SUMMER IS UPON US AND I AM IN THE MIDST OF TRIP PLANNING FOR OUR FAMILY. We have two different trips on the schedule. First up? The cycling dream my husband and friends are pursuing to cycle the entire Natchez Trace Parkway this summer. On Monday I’ll share more about how planning happens around here and what tools I use to map out the fun with a family.

What are your favorite planning resources and websites when making arrangements? Does your family love to travel or is it a chore?

MY MOST RECENT SAVVY SOURCE ARTICLE IS OUT. Our editor challenged us to find words and letters which might catch a young child’s eye. The city of Atlanta is filled with great examples, but I choose to go suburban on this piece and make it an adventure day. Decatur, Georgia is known for it’s great shops, restaurants, easy commute, and creative spirit. At night there are listening rooms and bar rooms where the next big stars are getting their start. Often musicians such as Shawn Mullins, John Mayer or The Indigo Girls drop by to visit their memories and perform unexpectedly. But by day, the City of Decatur is alive with flowers and sidewalk cafes, bookstores and community gardens to visit. A series of murals have been created in the city and they are alive with color…and letters.

I remember the first reading and recognition of letters happened on car rides. Jordan immediately began to see the meaning of things like Toys’R'Us and McDonalds. (I always cringed when she mentioned the golden arches!) I love the idea of finding these learning tools in our everyday life.

I’d love to know if there are unique sightings in your own town which might excite a preschooler on an afternoon outing. Maybe even send me a link. I plan to finish the walking itineraries mentioned on the city’s website this summer with my “big kids”. 

I FOUND SOMETHING TO SHARE. Yesterday I gave you a glimpse into some of the family treasures I found while doing research at my parent’s home. Lots of the keepsakes were stored in old suitcases which are airtight and mostly moisture resistant. They are the kind of old suitcases being used for side tables these days, but back ‘in the day’ people like my parents received them as high school and college graduation gifts from their grandparents. It was kind of a useable token gift which said, ‘you’ll go far in life’. They have served as good keepsake keepers at the home where I grew up.

Every time I opened them up I had a kid over my shoulder thinking that there must be buried treasure inside. About 20 minutes into my sorting they would go away out of boredom. Well, except for William who took the time to tell me that I was looking for the wrong side of the family. He knew my primary goal was to find out information about my paternal grandfather’s adoption and life records. When I picked up something interesting which had nothing to do with my Grandfather Lonnie, William would tell me to put it down and keep looking. Taskmaster.

At one point I had looked through a filled suitcase and began sorting through the last papers inside. I stopped dead in my tracks when I found this special discovery:

Don’t let your imagination run wild with the title. {And knowing my parents makes this even more unlikely to be a wild party book.} It was filled with games that are usually used as torture at wedding and baby showers, but I did get a good laugh from the cover photo. Maybe this is what I need to throw a rocking party like that!

WE JUST RETURNED FROM A WONDERFULLY RELAXED SPRING BREAK AND EASTER HOLIDAY IN MY HOMETOWN. We visited my 97 year old grandmother who was alert and talkative. It was nice to see her recovering from some winter rehabilitation and back to her own home. Amazingly she lives independently in an apartment specially made for mobility issues…I venture to say she is healthier than most 40 year olds. Very little medication passes through her body and she is still able to carry on a conversation with skill. We also saw my Aunt Barbara while there at Mammaw’s apartment. Her family owns a tax firm so I thought it was a special gift to get a photo during the annual tax hibernation.

I sorted through some family history and found a tramp art box made from burnt matchsticks around a cigar box. It was made for my dad during the 50′s by a prisoner he visited as part of a church ministry. Dad now uses it to hold special photos like the one of he and my mother while dating.

I explored one of the family bibles for clues about my grandparents and their heritage. Well, my heritage also.

On Saturday we let the kids hunt Easter eggs all over the hill at my parent’s home. There are lots of statues and fun things to place the eggs in so we enjoyed the hiding part. Next year I think we have to get more complicated because the boys complained that we were too easy.

In the next picture Drake is about to find a hidden egg and make his sisters really mad…big competition there.

And not long after that Grace found a fork…in my parent’s driveway. Don’t ask, they live in the country!

See the baseball egg?

