Cancun – The Perfect Romantic Getaway
Our first time to Villa del Palmar Cancun was as a couple, no kids, no friends, just us. It was our second time to Cancun, but first at this resort. This one was much better than the other one we stayed at with friends a few years ago. It was beautiful, less busy than the […]
Boats, roller coasters, and beaches… Oh my!
2022 Summer Vacation #1: Lake Okoboji, Iowa We took our second family adventure to Fillenwarth Beach Resort at West Lake Okoboji a few weeks ago and it was EVEN BETTER than it was when we went to visit in 2020! We got to see so much more of the area, visit Arnold’s Park Amusement Park, AND visit […]
BIG NEWS GUYS!
I have joined Elite Travel Concierge, LLC as a travel agent and can now OFFICIALLY help you guys plan and book vacations.. I will still keep my eyes open for awesome travel deals as I find them, but can now find and book THE BEST PRICES on international destinations, cruises , all inclusive resorts , air/hotel packages , […]
Find Your Winter Fun in… Cabo San Lucas!
As 2021 wraps up, (hopefully) we can start getting excited to travel again! The kind of travel that involves resorts and airplanes NOT more trips from the home office to the backyard… #sorrynotsorry. I am the kind of person that LOVES to go somewhere warm in the dead of an Iowa winter, and if you […]
Best Family Roadtrip: From the Cedar Valley to Des Moines to Kansas City…
A lot of families plan vacations over the summer months, but we are planning our BIG family vacation to a tropical destination next winter. This left me wondering what we could do with the kids this summer, that is within driving distance, won’t take a whole week, and won’t cost a ton of money. If […]
Family Fun at Lake Okoboji!
I have to be honest with you guys… I have lived in Iowa for 15 years (give or take) and have never been to Lake Okoboji. *gasp* I know. It is absolutely beautiful, there is tons of fun stuff to do, and it is only 3.5 hours from my house. However, we have just never […]
Enjoy a Moms-Only Weekend in Panama City Beach!
You guys, 2020 really killed my travel dreams and I am super excited to get back to travelling with friends and family. Not to get to sappy on you, but my hometown (Paradise, CA) was engulfed by a wild fire in 2018 and I have several high school best friends that I haven’t been able […]
Hotel Deals
So there are A LOT of different ways to find hotel deals. Everything from using a discount travel site (like Hotels.com or Priceline) to something like BookVIP (which are awesome deals, but DO require you to go to a timeshare presentation). Groupon has hotel and travel deals as well (we got a great deal on […]
Travel Woes 2020
Well guys, I went pretty MIA during the pandemic… I didn’t know what all I could say about travel, restaurants, and attractions when MANY of them were closed. I had several trips cancelled this year (which sucked pretty bad) and now our COVID-19 numbers (in my area) are on the rise again, which I am […]
Cancun – Family Style
Villa del Palmar Cancun is our favorite resort in Cancun AND our favorite Villa Group resort (so far). For our 3rd trip to Cancun, we decided to take the kids along. It was our first time travelling internationally and I wasn’t sure how it would go. But they did AMAZING! The kids loved the resort: […]
Chicago for a weekend with the kids? Yes, please!
We have been to Chicago twice (as a family) and both happened to be in 2018: once in the Spring for the debut and finale of my acting career (I was an extra on Chicago Fire one time) then a few weeks before Christmas. They were entirely different experiences and we are already planning a […]
Sea Lions, Pirates, and Tequila – Oh my!
We come from the Midwest and are always looking to escape the bitter cold winters to somewhere affordable. Our family took our first trip to Puerto Vallarta in April 2019. The weather was impeccable (only one day of rain), the ocean was gorgeous, the location was perfect for exploring the city, and the kids had […]
Travel Hacks – Road Trip!
You guys, we took the longest road trip of my life this past summer (not including the move halfway across the country when I was 19): Eastern Iowa to Deadwood, South Dakota… with 2 kids (13 and 6 year old boys). We were planning to stay in a large cabin with a huge group of […]
Mystery Shopping is no longer a mystery…
What is mystery shopping? How do you do it? How much do you make? Is it a scam? These are all questions that I have heard when I tell people about my mystery shopping assignments. So I’ll start with saying: it’s legit and I like doing it. If you are interested, here are some of […]
Can you Visit Orlando and not Spend a Fortune?
Why yes, yes you can… Our final family adventure of the Summer was taking our first trip to Orlando! No one in our family has been to Florida before and I got some pretty decent rates on airfare flying from Des Moines to Sanford (which is about 45 minutes Northeast of Orlando). FYI – it […]
Timeshares: Deal or No Deal?
I am not sure that everyone has had experience with timeshare companies or “vacation memberships”, so it is worth mentioning in my blog about family travel on a budget. Especially since you can get some pretty awesome deals if you are willing to sit through a timeshare presentation. I am about to unfold the secret […]
Best Deal on anything from Theme Parks to Nail Salons? Start with Groupon
If you aren’t using Groupon yet, you are definitely overpaying for something. I’m serious, you can definitely find online deals on products, but they also have hotels, waterparks, fun attractions, restaurants, and salons. Every time I look at spending money on restaurants, attractions, or travel (whether it’s rural Iowa or Orlando), I check for Groupon […]