Guess who booked her Disney vacation?

This girl.

In October, look out- me and my girls will be invading!

Ways to Save: Vacation Style

As many of you know, we're going on vacation soon. Being the frugal momma that I am, I like to SAVE, SAVE, SAVE! Not just before hand, but also during.

Here are a few of my penny savers-

1. Skip buying soda, juice boxes, and the like. Bring a refillable water bottle. Fill it in bathrooms, in your room/cabin, etc. If you absolutely need flavor, get boxes of flavor packs. Dollar stores sell boxes with 8-12 packs in them for $1.00. 12 bottles of flavored water would cost you $12-18. Instead, it's gonna cost you just $1.00.
2. If you plan to site see, pack your lunch. Make sure it's filling, and include a few extra snacks for those times when you just HAVE to have something. A sack lunch can cost under a dollar. You can't even do that on the dollar menu at McDonalds.
3. If you do want a treat, give yourself a daily budget, per person. For instance, I budget out $3 per person, per day for snacks. If someone wants an ice cream cone, they can get it. If someone wants to snag a bag of chips and a candy bar, they can. It isn't as frugal as bringing your own, but at least you won't feel like a total miser the entire time.
4. Starving? Out on the road? Well, it happens- you get caught off guard, and need to eat NOW. Check around for places that are off the main drag. They're more likely to be less expensive than the flashy restaurants on the main drag, geared at tourists.
5. Check rates, and look for coupons. Some places offer coupons- use them! If you can save $20 on your room, why pay full price? That $20 is fun money!
6. If you do plan to eat out, do some research. Find a family restaurant- not a chain. You'll find wonderful food, and low costs. See if you can find coupons as well!
7. Plan meals ahead of time. What will you have each day? What will it require? What do you have on hand to cook with? Some hotels come with microwaves, some have an area where you can use a microwave and toaster. If you are in a cabin or camping, bring the items that will allow you the most versitility in cooking, without taking up a ton of space.
8. Consider cooking some things ahead- got a fridge and a toaster? Make pancakes and french toast. Pop it in the fridge, warm it in the toaster, and you are good to go, without the mess of cooking them. Got a sandwich maker? Research recipes- last time we went camping, I learned how to make pop overs and corn muffins in mine, to add to our meals. 
9. Consider local attractions wisely. Price them, call ahead, and ask if they publish coupons in brouchures, entertainment guides, the Sunday paper, or anywhere else. See about getting some sent to you! Again, why pay $5.00 per person, if you can save $1.50 off each person, and pay $3.50? A little bit of research is well worth it's weight in money saved.
10. Know your area- know where the things you want to see are located. You'll save money in gas alone, not to mention frustration and time spent trying to locate something!
11. Going to be gone for several nights? Save room on packing things. Pack light, and bring some laundry detergent, so you can wash items. This is good when you have very limited room to pack- we have a cavelier- plus a 9 year old, 12 year old, and 15 year old. To say that room is tight is an understatement. We get so creative in packing, that the kids sit on their blankets and pillows when they're in the car. 
12. Find out where the local grocery stores are- look their ad's up online. Are they more expensive or less expensive than your stores? If they're more expensive, consider packing your groceries to bring with you. Last time we went up north, I didn't consider how much more expensive the groceries would be, and over spent my budget by nearly $20- AFTER I dropped several items off the list. That's a costly mistake to make!
13. When it comes to souvenir shopping, it's hard to save money. A store selling shirts in a tourist town will easily want $20 for a shirt. Check for shops off the beaten path, look for mark down racks, and check if there's a department store in town.  Quite often, you'll find gear branded with the town name, or the tourist location name, but cheaper. And don't always assume that things might be more expensive in one location! We shopped the first day in Mackinaw City, and I got totally ripped off buying a sweatshirt- thanks to a very fast talking guy, who didn't explain HOW the items in the shop worked. Sure, I loved the sweatshirt I saw on the rack, but I didn't realize the price marked in big numbers were for un-decorated, plain sweatshirts. The designs cost extra. I also got sucked into the whole, "It's cheaper than the Island!" I paid almost $45 for a sweatshirt. I felt horrible the rest of the trip over that 1 splurge- then on the last day, we were on the island, and guess what I found? A very similar, embroidered zip up hoodie for $15.00. Yep, snatched it up, and still love it. And I wear both. But, bottom line? Price shop before you pull the cash out- and make sure you know what the bottom line price is before agreeing to anything!