Grace and Alana search the driveway for eggs amid the daylillies.

And someone placed a lovely teenager amid all the chaos. No problem though…she used her tunes to drown out the craziness.

St. Francis cradles an egg…and ironically a caterpillar was crawling up on his head. Tis the season for butterfly magic.

Grace was enamored with the caterpillars. The three little girls made them pets until Uncle Russ explained that they needed to be outside. Thanks Uncle Russ for promising to guard those butterflies-to-be. I have the feeling that three girls will be looking for updates!

Best hidden egg was the one under Chloe the cat. She stayed like that for about 30 minutes.

Hope you had a wonderful Easter and Passover week with the ones you love.

ATLANTA IS FULL OF PARKS TO EXPLORE, BUT I WAS CHALLENGED BY MY SAVVY SOURCE EDITOR TO FIND UNIQUE ONES IN OUR CITY. It surprised me to see that there were some unusual experiences right in our area which would make for a memorable morning out. I skipped some of our great supersars like Piedmont Park and Centennial Olympic Park to explore new ideas. Come take a look:

“Exploring Our Neighborhood Parks in Atlanta”

JUST SUBMITTED AN ARTICLE WITH SOME IDEAS FOR ENJOYING SPRING AROUND ATLANTA. It was an article which could have gone on forever because Spring is one of the best seasons in our city. We cover events like egg hunts and other activities in our events calendar area, so I choose to generate some thoughts about a day out in the glorious sun. It seems like this season began in January because of the mile winter, but if I had to extend one season this is the best case scenario.

I’m not mentioning pollen….

I’m not mentioning pollen…

I’m not AaaaChoo!

Let me know if you have any other ideas for Spring…always looking for more ideas to explore with my family. 

RECENTLY I RECEIVED AN INVITATION TO ATTEND THE “PARENT BLOGGERS EVENT” AT THE HIGH MUSEUM IN DOWNTOWN ATLANTA. It’s one of our family’s favorite destinations in Midtown so they didn’t have to twist my arm twice. The idea was to have Atlanta’s varied museums and activities highlighted for writers to gather information and find out about unique opportunities. It was a wonderful venue to ask questions about what exhibits are age appropriate for families, summer camp opportunities, and hidden ideas to explore in writing. Not only did I get to talk with the marketing professionals from the “cool” spots in town, but there were lots of goodies prepared for us to use and give away on our blogs. I’m looking forward to sharing some of that with you in the coming weeks.

The Brian Donnelly / KAWS piece near the skylight was incredible. It was comissioned for that particular wall and lighting. You can’t beat the glory of the High’s architecture either.

We are sending Grace off on remote locations to work with CNN earning her college money. They were most impressed with her ability to have her hair lay still during hurricane conditions.

I was most impressed with the picture of Anderson Cooper. {ahem!}

We met some great people from Imagine It! The Children’s Museum of Atlanta. Such a creative group…did you know their Imaginators take each new exhibit and create a 20-30 minute interactive drama piece to enforce the theme and reach out the the various ages who visit the museum? William was in rare form with his sense of 10 year old comic timing…thank goodness this Imaginator was on top of his game! We were cracking up at the conversation.

The Puppetry Arts Center was another fascination of William’s. When he was sick he watched a documentary called Being Elmo and he found a new respect for the creative engineering and innovation necessary to create this magic.

And finally we exited via the courtyard. We did manage to see the Picasso to Warhol exhibit and the kids explored the DeGaw exhibit upstairs in awe without me. {Yikes! Actually, they felt very at home in the High and were frustrated that I wanted to talk to all of my friends down in the exhibit hall. That’s when the teenager decided that they would tour upstairs without me.} Grace spent her time in the Children’s Room. I love this painting you can walk through.

As we were exiting we saw the this graphic hand in the Coat Check / Courtyard Door Entry by KAWS.

This KAWS statue which was brought in by crane in the courtyard. So fun to see it against the downtown buildings. And perhaps it is appropriately placed – at least in Grace’s case!

From the looks of Grace above, we wore ourselves out discovering cool stuff to do in Atlanta. Looking forward to sharing all the goodies and information with you soon. Downtown Atlanta can be a truly fun family outing if you know where to go!

