DLTK's Blog: All Posts
Crafts for Kids and Family Travel
Kananaskis: Ha Ling Peak Trail + Hiking Guide
POSTED ON AUGUST 5, 2021 BY TASHA
As summer starts to wane and while the weather stays hot, I’ve been doing a lot of early morning hikes. Since I am visiting friends and family in Calgary, Alberta this year, morning hikes with them are a great way to beat the heat and the crowds of Kananaskis in the summer! Kaitlyn and I went to Middle Lake with [...]
Grassi Lake Trail Guide in Kananaskis, Alberta, Canada
POSTED ON JULY 24, 2021 BY TASHA
If you live near or are planning a trip to Banff National Park in Alberta, Canada, you MUST check out the super quick and easy hike at Grassi Lake Trail! Let me tell you: Grassi Lake Trail is the perfect hike for beginners, families, and those of us who just want a quick-and-easy day in the mountains with loved ones [...]
Winter Wonderland @ Home
POSTED ON November 15, 2020 BY KAITLYN
Just like many others, I switched to working entirely from home back in March and it has been a little bit of an adjustment learning how to enjoy spending the whole day in one space. I love my apartment and put a lot of work into making it all comfy-cozy when I first moved in! Nonetheless, as soon as we got our first snowfall [...]
Crashing Mom + Dad's Date Night: #ChefLocal Style
POSTED ON OCT 24, 2020 BY TASHA
For me, October has been a time of reconnection, family, and LOTS of homecooked food. I have been back in my hometown of Calgary, Alberta for this entire month (to allow room for the 14-day quarantine), and I have [...]
Tombstone Lakes in Kananaskis Country
POSTED ON AUG 30, 2020 BY TASHA
As summer comes to an end, I wanted to share a fond memory! Last summer, my sister and I went on a short overnight backcountry camping trip + hike. Callum and Griffin joined us, and we all [...]
Summer Swims + Soup
POSTED ON July 17, 2020 BY TASHA
Griffin and I each grew up near a lot of nature—albeit, in different parts of Canada. Griffin grew up on beautiful properties in southern Ontario; I grew up in a house near a lake (McKenzie), where I [...]
Bruce Trail: Bruce Peninsula National Park
POSTED ON July 15, 2020 BY TASHA
If you are planning a (future) vacation to or around Toronto, Ontario, Canada, I 10/10 would recommend adding Bruce Peninsula National Park to your list. The drive is 3-4 hours one way, depending on where you [...]
Bruce Trail: River Hiking
POSTED ON June 28, 2020 BY TASHA
Near our home, we have access to an expansive waterfall chain. This large set of waterfalls is in Hamilton and is an offshoot of the well-known Bruce Trail in Ontario! Along this waterfall chain, hikers set out to [...]
A Container Garden for Close-Quarters Living
POSTED ON June 22, 2020 BY TASHA
The place where Griffin and I live is very tiny (just under 750 sq. ft). We moved from our small-town Ontario house to Hamilton in October of 2019 to make my Ph.D. work commute a little lighter. Obviously, COVID-19 changed our initial [...]
Packing for Chedoke Falls
POSTED ON May 15, 2020 BY TASHA
This week, my Instagram feed crossed over to the daily headlines: social media "influencers" have come under fire for the packing up and leaving major city centers during the 2020 pandemic [...]
Trying the Dalgona Coffee Trend
POSTED ON May 6, 2020 BY TASHA
Today, we decided to try a popular TikTok trend: Griffin and I made "Dalgona Coffee," a whipped coffee drink with a yummy caramel flavour. On TikTok, a growing app for everyone [...]
Grow Tall Little Plant
POSTED ON April 22, 2020 BY KAITLYN
This year I decided to try my hand at plant parenting and, while there were some ups and downs, I feel like it was a success! I was pretty nervous to commit to raising house plants because when I was eighteen I bought a bonsai tree and it did NOT go well...
Chicken Stock for the Uncertain Soul
POSTED ON October 29, 2018 BY TASHA
Something that I am seeing circulate a lot right now is the word “uncertainty.” These are, obviously, very uncertain times, and I think a major lesson that I am learning is how important the small and everyday acts of care and service are for survival. These acts might [...]
A Brief Respite
POSTED ON March 30, 2020 BY LEANNE
I’ve received a few questions from viewers asking why I don’t have more focus on current events on the website now. So I thought I’d sit down and tell you where my head’s at...
Connecting
POSTED ON March 25, 2020 BY DARREN
It has been two weeks but so much has happenned that it feels as though much more time has passed...
Happy Doing Nothing
POSTED ON September 25, 2019 BY LEANNE
We opened the door to the sound of Coltrane finishing one of his classic jazz tunes, quickly followed by an upbeat number by Abba. "Wow," Darren gasped...
A Petrified Forest and a Traumatized Husband
POSTED ON August 31, 2019 BY LEANNE
"Ouch," I moaned quietly, gingerly pushing my glasses back onto the bridge of my nose. I decided to give myself a few more seconds lying facedown on the limestone path to assess my condition before trying to get up....
