make sure that all recyclable materials are dealt with responsibly.
Guaranteeing efficiency – Sometimes, homeowners aren’t quite sure of what can and can’t be recycled, and that often results in some waste unnecessarily being thrown in the trash. For a professional skip hire company, this is never a problem because they have years of industry experience.
Dealing with hazardous substances – Old fridges and car batteries amongst other items often need to be disposed of in a specific way. Skip hire companies like West Bin will do all the hard work.

For an inexpensive service, there really are a tonne of amazing benefits to utilising a skip provider. It makes disposing of waste simple for homeowners, it helps keep neighbourhoods clean, and it enables people to do their part for the environment.

Tools of the online shopping trade

August 31, 2016 by admin

Shopping has never been so easy with the inception of the internet. Consumers can find clothing, accessories, electronics, etc, all at the tips of their fingers. With all this variety, it’s hard to tell if web sites are offering the best possible prices for goods and services. How can one be certain that they aren’t paying too much? There are many answers to this very question.

The first thing a customer can do is simply compare prices. With the power of the internet, it is not hard to find the same product offered by different companies. The easiest thing to do is simply look for the product on a different website. Search browsers make this easy by offering a shopping search. Just type in the product you are looking for and you’ll see the product and the multiple websites it is listed on.

The internet also offers many coupon websites as well. One of the better ways to acquire coupons is by using the Honey plugin for the Google Chrome browser. This plugin will search the internet and automatically try to utilize different coupon codes on e-commerce checkout pages. It takes the tedious nature of searching for coupons out of the picture. The built-in logic is also smart enough to apply the best coupon and not just the first one that works.

Another popular site for getting spectacular deals on the internet is a website called Groupon. Groupon is a website where you can buy discounted products and/or services. This site has truly become a norm for the thrifty shoppers of the world. With the ability to use your location to find local business, Groupon makes it easy to get discounted items services near you.

There are various auction sites out there that will allow you to procure products at auction prices. The first one to come to mind is Ebay. This is a very nice site which allows you to bid on a particular item and purchase products for a fraction of the retail price. It is a very good site for collectors too

Probably the most well-known site to get great deals is Amazon.com. Amazon allows customers to buy New or pre-owned items from their website. With one of the largest retail inventories on the internet, it is easy to find the right product you are looking for. To top it off, with a Prime membership, you can get free shipping on all purchases as well.

Finally there are many wholesale sites out there such as overstock.com. These sites offer all the products known and trusted at a fraction of the cost. Overstock.com even offers a rewards program where a consumer can earn money towards a future purchase.

The power offered to the savvy online shopper is truly amazing. With a little bit of work, aided by all the e-commerce tools the internet provides, a consumer can get the most out of his or her money.

Why Renting A Car Is More Convenient In Canada

August 15, 2016 by admin

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If you’re hitting the road this summer, especially if you are taking the kids along with you, you might be wondering how best to go about planning your exciting trip but also ensuring you’re going to have a stress-free time and lots of opportunity to make the most of your time away. If you’re heading to the vast country of Canada especially, hiring a car is perhaps the most useful thing you can do to ensure flexibility and freedom given the wide open spaces and distances between points of interest. Here we look at a few of the great drives you can do throughout Canada, and why renting a car is much more convenient.

The East

The east coast of Canada is alive with numerous provinces, all clumped together in a small, and drivable area. From Quebec City to Sydney, Nova Scotia, visitors to this side of the country are in for a treat while they drive through three fantastic provinces – each with their own unique blend of tastes, sights, sounds and culture. French culture and historical architecture is prominent in the cities of Montreal and Quebec City, both being within a few hours driving distance of Edmundston in New Brunswick and then further on to Fredericton, Saint John and Moncton before hitting the still very quintessentially Scottish feeling province of Nova Scotia. Of course, this is a lengthy journey, and should be done only if you have time, but with many of these areas, fly and drive holidays are ideal, allowing you to pick and choose several locations and have an enjoyable time checking out the sites. Many of these locations offer brilliant activities for children from beaches to forests and everything in between.

Prairies

The Prairies are home to some fantastic scenery – particularly throughout southern Alberta, where there are a number of interesting locales to visit, except many require a brief drive from the main cities of Calgary or Medicine Hat. With places near the Rocky Mountains such as the Crowsnest Pass, the Frank Slide, and Head-Smashed-In-Buffalo-Jump, you are sure to find something to delight everyone in the family on south west side of Calgary. To the east, you have the dinosaur-filled town of Drumheller, placed in a strange but picturesque canyon, prime for hiking, viewpoints and exploring nearby ghost towns of Rosebud and Wayne. If you have more time you can drive up the Icefields Parkway, from Canmore, through Banff and into the town of Jasper to the north, a scenic drive that is known for taking people’s breath away and plays host to a number of amazing stop offs, campsites, a glacier that you can walk on and more. The kids will love being able to say they have actually walked on a glacier – and what’s more fun than a snowball fight in the summer?

Don’t take it from me though, check out some of the other amazing adventures to be had all throughout Canada by car, and enjoy the freedom and flexibility that comes with renting a car and moving at your own pace. All the places mentioned are fantastic for kids and will help them really get back to nature and help everyone soak up a bit of the numerous pockets of culture and wonder that make up Canada. Renting a car will help keep the kids relaxed and happy too, to make sure everyone has the best time possible. Enjoy!