Bored On A Weekend? Try This

I have a whole new appreciation for the Louvre, thanks to the 12 year old. Turns out it doesn’t just have the artistic masterpiece thing going for it. It’s also filled with funny photo opps.

Who knew?

That’s one of the secret perks kids offer: a whole new perspective that makes stuff better.

Our Louvre visit was the best museum trip I’ve ever had. Because – for once – I listened to the experts who say if you want your kids to like museums you have to visit them a whole different way. One that's opposite every instinct in your museum-loving brain.

 We didn’t try to see everything. We saw 12 things.

We didn’t spend the day. We spent 2 hours.

We didn’t rent those annoying audio guides. We rented Jacque, the cutest Frenchman who took us on a personalized kid scavenger hunt.

We didn’t actually rent Jacques. That sound seedy and kinda illegal. We hired him through his company – Tour Musee – which offers museum tours people actually enjoy.

The tour was perfect for kiddo attention spans. And mine too! As we scavenger hunted, Jacques gave us the Reader’s Digest version of the museum’s biggies and why they’re important.

Like the Mona Lisa. She’s famous because she looks so real, like a living lady on the canvas, following you with her eyes. So she’s basically a hologram. From the 16^th century. That's a BFD. Now I get all the fuss.

Don’t rule out museums for a good outing. Even if you’ve been burned by them before. It’s not just the Louvre that’s catching on to the fun-museum trend. Most art museums now offer interactive ways to engage kid visitors. The bonus is it’s really fun for adults too.

The Denver Art Museum lets you check out backpacks filled with games and small art projects. These projects correspond with the paintings on display to make them more meaningful and fun.

When the soaring summer temperatures get you down, head to your local art museum. For more than just the air conditioning!   

Happy summer, guru girls & guys!

4 Top Father's Day Gifts

Guru Guy wins. He emerged with the “most improved” title after our recent trip to Europe. All those months of training runs at grocery stores and Ikea with the Dynamic Duo paid off.

Guru Guy rocked it. Despite the crowds and the heat and the fraud protection from our bank (so on-point that it prevented even us from withdrawing any of our money from ATMs).

Every year we have a “most improved” contest. The spouse who has improved the most wins. The only voters are me and my fella. Even the year my friend Paul lobbied hard to cast a vote. (Because Paul knows how much I love winning, and he believed my fella was not getting full props for his spousal improvement efforts.)

This is no longer the case. Guru Guy swept “most improved”. In every category. Attitude, parenting engagement, having-a-clue and even on-ground finesse (which requires graceful navigation of congested urban environments with offspring in tow).

Even his one meltdown – when he directed the Dynamic Duo to “step away from the elevator buttons, step away now”– was awesome. Because it made me laugh so hard I cried.

Messing up elevator operation in a giant hotel is no joke. And neither is winning “most improved”. So I’m getting Guru Guy his engraved winner’s trophy (dog-tags from the kiosk at PetSmart), but I feel like I should go above-and-beyond for Father’s Day too.

The catalog Uncommon Goods has some excellent options. Like the Aroma Fork which, according to the catalog, lets you “explore the sense of smell’s role in taste and enjoy an enhanced dining experience”.

The set includes 21 oil essences of herbs and fruits that you spear with your fork. The scent of this pod, coupled with the actual taste of the food you’re eating off your fork, is supposed to blow your culinary mind. For $59 it had better. (Click this link to go to uncommongoods.com to check out this bounty for yourself!)

Or I could get him this Colorful Face Mug. Check out its expression. If I filled the bottom part with croissants and the top with espresso it would totally replicate Guru Guy’s European Elevator moment.

Or there’s a Mini Beer Pong set designed to be filled with craft beer. If I did my hair up big and presented this to him it would be like giving him the gift of time travel. Back to the 90s. Richard Branson’s got nothing on me.

I am still jet-lagged and staggering though. So I may go with the tried-and-true Father’s Day gift: surprise him with a family hike and show him we’re all capable of winning “most improved/sports category”. As most improved hikers we will not stop for snacks, bathroom breaks, selfies or complaining.

Instead, unlike past years, we shall spend our time actually hiking and stop only to appreciate nature. Guru Guy will also enjoy this. Perhaps as much as he will enjoy the fact there are no elevators or malfunctioning ATMs in nature.

Happy travels and Happy Father’s Day, all! 

Light It Up, Up, Up

The guru crew is going to the City Of Light in a few days. Otherwise known as Paris, which we’ll visit after beginning the big trip in London.

So you’ll get a 2 week break from guru girl’s misadventures and product recommends. Instead I’ll be focusing my considerable energies on bobbies and baguettes. Re-read that last sentence. It said “bobbies”. Not what you think it said.

Since Paris is the city of light I have light on the brain these days. And the front porch too, thanks to this fab new lantern I got at Cost Co. (It's available for around $60.) Love it because it’s big, solar powered and gives the porch such a nice “We’re home so don’t rob us” glow. Even when we’re secretly away, causing trouble across the pond!

Get one for your front porch too and go on vacation worry-free! The other recommend for today is this fantastic website called Ciao Bambino.(Click this link to go to ciaobambino.com.) It has great ideas about where to travel with a family and creative things to do when you get there.

Thanks to this site, I’ve hired a special guide to do a scavenger hunt with us at the Louvre. What could go wrong? Don’t answer that. I’m taking a vacation… from worry, from blogging, from advice-giving. In other words I'm taking a vacation from my basic personality ;)

Happy summer vacation, guru girls & guys! Check back in a few weeks for more guru girl.