Packing for a Day Hike
POSTED ON August 20, 2019 BY KAITLYN
I am a massive fan of spending time in the outdoors! My partner and I try to go for at least one dayhike or backpacking trip per weekend in the summer. There are a lot of reasons we love hiking:
– spending time together helps us feel more connected
– exploring the outdoors helps us appreciate and respect the world that we live on...
More Little Things (like coffee)
POSTED ON August 20, 2019 BY LEANNE
"Ackk!" I squealed, bolting upright in my seat as Darren swerved the wheel quickly to the right. "What are you!?...eep, lane!" I scolded and he pulled the car back into the left lane.
"Sorry," he blushed, "but I found one...look there!!"
The Little Things
POSTED ON July 12, 2019 BY LEANNE
"This is AWESOME," Darren exclaimed happily.
I giggled at him for the fifth time since we’d pulled into the huge parking lot an hour earlier.
"No seriously," he scolded, grinning cheerfully, "this is the best thing we’ve done all trip!"
My Favourite Purple Bear!
POSTED ON June 26, 2019 BY KAITLYN
I'm about to tell you the story of my most memorable stuffed animal toy growing up. Before I launch into the story I need to mention something important... I was OBSESSED with stuffed animals when I was little. There was one stuffy in particular that [...]
Australian Animals and the Hume Highway
POSTED ON June 26, 2019 BY LEANNE
"It was a wombat," I announced, proud of my research.
"A wom-what?" Darren laughed.
"A wombat, you goof. They’re grey and look like they have a big bear head kind of, and they have pouches like kangaroos but their pouches are backwards so they don’t dig dirt onto their babies heads."
LANE!
POSTED ON June 16, 2019 BY LEANNE
"Ohhhh, lane honey. Lane!" I exclaimed in as calm a voice as I could.
Darren glowered at the narrow road ahead and clenched his jaw, "I AM in my lane. If I move over any more, we’ll be hit by oncoming cars."
"Honestly, you aren’t. Your brain is tricking you."
Welcome to Australia
POSTED ON May 21, 2019 BY LEANNE
I don’t know, really...but in photos, the Sydney Opera House always seemed huge to me and while the architecture is certainly unique I realized that once again I’ve been fooled by photography..
We Chose WE Charity!
POSTED ON May 16, 2019 BY KAITLYN
DLTK’s is a family business that started out as mom’s hobby while on maternity leave with me. So, yep... I’ve been helping out with the site since I was in utero! Now that I am all grown up (a whopping 21 years old!) I am still helping out with site, but I do a lot more than painting paper plates and coloring nowadays [...]
Exploring Tide Pools
POSTED ON May 4, 2019 BY LEANNE
"Oh oh oh!" I gasped out, pointing and backing away from the pool of water in front of me. Darren was backing up too so I knew he’d seen it. "That…" he said in a voice slightly higher pitched than normal, "is an eel."...
My Thoughts About Air Tahiti
POSTED ON April 22, 2019 BY LEANNE
I sipped my diet coke while watching a fellow passenger try to shoo a crab out of the baggage claim area. His wife cheered him on as he finally herded the annoyed crustacean back into the ocean. Just another day at the airport in French Polynesia...
A Tale of One Bungalow
POSTED ON April 13, 2019 BY LEANNE
I woke up this morning with Charles Dickens famous opening line in my head:
It was the best of times, it was the worst of times...
That line accurately describes a lot of things in life, I think — parenthood, career, marriage — and, for me, it accurately describes overwater bungalows in French Polynesia. Lol. Here’s my tale...
One Night in Paradise...
POSTED ON April 7, 2019 BY LEANNE
I giggled nervously at Darren as he stared wide eyed out the window of our overwater bungalow into the blackness outside. Furniture rattled around the deck, illuminated briefly by flashes of lightning...
How Our Free nights in Paradise Went
POSTED ON April 5, 2019 BY LEANNE
So Darren and I are on a trip that we’ve been dreaming about for 25 years. The girls are happily in university and we’re officially “empty nesters” trying to reconnect with each other and adapt to life without the titles of “mommy and daddy”. It’s a bit weird! ...
Choosing a Hotel Room
POSTED ON April 1, 2019 BY LEANNE
When we travelled with the kids we tended to spend a bit more on hotel rooms. Family suites were a favourite choice. Or something with a little balcony that we could sit out on after we settled the girls in bed. Or an RV.Now that we’re travelling as just the two of us, we’ve been pleasantly surprised by how much cheaper it is.....
Have you ever been to LA?
POSTED ON March 12, 2019 BY LEANNE
Los Angeles is one of those places that we’ve passed through or stayed near many times but never really visited. Ask just about anyone from Western Canada, “Have you been to LA?” and the answer will either be, “Does Disneyland count?” or “Well… I’ve been to the airport!”...
I Miss Leonard Nimoy
POSTED ON March 10, 2019 BY LEANNE
Early in our relationship, Darren discovered that despite the odds and, perhaps his best intentions, he had unexpectedly become friends with a geek. He was, is and always will be… athletic...But I knew the difference between a Klingon and a Cylon...
Hurray for Hollywood Spiderman!
POSTED ON March 6, 2019 BY LEANNE
We...headed off on the twenty minute walk to The Chinese Theater (“TCL”). All along the way were the stars on Hollywood Boulevard. We enjoyed chatting about which ones we each recognized, occasionally stopping to take a photo...
