Agent of Change Journey in a Day

By Laurie Bower Epps

Many of you know that my Chloe is really into Girl Scouts. I was so surprised when we moved that she took the changing of her troop year so well. Since it was more than a 35 minute move away, we were simply getting home too late from our Tuesday meetings, as well as, since she's a rising middle schooler we're now tied up with the new school very often on the same night.

I learned after the transfer to the new troop, that she didn't have any of her journeys and she's always gotten her summit pin for each level of Girl Scouts. In about a week and a half, we managed to get all three journeys completed. Mostly, we used her Spring Break, and we reached out to our community to get them done.

South Carolina State Museum

By Laurie Bower Epps

To continue the fun of our Girls Weekend, we decided to find an activity to do on the way out of town. Originally, I'd wanted to go to Congaree National Park, but all ranger led activities are on Saturday's. To add to this last minute change of venue, the tremendous amount of rainfall has left Congaree a bit flooded. As mom, I decided to wait on going to Congaree until later in the season. The only major museum in Columbia that I hadn't been to was the State Museum (SCSM). Plus, they had presentation on the National Parks in the Planetarium. The rain did come back this day, but we missed it by being safely inside the museum.

High Tea, Ballet, & Cowboys

Sleeping Beauty Boutique

By Laurie Bower Epps

Every summer, I get out the ballet schedules and have my youngest pick one for us to attend the next school year. Generally, Chloe has an aversion to exercise, so imagine my surprise when she asked to take classes herself over the holidays. Most studios do offer a free trial class, so if you're thinking of letting your son or daughter try it, keep that in mind. For this season, Chloe wanted to go to either Cinderella or Sleeping Beauty. Since Sleeping Beauty was closer to my birthday, it seemed to be the better choice. Also, Sleeping Beauty also had an accompanying tea, and that was my favorite event of the year when my middle child danced for the Santa Clarita Ballet Company out in California.

DuPont State Forest

Pictured at High Falls in DuPont State Forest

By Laurie Bower Epps

My girls and I have an annual tradition of taking a Valentines Day hike. This year was especially appealing because we had a false spring like day. You see, it rained for many months straight with no break until late March for more than a day. If there was a sunny day, you were grabbing your stuff and figuring a way to be outside. My dear friend Edie has been taking fabulous pictures of DuPont State Forest, and I decided on this sunny, February day that this would be the year to make the trip up to North Carolina. Let's just say, mistakes were made. So from a parenting perspective, here's a list of what not to do.

Adventures With Chloe

By Laurie Bower Epps

Meet Chloe. She's 10. She's precocious. But she's my sidekick, and my favorite photographer. Traveling with a 10 year old as a single mom can be different. Yet, she's my muse. I love to travel, and write. Our story has a realness to it. Traveling with a kid is quite different than go to a beach town with your friends. We're going to be hitting the road with my little traveler. Everything from day trips to every day outings, to taking a weeklong (or more) vacation, we'll give you the inside scoop.