Although we are a few days into 2012, our recent family trip to Keystone resort is still fresh in our mind, the first ski experience on one of the best family ski resort in Colorado. So to keep up with our tradition, we have our review post looking back to our family travel last year. It was a fun year!

January: Snow in Atlanta

It’s not often or should I say NEVER that Atlanta metro area will get seven inches of snow in winter. So it was a real big treat for our kids to enjoy snow tubing (home-made style) at our own backyard. The snow storm in Atlanta shut down the whole city a whole week. For adults, the cabin fever started to set in but for kids it was like an unexpected winter break!

February: Indoor Water Park fun

We went up to Sevierville, Tennessee to help celebrate our friend’s birthday. An indoor water park at Wilderness in the Smokies is a great year round fun where kids (and adults) can enjoy swimming, sliding, surfing and more in the heated environment even in the middle of winter.

March: Mickey Memory with Disney Social Media Mom

This month we drove down to our familiar vacation spot in Orlando to attend the Disney Social Media Mom 2011 where we learned, laughed and connected with bloggers. It was our first time staying at the Disney’s Grand Floridian Spa & Resort and it was an experience we won’t easily forget. Mr. Z also experienced a big kid ride and hooked on the roller coaster now!

April: Fun in Atlanta at Georgia Aquarium

In Spring, we stayed close to home and enjoy local  attractions in Atlanta like the Grand opening of new Dolphin Tale show at the Georgia Aquarium, the beautiful day at Piedmont Park for the Dogwood Festival

May: Birthday Celebration at Disney’s Animal Kingdom

This year we took another trip down to Orlando to celebrate Mr. Rojo’s birthday at the Disney’s Animal Kingdom Lodge. We hardly stayed at the Disney’s resorts previously because our family has a timeshare in Orlando but year 2011 we stayed in not just one but two property! And I have to say I understand why people keep going back year after year!

June: Summer fun in Seattle & Vancouver

Our big summer trip this year was a two weeks trip to Seattle and Vancouver. It was a business/family trip combo. I attended TBEX 2011, the Travel bloggers conference, in Vancouver and we also enjoyed family vacation in Seattle.

July: Family Reunion in the Ozark & Side trip to St. Louis

Our first family reunion was planned at the YMCA of the Ozark. It was wonderful for kids to meet and play with their cousins. We also took a little detour to visit St. Louis, MO. A fun day but not nearly enough to discover this gem in the Midwest.

August: Back to School

Summer time flew by when you had so much fun. Before we knew it, the kids were back in school. Yes, here in Atlanta we go back to school in August!

September: Myrtle Beach on Labor Day

Now, that kids are in school, we have to work around school holidays and take advantage of every holidays we can get. So we planned a short break during Labor Day weekend to visit Myrtle Beach. What a fun place for the whole family! We found that Myrtle Beach is not just a place for fun time at the beach or various family entertainments like MagiQuest but we could also enjoy nature like Kayak tour.

October: Fall Family Camping

In October, we had our first fall family camping trip with a group of our friends at Redtop Mountain Park. It was beautiful even though a bit too cold for this tropical girl. Kids, on the other hand, had no problem with the cold temperature at night when they had the whole park to explore. The water in the lake was too cold for anyone of us to dare going in. But we knew it will be a great place to camp again in the summer.

November: Legoland Florida

During the Thanksgiving break, we went to visit the recently opened Legoland Florida. Mr. Z was beyond happy to be able to ride in EVERY SINGLE ride at his height. Miss J loved being a big kid who could take her little brother on the ride without us. Ah!! A theme park where kids rule!

December: Ski & Snow at Keystone Ski Resort

Our last but certainly not least family trip of the year was one of the memorable one for our whole family. It was their first time on ski and my first time learning to ski. One word, AMAZING trip! We certainly enjoyed our whole experience during our trip to Denver & Keystone. This will certainly be a place we would love to revisit again in the future.

Wow! I didn’t realize how much we have traveled this past year until I started this post. It certainly has been a blessing for us to be able to continue our love of travel and adventures. We are thankful for the opportunities we have been given and hope we will continue to be able to travel as a family in 2012. Here to more travel in 2012!

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) A Look Back to Family Travel 2011 is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog

Fall is my favorite season because the weather is in perfect temperature and there are so many family friendly activities to do around town. We normally stick closer to home during Fall. Plus now that both kids are in school, it’s harder to plan a vacation trip.

One of fun family activity that we love to do and wish we can do more often is camping. Family camping is an easy, affordable and fun that anyone can enjoy. I would like to put a disclaimer here that I’m not a camping expert. But I love to share our experience from the newbie’s point of view.