Hooray for Hollywood?
POSTED ON February 19, 2019 BY LEANNE
I am a Darren fan, but I’m not really a sports fan. I’m always thrilled to join him at games when we get the chance to go ... and he’s always kind enough to ask, “what do you feel like doing now?” when the game is over. With my preferences in mind, we spent the next two nights at the Kimpton Everly in Hollywood.
Sports Fans and the Women Who Love Them
POSTED ON February 17, 2019 BY LEANNE
I am in love with a man who loves sports. I knew that when I married him and I’m grateful that Darren’s idea of a “wild night” is when a hockey game goes into overtime...
Twenty Five Years of Dreaming
POSTED ON February 15, 2019 BY LEANNE
I still remember many “getting to know you” conversations that touched on the topic of travel....So I asked him, “if you were going to fly somewhere exotic where would you go?” I was surprised how quickly he answered, “Australia!”...
UnbelievaBUBBLE
POSTED ON November 10, 2018 BY KAITLYN
When I started university I took a class on leisure. I remember being completely hooked on the class after the first lecture. We discussed what leisure truly means and explored the intrinsic value of playing. To me, something is intrinsic when [...]
An Afternoon in Toronto
POSTED ON October 29, 2018 BY TASHA
Living in Hamilton, I am far enough away from the nation's most popular city to feel no spectacular affinity with it. Nevertheless, I am close enough to visit often. Short moments in Toronto are what I enjoy the most. I chose not to pursue my Ph.D. at the University of Toronto because living full-time in a large city was not [...]
Dressing the Family For a Hike
POSTED ON October 25, 2018 BY LEANNE
Unexpected fresh snow with just below freezing temperatures is great fun to hike around in. We rarely leave the house without a variety of layers to keep us comfortable, whatever the weather may bring so we were ready for this unexpected twist on our adventure. [...]
Mars, the Moons, and #Mems
POSTED ON October 22, 2018 BY TASHA
For me, the month of October is a favorite. This time of year, however, is a fave for a lot of people, as social media informs me. There are a lot of memories built during this time of the year, and I wanted to share some of mine. The cold weather in Alberta, Canada meant that if Kaitlyn and I wanted to do any serious trick-or-treating [...]
Calgary to the Athabasca Glacier Tour
POSTED ON October 18, 2018 BY LEANNE
I love driving into the mountains on the first frosty day of the year. It’s like living in a black and white movie. The sky is grey, the ground is white and all of the evergreens look black. [...]
Crater Lake
POSTED ON October 15, 2018 BY TASHA
I was going through my computer the other day, cleaning it out, and organizing files in preparation for getting back into some academic reading next month, and I found some old photos from a volcano lake, called Crater Lake. To the Klamath people [...]
Bow Lake and Bow Glacier Falls Trail
POSTED ON October 13, 2018 BY LEANNE
Bow Glacier Falls Trail isn’t one of my top five hikes for families but it’s pretty
darn close. What I love most about it is that it’s beautiful and photo worthy from the moment you set foot
on it so you can spend anywhere from ten gorgeous minutes to ten beautiful hours exploring it [...]
Fall Favs
POSTED ON October 10, 2018 BY TASHA
Time flies around us, not us through it: sometimes, I find it quite difficult to ground myself in my own environment or space. My mind is constantly wandering, I am always daydreaming, and the state of being distracted is very familiar to me [...]
Peyto Lake
POSTED ON October 3, 2018 BY LEANNE
Nope, that photo isn’t edited. Peyto Lake really looks like that even on an unusually overcast, snowy day in September (we’d come out expecting a sunny autumn day and ended up in a winter wonderland instead!) Peyto Lake is considered one of the most beautiful views on the Icefields Parkway in Alberta, Canada [...]
Mind-fall-ness
POSTED ON September 24, 2018 BY KAITLYN
During my psychology class we discussed a new school of thought called mindfulness. It is the act of letting go of day to day worries and enjoying the details in our world that so often go unnoticed during our [...]
"Everything I Am Inside" Essay
POSTED ON September 20, 2018 BY TASHA
I’ve had a difficult year, and it’s not something I really wanted to talk about or write about. Nonetheless, the consistent stream of self-love rhetoric that I see on social media has served as a convincing juxtaposition to my current situation and is causing me to rethink my own participation in [...]
Hiking Grotto Canyon
POSTED ON September 17, 2018 BY LEANNE
For anyone coming with a family for the first time to the Calgary/Banff area, one of the top five hikes (for novice and experienced hikers of all ages) that I would recommend is Grotto Canyon. It’s about 10 minutes east of Canmore on highway 1A so you don’t need a national park pass [...]
Today is a Good Day
POSTED ON September 13, 2018 BY KAITLYN
So I've had this beautiful house plant since I was about 17 years old, and it is one of my most cherished belongings. It is an english ivy that curls and crawls and stretches out in all sorts of directions. My ivy [...]
A Rainy Day in the Mountains
POSTED ON September 13, 2018 BY LEANNE
I grew up on the Canadian prairies. We don't get a whole lot of rain. When it does rain, it's usually violently spectacular -- hail , thunder, lightening -- or beautiful -- sun showers and double rainbows [...]
