We are a busy family with very little extra time. When my husband and I figure out that us both have some free time on the weekend we make plans to go somewhere. That is about as spontaneous as a family with three young boys can get. We don't make our plans though until that day has arrived.

Often we have a list of events that we heard were happening that day and when the time comes we make a last minute decision. The kids of course are kept in the dark. It is a surprise for them and that is what makes it so much fun for all of us. It's overwhelming and exciting for them, they have no idea where we are going, they just know that mom and dad are suddenly planning a little trip.

I would have to say the one of the best ones so far was a day trip that we took just a few weeks ago. We knew we wanted to be near water, so we were trying to find a little lake somewhere that we have never been to before. My husband suggested Cave Mountain Lake, it's a nice little lake, not very big and not too far away. He also mentioned that there was an attraction there called Foamhenge. Foamhenge is a replica of Stonehenge except that it is made of well, Foam. I said great, sound fun, let's go.

There was no admission to pay, we just pulled off into a field and there it was at the top of the hill. It's a silly kind of place, but kind of neat too. I have never been to Stonehenge, but Foamhenge is supposed to be exactly the same size, it definitely was big. While we were standing in the middle of a giant foam sculpture the kids got a great history lesson on the original Stonehenge and then proceeded to have a great time running circles around the giant chunks of foam. It is not the kind of place to spend too much time, so we moved on.

On the way to the Cave Mountain Lake we passed a sign for the Dinosaur Kingdom, another attraction built by the same man who created Foamhenge. The kids were excited just to see the sign & begged to go. Suddenly we found ourselves in the middle of the woods at Dinosaur Kingdom with all sorts of fiberglass dinosaur sculptures. The kids who so eagerly wanted to go were suddenly terrified, begging to leave. There were mechanical dinosaurs that moved and made noise and "jumped" out at the visitors. As the children clung tightly to us, we couldn't help but chuckle and giggle as we remembered similar childhood experiences. And just as we did when we left some place that terrified us as children, our children jumped up and down wanting to go again.

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