JenLinks

Picnic Basket and Libby's Vegetables Giveaway!

Thursday, July 30, 2009

Congratulations to comment #88!
"hey! we also love camping! We just went this weekend with a group from our church, and we spent probably $60 for the whole weekend by sharing a campsite with another couple.
also, last weekend we went to the Toledo Zoo, which is about 2.5 hours from us, for the day. We have a membership to our local zoo which gets us free admission to other zoos. We sSpent less than $100, mostly on gas and junk food at the zoo. That's a pretty cheap family outing, since there are 7 of us! "
Jeannine, you are the lucky winner!

As I was typing up my blog post about camping with the family at KOA, I received an email from Libby's with the article below attached. I feel like I could have written it myself. I will add my own commentary in red of the activities that I love doing with my family. Libby's is also giving one of my readers one of these picnic baskets and 10 cans of Libby's vegetables so keep reading to find out how to win.

Family Time on a Budget this Summer - by Guest Blogger Hannah Keeley

Families are tightening their budgets and for many this means fewer activities outside of the home. With less dining out, movie outings, sports games or even summer camp, there’s no better time for budget-conscious moms and dads to really connect and spend quality time with their kids throughout the summer. Hannah Keeley, mother of seven, host public broadcast show, Hannah Help Me! and author of “Hannah Keeley’s Total Mom Makeover: The Six-Week Plan to Completely Transform Your Home, Health, Family, and Life,” has tips for making the most of your family time this summer without breaking the bank. Start at home. One of your biggest monthly investments is your family home so why not get your money’s worth? If your kids don’t think staying home is cool, here’s your opportunity to get creative.


·Establish a weekly game night and no need to buy new games, ask other parents if they have games that you can borrow. My kids LOVE this. Right now our favorite games are Ticket to Ride and Pig Pile.

·Subscribe to a home movie rental service
. Let the kids add their favorite movie to the queue as a reward for an accomplishment. We love Netflix and TiVo for this, just look at some of my posts on the subject.
I HEART Netflix and TiVo
How to get FREE HD TV

·Strap on helmet and ride bikes as a family. This is one of my favorite family activities and I am getting ready to buy a bike rack and trailer hitch for my mini van.

·Check out your local library and chamber of commerce for fun things to do in your own town.

Dining in Style. With the kids out of school and longer days, there is no better time for the family to be together than at dinnertime!

·Keep the meal simple so the family can prepare it together. I like to use affordable canned vegetables, like Libby’s, in recipes and as side dishes because they are delicious and easy to prepare.

·Dine outside at least once a week. It doesn’t matter if you have a patio or you do it picnic style. We like to eat in our backyard or at a park more than once a week.

·Let the kids in on the planning and the ambiance, such as creating handwritten menus or setting the table with brightly-colored place settings. My son just did this a couple of weeks ago. I had gotten tired of hearing him complain about what I made for dinner every night so I decided to let him plan the menu. He went all out and even made menus out of cardboard to showcase what he was serving for dinner. He spent hours on photoshop making the inside of his menu and used some of my leftover paint to paint the menus red. He made his own stencils for the names on the outside and even found some ribbon in my craft closet. I really had nothing to do with this project and he didn't complain about dinner that night (My son is 11).

·Invite the kids into the kitchen and make it a learning experience. Kids can help you mix ingredients in large bowls and even open cans with this child-side can opener. Check GetBacktotheTable.com for family-friendly recipes.

Get Out of Town. You don’t have to give up the precious memories created during annual summer vacations. While theme parks and tropical escapes may be the gold standard of summer retreats, there are a lot of great locales closer to home.

·Look for locations 3-4 hours away to save on airfare and make it a road trip.

·Try camping. Once a popular option, many young families are getting back into the adventurous spirit of camping. We love KOA and go to one about 3 hours from our house. Here is my blog post about it: Fun Family Vacation on a Budget with KOA

·Use your own childhood for inspiration: is there a special place that you’d like to share with your own kids? Have your kids ever been to your old Alma Mater?


For more tips from Hannah Keeley on how to connect with your family this summer and easy recipes that everyone will enjoy visit www.GetBacktotheTable.com.

Picnic Basket and Libby's Vegetable Giveaway:
Everyone can win a free can of Libby's Vegetables with this printable coupon:
Buy 2 (two) cans of Libby's Vegetables, and get the third can free (Click for coupon)!

Here is how you can win the picnic basket and 10 cans of Libby's Vegetables:
*Leave me a comment about something that you like to do with your family.
4 Bonus entries:
1. Tweet about this contest and link back here (leave me another comment with the link to your tweet).
2. Follow my blog (leave me a separate comment letting me know).
3. Post about this contest on your blog and leave a comment here with a link to your post.
4. Tell all of your friends on facebook (leave a separate comment here letting me know).