Camping in Fall, I think, is the best time to camp, especially for first time camper. I always think it’s easy to warm yourself up in the cold climate than cool yourself down in the heat. Yes, you might pack a little bit more but it’s doable especially if you are not planning a backpacking camping trip.

Here are our list of Essentials on our Fall Camping Trip with Kids

Family Tent:

We purchased the biggest tent we can afford. For our family of 4 we bought 8 person tent. I think it’s the best thing to do when you have kids. It gives them more space to move around and plenty of space to put all our stuff inside the tent. We didn’t buy the best tent but just cheap version at Walmart. If it’s your first time camping and you are not planning to go camping in extreme weather, I would suggest to buy cheap tent or rent one from REI to try it out.

Sleeping Bag:

You will need a sleeping bag per person in your family. Make sure you choose sleeping bag that is appropriate to your camping style. Again, we are not talking about extreme weather camping in the Q Family so I pick the one that is not too warm for our area. I figure if it gets too cold, we can always bundle up with more clothes.

Sleeping Pad:

A must for  your camping trip. This is one item that I think worth investing in because a good night sleep will make your camping experience so much better. We used to bring inflatable mattress. One word of advice – DON’T! It’s not as good as sleeping pad and much harder to setup and pack.

Flashlight or Lantern:

It’s not only a source of lighting at night time for you but a great toy for kids to entertain themselves at night time. Kids can play with their shadow and explore nearby campsite with their flashlight.

Footprint or Tarp:

In order to protect and prolong the life of your tent, footprint or tarp is highly recommended. It will help keep your tent from rock or branch. We bought a tarp that is a bit larger than our tent and use it as a mat so kids have place to take off their shoes before entering our tent as well.

Camping Stove:

Cooking at the camp can be easy or complicated depends on your style. We have been camping with a friend who didn’t even bring any stove or any cooking items and we have also been camping with a family that brought everything except the kitchen sink with them. For us, the Coleman Two Burner Stove is a perfect middle ground. It is small and compact enough to bring with us and provide us with enough space to make a quick meal like bacon in the morning or boil water for noodle at lunch.

Extra Blanket:

During fall camping, the weather at night can drop to as low as 30-40 degree. So make sure that you bring enough blanket or extra jacket. I found that one of those snuggi blanket that you saw on TV is really great. It helps keep the blanket on the kids throughout the night.

Outdoor Chairs:

At camp, you will be doing a lot of sitting around and enjoy the company of each other and nature. So a camp chair is a must.

There are many items that you can bring with you to camp especially if you just do normal camping that you don’t have to carry all your stuff to the camp sites. These are just essential items that we know we will need on our trip.

What are your essential camping items?

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) Camping With Kids: What to Bring on Fall Family Camping Trip is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog

Over the past weekend, we went on our second family camping trip that wasn’t in our backyard. If you are a long time reader, you will know how big of a deal this is for us and our kids.

We are not the “roughing it” or “outdoor adventure” family. Our version of family camping last time involved a long list of things to pack for camping trip like big tent, pillows, electrical hookup, laptop and Nintendo DS.

Family Camping with Cub Scout

This trip is different. It’s a camping trip with the cub scout. There were no electric hookup, no electronic and no wifi.

I wasn’t sure how we will do during that weekend. One saving grace was that we would not be the only camper there. It’s a group camping so I hoped for the kindness of my neighbor.

And I was not disappointed!

We survived!

The campsite is huge and on the lake!! It’s a private camping ground for Boy Scout of USA and the location is privately guarded.

We got there a little bit late and with a long line to check in we arrived at our site when the Sun already went down.

As soon as we pulled in and unloaded our stuff which I realized that I packed too much (There will be another post about lesson learned on this one.), we were approached by another family and helped us find an empty site to start setting up our tent.

First Test for Us, Setting Up a Tent at Night

I have to say that I was pretty proud of us to be able to setup our tent at night with just lantern and headlamp under 30 minutes. Granted, tents these days are much easier to set it up as long as you follow the instruction.

Our secret weapon was we did our dress rehearsal the previous weekend. We did a backyard camping with our friends who came to Cub Scout camping with us. And I’m glad we did.

No Need for Toys

Another great thing of camping with a group of people is the fun the kids had. We don’t have to worry about finding things to do for kids on family camping trip as they immediately found new friends to run around in the wood while adults were busy unpacking and settling down.

The next morning we were ready for a full fun day of activities. There were many fun activities planned throughout the day for the boys and siblings.