A Creative Process
POSTED ON September 10, 2018 BY TASHA
Whether it’s writing or painting or sculpting or crafting or making, creativity takes time, care, and patience (especially with yourself). I have projects, thoughts, and ideas “sitting still” in notebooks, sketchbooks, Word documents, iPhone notes, and literally on my floor [...]
Botanical Gardens
POSTED ON September 6, 2018 BY TASHA
Summer in Canada flew by. In my head, it is still late-May, and I am thinking about all the wonderful reading I am going to do. But alas, time flies whether or not you're having fun, and the flowers are still blooming where I am. I have been thinking a lot about keeping myself busy with activities that […]
Becoming a “Grown Up”
POSTED ON September 3, 2018 BY KAITLYN
I am currently sitting on an airplane on route to Calgary, Canada—my home city. I have been on many airplanes before during our family travels, but this flight is a special […]
Strawberry Moon
POSTED ON August 29, 2018 BY TASHA
In my "earlier" years, I was very into dolphins, mermaids, and the moon. Mom and Dad convinced me that the painting of the mermaid hanging in my childhood bedroom was me, and I whole-heartedly believed them. My room was the brightest blue. I somehow owned a lava lamp shaped like a […]
Ye Olde Medieval Faire
POSTED ON August 22, 2018 BY LEANNE
"Hey guys, anyone interested in watching huge men riding even bigger horses at a full gallop in an attempt to knock each other off with eleven foot long solid wood poles? Oh, and we get to wear costumes."…
Eagle's Eye and the Perseids
POSTED ON August 21, 2018 BY LEANNE
As I write this, I’m sitting beside a roaring fire watching my husband eagerly researching specs of dust. If only he were this interested in dust when it’s time to clean the house…
Reconnecting at Lake O'Hara
POSTED ON August 8, 2018 BY LEANNE
I’m sitting on the porch of a little log cabin watching trout splash up out of the water to catch bugs for dinner. The emerald blue water is like glass right now, reflecting the surrounding mountains and tall, green fir trees perfectly…
Magic Cauliflower
POSTED ON August 4, 2018 BY KAITLYN
I think if I were to tally up all of my different cravings pizza would have the largest column. It is a constant effort to stop myself from walking over to the nearest pizza shop and buying a pizza loaded with cheese and sauce! I remember once when I was a child my mom made cauliflower pizza, which […]
My Favourite Dips
POSTED ON June 30, 2018 BY KAITLYN
When the day's long,
When my tummy’s hungry,
When I'm feeling sad.
I simply remember my favourite dips
And then I don't feeeeeeeeel... so bad! […]
Super Summer Squash
POSTED ON May 22, 2018 BY KAITLYN
Today I found out the zucchinis are actually a type of squash... a summer squash! I also found out the zucchinis are AMAZING! This journey of enlightenment all started the other day when I went to read in a coffee shop; there was a particularily delicious looking cake made out of (you guessed it!) zucchini! I thought I would […]
Peanut Butter Brownie Time
POSTED ON April 9, 2018 BY KAITLYN
I am in love with anything sweet and delicious and sometimes it feels impossible to stop myself from eating chocolate. Luckily my mom had a very clever rule when I was growing up... no baked goods in the house unless they were homemade. That way I would have to put in the effort to bake any cookies or brownies before […]
Sneaky Vegetables
POSTED ON March 23, 2018 BY KAITLYN
I am an absolute sucker for anything with melted cheese. When I was a little girl my family would go to Red Lobster for dinner every once in a while. Anyone who has been there knows that the kids menu at Red Lobster is by far the best food selection at any restaurant. And best of all? The CHEESE pizza! I loved that melted, cheesy goodness so much […]
The Perfect Valentine’s Day Breakfast
POSTED ON February 8, 2018 BY KAITLYN
When I was little my dad, my sister, and I would make breakfast in bed for my mom on special holidays—usually the Mother's Day classic, always on birthdays, and every so often Valentine's Day! I will always remember our biggest breakfast in bed triumph; together we managed […]
Do Something New!
POSTED ON AUGUST 19, 2017 BY LEANNE
I love camping and travelling to (safe) places I’ve never been before. But this year, for a variety of reasons including finances and family commitments we haven’t had the chance to explore the world as much as we had hoped to. Darren saw that I was feeling a bit down about this so brought up […]
Our fun experience at Nat Geo Live!
