Two years ago, I took my toddler skating for the first time. Holding his hand as his feet wobbled beneath the blades of his skates, I felt a huge sense of joy in sharing the wonder of ice skating with him. Skating is fun no matter where you are, but if you’re looking for a “special” ice rink, here are three of my favorite places in the U.S. to skate with the family.

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If your kids are like my kids, they’re getting a hefty dose of American history at school these days. Oh, yes, we’ve done the American flag craft project, learned the Preamble to the Constitution and recited the presidents in order (although we always forget about Millard Fillmore). ’Nuff said.  So if Veterans Day is a free day for your kids (it is for mine), why not get an up-close-and-personal history lesson right in the nation’s capital?

First things first – book your travel as soon as possible. Since Veterans Day is this Thursday, you might want to make a long weekend of it. Surely the kids’ principal can’t object to some on-the-ground learning, right?

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I travel a lot on business, and I realized years ago that lots of my meetings took place in some very cool destinations that my kids would love.  It seemed like such a shame to leave them at home, when they could be seeing the sights or hitting the beach!  So I started loading them in the car with me, sometimes even buying them a seat on an airplane so that they could come along.

True, taking the kids along means figuring out what to do with them while I’m working, so now I look for suites-type hotels where we can share a room with a babysitter, plus have a living area and a kitchen for snacks.  Even better?  Sometimes my husband can take a few days off, and we make a real family vacation of out it.

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In most of parts of the country, spring is in the air. If you’re lucky enough not to be enslaved by little league baseball (or softball) season, this is a great time of year to take your family away for a few days. When it comes to spring break, you can choose cool weather or warm weather – it’s up to you.

Here are a few of our favorite cool weather destinations:

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