Mr. Z took part in the Archery. I had to say it wasn’t bad for his first time trying. He was able to hit the target 2 out of 3 times.

We then spent the majority of the day waiting in line for more activities. I guess it’s part of learning to be patience. By dinner time, we were so tired and ready to bed. BUT there were more activities after dark!

Trick-or-Treating at Night in the Wood

After a fabulous dinner of hot dog and vegetable soup, kids were ready for yet more fun at night. We started off with joining the Halloween parade where the judges gave out prizes during the costume contest.

This was our first year attending this event so next year we already talk about new and improve costume.

The trick-or-treating was definitely a highlight of the night for us. We walked along the path to different campsites in the dark with just the light source from our flashlight. The atmosphere made the event more fun for them but not scary because there were so many kids walking at the same time.

As we stepped into our tent for the last night, the kids were hardly up long enough to change themselves into their pajamas before they were fast asleep.

Memory that Last A Lifetime

The next morning was bittersweet. It was one of the best weekend we have had outdoor and one that I know we will remember for a really long time.

It was something as simple as sleeping in the tent and running wild in the wood that create such a long lasting memory for our family. I know that this will be one of the tradition that we will look forward to doing many years to come.

Camping with kids seem like a disaster in a making but once I let go of the type A personality and my camping phobia, it probably is one of the best thing you can do as a family with kids. Back to nature!

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) Camping With Kids: The “Somewhat Roughing It” Version is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog

My long time friend who know me or Mr. Rojo well enough probably do the double take and wonder if this is really our blog. What with all the camping posts! Well, I can’t promise you that this will be my last post about camping because we are already cooking up our Fall camping trip. As I have said it before and will say it again that we are not outdoor type family.

We love going to Walt Disney World, shopping at the outlet mall and hanging out by the pool after a long day. So camping is probably one of the last thing they will think we will do as a family.

It’s not easy to step out of our comfort zone. It’s a work-in-progress. So if we can do it, I think you can do it too. Keep in mind that we are not talking about backpacking and trekking 5 miles to your camp site nor primitive camping. We are talking about camping in style. Hey! At least we are camping.

So how did we do it? Here are our 5 Baby Steps to Ease Your Camping Phobia

1) Take a baby step:

If you have never gone camping before in your life, don’t go out and book the next campsite at the Smoky Mountain Park that you will have to hike and camp out with no modern amenities like electricity or water.

Start out small like camping in your backyard. And even then, it might still seem scary at first. How about talk to a few friends to do backyard camping together? Camping with a group of friends is fun and their kids will be your kids instant play mates.

Or if you feel like you can step up a bit, you can find local nature center that provide overnight camping at their center. You will be in a good hand and still yet get to enjoy outdoor experience

2) Comfort is everything:

When camping with kids, you want everyone kids or adults to be comfortable. You don’t want to deal with cranky kids after a sleepless night.

The best advice I got from my friend was to get the biggest tent I can get. What a great advice! You want space that you can move around. Don’t just think of tent as a place to go to sleep.

A big enough tent can be a sanctuary for kids at night to play together without being eaten alive by bugs.

A big enough tent will allow you to have separate bed from your kids. I love my kids but I am done sleeping on the same bed. They can move like nobody else. At the end of the day, you want to be able to sleep. Sleeping outdoor out of your own home already hard enough for newbie like us. You don’t want to add the kick factor to the equation.

3) Bring YOUR comfort toys:

This advice is not only applied to kids. I’m sure each of us adult have something like book, laptop, ipod that keep us sane. Bring them! When things get tough, you can just spend some quiet time relaxing.

For me, I love the kindle application I download on my iphone. I don’t have to bring big, heavy books. Plus I can read them at night without having to use lantern or flashlight.

For Mr. Rojo, it’s a laptop. A few minutes playing computer game helps him to forget about that noise next to the tent.

4) Location, location, location:

Do a research and look for campground with all amenities that suite your need. Here are a few must-have for us on our first camping trip

• Within driving distance to our house. Just in case it doesn’t work out. We can just pack up and head home.
• Must be near the water. I think that campground nears water will give us better breeze at night.
• Must have restroom. We got it and more. The campground also has shower and laundry. Perfect. Next time, I can even pack less.
• Must have electric hook up. Yes! We need it. We want it and we are not shame of it.

5) Timing is everything

Even though the thought of setting up a campsite and then having to take it down a couple days later doesn’t seem worth while. You also don’t want to plan your first camping trip to be a week long.

Why not try it out for a weekend. If you like it, then next trip you can always extend your trip.