BY NOW YOU KNOW THAT WE REALLY ENJOYED THE NEWEST ATTRACTION IN ATLANTA. I’m posting more details this afternoon, but I wanted you to have a peek at what was one of my favorite details in the whole Discovery Center:

Turner Field, Home of the Braves was in the mineature cityscape as a pinball machine…

and it included the Chick-Fil-A cow and Coca-Cola’s famous green bottle design on the upper deck!

The LEGO gurus have certainly taken notice of the details!

A SUNDAY AFTERNOON OF LEGOS? SOUNDS PERFECT TO MY GANG! We were invited to visit the latest family attraction in Atlanta — the LEGOLAND Discovery Center. I’m in the midst of the full write-up, but wanted to share a few pictures with you. LEGOLAND is located inside Phipps Plaza, one of the nicest malls in Atlanta. So nice that my kids had never been there since they have a cheap Mom. It’s awesome to look up inside the atrium area while waiting for an elevator. The kids were already excited:

After going through the main entrance and seeing how legos are made, we weighed Grace and found out that her little ballerina body weighed the same as 21,000 LEGO bricks. I thought that was a neat comparison for families to see.

Annual passes will allow you to do the early preview days on Tuesday, March 13th and Wednesday, March 14th. If you are considering a nice indoor headquarters for this summer’s sweltering heat, you might want to purchase and see the fun earlier than the rest.

LEGOLAND Discovery Center of Atlanta

I’ll have a full recap article tomorrow with details from our experience and advice. Let me know if you have any questions. There are so many more features including rides and a miniature model of Atlanta…can’t wait to show you our fun!

HOW DO YOU TEACH YOUR CHILDREN ABOUT THE WORLD’S PROBLEMS? Teaching children to understand the issues of need in our world seems like an overwhelming topic. As our children grew, we were able to participate in ‘hands on” projects here in our local community. The nights where we serve dinner at a recovery facility have become pivotal to our family discussions. Often when we get in the car – hot and messy from cooking and serving the meal – a question will rise from the backseat about someone they have met or a situation they had never realized was possible.

I’ll admit that those discussions are on the reasons I keep coming back to the commitment we’ve made with our small group. That and the fact that I get to look broken people in the eye and understand how we are all broken at some point in our life. I like doing something concrete and palpable on a regular basis. We don’t do it perfectly, but we do get involved. That’s half the battle – making a construbite to participate and then following through.

Recently I was asked to join the Clever Girls Collective campaign for Members Unite, in part because of our family involvement in community service. After doing my research I thought this was a great opportunity to share a bit of the concept with you. The concept of world need is not new, but the way information has been gathered to build a group consensus on projects is sincerely fresh and new. It’s based on these steps:

Each month a collection of projects…really well run, well developed ideas…are loaded onto the Members Unite site. You choose the site which has the greatest meaning to your family. The project your family decides can help in their eyes. Behind each topic are links, resources, and personal stories which help you understand and explain the concepts and intention of each project.

So I’ve signed up our family for the first month. ($5 plus the yearly admin fee of $25 / 100% of the donation goes to the chosen project and the admin fee covers all other costs involved for the organizers.) William stood by my side as we discussed the process. Initially he may have been waiting for me to finish so he could log onto a favorite game…but then he became involved in the ideas presented on the site. William is a big strong athlete, but he has a heart of gold. He smiles at babies and bends down to pet everyone’s dog. When we serve at The Extension, he sits at a table with strangers and asks what kind of job they are working. And now…he’s concerned about providing service dogs for returning military members which need support for mental and physical effects of the deployments which happened 7000+ miles away.

William moved me aside and began to read through each project. In the end he felt a pull towards the needs of our returning soldiers. We’ve watched as our military friends have had service dogs trained in their honor, so perhaps that swayed him. Now we wait and see what the crowdsourcing of everyone else’s money will influence. We’ll have our answer within the month. The goal is to have $5000 to donate to the chosen cause each month. It’s a do-able goal done together.

There are “lobbies” where you can discuss the projects with others or lobby for their support. You are allowed to give ratings to all the projects listed and offer comments to have your voice heard. In addition there are opportunities to offer ideas for next month’s projects. I love the involvement level despite the fact we are online, we are drawn into the details of serving. If you decide to join, please leave me a comment below so I know.

