Until We Hug Again Recordable Bear review

 Going through constant military tdy's and deployments the last few years has really taken a toll on my youngest child. So, I've been trying to come up with ways to make the constant separations more bearable (no pun intended) and that's why I am so in love with this bear from Hallmark right now! It's the Hallmark - Until We Hug Again Recordable Bear. My husband was able to record a special 30 second message for our youngest boy. Every time our son hugs the bear the message plays. My son has carried this bear around with him everywhere and played that message a hundred times. It has helped so much I had to share it on my blog.

I recently saw a $10 off coupon for the bear or bunny in Better Homes and Garden. Also, Hallmark offers a 10% military discount on Tuesdays! 

The opinions expressed above are 100% my own. I bought one of these bears on my own. Hallmark gave me no product to review, nor did they ask for a review. I am disclosing this in accordance with the FTC’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.” articles

• Win 2 Text Bands - Review and Giveaway
• Inevitable Issues during Deployment and TDY's

Miracle Ranch Camp

My oldest son was lucky enough to go to camp at Miracle Ranch in Washington state to participate in Operation Extreme. If you are military and you live in the Pacific Northwest I highly recommend you check into it! It's the nicest camp I've seen. Much nicer than the places I always went! They offer lots of camps besides the military week.

Everything was a western theme, which fit perfectly with the horseback riding they offer. Other things they offered was swimming in the lake, water trampoline, volleyball, paintball, archery, and a ropes course.

10 Educational Websites

Here is a list of 10 great FREE educational websites. 

http://www.eduplace.com/tales/ - for 3rd grade and up where the kids can write mad-libs of a variety of topics.  Shows the kids parts of speech and how to write a tale.

http://www.eduplace.com/kids/games.jsp - This site has four educational games your kids can play.  Spelling, geography, and word finds.

Time Magazine website for kids
News for kids Weekly Reader
National Geographic for kids
Fema for kids

Nasa for kids! 

http://www.wildlifeart.org/learn/ArtToEducation/ is a great site for educating children on wildlife art.

Book Adventure is a FREE reading motivation program for children in grades K-8. Children create their own book lists from over 7,000 recommended titles, take multiple choice quizzes on the books they've read, and earn points and prizes for their literary successes.

BBC has a great educational website on every school subject. 

American Wanderer Summer Camp - military kids

American Wanderer Summer Camp invites military youth middle and high school aged (11-17 years old) from across the U.S. to explore our National Parks this summer! They offer unique two-week camp sessions that explore over 34 Parks in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, South Dakota, Utah and Wyoming.

Military discounts and scholarships are available.

For more information, to register or inquire about military discounts/scholarships visit: contact the American Wanderer Camp owners/directors, Lyn & Chris Kimberly at: 203-557-3339 or email: Lyn@RVCampforKids.com

Horses for Heroes

     Not long after moving to Vegas I heard about an interesting program for military kids called Horses for Heroes.  I decided it would be worth checking out after talking to a gal in the phone about it.  So, I got the kids up early and took them out to the place they hold it here locally for the weekly playdate.
     I found out that it is a nationwide program.  They have it in Nevada, New Mexico, Georgia, and many other states but not all states. The are apparently looking for other horse owners/ranches to get involved. This program is also for firefighter and police families.  Each facility gets to decide how they run it and what they offer.  It seems that most have apnea time fee to join this program between $35-$50 Here in Nevada they offer:

Weekly Playdates: you can pay $10 and your little one gets to ride a horse or two.  Depending on the age they receive some instruction. The kids get to participate in a variety of chores and they get to play with and brush the other animals like a bunny, goats and dogs.

Introduction lessons: 4 one hour lessons for $50.

Operation free ride: once a week the entire family can come out at a designated time and ride for free.

Lessons: ongoing lessons $10-$15 depending on type of lesson.

Scholarships for Military kids

The Scholarships for Military Children Program was created to recognize the contributions of military families to the readiness of the fighting force and to celebrate the role of the commissary in the military family community. For more information on the program and a scholarship application, go to: www.militaryscholar.org/index.shtml.