I think camping doesn’t have to fall into the typical stereotype of ‘roughing it’. I hope that these 5 simple steps will help get you outdoor and enjoy nature.

What other tips do you have to help making camping more fun or easier?

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) 5 Baby Steps to Ease Your Camping Phobia is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog

Kids love to help out. And here are a great example during our recent camping trip. They jumped right in to help out in putting up the tent. I think that what make camping fun for the whole family. The sense of togetherness and working together really bond them. Until 10 minutes later when they fight over the flashlights but that’s another story. :)

Putting up a family tent is not as hard as I thought it would be once we have some practicing. It’s a great idea to try it out at home in your backyard for first time camper. The first time I put my tent up at home it took me over an hour to figure things out. Ok.. Maybe because I’m a bit directional challenge when it comes to tent. But every newbie will probably face the same problem. The 2nd time we put up our tent on our first family backyard camping, I did it in under 20 minutes. And this time, it took us about 15 minutes. Once you figured how to do it, it’s that easy. Wonder how fast I can put it up next time? :) Yes.. there will be more camping from The Q Family for sure!

Here is my contribution for this Photo Friday. Head on over to Delicious Baby for more fun photos from travelers around the world.

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) The Helping Hands is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog

Well, we did it. We went camping with our kids and our friends. An outdoor camping trip!

Ok. Even if the trip was literally 10 minutes from our house, I considered a big step up from the city gal like me. I will write more in detail on our experience later.

But today, I want to share our fun things we did during our camping trip with kids. I was so worried about things to do. But with great advices from my pals around the blogosphere, I took the deep breath, relaxed and let it go. Turned out it was the best advice.

Here are our 5 Fun Things to Do with Kids on Family Camping Trip

1. Walking, Jogging, Hiking – Whatever you want to call it, just put on the shoes and explore your area. Kids will be running up and down the trail and enjoy their freedom in the natural environment. They will discover the sun’s ray in the morning and turn that into a game of their own.

2. Campfire fun – Sitting around the camp fire at night is probably one of the best things to do on a camping trip. They will love BURNING their marshmallows more than making the S’mores. We ended up with a lot of leftover chocolate. Can you believe it!

3. Make sandcastle – Even if your campground is in the mountain, they still can make sandcastles. Give them a plastic cup and water and they will turn the dirt around the campground into a sand masterpiece.

4. Flashlight adventure – Give each kid a flashlight or lantern and they will make it fun. We don’t even have to do anything for them. They will make up their own games from hide and seek (might want to watch out for little ones not to wander too far from the campsite), shadow show, spot light tag and more.

5. Swimming – Our campground is situated by the lake so it’s a perfect activity during the day. Kids love to swim and play on the beach. An inflatable boat is a big hit for the whole gang. They love to just paddle the little boat out to the lake. But if you don’t have lake or pool nearby, just take the opportunity to explore the area. We also play ‘Mushroom Hunting’ game. There are so many types of mushrooms in the wood. We hunt for yellow, red, brown and white mushroom.

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) 5 Fun Things to Do with Kids on Family Camping Trip is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog

So we are going.. If the weather permits that is..

Going where?

Going camping, silly..

This will be a conversation I will probably be having with my family soon. I really want to do on-site camping this year. Summer has come to an end in my view. I mark the end of Summer when school starts. But we still have a couple weeks of good fun that we can squeeze in.

So I checked out the campground that literally 5 minutes from our house and found that the last weekend before they close the park is only a few weeks away. I will book the site as soon as I can see the weather forecast! It has been raining crazy at nights for the past couple weeks. So I don’t want to really have our first ‘REAL’ camping experience to be any more roughing it than necessary.

Now, if the mother nature works with me on this, I still have a big question that I will need all my readers’ help (I do have a few readers, right? Right?).

What activities do you do with kids when the Sunset and the Moon comes out to play?

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) What To Do With Kids After Sunset in Campground? is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog

As a newbie in the camping world, I have learned a lot during our first family backyard camping. The vast varieties of camping products are mind-boggling. Who knows, there are that many types of tents, sleeping bags and sleeping pads.

It was overwhelming in the beginning but we sorted it out with the help from our friends and online information. So I want to put this post out to help other families who are looking into venture out into the unknown of camping with kids for the first time.