It is important that you leave a separate comment for each entry since I will be using www.random.org to decide the winner. The deadline for this contest is Friday August 7th.

The deadline for my Ecostore USA $25 Gift Certificate Contest is August 20th.

I will announce the winner on my blog on August 7th. You will have 3 days to respond before I choose another winner.

123 comments :

  1. I love to just stroll around with my husband and daughter. She is still small enough to put in our stroller and I love to push her around. We go to stores, a local park, craft fairs and I love it.

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  2. I tweeted about the contest.
    http://www.twitter.com/pinkiefae

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  3. I follow your blog through my Google Reader.

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  4. My tweet shows up automatically on my FB page.

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  5. We love to ride bicycles as a family. This is something that we can all do together, enjoy and get great exercise!!

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  6. My family loves lighting our fire bowl that is set deep in our backyard, away from the house, roasting marshmallows, playing tunes on our fiddles and then sleeping in our tent. Camping in the backyard. Very handy when you need a bathroom break!

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  7. I'm a new follower. Loving my first day poking around on your blog!

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  8. Our family has often enjoyed sneaking away for a picnic on Sunday afternoons in the summer. We would find a quiet spot at our nearby park and just enjoy time hanging out together.

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  9. We just purchased our first home and we love playing tag or wrestling in the backyard. We also eat outside on our patio any chance we get!

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  10. We love to spend time at the park. We have an amazing park with a free swimming area (part of the river), ducks to feed, fishing, and playgrounds. I can't foger the deer as well! We take a picnic lunch or even dinner and can spend all day there.

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  11. I just found your blog! We love to go on walks with the kids. Sometime they ride scooters, sometimes they walk. We love to look for cats and smell the flowers!

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  12. We love to go for picnics in the park....hint hint.....Also, we go to the library a lot. Monday's to get books, Wednesdays for storytime and usually thursdays for play group.

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  13. I like making things with my kids. We just made stuffed owls today.

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  14. I follow you with Google Reader.

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  15. As a family we love to go down to the river and just enjoy the day. Where we live here in NC there are rivers all around our home and just about all of them have areas you can fish and spend the day for free. We love better than something we can do as a family for free.

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  16. I blogged about your give away!
    http://honoringtheking.blogspot.com/2009/07/picnic-basket-and-libbys-vegetables.html

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  17. We love to go to different areas of our city and explore the playgrounds and have a picnic lunch. I love those picnic baskets!!!

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  18. i also am a follower of your blog - a recent find

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  19. The family activity we enjoy the most is hiking in the mountains. Finding something exciting out there as we venture together. Once we found some unknown petraglyphs on some boulders and it was an amazing moment.

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  20. Nothing brings out comments like a giveaway, huh?

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  21. We love Friday night pizza and a movie. :) We have a "picnic blanket" we spread out on the floor, watch a movie as a family, and eat pizza. It's such a calming way to begin the weekend together. LOVE IT!

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  22. I have you in my Google Reader now. :)

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  23. Hey, I have made a post about this giveaway and your blog on my blog - www.visnaws.blogspot.com

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  24. I also made a post on Facebook, too. I hope I win :)

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  25. I love to take my 2 yr old to places she has never been. I'm always way more excited than she is :)

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  26. I've gotten my husband into garage saling/thrift storing. Sometimes on weekends we'll go gander for the heck of it. It's not much, but it's fun to look around to beat the heat here in FL.

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  27. I'm a follower , as a family we like to have music nights. My husband will play his guitar and my girls and I will sing and dance. We can get pretty silly. :P

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  28. We are HUGE library fans and love to check our town's website for the free movies and concerts in the local park.

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  29. Also, I just started following your blog the other day and I'm glad I did, 'cause mercy, those picnic baskets are ADORABLE!

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  30. Hi Jen, love your blog! I'm a grandmother to 3 (ages 12,7,6). We have 2 sons our oldest is the kids father and our youngest is 27 and is totally dependent because of cerebral palsy. Our family lifestyle has always been rather low key mostly because a wheelchair and special needs can complicate a lot of outings. All this said, early on we've learned to appreciate the simple stuff. We love to do most all that you mentioned, good videos, meals together, trips to the park, board games, walks and for the last 10yrs. trips to our little get-away at the Lake of the Ozarks for swimming, boating, fishing having fun and making GREAT memories! Carol @
    lakrats3@yahoo.com

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  31. Love your blog and all your ideas! LOVE IT!

    My kids and I love picnics. We live in Az. so picnics are a seasonal thing. Too hot in the summer. In the spring and fall we go all the time though. I totally need a good basket!

    Such a fun giveaway, thanks for the chance!