Vacations can be expensive. But, there are still ways to save- it just takes a bit more work!

Spring Break- Night at the Museum, pt 1

Monday, after we left the zoo, the kids and I went to the hotel and checked in. It was a large hotel, but older, and it had an indoor pool. That was one of the things I wanted, so the kids could enjoy their hotel time as well. After they had swam for almost an hour, we got dressed again, and left to go to the Grand Rapids Public Museum.

The museum is normally only open until 5, but this week, they had a night time special- for $10 each, you got entrance to the museum (normally $5 for kids, $8 for adults), Unlimited Carousel rides (normally $1 per ride, per person), a planetarium show (normally $3 each), plus a free kid friendly meal at the cafe (normally $5-7 each). If you have a membership to the museum, it was only $5/person instead of $10.

I wound up purchasing a membership, because the public museum is one of my favorite places to go. I love museums, and finding new things. The membership allows me free entrance to numerous other museums, plus a 10% discount at the museum shop and the cafe, and all planetarium shows are free.

The museum is large, and due to long lines at the cafe, and planetarium show time, we did not get to finish seeing everything we wanted to before closing at 9pm.

Because I literally took almost 400 photos just at the museum, I'll break the posts down to highlight a few of our favorite areas.

First, my personal favorite- Gaslight Village. Actually, this exhibit was renamed "The Old Streets of Grand Rapids" back in 1994 when they opened the new museum. In the old museum, where it was at when I grew up, it was called Gaslight Village.

Several of these store fronts unlock to open up. During the day, museum volunteers man 1 or 2 shops at a time, explaining bits and pieces about the store, the items found in them, and things like prices back during the time when the streets of Grand Rapids looked like this.

One of my favorite shops is the printing press. They have a working 1880 manual printing press that they demonstrate how to use, and print up knowledge based bookmarks for the various shops, and for other exhibits in the museum. They show you hot to set the type, and how printing meant doing each one several times if there are more than 1 color involved. It's fun to see them working!

Because of the night hours, there were no volunteers in the shops that night, but it's still fun to peer through the windows!

2009: My Favorite Memories

Number, The First.

In 2009, we had some exciting times, and some not so exciting times. The year passed with speed that I did not anticipate. Here is my first favorite memory from 2009.

In early January of 2009, I settled on a family vacation. Well, partial family, as it would just be the kids and I. I had been planning on doing on for a month or two already, but in January, I decided that I would take the kids camping up to Mackinaw City, Michigan. Mackinaw is one of my favorite areas, and aside from a single day trip two years earlier, I had not been to Mackinaw City since I was a child.

I planned endlessly, budgeted, earned and saved money for the trip, and in early June, after school let out for the summer, the kids and I made the long trek up to Mackinaw City.

We had our first tent, and I had found a camp ground with budget sites for under $15/night. I used coupons, and internet deals to stretch our money as far as possible. Initially, we were set to spend almost a full week up there. We left on Wed, and were set to return on Tuesday.

The drive is long from home to Mackinaw City, and we left at 9am. It was after 4pm by the time we had gotten there, and set up camp, and after 6 by the time we had gotten to the grocery store, and back to the camp site. I took my time driving up, though. I planned a stop at a large rest stop that had a museum in it, but we wound up stopping even before we got there.

We visited 3 rest stop visits on the drive up north, plus one food stop (which included 2 gas station stops- 1 for gas, and 1 for directions because the road was under construction and we couldn't back track to the highway), and 1 stop at a place called Sea Shell City. It is a giant shell store, but also some tourist items.

On day 2, we spent time in Mackinaw City. We visited Colonial Fort Michilimackinac (Mich-ill-a-mack-i-naw), where I bought us a season pass for just $65. The pass allowed us to visit all the area historical parks. Had we paid entrance at each one, for the same price we would only have been able to visit 2.

We ate lunch in the park next to the fort, then walked over to the next historical park, which was a lighthouse. We spent the rest of the day exploring the city, playing in fountains, walking the beach, and seeing the Mackinac Bridge lit up at night.

