For years, we've been traveling the country (and the world) with our children in tow. Lots of travel guides assume you have a money tree, mine do not. We're a real family, with a real mortgage, with a real desire to show our kids the world. Enter: our practical travel guides. My husband was a wildlife and fishery science major at Texas A&M (whoop!), but because of the hiring freeze during the 1990s, he shelved his dream of becoming a ...

We've been known to take a road trip, or 20, to a national park. Just check our van's odometer or our back windows for all the national park stickers. What you may not know, though, is that my husband (aka Mr. Whitaker) received his B.S. in Wildlife and Fishery Science from Texas A&M. The year he planned to apply as a park ranger, they had a hiring freeze so we decided to get married and both pursue our master's degrees ...

Texas A&M University is a powerhouse of an institution, and the Corps of Cadets certainly makes it unique. They're called the "keepers of the spirit" for a reason. It's their discipline, dedication and love for Aggieland that ensures generations of students will always know what a special thing it is to call yourself a Texas A&M Aggie. By now, your son or daughter has expressed an interest in the Corps of Cadets and maybe even visited campus or participated in ...

Mr. Whitaker and I love agriculture. It's why we have four degrees in the field, between us. Both of us agree, though, that if we could go back and do it again, we'd both major in horticulture. Of course, I would exclude indoor plants because I kill them everytime. But seriously... When we moved into our home more than a decade ago, we loved all the brick work around the planting beds. For about five minutes. Our kids stood on ...

This pass-through hallway initially started as nothing. But, as the kids started going to school and backpacks started accumulating all over the house, we knew we needed a better solution. We added a hook system which worked beautifully for nearly a decade. But, leave it to reels on Instagram, the tail end of a pandemic and a desire to give this space some real purpose and we had ourselves a fun little weekend project. I really liked the idea of ...

Several years ago, I made the shift away from asking graduates what they were majoring in to, "Where will life lead you after graduation?" The paths are as varied as the young adults taking them. The world is big and bright and in need of their leadership, skills and enthusiasm. To celebrate that next leap, I hope you find these gift ideas helpful for ANY graduate taking the world by storm. Two important gifts that I think are excellent for ...