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  32. We love to take walks as a family-- pushing one kid in a stroller while the older one rides her bike. Sometimes we like to play Wii together as well-- such fun playing tennis or bowling and much cheaper in the long run!!! : )

    Thanks for the giveaway!! Jennifer
    4kerrhome@att.net

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  33. I am now following your blog!! Added as my favorite.

    4kerrhome@att.net

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  34. I love this blog. I like to just hang out and get messy with my kids whether its playing playdoh.. cooking... finger painting with pudding or just swimming in a pool.

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  35. I am following you in reader.

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  36. My family enjoys camping and fishing! Just spending time together is great, also!! :)
    nataliedey@yahoo.com

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  37. I follow your blog!
    nataliedey@yahoo.com

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  38. I posted a blog about this giveaway!
    http://theadventuresofpaulnatalie.blogspot.com/2009/07/picnic-basket-and-libbys-vegetable.html

    nataliedey@yahoo.com

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  39. We love to stroll through the neighborhood and to travel together to parks in the area. Thanks!

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  40. I love going on day trips with the family, no house distractions. Just enjoying the outdoors.

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  41. We love playing kickball in the front yard!!

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  42. We like to go to the local farmer's market on the weekends.

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  43. Great give away. We love to spend time together at sporting events and just getting away from home.

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  44. My family is a bunch of water dogs...anything water related is how we like to spend our free time...boating, swimming, or even just running around at the splash park.

    heatherdemke(at)gmail)dot)com

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  45. My family and I love going to the library!

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  46. tweet
    http://twitter.com/amolino/status/3077179857

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  47. posted on FB!
    http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/posted.php?id=1579017172&share_id=222969610452&comments=1&ref=nf#s222969610452

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  48. Thankyou very cute things and great ideas!!
    teachermistie@yahoo.com

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  49. I like to play games with my husband and take evening walks.

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  50. My family loves playing board games. We also all love hanging out together at my grandparents house and just sitting around the table, we always joke and call it the question table as my gramma loves to ask the questions, lol.

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  51. Believe it or not, we all do chores together this summer. I've had two major surgeries since the first of the year, and my husband and children are learning to clean, do laundry, grocery shop, etc. The favorite chore is hanging laundry on the clothesline (go figure!)

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  52. We like to go fishing together.

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  53. We spend a lot of time at the park and at the library during the summer. Thanks for the chance to win!

    espressogurl at hotmail dot com

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  54. Following you publicly on Blogger as Rubymoon


    espressogurl at hotmail dot com

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  55. We love going to the beach!


    contact me at:
    celeste@mail4me.com

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  56. Blog follower!


    contact me at:
    celeste@mail4me.com

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  57. We have 2 teenage boys and our favorite thing to do is go out on our 4 ATV's and ride ride ride!! We usually pack a lunch and this basket is amazing!!

    audreyscountrycrafts at gmail.com

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  58. I twittered about your contest:
    http://twitter.com/audreyscrafts

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  59. I am following your blog!

    audreyscountrycrafts at gmail.com

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  60. I love to take bkie rides with my husband and my daughter (with a picnic at the end!)

    jennifereladd at yahoo dot com

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  61. my family likes to play outside.

    cheerket03@yahoo.com

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  62. Taking a walk along Lake Michigan is always fun!

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  63. My family likes to go on stroller walks, have park picnics, play with bubbles and sidewalk chalk in the backyard, make homemade playdough, and feed the ducks. leccalave@yahoo.com

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  64. Great giveaway!
    But the link for the coupon was broken. :-(
    Anyway....I would love to be added to your list.

    We love picnics and we love spending time on the beach too. That picnic basket would be fantastic for both. :-)

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  65. oh and I posted about your giveaway on twitter

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  66. I love to take a walk with my husband in the evening when it cools down a bit.
    thanks,
    kaiminani@gmail.com

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  67. I am now following your blog.
    thanks,
    kaiminani@gmail.com

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  68. I tweeted about this giveaway!
    http://twitter.com/natdey
    nataliedey@yahoo.com

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  69. We love to spend time at Cedar Creek Lake in Texas! Hot hot hot but lots of fun!

    niks_naks@yahoo.com

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  70. My family likes to have picnics at home in our front yard. We also enjoy farming together!

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  71. I am a new follower!

    http://housequeen.blogspot.com

    Stop by sometime!

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  72. hey! we also love camping! We just went this weekend with a group from our church, and we spent probably $60 for the whole weekend by sharing a campsite with another couple.
    also, last weekend we went to the Toledo Zoo, which is about 2.5 hours from us, for the day. We have a membership to our local zoo which gets us free admission to other zoos. We sSpent less than $100, mostly on gas and junk food at the zoo. That's a pretty cheap family outing, since there are 7 of us!