POSTED ON MARCH 12, 2017 BY LEANNE
They say that a picture is worth a thousand words and while I don’t disagree with the sentiment, I must say that I find listening to National Geographic photographers speak about their projects as fascinating (if not more fascinating!) than the photos themselves. We just got back from a National Geographic Live presentation entitled Beauty […]
Random Thought: And the Winner Is! (*drum roll*)
POSTED ON December 15, 2016 BY LEANNE
People occasionally ask me what my all time favourite craft on the website is. That’s a really tough question because I have a lot of much loved projects that I’ve done with the girls over the years. But! If I had to pick one, it would be the Christmas Ornaments made with acrylic paint. I […]
Random Thought: Guy Fawkes Day
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 1, 2016 BY LEANNE
Guy Fawkes Day is on November 5th every year. It is celebrated in England with fireworks and bonfires. We have viewers all over the world and on occasion they ask for a craft or two to be added for celebrations from their neck of the woods. A few years back, I added Guy Fawkes Day. […]
Random Thought: And Then I Picked Up a Knife…
POSTED ON OCTOBER 28, 2016 BY LEANNE
I am not the best homemaker in the world. I don’t get the vacuuming done as often as I should and I occasionally get distracted in the kitchen and burn things (though Darren helps make sure that doesn’t happen—more to protect his stomach than my reputation). But every now and then I get […]
Adirondack Autumn Leaves
POSTED ON OCTOBER 15, 2016 BY LEANNE
Autumn and spring have always battled for the title of my favorite season. This year, I think autumn has finally taken the prize as we visited the Adirondack State Park (Mirror Lake and Lake Placid, NY) for the first time to enjoy the autumn colours. Wow, I’ve never seen so many beautiful shades of autumn […]
Random Thought: Many years later and she still loves paper plates…
POSTED ON OCTOBER 3, 2016 BY LEANNE
My youngest daughter is eighteen now. Gosh, time flies when you’re raising children! I may get in trouble with her about this, but I had to share! When I first started doing crafts with her, she didn’t really enjoy them. She wasn’t terribly fond of colouring (two scribbles and she was done). She didn’t really like […]
Random Thought: He Sure Showed Them!
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 18, 2016 BY LEANNE
It’s hockey season—we’re from Western Canada and my husband is a huge hockey fan. Today he is busy watching the World Cup of Hockey and it has me reflecting on other hockey moments that I have arranged for him over the years. In 2004, the Calgary Flames unexpectedly made it to the Stanley […]
Random Thought: Sunny Sunny Sunflowers!
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 1, 2016 BY LEANNE
Sunflowers are such a cool plant. When they are in bud, they turn to follow the sun (they keep their little buds facing the sun all day long… it’s really neat to check on them throughout the day to see them turning). When the sunflowers bloom, they stop swiveling but if you see a group […]
Father’s Day Reflection…
POSTED ON JUNE 12, 2016 BY DARREN
Hello DLTK viewers. I don’t very often write blog posts for our sites but I am feeling particularly inspired today. I am the ‘D’ in DLTK and usually provide technical support for Leanne as she works to materialize her ideas into the marvelous activities you find on our sites. The reason for my inspiration is […]
Spring Bunny Paper Craft
POSTED ON MARCH 4, 2016 BY LEANNE
The spring bunny is a paper craft that kids enjoy as part of a number of different themes including a spring theme, a weather theme, an April Showers theme and an Easter theme. The completed bunny is nice and big so it makes a fun decoration for a bedroom door or the family refrigerator. I […]
Preschool Patterning Practice
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 10, 2016 BY LEANNE
Creating patterns is one of those preschool math skills that seems like “just fun” but really is forming the basis for lifelong learning. Some kids are “natural patterners” doing it without encouragement making patterns for fun with everything from peas and carrots to blocks and legos. Others require a little more hand holding—paper […]
Groundhog’s Day Predictions Paper Craft
POSTED ON JANUARY 26, 2016 BY LEANNE
Happy Groundhog’s Day! (My husband went to great lengths to find me a stainless steel fridge that lets magnets stick to it… I was SO HAPPY!) Groundhog’s Day is celebrated in Canada and the United States on February 2nd each year. We watch our favourite groundhog on this day. If it is cloudy, he will […]
Preschool Development
POSTED ON JANUARY 14, 2016 BY LEANNE
I mentioned a while ago that I’d attended an interesting presentation by a couple of child psychologists and discovered that I’d done quite well (completely by accident) at parenting my girls when they were babies. (Read “Talking to Babies”) Unfortunately, it turns out that I didn’t do quite as stellar a job parenting them as […]
Talking to Babies
POSTED ON JANUARY 7, 2016 BY LEANNE
Long story, but I was at a “Nerd Night” event this week (the short version of the long story is, “I like learning stuff”). One of the presenters was a professor of child psychology at an infant level and another was a professor of child psychology at a kindergarten level. I really enjoyed their talks […]
Chicka Chicka Boom Boom Activity
POSTED ON DECEMBER 28, 2015 BY LEANNE
Nina is one of our viewers who has been following us since our sites started many years ago. She sent this project suggestion using the templates from our Chicka Chicka Boom Boom section. Nina wrote: “Hi Leanne, I did this with Emmaline age 5, who just started Kindergarten. Her teacher was doing the book two days […]
Paper Bag Puppets (for Christmas)
POSTED ON DECEMBER 14, 2015 BY LEANNE
Paper bag puppets aren’t just crafts—they’re creative toys for the kids to play with throughout the season! Have everyone make a different character and then create your own little skits or action songs. It works out well in our house because Kaitlyn’s always liked making the craft and Tasha has always liked making […]
Hiking the Loop Brook Trail
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 26, 2015 BY LEANNE
The Loop Brook Trail in Glacier Park, British Columbia (BC) is the perfect type of trail for my husband Darren and I. It’s a beautiful, forest walk (which I love) that is a pleasant challenge in parts without ever feeling dangerous. It’s also an interpretive walk with frequent signs detailing Canadian and CPR railway history […]
Invasion of the… flowers!?