Members Unite is a great opportunity to donate to bigger causes…but even more important, it’s an opportunity to speak with your kids about helping others. Kindness is something this world could use more. Taking actions like these make good things happen. Let me know what you think about Members Unite.

About Members Unite:
Members Unite is a simple, interactive, fun way to fund amazing projects. We find the most interesting, impactful, meaningful projects and then let our members figure out which ones get funded. This is possible because the projects are funded through member contributions. And the members ultimately control the outcome each month. We’re all in this together. There’s a saying we love… One person giving $20 is a drop in the ocean. One thousand people giving $20 brings clean water to a village for a lifetime. Members Unite helps us all do more than we could do on our own.

As part of the Members Unite blog team I have been compensated to review their ideas and try the program with my family. I always speak my mind and you can be guaranteed that I will only write the truth here on Mundane Magic. 

“ATLANTA IS ABOUT TO BE ELECTRIFIED BY BROADWAY’S “BEST MUSICAL OF THE DECADE.”  says Time Magazine. Thrilling audiences worldwide and winning ten 2009 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, “THE BEST SHOW YOU WILL EVER SEE” (New York Post) is coming to Atlanta!

BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL is a joyous celebration of one young boy’s triumph against the odds. Called “THE MOST INSPIRING SHOW I’VE SEEN IN YEARS” by Ben Brantley of The New York Times, the story follows Billy’s journey as he stumbles out of the boxing ring, into a ballet class and discovers his dream to dance.

BILLY ELLIOT is brought to life by the Tony-winning creative team — director Stephen Daldry, choreographer Peter Darling and writer Lee Hall — along with music legend Elton John, who has written what the New York Post calls “HIS BEST SCORE YET!”.  BILLY ELLIOT will enchant the dreamer in all of us.

BILLY ELLIOT THE MUSICAL

March 13-18

The Fabulous Fox Theatre

I would love for you to win 2 Tickets to see Billy Elliot at Atlanta’s historic Fox Theatre for Opening Night! (03/13/12) Enter below in the Rafflecopter box and collect more chances by revisiting daily.

 


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MY LATEST ARTICLE ON THE SAVVY SOURCE WAS PUBLISHED TODAY.  I’ve been waiting anxiously for this publishing date because I had some fun exploring the High and the possibilities for fun within it’s white walls. So often museums are considered a boring option for family fun…at least that’s how the first impression occurs. Don’t believe me? Try saying the words “amusement park”, “movies”, and “museum” and see your kid’s reactions. I think we sell art museums—especially ones with ideas for families to experience their art—short.

It’s no secret that my family has found fun at the High Museum. Last Spring we included it as part of our city adventure day by using MARTA to navigate us to the various stops. You can follow the details of our adventure in the first and second posts where we then discovered an exhibition being set up…and an artist/scientist who was willing to share his excitement with our children. It was completely unplanned and incredibly memorable. So much so that they begged to go see the opening lecture and revisit the artist a week later. Truth be told, my kids had done their research on voxels after the encounter and understood what Joris Laarman was referencing more than the adults in the audience. To me, that is real learning!

Come visit my new article and perhaps try the High Museum of Art on your next downtown adventure:

IN THE SUMMER OF 2010 WE TOOK A FAMILY TRIP TO CHICAGO FOR A FAMILY REUNION. We made a point of going through Springfield, Illinois on our way to the Windy City and it was a day enjoyed by everyone in our family. In honor of President’s Day I wanted to reshare our fun from that trip. I always love traveling with my kids. Oddly enough, they seem to exhibit perfect behavior while traveling — perhaps because they are learning something new?

 I’ll never forget the looks on their faces when they realized that you could rub Abe Lincoln’s nose!

HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY! Whether you share with others or not, Valentine’s Day is often a nice day to enjoy a sweet treat for yourself. I had a delightful time compiling the list of sweets in Atlanta. I simply could not believe the number of unique delicacies in Atlanta. My first thought was, “How many cupcake shops can there be?” and by the end I was amazed by the shops offering special pies, handmade chocolate bars with exotic flavors, and unexpected combinations in Atlanta. Some traditional and some more innovative. Some of my favorites didn’t even make the list…I have enough notes to write the second part of the article one day.