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  73. Our thing has been taking our 2yr old to the pool that recently opened in our neighborhood every weekend. He's gone from somewhat fearful to absolutely in love with it!

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  74. I would love the picnic basket! My parents are coming to visit soon and I haven't seen them in about 6 months. We are planning on hiking and getting outside alot. It would be perfect.

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  75. We live near the Colorado mountains and my three boys LOVE to go on short nature hikes. We hike a couple times a week. We go on picnics as well, and I'd really love to carry this cute picnic basket with us!!

    Thanks for the chance!!
    lisabradford101@gmail.com

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  76. I follow!!

    lisabradford101@gmail.com

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  77. as a family we love to rent movies and watch them together in bed, eating popcorn.

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  78. We love to take walks with my daughter in her stroller, our dog, and my husband and I. meganew@yahoo.com

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  79. We love to go camping. There is something about just being out in nature that is so calming and we all have a great time.

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  80. I've been wanting to take my family to a waterpark this summer sooo bad but haven't had the chance to make it. A nice picnic lunch somewhere in a grassy field on a spread out blanket would go along so well with it :)

    april_vereb@yahoo.com

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  81. I tweeted!
    nataliedey@yahoo.com

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  82. www.twitter.com/natdey
    nataliedey@yahoo.com

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  83. I enjoy just being with my family & anything we do together!
    monkeyami1@msn.com

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  84. I follow your blog!
    monkeyami1@msn.com

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  85. My family loves to go camping and swimming. Sometimes I do a scavenger hunt where they have to find things at certain camp sites until they reach the last one and its somethings to play with. Last time I put everything to make a necklace at the end. Kath' at www.lilbitoldlilbitnew.com

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  86. I love this blog. My granddaughter and I are going to spend alot of time on here. I love all the things to have us do. I am following your blog. Kath' at www.lilbitoldlilbitnew.com

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  87. I am following you on twitter and talked about you on my twitter. Kath' at www.lilbitoldlilbitnew.com

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  88. Told all my friend on my facebook about you as well. Thanks for the awesome time. Kath' at www.lilbitoldlilbitnew.com

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  89. We love to go camping together. No t.v., no cell phones, no computer... it's the best way to get my kids' attention :)

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  90. Something I didn't think would get my kids so excited. . . I stopped by Burger King early one morning & bought some ham/egg/cheese croissants. I called them & told them to be waiting on the front porch in 5 minutes--I picked them up & we had an early morning picnic at the park! (emilyem33@gmail.com)

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  91. We love to go to the park, and go swimming, and pick tomatoes out of our garden.

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  92. hmm. i like to have picnics with my family... whilst we're camping.

    and nap time is good too. seriously. an entire family nap is the best.

    thanks for a great giveaway.

    wendiwinn at wendiwinn dot com.

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  93. We love to take our kids to what is called Raven Run Nature Walk Sanctuary; you see so many different things at different times of the year, great exercise and time together! Thanks for a great giveaway!

    I can be reached via email on my blog! :)

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  94. We also love camping. It has made trips to other states and historical sites affordable, where they otherwise would not be. Just having my husband take time off of work is an expense for us, so camping helps keep other costs down. I have ben camping with my family since I was a kid, and everytime we get together, there is still always a funny story from one of those adventures. We hope to continue making them!

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  95. Ohh, and I have become a follower on your blog. I am enjoying exploring it.

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  96. We have always have a Blueberry Day and go to a local farm and pick a gallon for $8, then bake all day long. Hours of fun for just 8 bucks - plus we talk about healthy foods and play favorite fruits and vegetable games on the ride to the farm.

    Jennifer
    jsray@bellsouth.net

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  97. I'm following your blog now!
    Jennifer

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  98. My family loves to have breakfast for dinner! The kids love to help out making the pancakes and setting the table! We are not morning people, and the kids love to make pancakes, so we try to do this every week or two! It is a fun dinner that the whole family is involved in!!!

    Krista_

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  99. We like to do the Wii Fit together as a family. We aleays try to outdo the others scores..but in a fun way.

    zippieee@msn.com

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  100. new follower

    zippieee@msn.com

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  101. tweet
    http://twitter.com/zebastyandylan/statuses/3159998098

    zippieee@msn.com

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  102. I like to go to different parks with my family. It's a great way to spend time with each other in a relaxed environment. We bring the dog, frisbee, other games, and of course a meal! We have a lot of fun together. Thanks for a chance to win such a great prize!

    Ashley

    MrsAshleyWalkup at gmail dot com

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  103. We like to go to the zoo or the wild animal park. Good exercise, outdoors, doing it together. What else do you need.?

    lkish77123 at gmail dot com

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