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 14, 2015 BY LEANNE
When we were in Scotland, Darren and I were pleasantly surprised by how lovely the countryside was. It was pristine, beautiful and litter free. So, as we approached Torridon (near the coast in the north) we were surprised to see plumes of inky, black smoke rising up in the distance. What could that be about, […]
Parenting Through Jet Lag
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 1, 2015 BY LEANNE
Jet lag is a very real condition and, sadly, there is no magic cure. For many people (myself included) jet lag is also more than ‘just feeling a bit tired’—the biggest symptom I get is actually tummy troubles whereas my husband and kids tend to get tired, headachy feelings. Darren, especially, gets quite […]
Touring Halifax, Nova Scotia
POSTED ON OCTOBER 25, 2015 BY LEANNE
The port city of Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada has been a vacation destination for our family for a number of year’s now. Our favourite time to visit is late September to early October when (most years) the weather is still warm and the autumn leaves are putting on their display of golds and reds. Halifax […]
Sharing Your Family History: Immigration Stories
POSTED ON OCTOBER 18, 2015 BY LEANNE
Whether it’s Ellis Island in New York, USA; the Immigration Museum in Melbourne, Australia or Pier 21 in Halifax, Canada many of us have family or ancestors who have proudly or nervously or desperately or reluctantly borne the title of immigrant. My family’s story isn’t something I really thought much about until the first time […]
Kaitlyn’s first day of (school) university.
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2015 BY LEANNE
Some of you have been with my family and I since I started the website nearly twenty years ago. Some of you (eek!) have even written to share that you remember doing crafts from the site as children and that you’re now sharing those same projects with your own kids. What you may or may […]
Hiking the Kicking Horse to Amiskwi Trail
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 2, 2015 BY LEANNE
Kicking Horse to Amiskwi Trail in Yoho National Park — BC, Canada Length of our walk: two hours, including time for a simple picnic and photos Distance of our walk: 3.4 kms (return) for the Kicking Horse/Amiskwi trail plus another 1/2 km on the Emerald River trail for a total of about 4 km walked. […]
How To “Build” a Tree
POSTED ON AUGUST 16, 2015 BY LEANNE
Many years ago when I was in elementary school, our art teacher taught us how to “build” a tree with paint. To this day, I still enjoy mixing a couple of tree bark colors and using them to build trees. I loved that lesson! And thought I’d share it here with you. It’s appropriate for […]
Parenting Thoughts: Moraine Lake
POSTED ON JULY 25, 2015 BY LEANNE
Darren and I sat on the covered porch at Moraine Lake Lodge, sipping tea while we watched hikers scramble for cover from a sudden downpour. It had been a lovely day in the wilderness, but I was suddenly struck by how many people there were out here with us! Moraine Lake is a gorgeous glacier […]
Parenting Thoughts: Introverts and Extroverts
POSTED ON JUNE 17, 2015 BY LEANNE
I’m an introvert. My daughter, Tasha, is an extrovert. Darren and Kaitlyn are more “in the middle”—a little on the introverted side, but less so than me. I’m going to start off by clearing up one giant misconception: introverts aren’t all shy and extroverts aren’t all friendly. I’m an introvert AND I love […]
Hot Air Ballooning in Arizona
POSTED ON MAY 29, 2015 BY LEANNE
Another Family Travel Adventure with Kids. Darren, Kaitlyn and I went hot air ballooning and we had a WONDERFUL time. All of us would definitely go again. And we all agreed that we wouldn’t recommend it for young children (I’ll get to that in a bit). The Hot Air Ballooning Experience We went first thing […]
D and K Get Detained!
POSTED ON MAY 12, 2015 BY LEANNE
Another Travel Adventure with Kids Background: Darren and I swapped days this year just for kicks—we celebrated Father’s Day on Mother’s Day and we’ll be celebrating Mother’s Day in June. It just worked out better to treat dad in May plus it was a fun and silly thing to do. So for “Dad’s […]
Multigenerational Travel
POSTED ON MAY 7, 2015 BY LEANNE
Welcome to the sandwich generation! No, Darren and I are not PB&J addicts—we’re middle aged parents with dependent children and grandparents who need a little of our help too. Our exposure to this new type of lifestyle has just begun. It started when Darren’s dad passed away a little under a decade ago. […]
Setting Travel Expectations
POSTED ON APRIL 26, 2015 BY LEANNE
The first time I learned the importance of reasonable travel expectations. Tasha, age 5 and Kaitlyn, age 1 On the first and worst trip to Disneyland that we ever took as a family Darren and I pulled the typical young parent stunt of surprising everyone with a gift of a trip to the “Happiest Place […]
Dog–Sledding in Canmore, Alberta
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 17, 2015 BY LEANNE
(not so) Extreme Travel Adventures with Kids Hi everyone, We just got back from dog–sledding and I decided that I can’t wait to share the experience with all of you. It was AWESOME!! After our fun trip dog–sledding as a family, I was inspired to add a Siberian Husky paper craft to the website. About […]
The Importance of Remembrance Day
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 6, 2014 BY KAITLYN
Remembrance Day is an important tradition on a global scale. It is a time to put aside our international differences and honour the soldiers that fought in combat in order to secure a brighter future for us. In Canada we are especially privileged to live our lives with such significant freedom and equality. These soldiers […]
Halloween Scarecrow Pumpkin Carving
POSTED ON OCTOBER 28, 2014 BY DARREN
Leanne has been designing pumpkin carving patterns for the site and I have been carving them for over a decade now. This year is no exception and I have decided to tackle a new pattern, the scarecrow. Before diving into my pumpkin I like to gather the required tools. I print the pattern that I have chosen from […]
Halloween Math Activities
POSTED ON OCTOBER 21, 2014 BY KAITLYN
Math isn’t always fun, in fact math is rarely fun, but it can be! Math activities that give kids a way to view math visually are a really inspired way to educate kids. These Halloween math activities use Scaries to promote math in a new and creative way by demonstrating simple statistics and data collection with yummy treats! […]
Samson and Delilah Crafts.