The first link is to the Atlanta Sweets article I wrote:

Sweets for Your Sweet

And the second link is to the overall group of articles it fits within.

Sweets for My Sweet: Celebrating Our Love Affair with Sugar

Check out your nearest city and see if you agree with the author. Better yet, tuck this article away in your suitcase for your next business trip. You’ll be the one ‘in the know’ for the must taste treats.

Enjoy the little moments today and the people in your life!

LAST SATURDAY WE ENJOYED THE LAUGHING PIZZA RED CARPET CONCERT MOVIE EVENT AT THE GEORGIA AQUARIUM. It was an awesome event for families. We all walked the red carpet entry, but Grace was the most excited to get her picture made by the papparazi. As you can see, she was very – very – excited. Jumping for joy in fact. Jordan and I just stepped away and let her do her thing. I didn’t have enough coffee in me to jump like that.

And we were surrounded by these beautiful creatures in the Oceans Ballroom of the Aquarium. What an amazing glimpse from the other side of the huge tanks inside the public areas of the Georgia Aquarium. On one side there were the whale sharks and all of the other creatures from the Ocean Voyager tank. The baluga whales were in another window. Simply magical.

After the circus performance and the movie premiere there was a short concert with all the Laughing Pizza classics in celebration of the DVD movie release. If you have little kids you may have seen this family band on PBS Kids in between the educational programming. It’s so refreshing to have good music and wholesome lyrics…and still be entertained. I don’t know about you, but it makes me happy to see the chance for kids to explore more than just the Barney Song <no offense, Barney, but your song is annoying when sung a million times by a kidlet> or London Bridge. Kids are able to digest more than we give them credit for intellectually. Laughing Pizza sings about families, but doesn’t hold back on the rock and rhythm.

At one point during the concert, Lisa asked for answers to several questions…then she used those answers to fill in the blanks for a mad lib type song. It was an enjoyable moment. After the concert, Grace ran behind the stage to wait for the band to exit.

I was able to catch this quick photo with Emily after they hugged. (Grace has a butterfly painted on her face.)

Fast Forward to last night. I emptied Grace’s backpack and found this school library book:

So if you see a jumping butterfly on YouTube, please let me know!

AH, THE CIRCUS…IT’S ONE OF MY FAVORITE CHILDHOOD MEMORIES. Ringling Brothers and Barnum Bailey has just released a new show theme called “Fully Charged” to begin touring and Atlanta is the next city to experience the electrifying energy and beautifully kept animals. I can’t wait to take my crew to enjoy the newly redesigned show and take advantage of the preshow activities. I am also excited to announce that  I have 4 ticket vouchers to give away which will cover the complete ticket price for four people. This is a quick giveaway since a winner will be drawn on Thursday, February 9th at 12:01 am.

The winner will be able to exchange the winning vouchers for the seat dates of his choice from either Phillips Arena in Atlanta or Gwinnett Center. The date options are:
Wed. Feb. 15 at Philips Arena 7:30 show

Thursday, Feb. 16 at Philips Arena 7:30 show

Friday, Feb. 17 at Philips arena 10:30 show (there is no pre-show for this performance)

Thurs. Feb. 23 at Gwinnett Arena 7:30 show

Friday, Feb. 24 at Gwinnett Arena 10:30 show (there is no pre-show for this performance)

Ticket vouchers must be redeemed by the recipient at the box office for hard tickets. They can be redeemed upon receipt, they do not need to wait until the day of the show.

 Follow the instructions on the Rafflecopter widget at the bottom of this article to enter. The more items you complete, the more chances you have to win.

Ready to enjoy the circus with your family? Here we go!

Disclaimer: Feld Entertainment provided my family with tickets to attend the circus and also 4 tickets to give away to my readers. As always, I present you with the facts and my own opinion in any situation on the Mundane Magic blog. 

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YOU CAN FIND ME AT THE SAVVY SOURCE WEBSITE TODAY. I have a new article which suggests some fun things to do in Atlanta with your family. It was a lot of fun to research this one. I’ve done many of the things on the list, but I think I may try to take my own advice about the ones I have missed. I have really enjoyed being the Atlanta City Editor for this parenting website. It has given me the chance to see how unique this Southeastern destination has grown through the years. I feel fortunate to be making family memories here now.

