I am so excited that I have the opportunity to be one of the founding contributors to the Genesee County Moms Blog! I want to use my first post as an introduction of myself, so that you can get a little insight as to who I am and some of the content that you will probably see from my articles in the future!
My name is Nicole Cummings, I am a thirty-something mom and wife. I am recently married (just over 3 months!) to a man that I can truly say is my best friend. Zach and I met 20 years ago in high school, we stayed friends while I was in college and did not actually begin dating until 10 years ago. We have an amazing daughter that will be 7 in December and are not so patiently waiting for the arrival of our son any day now. I am currently working in an after-school program as a Youth Facilitator, but will be taking some time off after the baby is born. My husband is an Over the Road (OTR) Truck Driver, who has been lucky enough for almost a year to be on a routes that allows him to be home every weekend and sometimes for a night in the middle of the week.
The Area I grew up in has a ton of awesome things to see and do!
I have lived in Genesee County my whole life (except four years of college). I grew up in Davison and now live in Burton. For a long time I wanted to move out of state to a place that had more activity and less snow! Now, I am discovering a whole new side to this area and tolerating the weather a bit more.
Having Miss A was the key to this discovery. We have found places to go and things to do that I probably would have overlooked without her. I want to share some of my favorite places with other moms:
Applewood Estates the home of the late C.S. and Ruth Mott is comprised of a mansion and expansive grounds with beautiful gardens. It is located downtown Flint in the Cultural District. They are open to the public free of charge on select days through out the year. The events are for families and are always full of fun. If you don’t like big crowds of people they are open at other times just to walk the beautiful grounds. This past year the estate had it’s 100th birthday, my parents and I took Miss A to celebrate.
Sloan Museum is probably the family’s favorite place. We love it so much that we have bought annual memberships the last two years. The membership includes Longway Planetarium and The Buick Gallery as well (and discounts to many other museums around the country). Sloan has several exhibits through out the year, events and even classes. Most of the exhibits are geared towards kids, but they have something interesting for all ages. In the picture to the right, Miss A is listening to how Curious George became a beloved children’s book series during the Curious George Exhibit in 2014. Coming in January is the Titanic exhibit and I can’t wait!
For-Mar Nature Preserve is a great place to experience all kinds of wildlife. There are nature trails along ponds and even a newly built tree house. The park is open all year and has events inside as well as outside. You can even borrow snowshoes for an outdoor trek with the family. Entrance to the park, walking the trails and even snowshoeing is FREE. Other activities have varying costs.
Welcome to Genesee County Moms Blog! I hope that you find what my co-contributors and myself write about to be inspirational and helpful in your journey through motherhood!
Where are YOUR favorite places to visit in the area with your family?
Great job Nicole! I enjoyed your article!
Thank you!