POSTED ON OCTOBER 14, 2014 BY LEANNE
The website began with a passion for crafts made from cardboard tubes—toilet paper roll crafts! I love the simplicity of them—they’re basically just color, cut and paste paper crafts but using the tube as a base for the craft makes them three dimensional characters that you can use as action figures […]
Feeling Thankful
POSTED ON OCTOBER 6, 2014 BY DARREN
The leaves are turning, temperatures are falling and it really feels like autumn here in southern Alberta. The Canadian Thanksgiving holiday is just around the corner and autumn is one of my favourite times of the year. Maybe it is because my birthday is in September or because of all the colourful foliage. It could be because I […]
Easter Egg Cracking Tradition
POSTED ON APRIL 12, 2014 BY KAITLYN
Ever since I can remember, my family has taken part in a very fun Easter tradition. Every year we decorate Easter eggs and when we are done we take part in a fun little Easter egg cracking game. It’s an exciting activity that everyone enjoys, especially because you get to eat the eggs afterwards! If you’ve […]
Snowboarding and Skiing
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 28, 2014 BY KAITLYN
Skiing and snowboarding are both very popular sports in Canada, and tons of my friends are all hyped up and excited for competition season! There are tons of different ski hills that people can visit and lots of different level runs for people who are beginners, experts, or just looking for a relaxing day on the […]
Happy Valentine’s Day
POSTED ON FEBRUARY 14, 2014 BY KAITLYN
Today is Valentine’s Day, which means lots of chocolate, flowers, and cards. For little kids it means LOTS of heart shaped crafts and candy! When I was in elementary school I loved valentines day so much because we got to exchange valentines! We decorated paper bags or little boxes the days leading up to valentines day and […]
The 2014 Winter Olympics
POSTED ON JANUARY 31, 2014 BY KAITLYN
The 2014 Winter Olympics will start exactly one week from today; the events are being held in Sochi Russia and the preparation has been a long process! There is lots of hype about the games and I know I sure am excited! My dad and I plan to watch a lot of hockey and will definitely be […]
Chinese New Years
POSTED ON JANUARY 18, 2014 BY KAITLYN
Chinese New Year is celebrated on a different day each year because it is based on the Lunar year. And each year is named after an animal based on a 12 year cycle. In 2014, the year of the horse, it will be celebrated on January 31. People born in the same year are considered to […]
Chinese New Years
POSTED ON JANUARY 3, 2014 BY KAITLYN
It has been a few weeks since my mom or I have made a blog post and there is a perfect explanation for this; we were in Mexico! It was a wonderful family Christmas and a nice warm one at that, back home in Canada it is MUCH colder. We visited El Arco, which is a […]
Five Cut and Paste Paper Crafts for the Holiday Season
POSTED ON DECEMBER 14, 2013 BY LEANNE
© by Leanne Guenther If you craft with your child from a very young age, you’ll find yourself doing a lot of “cutting out” with your handy pair of scissors. One suggestion I would make is to use children’s safety scissors from the very beginning. That way, when it’s time for you to pass the […]
Movember
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 29, 2013 BY KAITLYN
I have always thought that Movember was a really neat idea because it isn’t like your classic fundraiser, but up until junior high I didn’t even know it existed. It is important for kids to be able to participate in events like this at a young age so they are inspired to stay involved at an […]
Thanksgiving Paper Strip Pumpkin Craft
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 22, 2013 BY KAITLYN
Thanksgiving is a wonderful time of the year; it is a chance to visit with friends and family and show them how thankful you are! For me in Canada, thanksgiving has already passed, but in the states it is coming up in about a week! There are some really cute thanksgiving crafts on the website […]
Driving
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 15, 2013 BY KAITLYN
In about one month I am going to be taking my on road drivers test. In Alberta we are allowed to get our learners license at the age of fourteen and our graduated drivers license when we are sixteen. With our learners license we get to drive as long as we have an adult with […]
Paper Lantern Crafts
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 8, 2013 BY KAITLYN
Over the past week I have been going to town on a new holiday craft idea that my mom had, paper lantern crafts. Until now I never realized how many different holidays there are. From Christmas to Hanukah, summer to winter and even Earth day to St Patrick’s day there are heaps of holidays and special times of the […]
Bath Salts
POSTED ON NOVEMBER 1, 2013 BY KAITLYN
This craft would make an excellent homemade gift for a relative! Some of the ingredients are a bit unusual, like the glycerin or the Epsom salts. They are available at most drugstores but can be a bit tricky to find; I found them in the aisle with the rubbing alcohol. The nice thing about this […]
Pumpkin Carving
POSTED ON OCTOBER 25, 2013 BY KAITLYN
