I am not a huge fan of grocery shopping – who really is though, right?  Festival Foods makes grocery shopping just a little more bearable.  First off, the staff is always so friendly and helpful.  Everyone says hi to you as you shop and they are always pleasant.  When I go to check out, one more than one occasion I have had someone help me empty my cart.  The cashier and bagger are also always very friendly.

I think the number one thing in my book though is how family friendly they are.  If I am grocery shopping with my girls, I can take them to the bakery and they will get a free cookie.  My kids love that!  BUT, I think that main reason that I love Festival Foods is their Tot Spot.  It’s a spot right when you walk in that you can drop off your kids to play, color, etc while you go shop.  This has made grocery shopping so.much.better.  The girls love to go play and I get to shop in peace and quiet.  Why hasn’t any grocery store thought of this sooner?!

I think Festival Foods is just in the mid-wast, but you can check out their site for locations.  If you have one nearby, I highly recommend shopping there.

For more Things I Love Thursday, head on over to The Diaper Diaries.

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For more Wordless Wednesday, head on over to 5 Minutes for Mom and the Wordless Wednesday headquarters.

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The theme for this week are bathroom/kitchen organizing tips.  I will be honest, I am not the best house keeper out there, so this one was sort of tough for me.  I am horrible in fact.  I always say that it’s a good thing that my husband didn’t marry me for my housekeeping skills.  Just sayin’.

One thing I did do to help keep all the medicine organized in our closet by the bathroom was to buy some small plastic drawers that fit right on the shelves.  They are the perfect size to keep the small bottles of the girls’ Tylenol and other assorted medicines.  They also are a great place to store all those different tubes of creams you have for various reasons but don’t always get used very often.

For more bathroom/kitchen organizing tips, head on over to We are THAT Family.

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When I was in high school, I went to concerts ALL the time.  I loved live music and it was even more fun for my friends and I if we could make a road trip out of it. I still love live music, but don’t get even a quarter of the shows I used to.

Here are 10 of the concerts I have been to in my life – not really in any particular order.

1.  REO Speedwagon:  I have seen them probably 5 or more times.  They used to play all over WI when I was growing up and I think everyone I know has seen them at least 5 times too.

2.  Skid Row:  This was my first concert ever.  I was sixteen and it was AWESOME!!!

3.  Tim McGraw:  I have seen him about 5 times or so.  I would see him whenever he would come to town.  I love him.

4.  Live:  That was a kick butt show!  Loved it!  Went with 4 of my friends from high school and had a blast.

5.  Steve Miller Band:  He is a classic from Milwaukee, WI.  I don’t think I need to say anymore.

6.  MC Hammer:  All I can say is, can’t touch this.

7.  Garth Brooks:  Seriously the BEST concert I have ever been to.  Garth knows how to put on a show.

8.  Creed:  3 Doors Down opened for them.  It was a great concert.

9.  Ozzfest:  Say what you want, he is a legend. Rob Zombie was there too and he rocked it.

10.  Aerosmith:  Another legend.  Awesome concert.

This is not all of the concerts I have been to but they are some of the best.  What are some concerts you have been to?

If you would like to see more Top Ten lists, head on over to Oh Amanda.

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Today’s guest post is from Jennifer Gresham of Everyday Bright.

We’ve known we needed a vacation for a while.  There just never seemed to be a right time, either because there was some big event at work one of us felt we couldn’t miss or we were just too darned exhausted to go anywhere.  That kind of thinking has kept us homebound since November 2008.   Until Kyle’s sister made us an offer we couldn’t refuse: come to Newport, RI with the rest of the family to see her get married.   That’s just one of the great things about family: when it seems like nothing else will do it, they help you get your priorities in order.

