Family

It wasn’t that long ago that weddings were exclusively thought of as “the bride’s big day” - while the groom was left to simply show up and smile for the photos. And while weddings are obviously still very bride-focused, grooms are getting more and more involved with the planning and execution of their “big day.”

Katie's post on how to turn a Labor Day barbecue into a multi-cultural affair is a mouth-watering read that gave me the feeling that the sweet Italian sausages I bought for a cook-out could use some jazzing up. Put Katie's read together with tips I picked up this summer during a chat with one of Hip Hostess's event planners, Amber Cleary, and Labor Day could easily be turned into an event to remember fondly when you're back at work on Tuesday. (Hopefully, that good mood will take you all the way to the next weekend.) If you look past your backyard for a picnic location, even better..

There's no accounting for terrible fate and random events, but The Daily Beast wants you to see how major and regional airlines rank in accidents and incidents. It's worth a peek before booking your next flight.

Rudy Maxa ranked, charted, and broke down data from 10 major air carriers using data from

Nice to see gadgets being used to delegate teaching our kids stuff, including telling the time. Guess robot nannys aren’t really too far-fetched to consider, eh? Hammacher’s Talking Teaching Alarm Clock is another device that picked up the Product of the Year Award from Creative Child Magazine, where it will whip your little ones into shape verbally where telling the current time is concerned.

  GENERATIONS of psychologists and philosophers have believed that babies and young children were basically defective adults — irrational, egocentric and unable to think logically. The philosopher John Locke saw a baby’s mind as a blank slate, and the psychologist William James thought they lived in a “blooming, buzzing confusion.” Even today, a cursory look at babies and young children leads many to conclude that there is not much going on.

New studies, however, demonstrate that babies and very young children know, observe, explore, imagine and learn more than we would ever have thought possible. In some ways, they are smarter than adults.

If you have a budding astronomer who loves to watch the stars - sit back, relax and pull up a chair. Now your children can have their very own star-filled night in the comfort of their own bedrooms. 

If you happen to know a child of a certain age, chances are pretty good the Tooth Fairy is one of their most favorite fairies in the land! The Official Tooth Fairy Kit is a wonderful idea for parents or grandparents and kids will love it too.

Kids absolutely love making a din, and if your house has kids and it is too quiet for comfort, you can bet your bottom dollar that they’re up to something. Why not get the GeoSafari Digital Recording Lab to augment their latent musical abilities? This device helps them learn more about sound and electronics without coming across as boring, offering up to 59 projects in total.

Filed under: Biking, Climbing, Hiking, History, Learning, Paddling, North America, United States, Camping, Ecotourism, Budget Travel, Travel Deals

Just in time for the Father's Day weekend, the National Park Service has announced that all entry fees will be waived for both Saturday and Sunday, June 20th and 21st. This means that more than 100 parks that traditionally charge for entry will be fee free this weekend.

In addition, a number of NPS partners that provide concessions, and other services, within the parks have announced special deals as well.