Halloween is such a great time of the year! Costumes, candy, pumpkin carving, trick or treating, handing out candy. The works! So many awesome things combined to make an amazing holiday! My favourite part about Halloween aside from the fact that we get heaps of candy, is the pumpkin carving! Every year me and my dad carve […]
Halloween Costumes
POSTED ON OCTOBER 18, 2013 BY KAITLYN
Halloween is an exciting time of the year for kids all over the place, but unfortunately for parents it can be a bit stressful trying to find cute Halloween for their kids. When my sister and I were at the trick or treating age my mom would work extremely hard to make cute costumes that we could […]
Travel: Hawaii
POSTED ON OCTOBER 11, 2013 BY KAITLYN
My parents really enjoy Hawaii and we go quite often! When I was little my grandparents used to rent a condo there and we would spend a week or two having a blast in Hawaii! The luau’s were great: eating food, dancing, wearing leis, and basking in the aloha spirit! My parents even got married in Hawaii, […]
Rhubarb Muffins
POSTED ON OCTOBER 4, 2013 BY KAITLYN
These rhubarb muffins are absolutely delicious and incredibly simple to make! They do not make a huge amount, around a dozen medium sized muffins, so I suggest that you double the recipe if you aren’t a very frequent baker. This recipe and the portions are excellent if you are an individual who bakes quite often […]
Birthday Present Ideas
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 27, 2013 BY KAITLYN
For me the month of September is the month of parental birthdays, in fact my mom’s birthday is in less than a week! I find that the hardest part about my parents birthday is finding the perfect birthday present! Of course when I was younger it wasn’t nearly as difficult; I would simply go shopping […]
Roll Kuchen
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2013 BY KAITLYN
Roll Kuchen is a scrumptious German pastry that I have had the pleasure of eating since I was a young girl! My grandma and aunty would often make it for my family when we visited them during the summer; it wasn’t until recently that I began to make roll kuchen on my own. Honestly, I […]
Grass Seed Caterpillar
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 13, 2013 BY KAITLYN
This grass seed craft is a very fun craft that creates an adorable caterpillar! The neat idea about this craft is that you can watch the grass grow before your very own eyes! Literally, one day there was no grass in any of the egg carton cups and the next days each cup had several […]
Back to School
POSTED ON SEPTEMBER 6, 2013 BY KAITLYN
This has been my first week back at school after the summer and I have to say everything went really smoothly! I spent a good amount of time organizing all of my binders and notebooks during the last week of summer so that I can keep a calm head when the school year really gets started. […]
Camp Chief Hector
POSTED ON AUGUST 30, 2013 BY KAITLYN
I spent the first two weeks of August at Camp Chief Hector for the eighth summer in a row and am intending to return again next summer. Camp has been an important part of my life since I was eight years old and it is by far the most exciting part of my summer, if […]
Paper Mache Animals
POSTED ON AUGUST 23, 2013 BY KAITLYN
I’ve spent the past week making adorable paper Mache animal crafts. At times it was a bit challenging but it was definitely worth it because they all turned out to be extremely cute! I suggest that if you are planning to make these crafts as piñata’s for a birthday party you give yourself about a week. Paper Mache takes […]
Hawaiian Cookies in a Jar
POSTED ON AUGUST 16, 2013 BY KAITLYN
I really enjoyed putting together the jar with all of the Hawaiian themed ingredients! When I was putting it together I was a little bit nervous that my jar wasn’t going to be big enough; in order to calm my nerves I added up the measurements from the recipe and filled the jar up with […]
Paper Plate Echidna
POSTED ON AUGUST 9, 2013 BY KAITLYN
This craft is absolutely adorable and very fun to make! Rather than just an average paper plate craft there is the extra component of cutting the fringe around the paper plate to represent the spikes; it is also quite simple for a paper plate craft because the template pieces are straight forward and relatively easy […]
Banana Chocolate Chip Muffins
POSTED ON AUGUST 2, 2013 BY KAITLYN
I discovered this simple and delicious recipe in my grade 7 foods class; since our classes weren’t very long and many of us were lacking in our cooking and baking skills, our teacher would make it her job to find yummy recipes that we could easily make. This banana chocolate chip muffin recipe had to be one […]
Animal Cracker Ark
POSTED ON JULY 26, 2013 BY KAITLYN
This craft is very entertaining to make since there are so many different components; from the cotton ball clouds to the animal cracker animals this craft is a fun way to learn about Noah’s Ark. I have been planning to make this craft for along time now and about a year ago my dad and […]
Paper Plate Bird Nest
POSTED ON JULY 19, 2013 BY KAITLYN
This paper plate bird nest is very fun to make and looks absolutely adorable when it’s finished! I found that I couldn’t help but grin when I realized how much fun I was having with everything this craft involved. From painting the paper plate (something I have enjoyed ever since I could hold a paint brush) to […]
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