So we bought three tickets and started daydreaming about taking Ingrid swimming for the first time, strolling along the Cliff Walk, and eating lots of clam chowder (and of course the wedding).  Then–disaster.  Kyle’s work scheduled an awards luncheon the day we were supposed to leave, and as the squadron commander, he felt he needed to be there.   So we changed his ticket to fly out separately late that night, and due to the heavy ticket change fees, agreed I would travel alone with Ingrid as scheduled.

It wasn’t the idea of traveling alone with a toddler that struck fear in me.  It was traveling alone with a toddler and her car seat.  Ingrid happens to be very tall in the torso–she doesn’t fit many car seats anymore.  So we got her this Recaro Signo that looks a lot like a miniature La-Z-Boy.  I had visions trying to stuff this mongo car seat on the plane while Ingrid rolled down the jetway after struggling to drag our luggage down the ramp.

My visions of hardship go on and on, but I’ll spare you the details.  Suffice it to say I made myself so stressed out in the days leading up to the trip, I started getting really snippy with Kyle–always a terrific start to a vacation.  At that point, we understood why we didn’t travel more often.

The ending is probably no surprise.  It all turned out to be a hundred times easier than I imagined and here’s why: what I was really worried about was inconveniencing people.  It was trying to get through security as fast as possible or getting the car seat on the plane without making anyone wait.   As someone who has always valued being conscientious, I’d taken it to its ridiculous extreme.   In some ways, that same worry is what’s kept us from traveling at all: the thought that someone back at the office might be put out by our absence.  The irony is no one has ever lived up to that worry–it’s just an ugly phantom in our heads.

The most important thing I learned on this trip is: we can do it.  And we’re going to do it a lot more often.

Jennifer Gresham is the author of the blog Everyday Bright, where she reveals practical tips for living a happier life.  She is also a scientist and mother.

Are you interested in guest posting on Pink…Like the Color?  Please contact me at laura [AT] pinklikethecolor [DOT] net.

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You have seen from my recent post, that my family spends quite a bit of time camping.  When we camp, we always got to one of Wisconsin’s State Parks.  Wisconsin has a ton of great state parks, but honestly, before I met my husband, I had probably only been to High Cliff State Park which is about 15-20 minutes away.

Our family usually plans 3 camping trips in the summer.  In June, we head to Peninsula State Park.

This park is located in Door County, Wisconsin.  We spend most of the week bike riding and going for walks.  Being that we go in early/mid-June, it’s usually still a little cool for the lake.

In July, we spend a week at Devil’s Lake State Park.

This park is located near Wisconsin Dells.  It’s usually really hot this week, so we spend a lot of our time at the beach.  There’s a good outlet mall nearby and this last year we even went to Noah’s Ark for the day.

In August, we head to Hartman’s Creek State Park.

At Hartman’s, there is not as much to do around the park like the other two we go to.  Our week is spent relaxing at the beach, going for hikes, and going for bike rides.

We spend a lot of time each summer at these parks.  I would like to maybe explore the other great state parks that Wisconsin has to offer.

What are the state parks like where you live?

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Here are some of my favorite posts from this past week:

Fun Kids Snack Ideas

10 “Minute” Tips to Gain More Hours

Live the Life You Were Given

To-Do List Tuesday (I know that I have shared one of these before, I just love seeing other’s to-do lists)

Momspective (this is just a shout-out to her site in general because she keeps it real and is hilarious)

What posts did you like this week?

For more Saturday Stumbles, head on over to It’s Come 2 This.

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This summer has been crazier than any summer I can remember in a long time.

First, work is crazy busy.

And we spent a week in June camping.

And we just spent last week camping.

So, most of my time has been spent packing and unpacking and packing again and unpacking again.

Oh, and we have also had some swimming lessons in there.

And some t-ball.

This pretty much sums up how I feel about this summer.

(This is Taylor on the way home from Noah’s Ark last week.)

How has your summer been?

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Swimming and fireworks – pretty much sums it up!  Despite some rain, it was a great day!!

How was your 4th of July?  Link up your 4th of July posts here!

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