Search Results for: blog spring break college years

Saving on a Student Spring Fling

Next week, the colleges in our area begin spring break. When I was attending the University of Wisconsin-Madison, I was fortunate enough to partake in four incredible spring breaks, including an especially memorable road trip to California where my then-boyfriend and I skied in Tahoe during the first half of the week and sunned ourselves on the shores of Pebble Beach the next half. Ah, sweet, innocent youth. These days college co-eds have access to a plethora of money-saving spring break options, thanks in large part to the explosion of social media. In the world of Facebook, Twitter and other … Continue reading →

Sin City Spring Break

I was in high school when MTV debuted its first-ever foray into spring break mayhem complete with beer-bonging and half-naked college coeds dangling from stripper poles on Daytona Beach. In the 25 years since, the cable network has visited practically every spring break hot spot from Mexico to the Caribbean. This year MTV decided to bring its seasonal debauchery to Las Vegas where it would go largely unnoticed by the usual acts of hedonism that take place there. Sin City survived MTV’s madness which included five days of live concerts, wet t-shirt contests, boozing and babe oogling. The party just … Continue reading →

World’s Oldest College Graduate

Do you have children in college? Have they arrived home for Thanksgiving break yet? If they have you may want to share the story of Nola Ochs with them. Nola Ochs is like many students who attend Fort Hays State University in Kansas. The college coed will spend some time studying during this week’s fall break, but she’ll also be taking time out on Wednesday to celebrate her 95th birthday. That’s right… in just two days Nola Ochs will be 95-years-old. Apparently, she’s not too old to learn new tricks. In fact, according to the university, Ochs is living in … Continue reading →

Surviving Spring Break at Walt Disney World

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Though the weather may not be the best indicator, spring is finally here. Soon, school will be letting out for a brief break before the rush to summer vacation begins. For many families, this means that a Walt Disney World spring break vacation will soon be upon them. Of course, you may notice a particular word in that last sentence: many. That’s right. Your family won’t be the only one cruising down South for the spring vacation. Nope. You and a thousand other families. Not to mention teenagers and college students who are making their own spring break memories within … Continue reading →

New Traditions

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One thing that really seemed to change when I got divorced were our family traditions. Suddenly, they seemed a little empty when it was just the two of us. It became almost easier just to forget about all of our old traditions rather than remind my daughter that her father wasn’t there to share them. For us, the first holidays that came up after the divorce were the summer ones, July 4th, and because we live in Utah, July 24th. Parades, barbeques and fireworks were something we did as a family. That first year we ate sandwiches and watched the … Continue reading →

Talking to Your Kids about Alcohol Abuse

When I was getting ready to go away to college, my parents sat me down and said something to the effect of “you’re probably going to drink when you’re at college, just do it responsibly.” They didn’t know that I’d already been faced with offers of alcohol and turned them down without hesitation. But then, I wouldn’t consider myself a typical teen with a typical curiosity about drinking. I had already seen up close what serious drinking could do to a person, and was not at all interested in alcohol. I never had more than a sip to taste until … Continue reading →

Family Road Trip: Don’t Forget the Heartland

Unless you have family or friends living in America’s Heartland, then you probably don’t spend much vacation time exploring Kansas, Nebraska and Oklahoma. I will be the first to admit that I would have never considered spending a spring break from college in Kansas if it were not for the fact that my then boyfriend was living there at the time. What’s more, I sheepishly confess that I haven’t been back to the state since we split… more than 20 years ago. Apparently, I’m not the only one who hasn’t set foot in the rural heartland in a while, at … Continue reading →

Changing Patterns in Marriage -Part 2

The pattern of marriage changes when offspring leave home and go off to college. Suddenly the married couple is back to a twosome, that’s assuming they’ve managed to stay together throughout all the other phases. Statistics tell us many do not make it this far. Others break up once family is gone. Sadly, many couples find when they finally get back to being a twosome that they have lost each other somewhere in the process and no longer have anything in common. This is why it is so important through all the earlier years and phases of marriage to keep … Continue reading →

Football Travel Deals

I happen to live amongst the most dedicated football fans in the world. Green Bay, Wisconsin–home to the legendary Green Bay Packers, historic Lambeau Field, and hundreds of thousand of die-hard cheeseheads who claim that they bleed green and gold. And just to our south sits another famous football stadium—-Camp Randall, where I used to spend practically every fall Saturday during my college years cheering on the Wisconsin Badgers. People in Wisconsin take football very seriously. But, I assume so do all the folks that travel here and to other parts of the nation to root on their respective home … Continue reading →

Family Sues Parents In Alcohol-related Death

Last August, 19-year-old Jaclyn Bien died in an alcohol-related motorcycle accident. Bien’s family is suing the bike’s driver and the parents who, they say, hosted an underage drinking party. The suit alleges that the parents who hosted the party knew that the attendees were all underage and should not have been drinking. Unfortunately, this has been happening more and more. I’m not sure what the rationale is for parents who allow their kids or others to drink in their home and then get on the road. I know a parent who allowed her underage son and his friends to drink … Continue reading →