On day 3, we drove across the Mighty Mac to St. Ignace. There, we visited Indian Village, which is a tourist shop and museum, and also has some displays outside. We took many photos, and drove on to the next stop, Castle Rock. For just $.50, you can climb stairs that go up to the peak of a massive tall rock formation that juts out over the forest. You can see the Mackinac Bridge, Mackinac Island, Lake Huron, St. Ignace, and much more from the rock.

At the base of the rock, there is a real totem pole, and a statue of Paul Bunyon & Babe, the giant Ox. We drove from there over towards the other side of town. We stopped and ate a picnic lunch at a roadside park with a fantastic view of the Mackinac Bridge and Lake Michigan. We then went and had fun at the Mystery Spot, which included Mini Golf, and a Maze.

On the drive back to the campground, we stopped at a lake side park in Mackinaw City to run around and play, and watch a couple of guys flying kites. By the end of Day 3, I knew my patience was never going to last for a full vacation. I went back and forth, and looked at the weather. It was supposed to rain in the evening and over night on Day 4. We talked, I talked with Nick, and decided that the best bet was to head home early. First, though, we wanted a day on Mackinac Island.

On Day 4, we packed quickly, loading down the car. Checking out early, we got a partial refund, then headed to the docks to take the ferry over to Mackinac Island. The kids and I enjoyed a LONG day on the isle, which included a carriage tour of the isle, and a visit to our 3rd historical park, Fort Mackinac.

When we got back to our car, it was after 5, and we still had to drive over to St. Ignace to pick up some smoked fish. I was exhausted, the storm clouds had rolled in badly, and Nick told me to take the kids to a hotel for the night, instead of driving home.

We grabbed our first restaurant meal of the trip (we ate breakfast & dinner at the campground every night, and packed picnic lunches every day) at McDonalds, and got a room. The hotel was small, but inexpensive, clean, and nice. I was able to take a long bath while the kids watched TV.

Day 5 dawned bright and clear. The sun was out, and it was evident that despite the nasty clouds, the rain never came- figures! We decided that since it was so nice, we would do the one remaining activity we had planned to do- the 4th historical park. The park was in Mackinaw City, right next to the campground we had stayed at.

The park was fantastic, and I'm glad we didn't skip it. The park, Mill Creek Discovery Park, was the site of an old mill, and had trails through the woods, saw mill demonstrations, a small playground, a small animal museum, and an adventure trail. The adventure trail consisted of a guided nature walk, a canopy bridge, which was just a thin board we walked along, while attached to another wire with a harness, so no one would fall. After another trail walk, we wound up at the zip line. That was so much fun! We zipped through the woods, over a pond, down to another station waiting to receive us at the end. I only wish I had taken my camera! Next time we go, I'll know enough to know that the camera will be very safe during the ride.

Lastly, we got to climb a rock climbing wall. The kids loved that, and Gilly scrambled right up to the top. We left the park at shortly after 2pm, and drove straight through with two quick stops. One was at a rest stop for a bathroom/map check, since we were taking a different route home than we had taken up there. We stopped at my dad's place to drop off the fish, and finally made it home- late at night. It was almost 8 before we got home.

The kids and I had a blast. I learned that I can't plan a lengthy trip when I don't have parental help with the kids. Despite their ages (they were 13, 10, and 7), they fight a LOT, and in a tent or car, there is no separating them.

All in all, though, I am so glad we went. The kids got to go around to see a lot of fun places, and do a lot of fun things. They learned a lot of Michigan history, and we got a lot of great photos.

Gillian, 2009

The First 6 Months of 2009- Gillian

Gillian walking to school, January 2009

Easter with Papa Lyle

Riding her scooter down to Dairy Queen, May 2009

A school field trip to Binder Park Zoo, May 22, 2009

Hawk Island, June 2009

The Beach at Mackinaw Mill Creek Campground, Mackinaw City MI
June 2009

Welcome!

It's probably been around a year since I removed the Herber Kids website. I didn't do it to end it, but rather, I kept meaning to update it, and just never have.

I have recently gotten into Blogging, though, and find it to be an easy way to communicate, and show off photos of our family as I do. So, from here on out, this will be where you can find information about us, updated photos, frugal tips, and more!

Welcome to the Herber Family Blog!

Gillian, Raegan, & Chris in front of the Mackinac Bridge,
June 2009. I took the kids up for a vacation by myself
this year- Nick stayed home!