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My family in Memphis!

Top ten lists are fun–hey, look at David Letterman. If you home school or teach, you can use top ten lists every once in a while for journal writing prompts: “Top ten things I’m going to go over holiday break” or “Top ten memories of 5th grade.” TwitterMoms asked bloggers to post a Top Ten Check List for a Fun Family Vacation Without Distractions, and I decided, “Why not?” Alamo is sponsoring these posts and giving away five $100 gas cards. So, if you’re a blogger, check out the information on TwitterMoms.

Here’s my top ten list:

1. Bring plenty of books, toys, and magazines from home–for a car or airplane trip. On our Memphis trip above, we all read books at night when we were calming down and trying to get ready for sleep since we were in the same hotel room. (Of course, we used books–that’s the point of my blog!)

2. Find a hotel with a pool and/or playground. Kids need to do fun and relaxing activities and not just sightseeing all day. Allow for some time for swimming and playing, and one parent can take a break during this time! (Or maybe a nap)

3. Make reservations and get directions before you go on the trip. This way you will spend less time on the phone and less time lost.

4. To go with number three, if you are meeting friends or family on your trip, make as many plans as you can ahead of time–including times, dates, and places to meet. This will also help you stay off the phone.

5. Put a message on your cell phone answering machine that says you are on vacation for the week, but that you will be happy to answer voice mail messages at a certain time. Many people won’t even bother to leave messages if this is the case and call you when you return. DO NOT put this message on your home

“Talk to me.”

“Varcarel Jade Page 18 is up!”

“Wicked.”

“Looky! It’s the new Varcarel Jade web comic page!”

“Way to go Goofy!”

“It’s a new Varcarel Jade comic page!”

“I love those borders with the calm colors.”

“It’s Page Sixteen!”

“Nice!”

LadyStar is the story of a group of girls who each have a powerful weapon they wear disguised as a priceless jeweled treasure. With their magical weapons, Jessica Hoshi and her friends can transform into the Ajan Warriors, champion defenders of the enchanted realm of Aventar!

“Hi! I’m Jessica Hoshi! If you like stories about action and adventure and discovering magical treasures and fighting evil monsters, you’ll like our new web comic the best! It’s the story of when we fought some yucky monsters called liches! Me and my friends have lots of exciting adventures together! You can read LadyStar: The Varcarel Jade for free! Right in your browser! The comic is updated twice a week with new pages! So tell all your friends and come visit us as much as you want! There’s always something fun happening at the Magical and Mysterious World of LadyStar!”