- Practice make perfect
If you have never camped before in your life, it’s a good idea to try setting out a tent in a house or in a backyard first. With the improvement in tent these days, it doesn’t take long to put it up as long as you read the instruction carefully. Oh! And make sure to use the right pole. :)

- Buy the biggest tent you can afford
For a family of 4, a tent that sleeps 4 might be too small. Yeah.. You might say but my kids are small, they don’t need a lot of space. OH! They do. Kids love to jump and run around. So a tent with enough headroom for you to stand up and for them to jump will give you some peace. Otherwise, you will be yelling ‘No Jumping’ all day long.

-Rent equipment is good but buy cheap one is better
At first, I was considering renting camping equipment from REI. It’s a good option since we don’t even know if we will like it and return to the wilderness the next time. However, after looking at the price, you can get a cheaper tent from Walmart or Target. Plus even if you might end up using it only once, you can always sell it on Craig’s list or ebay. I mean if you have money to spend, then by all means get the Hobitat from REI. I would love to have one. But our Coleman 8 does the job and it has plenty of room

- Before bedtime, everyone MUST go potty
It’s not fun for a 3 AM bathroom trip even if it’s just walking upstairs to your own bathroom inside the house. Make sure all the kids and adults have done their business before light out.

- Don’t forget bug repellent even in your backyard
Bugs do live in your backyard as well. So even if you don’t have to get in a car and drive to  your campsite, you still need that bottle of bug repellent lotion to fight off little buggers at night. I am the lucky person though bugs never bother me. Maybe because they are too busy taking care of Mr. Rojo. We might need to look into some bug repellent candles or lantern. Any recommendation?

I’m sure I will have more tips once we go on our ‘offsite’ camping trip.

So is there any tips you have for first-timer in family camping?

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) 5 Tips for Family Backyard Camping from First Time Camper is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog

We did it! We had our first family backyard camping this past weekend. Well, before any of the outdoor enthusiasts said anything, you have to know that we (especially Mr. Rojo) are not outdoor type family. We don’t like hot and humid weather. We don’t like bugs. We love technology and gadget. We don’t like roughing it. So for us, to step outside our own comfort zone and sleep outside in a tent is really big deal. So I just want to post about what are things we bought in order to make this camping more enjoyable.

This will be more so for families who are looking to try something new, who don’t have any experience like us. Also this is not a complete list to allow you to go camping just yet. Just think of this as a dress rehearsal for your camping. We ate at home, shower and play inside (since it was hot in the evening) before we headed down to our tent. This list will get you started on enjoying family time outdoor in your backyard.

- Family Tent: We have a great advice from several of our friends to buy the biggest tent you can afford. For a family of 4, we opt for Coleman Concept 8-Person 14′ x 9′ Tent. Another tip is to buy the cheapest we can find. So Coleman tent seems to be a good choice for us.

- Air Mattresses: Another great tip from our friend. Get the most comfortable mattress you can find. We are car camping so we don’t have to worry about getting the lightest sleeping pad. We already have one air mattress but we will need another one for the kids. We chose Coleman Queen Sized Air Bed because it was on sale and it’s just a few dollars more expensive than Full-size. It’s always good to have enough space at night.

- Sleeping Bags: We can’t sleep without sleeping bag. We are not sure which one to get since there are so many types for different climate. But I know that we are just starting out and we won’t be doing any extreme camping. So we opt for the middle of the range temperature (40 degree). I figure if we will camp in a colder weather, we might just pack more sweaters and blankets.

- Tarp: Why tarp? Well, I couldn’t even find a footprint for our tent and tarp is probably cheaper. We bought tarp that a bit bigger than our tent size which I think it’s a really good idea. It will allow you to get in and out of the tent without tracking the dirt inside.

- Air Pump: We picked up Coleman Rechargeable Air Pump for our air mattresses because it doesn’t come with it. We could have gotten the air mattress that has the built-in pump but it will cost more. Plus we can use this air pump with another air mattress that we already have.

- Lantern: Since we know that we will always camp where there is electrical outlet at the campsite, we chose Coleman Rugged Rechargeable Lantern so that we don’t have to worry about the fuel or battery. This lantern has pretty good lighting and also has nightlight feature.

- Kids’ flashlight: There must be some incentive for the kids to make camping fun. And I don’t think it can be any cheaper or easier toy than a flashlight. We picked Coleman Kid’s Companion Flashlight and Lantern from Walmart. It’s more than just a flashlight. They can pull it out to make it a lantern or use it as nightlight. Perfect for their midnight dance.

Stay tune for our post on tips we learn from our first sleeping in a tent experience!

Thanks for reading my feed. Please stop by to say hi or leave a comment! :) Things to Pack for Family Backyard Camping with Kids is a post from: The Q Family Adventures Travel Blog