What is This???


Hey, Shayna here. I am so many things but the overwhelming part of my identity right now is MOM. I have 4 very rambunctious, crazy, noisy, spirited children and while I enjoy a good girls night out or even the coveted adults only date nights, the majority of my time is spent with the family. I am starting this blog because I need more attention, I like to write, I want to log where we go and how easy or not easy it was to take the kids...aka "family friendly". This is not the same as "kid friendly". I have been to my share of kid friendly places that offer very (very) little for mom and dad. Just remember that my point system is highly influenced by a) my mood that day, b)the environmental conditions that only God controls (i.e. weather) and c)how much fighting there was in the car on the way to the location so this is very very very unscientific. Enjoy!

Saturday, January 21, 2017

Wrebbit 3D puzzle- White House

White House 3D puzzle
Overall: 6
Price: 5
Kid Friendly: 5
Parent Friendly: 8
Easy Access: 8

Drew may or may not have an addiction to WeeBee Toys in town and last week he came home with this puzzle. He thought it would be a good opportunity to talk with the kids about our countries process of peaceful change of power. These puzzles by the way are not

Tuesday, January 17, 2017

Chautauqua Park- Boulder, CO

Chautauqua
Overall: 9
Price: 10
Kid Friendly: 9
Parent Friendly: 9
Easy Access: 7

I would put Chautauqua (Shuh-talk-wuh) on my top 10 must do's in Boulder CO whether you are on a family trip or an adults only trip. The views are amazing, the paths are friendly (unless you are new to trail running and you want to see how many times you can "run" up and down the trail...but thats a story for a different blog), the parking is....

Sunday, January 15, 2017

Ingenius-- board game

Ingenius
Overall Score: 7
Price: 6
Kid Friendly: 7
Parent Friendly: 8
Easy Access: 8


This game was introduced to me a few years ago by one of my good grade school friends (that miraculously we keep in contact even though she doesn't have Facebook!) The game itself is super simple to pick up, the scoring is a little tricky.

Friday, January 13, 2017

Bear World- Idaho

Bear World- Idaho
Overall:7
Price: 4
Kid Friendly: 8
Parent Friendly: 8
Easy Access: 7

So Bear World is off of Highway 20 in Idaho (going from Idaho Falls to Island Park) and from the highway it looks very underwhelming. BUT it was such a cool place. You start out by driving your own car through the park and you see buffalo and elk and goats and then you get to the bears! And there are TONS of them.  It would be virtually impossible

Tuesday, January 10, 2017

7 Wonders- Board Game

7 Wonders Board Game
Overall score: 6
Price: 5
Kid Friendly: 5
Parent Friendly: 9
Easy Access: 3

Now before you 7 Wonders lovers get mad that this only scored a 6, please look at the parent friendly category when I gave it a 9. It was a really fun game to play....with adults. Drew has been on a game kick lately

Monday, January 9, 2017

Brighton Ski Resort, UT

Brighton Ski Utah
Overall: 7
Price: 6
Kid Friendly: 7
Parent Friendly: 7
East Access: 9

Ok, We have been to Brighton a few times as a family and its a good thing, because if my ratings were based on just the last time we went, the score would be lower 👎. We recently went on New Years eve and the lines for the beginner lift were unbearably looonnnggg. What kills is

Thursday, January 5, 2017

Bear Lake, UT

Bear Lake (Utah side)
Overall Score: 8
Price: 8
Kid Friendly: 8
Parent Friendly: 8
Easy Access: 6




I love me some Idaho, but I am woman enough to admit that the Utah side of Bear Lake is wwwaaaaayyyyy better! This is the view coming off the hill on the drive from Logan to Bear Lake. It is this little aqua oasis after driving through one of the most beautiful canyons ever (Logan canyon). It is the kind of water that screams:

Redfish Lake, ID (My favorite place on earth)

Redfish Lake
Overall Score: 10
Price: 10
Kid Friendly: 10
Parent Friendly: 10
Easy Access: who cares, worth it

This is by far the most biased review I will give on this blog. Redfish Lake is a magical place that my family has been going to forever....well at least the last 50 years. I wrote high school essays about Redfish. I asked some family members

Yellowstone National Park

Yellowstone
Overall Score: 9
Price: 10
Kid Friendly: 7
Parent Friendly: 9
Easy Access: 8

Yellowstone is a pretty well known National Park and every year they do a free day! This year it was drizzly and a little cold but that didn't stop us from having a great time! (In fact,

Wednesday, January 4, 2017

Maroon Bells, Aspen CO

Hiking in Aspen, CO
Overall Score: 9
Price: 9
Kid Friendly: 8
Parent Friendly: 9
Easy Access: 7

This is one of those spur of the moment "side trips". We were driving back from Denver to Idaho and decided to take I70 (which is longer than the I80 route, but we were bored with that) and while we were driving Drew says to me, "you know I've always wanted

Children's Museum of Phoenix

Phoenix Children's Museum
Overall Score:4
Price: 2
Kid Friendly: 9
Parent Friendly: 2
Easy Access: 10

Ok, so I know that it is a whole museum dedicated to children but......I do not think I will be back. The problem with things that are overtly kid friendly is that they are usually totally crowded with people just like me...lots of energetic kids looking for an outlet. It was just too

Craters of the Moon, ID

Craters of the Moon
Overall Score: 6
Price: 7
Kid Friendly: 7
Parent Friendly: 7
Easy Access: 4

Craters of the Moon is a National Monument and Preserve, which means its not cool enough to be a "park", but still cool enough to try and save it for future generations. It is a huge (I mean huge) lava field/bed with paths and caves. It was $10 a car to get in and while we were only there for about 3 hours (we didn't pack enough food), if we were prepared

Grand Targhee Ski Resort Wyoming

Skiing at Targhee

Overall Score: 8
Price: 3
Kid Friendly: 9
Parent Friendly: 9
Easy Access: 2-8

I remember skiing at Targhee once as a high schooler, but it wasn't until last year that I rediscovered this treasure and it has quickly jumped to one of our favorite family places ever! Don't let the overall score fool you, the price brings it down (family skiing is $$$$ pretty much everywhere). The "beginner hill"

Rockies Stadium: Denver Colorado

Coors Field: Rockies Game


Overall Score: 8
Price: 7
Kid Friendly: 7
Parent Friendly: 10
Easy access: 7



What can I say? I love the Rockies! (I loved them a little bit more when my Toddy played for them). Baseball is one sport that I actually love to watch (in person.....on tv is horrible) more than I love to play. I love the smell of the hot dogs (but only if I haven't watched one of those horrible food documentaries recently) and the sound of the crowd. I love love love the 7th inning stretch and singing "Take me out to the ball game". I love the bloopers they show in-between innings and I love the fresh air (mostly, thanks for nothing pot legalization). While baseball itself is very slow, the park environment and the games that they play make it go by fast. 

Bannack, MT ghost town

Bannack Montana
Overall Score: 7
Price: 8
Kid Friendly: 7
Parent Friendly: 8
Easy Access: 4





We are freaks....but the good kind. We really really like ghost towns. There is something about being able to "walk back in time" while still using the modern bathroom at the end of the day. Bannack MT is a great little (actually not that little) ghost town where you can actually walk through the old buildings. It is self guided but you do have