Documenting our Adventures! (Part 1 and Part 2)

Obviously this blog is a place to document our adventures.

Digital cameras are amazing-- however, if you don't print out the photos and put them in albums-- the awesome photos are lost.

I've come up with two ways to document our Bus Adventures. One is more for me. One is more for Toad.

PART 1: PHOTOBOOKS

I discovered ArtsCow last year. I am really happy with the quality. They have amazing deals! The best part is you can put in coupon codes and all these free things end up in your account, and you can redeem them later. http://www.artscow.com/



ArtsCow has amazing photobooks. I think the most I have ever paid is about $10. The shipping is from China, so it is a bit slow-- but I love the quality and colour of the books.

The software is easy to use, and I love the "AutoFill" option. I usually dont put alot of text (I can't be bothered), but just the photos. I put them on the bus, and I love looking at them!


Here is the latest one:

 

PART 2: GEOGRAPHY QUILT
 
The second way is for Toad. He is very interested in Geography (and every other subject for that matter). There are map magnets you can buy, stickers, etc. First, Adam wouldn't allow stickers or magnets of any kind on the bus. For the record, we do have magnets on the fridge-- but the type of maps I am talking about have to go on the outside of the bus, or the inside of the door. The bus door is not magnetic (nor is stainless steel).

So, I started looking on Etsy. I found some fabric-- and I started to think of how I could use it.

I loved the colour! I loved that it included Canada!I found out they were "panels". Meaning, it wasn't a piece of fabric with a pattern, but each panel had one map. Perfect! Just needed to find one at a reasonable price.

I looked on eBay-- my go-to place to shop, and found an awesome seller who had the panel and some great fabric for the back.

Now to figure it out! I had the fabric for the front, some for the back.

I consulted my mother-in-law, who is an amazing quilter. She helped me figure out that I needed something to "sandwich" inbetween. I went to FabricLand and bought "Warm and Natural", and some fabric for a binding.

We spent a morning putting it together.

I came home and hand stitched the binding.

A week or two later, I machine-quilted some of the "borders", to keep everything together.

So what is it? It's a lap quilt for Toad. Each state we visit, I will put a "button" (to quilt and for visual purposes). This way, he can see the map and where we have traveled!

Hope to have quite a few more buttons on there in the next year!

Day 10, 11, 12

Day 10: Relaxed at the Port Huron KOA. We have an awesome site, right across from the bathrooms, store, snack bar. The train depot and several parks are a really short distance. Adam rented a Russian bike with two sets of pedals. Carson loved it! We went on the train ride through the park as well. So much to do here!

Day 11: Super hot again today. We slept in! Carson and I went and rented a golf cart. It's a big park and alot of people have them, so it was fun. We drove around alot! It was pretty hot and the pool was packed, so we went shopping for some last minute things, came back and went to the amusement park next door. Carson and I went on the bumper boats and got SOAKED, but we were happy to be cooled down a bit. Then we all went on the gokarts. A walk and a few golfcart rides later, we went out for dinner. We packed up to come home tomorrow.

Day 12: Home!

Day 8, 9, 10.

Day 8: We left Traverse City, bound for Muskegon. I did find a few more photos of the KOA.

It was not a bad drive at all. Duck Creek RV Resort is beautiful! However, not for traditional "campers". The roads are paved, there are uniform cement pads at every site, and the same landscaping. The clubhouse is beautiful with an arcade, laundry room, rec hall (tv, games, books) and the pool area is fab! There is a very large pool with awesome loungers and a large hot tub. I really liked it here! We hit the pool and relaxed.

Day 9: Off to Michigan's Adventure. It was very hot, but we went on most of the rides and some of them twice! We took advantage of the free refills and the souvenir cup! Toad loved the rollercoasters. I loved the log ride. We spent the majority of the day there, then came back for a swim to cool off.

Day 10: Another relaxing day at the pool! We also went into Muskegon to see some sites. Carson loved riding his bike here-- pavement for miles!And an awesome playground.

Day 11: Off to our last stop, Port Huron. It was HOT. The a/c in the bus could not keep up. We were definitely overheated on this ride, but lots of cold water and air from the window helped. We were quite happy to arrive here in Port Huron at the KOA.

Working on some photos from my phone and from Port Huron, and will update tomorrow when we get home.