I’m wondering what are some of the “don’t miss” activities in your town or city? I love having the recommendation of a friend when I am traveling.

HIT FAMILY BAND, LAUGHING PIZZA, AND GEORGIA AQUARIUM HOST VIP SCREENING OF THEIR NEW CONCERT MOVIE

Red carpet event followed by live performance by Laughing Pizza to be held in the Aquarium’s Oceans Ballroom

ATLANTA (January 18, 2012)— Georgia Aquarium and family-favorite musical group, Atlanta’s own Laughing Pizza, invite families to the grand Oceans Ballroom for a one-time, VIP family film premiere Saturday, Feb. 4 at 11:00 a.m. The award-winning band and world’s largest aquarium are teaming up for the world premiere of “Laughing Pizza: The Concert Movie” as well as a live performance by Laughing Pizza after the screening.

Beginning at 11:00 a.m., guests will get the “red carpet treatment” with photographs, a VIP screening of Laughing Pizza: The Concert Movie, spectacular views into the world’s largest aquatic habitat, Ocean Voyager, as well as views into the charismatic beluga whale habitat from within the grand Oceans Ballroom. After the VIP screening, Laughing Pizza will perform a few of their hits and give guests the opportunity to meet Billy, Lisa and Emily, up close and in person!
Laughing Pizza is a real family band that writes and performs all original pop-music for families. Their music videos can be seen every day in more than 18 million homes on PBS stations and TV On-Demand channels around the country. This mom, dad and daughter trio travel across the nation performing at theatres, museums, music  festivals, nightclubs, schools, and other venues – including the White House (with Miley Cyrus and the Jonas Brothers).

Lisa and Billy are both classically trained musicians and former music teachers with a history of success in the grown-up music business – including a #1 Billboard Dance Hit and a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell. Emily, their 15-year-old daughter, plays multiple instruments including flute, drums, guitar, piano, and bass – and co-writes all of the Laughing Pizza songs with her parents. Together they create fun, inspiring (and educational) music for the whole family! Their live performances are energetic, interactive, dance-filled shows that get kids and parents up and moving, and they have a loyal following all across the country.

There are two ticket options for families to purchase. VIP Red Carpet Premiere tickets include admission to the film, live performance by Laughing Pizza, meet and greet with the band, and red carpet festivities. VIP Red Carpet Premiere tickets are $15 (Children under 1 years old are free). For an even more spectacular experience, guests can upgrade their tickets to the VIP Red Carpet Premiere Plus ticket, which includes admission to the premiere and its events, as well as admission to the Aquarium and the 3:30 p.m. showing of AT&T Dolphin Tales. VIP Red Carpet Premiere Plus tickets are $34.95 for adults and $28.95 for children. Children under 3 years old only need a film pass, as they are admitted to the Aquarium for free.

For more information and to purchase tickets, please visit www.laughingpizza.com. For more information on Georgia Aquarium’s conservation efforts, visit www.georgiaaquarium.org or call 404-581-4000. 

- OR -

Enter to win a GIVEAWAY for 4 tickets through Mundane Magic: 

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WE LIVE IN THE SOUTH.  Water is always nearby and boating is a favorite sport. The Atlanta Boat Show has been operating for 50 years and draws crowds downtown to drool over the latest craft regardless of the economy. I suppose the dream is always alive, isn’t it?

This year the feature event at the show was the world’s largest wakeboard tank. Over 400,000 gallons of water were pumped into the indoor facility to create the water feature. The plan was to have professional wakeboarders perform stunts and feats for the crowds in a large manmade lake.

So, this morning all the reporters were there to cover the preview of the excitement planned for this weekend indoors of the World Congress Center. This is the first report by Will Frampton of CBS Atlanta’s morning show.

Atlanta Boat Show 2012 – Wakeboard tank collapse

Sometimes you just have to appreciate the beauty of live television and the way things happen. Amazingly they almost have all the boats that floated back into place and the show opened only 4 hours late.

Gotta love the live shot! I call the engineer a genius who designed drains in the exhibit floor. At least someone was thinking!