Let the Summer Adventures Begin

Summer break has officially begun! 

We’ve celebrated with ice cream.

We’ve visited the library.

But I am ready embrace the thing that I love most about summer (besides an ice cold beer): travel.

I love to travel, and I want the kids to love traveling.  I talked about this last year (along with how things just did not go how I had hoped). 

In order to celebrate my inner fun parent, I decided to kick off summer break with a mini staycation adventure to Ann Arbor.

I am going to try *really* hard to keep my expectations closer to the realistic side of the spectrum and as far away as idealist as possible.

As we embark on our first summer adventure of the season, I thought I would re-share my Live in the D: Summer Travel Tips with Kids post again.

Hope these help you as much as they have helped me!

Treating Myself: Daffodils and Sister Pie

 I am sick of winter – Sick. Of. It.  

I am tired of the cold, the snow, and the pervasiveness of winter germs.

Done.

I try not to complain about the ever-looming winter because I live in the frozen tundra of the Midwest.   But being cooped up in -25 degree weather along with taking care of sick children has made this winter way too intense.  My mental health is suffering. 

So I decided I needed to do little things to brighten up these long days of winter.

I indulged in a $3 bouquet of daffodils at Trader Joe's. When I am feeling overwhelmed, I don't usually get excited about bringing something else in my life that needs care and attention, but I could not resist how springy and friendly they looked.

Ray of sunshine

I also did something that I had been waiting to do for a long time: I ordered pies and cookies from Sister Pie, a Detroit-based company.  I learned about them when we crossed path at Live in the D.  They totally had me at buckwheat chocolate chips cookies.

For months, I have been drooling over their baked goods photos on Facebook, waiting for a special occasion so I could order them. I decided doing something nice for myself was special occasion enough. 

How can you say no to that?!

So here’s a breakdown of what came in the February sampler:

Rose Pistachio and Grapefruit Lavender Shortbread Cookies

The Rose Pistachio is a buttery cookie that has just the right amount of sweetness with a nice crunch from the pistachio bits. There is also this fragrant, sweet rose flavor that is highlighted with by a slightly salty flavor at the end. And the rose glaze is delicious!  This is quite possibly the most unique cookie I have ever tasted.

The Grapefruit Lavender cookie also has the buttery shortbread  and has a bright citrus flavor paired against the subtle lavender that is just lovely.   

Honey Lemon Meringue Pie

I don't like lemon meringue pie. When I was a little girl obsessed with her Strawberry Shortcake dolls, I could never say “meringue” in Lemon Meringue’s name.   My mom said if I practiced and said it right, she would make me a lemon meringue pie. I practiced and practiced and finally said it correctly.

It was the most vile dessert ever - who would want to eat this bitter pie with meringue that looked like whipped cream, but clearly was not as delicious as whipped cream?! I accepted my destiny as a person who would never understand lemon meringue pie’s appeal.

Until I tried Sister Pie's Honey Lemon Meringue Pie. The luscious, creamy filling was the perfect balance of tart and sweet.  The meringue was delectable. Thank you, Sister Pie, for showing me just how wonderful lemon meringue pie can be. 

Salted Maple Pie

Imagine taking the maple syrup part of a pancake breakfast and turning it into it's own creamy dessert housed in the perfect piecrust (which by the way, are made with high-fat French butter.  I’m sure it is not a coincidence that they are the most rich, flakey pie crusts I’ve ever had). That is what this pie tastes like. It is flecked with these delicate salt flakes that totally brings out the maple-y sweetness. 

Red Hot Chocolate Pie

When I was in college, my friend lived in Mexico for a semester. When she came back, she brought me these squares of chocolate with cinnamon and spices to melt into hot chocolate. It was the most complex flavored hot chocolate I'd ever had - a far cry from the artificially flavored Swiss Miss I'd been drinking for years in the dorm cafeteria. 

Red Hot Chocolate pie reminds me of that Mexican hot chocolate. It's chocolaty and rich, but not super sweet with a hint of cinnamon. Then there is this cayenne spicy heat at the end that just makes this the best chocolate pie ever. 

Are you ready for this winter to be over?  What’s your favorite way to treat yourself?

**I was not compensated by Sister Pie or Trader Joe's.  I bought these delicious baked goods and beautiful flowers with my own money and opinions are mine. 

Rochester Review: Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve

I am trying a new series called Rochester Review.  I have wanted to live in Rochester pretty much my whole life, but concretely for the past five years.

I love the downtown area, which is really rare for this part of Michigan.  There are also so many beautiful parks and trails with big, mature trees near our house that have helped us maximize our time outside this summer.

Although we have yet to experience Rochester Schools, my research says they are pretty great.  (Our new elementary school has its own vegetable garden and they serve the harvest during a back-to-school event.  How cool is that?!)

So in honor of my dream coming true, I have decided to start the series of Rochester Review where I will write about the things I love about Rochester.

My first review is Dinosaur Hill Nature Preserve.  

Now, I wasn’t even sure what it was expect some vague idea of a walking trail since my yoga teacher talked about going on walk there. 

I still got lost.  Thankfully, Harrington was there.  I might consider bringing
bread crumbs next time.

When we arrived at Dinosaur Hill, there was a building that looked like a little house filled with mounted animals and dinosaur bones.  I think school field trips are held there, but they day we went, the area was set up for a birthday party. 

After we checked that out, we went to walk on the trails.  And by trails, I don’t mean a paved road surrounded by some trees.  I mean it was a dirt trail marked by some logs deep in a forest.  This is so unexpected since the parking lot is at a dead end street in a neighborhood.

In the wild.  We actually had to step over fallen logs.
Almost all of us loved it!

As we walked in the woods, we came across this beautiful filed of wildflowers that we almost as tall as Thomas!

These were the biggest flowers I have ever seen.

We also came across this bridge.

Which was helping us cross this.

You know when you meditate and you have to think of something
beautiful and peaceful?  I think this is my new vision.

And we saw lots and lots of deer.  They weren’t really scared of us so we were able to get a good look at them.  This was also a great opportunity to talk to the kids about respecting animals.  We talked about understanding that we are in their home so we don’t run up to them; we give them their space.

Can you see the deer?  I think he stopped for the photo.
The rest of his family slowly meandered in the other direction.

It was really an amazing day.  Lately, I feel myself being drawn to nature, which by the way, is totally unlike me. But when walking in a place like Dinosaur Hill, I feel my head clearing in a way that I can’t when my computer is in the next room. 

I (obviously) value technology and let my kids have screen time (maybe too much).  I feel that if we are going to embrace all the wonderful aspects of technology, we have to balance it out with some serious outdoor time where it is peaceful and we can have an unplanned adventure. 

So how did the kids like it?  Thomas was in his glory.  He could run and be curious without the unwritten rules of socially acceptable behavior at the park.  Marie, well, she did not like it as much.  Yet.  I told her to use it for writing material.  So she wrote a haiku about how mean I was to take her into the woods.

Do you have a peaceful place to clear your head?  Do you ever feel you need to balance out screen time with some adventurous outdoor time?  How do your kids feel about it?