My upcoming trip to Santa Fe has me thinking about all things travel related and, with Toy Tuesday being a regular feature, I wanted to think of a great travel toy or game.

The problem I encountered while I was brainstorming was that I wanted something that could encompass different ages, packed light, could be done no matter the form of travel (for instance, Bananagrams is portable and anybody who can spell can play, but do you see playing this with your kids in the car or on a plane?) and didn’t have pieces to lose. At this point, you might be thinking, “Gee whiz, Alyna, good luck coming up with something…”, right?

Guess what? I came up with a great idea – Mad Libs!

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Little Girls Trying to Make a Big Difference

Recently, I had the opportunity to meet with two spirited and charming young ladies, Daviana Englander and Emily Larabee, ages 10 and 11 respectively, who have founded Bow-Wow, Inc. for the sole purpose of raising money to for animal shelters.

Daviana and Emily, founders of Bow-Wow, Inc.

I met with the girls to gather clues as to why the started this venture, what their goals are, how they make their goods and how you can support their effort.

Daviana’s (Davi, for short) and Emily’s mothers had met years ago but the girls only became friends around 2008, when they met playing soccer.  From there the girls have clearly grown to be close friends.  (evidenced by goofy behavior that often arises when girls of 10 and 11 get together for an afternoon of interviews and smoothies – giggles, teeth chattering, talk of Guinea pig tutus, et cetera) …read more