Operation: Military Kids

Operation: Military Kids (OMK)offers school age military kids fun, educational and recreational activities. Military kids can attend OMK Camps and activities to connect with other military youth, attend Mobile Technology Lab events to learn new skills and use technology to stay connected to their deployed parents. They can also join their state’s Speak Out for Military Kids Speakers Bureau to be an advocate for military kids in their community or throughout the state. To find out more about OMK in your state go to http://www.operationmilitarykids.org/, click on “state information”, and click your state to see what programs are offered in your area, or you can email support@operationmilitarykids.org.

military Kids and Moving Web Site

The Department of Defense launched a brand new Web site for military children called Military Youth on the Move
 http://apps.mhf.dod.mil/pls/psgprod/f?p=MYOM:HOME:450393068920669.

The web site has age specific information for elementary, middle and high school kids with topics such as: We’re Moving Again? But I Won’t Know Anybody and What’s There to Do?

Navy Sea Cadets ages 10- 13

The Naval Sea Cadet Corps (NSCC) is a federally chartered non-profit civilian youth training organization for young people, ages 13 through graduation from high school, sponsored by the Navy League of the United States (NLUS) and supported by the U.S. Navy and U.S. Coast Guard. Included under the NSCC umbrella is the Navy League Cadet Corps (NLUS), a junior program for youth ages 10 to 13.


The goals of both the Cadet programs are:

-To develop an interest and ability in basic seamanship and seagoing skills;

-To instill the virtues of good citizenship and strong moral principles in each Cadet;

-To demonstrate the value of an alcohol-free, drug-free, and gang-free lifestyle

-To make each Cadet aware of the prestige of a military career and increase the advancement potential of those that serve.

Cadets attend local meetings (drills) one weekend a month, complete the same Navy Correspondence courses that regular Navy personnel take as homework, and attend two week trainings (during non school periods –fall –winter –spring –summer breaks), the first being Recruit Training Indoctrination, to advance in rate. Cadets and leaders can wear Navy style uniforms, appropriately modified with Sea Cadet insignia. Cadets can advance from E-1 (Recruit) through E-7 (Chief Petty Officer). AfterRecruit Training, there are hundreds of other training opportunities each year covering, Aviation (basic, advanced, ground and flight schools, and air traffic control), Seamanship (amphibious, port operations, special boats, search and rescue), SpecialOperations (homeland security, MAA [police sciences], mine warfare, naval intelligence, scuba, EOD/Diving, SEAL, and special operations), just to name a few.

We currently have units within the Central Gulf Coast Region (Alabama –Montgomery and south, Florida Panhandle –I-75 west and Mississippi) in Coffee Springs, AL. (Community Center), Gulfport, MS. (CBC Gulfport), Milton, FL. (NAS Whiting Field), Panama City, FL. (NSA Panama City) and Pensacola, FL. (NAS Pensacola). We also have units in Mobile, AL. (USCG Aviation Training Center), and Tallahassee, FL. (NOSC Tallahassee), that currently are inactive, and in need of unit leaders.

To learn more about these units and the Naval Sea Cadet Corps/Navy League Cadet Corps, please go to http://www.seacadets.org/.

If you are interested in helping out with one of these units, starting a unit in your area, getting a youth into the program,please contact the Sea Cadet Regional Director: LCDR Thomas Klomps, NSCC, Region63@juno.com, (850) 890 -6792

Operation Purple

The Operation Purple program was created in 2004 to fill a need identified by military parents to "help us help our kids." The mission of the Operation Purple program is to empower military children and their families to develop and maintain healthy and connected relationships, in spite of the current military environment. We do this through a variety of means, including the healing and holistic aspect of the natural world. The program is joint or "purple"-encompassing all Service branches, including the National Guard and Reserve.


In the 2004 Operation Purple pilot season, the National Military Family Association was able to implement 12 different Operation Purple camps serving close to 1,000 children. Since then the Operation Purple program has grown and expanded and by summer's end close to 30,000 military children and teens will have been served. The Operation Purple program also includes leadership camps for teens, family retreats at the national parks, and camps geared to address the needs of childrenand families of our nations wounded service members.

Teen Leadership Camps: Operation Purple Leadership Camps are geared toward military children ages 15-17 who have shown an ability and willingness to lead and mentor in their respective military and civilian communities. Our Leadership Camps strive to create strong teen leaders by giving them the tools needed to develop self-confidence and the opportunity to test their strengths and abilities.

Each camp provides a unique environment for teens to receive leadership experience in the outdoors. Please refer to our complete list of camp locations, our program FAQs, eligibility requirements, and our required Community Service Project to see if this camp experience is for you.

For more information on Operation Purple and/or the Teen Leadership Camps please go to http://www.militaryfamily.org/.