Wednesday, September 3, 2014

Ghirardelli savings! Sweetness ;-)

http://www.ghirardelli.com/commit

Ghirardelli is offering up a $1/1 bar or bag coupon for anyone who decides to "commit" to 21 Quality Moments. So take a moment to join and reap the sweet rewards!

Want a free ride??

St. Augustine residents! 
Time to be a tourist in your own town. September is the month that locals can ride free on the Old Town Trolley's! http://www.trolleytours.com/mobile/st-augustine/index.asp 
This is part of the press release about it. 

"All St. John's County residents can ride the Old Town Trolley's free this month, along with touring the Old Jail, the Oldest Store Museum, Potter's Wax Museum and the St. Augustine History Museum. 
All you need to do is come on over to the Old Jail, sign up for the free Hometown Pass, show your I.D. with St. John's County address, and get ready to ride the Trolleys all month long!
Now it's your turn to be a tourist in your own backyard! What a great way to tour the city and forget about parking!"

Thanks for sharing, Alisa!

Monday, September 1, 2014

Lego KidsFest

Getting there is tricky. Being there is fun!
The location was difficult to reach, especially for us being from San Antonio. It was downtown Dallas, and not much parking that we saw along the way. Parking was $15 a vehicle for under the garage of the building. 
Outside food and drinks are not allowed. And yes, they search bags. We had to leave our snacks outside the doors at the customer service booth. 
Just inside they had the Lost Parents booth. I love this! Fill out a card with your name and number so that if your child gets lost, they can go there to find you. 
There was so much to do!
Unless you time each activity, I don't see how you could fit every single thing into one session. 
If you completed the scavenger hunt within the Lego Club magazine, you scored a free special Duplo brick. We didn't know about this until the end as we were heading out. They also gave away poly bag sets if you completed or participated in certain events. We did the Challenge event of trying to build boats.
Of course, the one I helped my son build looks more like a raft...
As we finished, they gave us Star Wars Lego poly bags. 
In the Mindstorms arena, my oldest got to control technic robots. 
There were lots of building opportunities. Princess, Duplo,
race cars, and even making memories!
You could add a square to the mosaic boards.
Or to the Lego version of the US as told by the fans of Lego who built squares for it. 
Honest Tea provided snacks. There were also dining areas designated though I wouldn't be surprised if the prices were high. We decided to hold out until leaving to get dinner. 
There were a lot of areas for each theme. Duplo, Duplo Disney Princess, Disney Princess, Mindstorms, Star Wars, Hero Factory, Challenge, Master Builder sessions where you could learn about how they do what they do,
Chima and so many others! We also built some stuff in the Friends section and scored a poly bag just for visiting. 
They gave away Lego Club magazines, Super Hero Batman comics, and some Chima themed stuff. 
We had a great time, despite my 3 very tired kids who began begging to go back to the hotel to sleep. Next year I hope to plan a little better. Things like eating before we go, bringing the baby leash to reign in the baby but still allow her to wander around... What things would you enjoy? 

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Information and savings for your next trip to Natural Bridge Caverns!

Thanks to being a part of the US Family Guide bloggers group, I was given information to pass along as well as a discount to anyone who wants to go and see something amazing! The Natural Bridge Caverns are located in between New Braunfels and San Antonio have so much more to offer than just being beautiful caverns to explore.
Check out what was sent to me and don't forget to let me know about your trip there!

"Naturally Amazing. Experience one of the world's premier caverns, Natural Bridge Caverns. Take the Discovery Tour and see what millions of others have seen - an incredible underground world of natural beauty. This 75-minute tour explores a half-mile of the largest and most spectacular show cavern in Texas. The Hidden Passages Tour gives guests an up-close view of rare and delicate cave formations illuminated by a state-of-the-art lighting system and includes a total darkness experience. Pan for gems, minerals and fossils like miners panned for gold at the Natural Bridge Mining Company. Take on the Canopy Challenge--a 4-level, 60 foot high challenge course and zip lines!
Climb, navigate and hang while secured from a safety harness before you "zip" over the Hill Country on one of 4 zip lines. Recently opened, Discovery Village has new food, beverage and retail spaces along with a beautiful courtyard and 5,000 square foot outdoor maze.
Picnic grounds also available. Open year-round starting at 9am, with special hours in spring and summer."


