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Great Wolf Lodge: Fun for Everyone
The Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario: We recently surprised the kids with a two-night stay at Great Wolf Lodge in Niagara Falls, Ontario. This indoor water park boasts over 100,000 square feet of water-packed fun, including scream-worthy slides for risk takers—not for the faint of heart!—and zero-depth entry areas for wee ones. Outside the water park, there are plenty of activities to keep everyone busy until nightfall. Our visit to this immense 84-degree indoor water park was the second for us in five years. I was a little worried that the lodge and all of its amenities might look a little tired or appear a bit rundown.…
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The Beauty of the Monarch Butterfly Spring Migration
There is something quite magical when you see a Monarch Butterfly up close. We had a chance to visit the Ellwood Butterfly Preserve in Santa Barbara last year and saw thousands of Monarch Butterflies sleeping and flying around the preserve . It was such a memorable trip and my daughter was able to hold one in her hand while the tour guide was describing how you can tell whether the one she was holding was a male or female. This is the time of year that you will see the first generation Monarch Butterfly start stage one of an amazing and long journey. With spring just around the corner this could make sure a fun and…
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Garden Preparation: A Simple How-To
“Each spring…a gardening instinct, sure as the sap rising in the trees, stirs within us. We look about and decide to tame another little bit of ground”. – Lewis Gantt Preparing Your Garden for Springtime: With spring right around the corner, now is the opportune time to begin garden preparations. Whether you desire a plentiful vegetable garden or a welcoming bed of flowers, the basis of each have the same planting process. Design, flora choice, soil amendments and physical labor must all be thoroughly considered before a garden can be properly created. Your design choice will better familiarize you with your growing space, plants’ needs and optimal outcome.…
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Your Family Tree: Where to Start
The idea of starting a research project on your family history can be an exciting, yet daunting, one. Where did your family come from? How did your ancestors live? These questions are just two that got me started on a family tree. I wanted to know as much as I could about my family. When I first started, I was immediately overwhelmed and had no clue what to do. After quite a bit of research, I finally got on track and was amazed at some of the things I found. If you are interested in finding out more about your own family, I have put together a few pointers…
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A Gottman Institute Therapist Provides Tips to Keep Your Marriage Strong
The Gottman Institute: Many of you might have heard about Dr. Gottman of The Gottman Institute and his ability to predict with 98% accuracy which marriages would end in divorce. When I read this statistic, I was intrigued to learn more about this man and the compile of work he has done through the years. The Gottman Institute was co-founded by Drs. John and Julie Schwartz Gottman. The Gottman Relationship Institute has two major functions: helping couples directly, and providing state-of-the-art training to mental health professionals and other health care providers. The Gottman Institute applies leading-edge research on marriage in a practical, down-to-earth therapy and trains therapists committed to helping couples. No…
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To Ponder Love
Most mornings I begin with meditation. Like so many words associated with the inner-life, or that potentially eek towards the edge of spirituality or even religion, it seems to me that maybe these days there ought to be a glossary attached when a person writes or speaks. Therefor, in the interest of context, let me just say that I use that word to equate my personal period of quiet and introspection in the morning. It is, to be clear, the period of time that counts and not at all the actual practice. I am a big advocate of learning and using tools such as breathing and present-centeredness that help…