My Readers Save $2 off an Adult and $1 off a Child's Discovery Tour ticket. Valid only on the Discovery Tour, cannot be combined with any other offer. Limit 6 per coupon. http://usfamilycoupons.com/coupon.php?regionid=75&bid=8857&dealid=222 For More information on Natural Bridge Caverns please visit http://www.naturalbridgecaverns.com

Friday, August 29, 2014

Our Road Trip to Dallas!

Our trip to Lego KidsFest has begun. If you haven't gotten your tickets yet, time is not only running out, but so are the availability on tickets. Each day is broken up into sessions and so far Saturday Session 2 is SOLD OUT and Saturday Session 1 and Sunday Session 1 are at LIMITED AVAILABILITY. Hope to see some of you tonight when I'll be at the 4-8 session. 

Like the kink I woke with in my neck, this trip had barely begun and had a kink of it's own. 
Let me start by saying I didn't want to get up this morning. The shower helped, but it's the Monster that truly got the heart pumping. I felt the transition to Energizer Bunny status as I typed. 
I'd just gotten on the highway when my spouse throws up his hands and tells me we have to go home. I'm thinking, what was so important that we forgot?? I have the tickets... iPads... Chargers... What did I miss?! 
"My hat. I left my hat. And I hate how my hair looks. I don't want to be seen in public without my hat."
I take a couple deep breaths as I looked at him. Seriously?!? What is with men who wear hats that can't go out of the house without them? It's like they are naked without them! 
We had to stop by HEB to get this boy some drinks as well. He didn't think to remind me when I was leaving work yesterday that he had no drinks for the trip. Of course he grabs himself some donuts while he's in there. Don't get me wrong, I wasn't hungry. My Monster and a sandwich were enough this morning. But would it kill him to at least ask if I wanted one? They smelled so good and fresh... Then later the kids wanted a snack. Of course I'm still not hungry. But the smell of Doritos and sounds of crunching fill the air around me. I turn up the radio, but nothing really good is on. Time for a cd. And not too soon. Pouring rain makes it difficult to see the vehicle in front of me, kids are beginning to ask that dreaded "Why is it taking so long to get there?" and I forgot to get gum. I confess, I chew gum when I'm nervous so I don't grind my teeth. Driving in the rain makes me nervous. I don't like talking or being distracted at all during my drive in the rain. Wipe out in the rain on a motorcycle some time. You'll understand it better. We go from the toll mph of 80 down to 60 pretty fast. Finally it clears and the beautiful blue sky returns! 
About an hour away from our destination, we have to stop. My energy is drained by the soothing vibrations of the engine coming up through my seat. You know how babies pass out almost the instant you set the car seat in the back? I'm feeling like that. Time to scan the radio again. I was hoping for a good Spanish station to catch my ears. I'm as white as they come, but turn on a good Spanish song and I'll not only be wide awake but I might even dance! 
Back on the road after getting chocolate and Neuro drinks for the driver.
There's a huge billboard advertising Sarah's Secret; a romance boutique. ??? Just wow... 
Our first stop? The Dallas mall. With a garden in the middle of the food court and a library downstairs. This place has class! And check out the paint job on this beauty... 
Throughout this drive, and all the craziness, I've had the pleasure of my little girl sitting behind me and singing. I might feel my stress levels riding the elevator with my blood pressure, but a moment of focusing on her sweetness brings that soothing calm back. Savor those little moments!

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Vacation time!

I'm finally getting to take a mini vacation. With free tickets to the Dallas Lego KidsFest, we are making it an overnight stay. Since I worked my limit of 40 hours all by 9:30 this morning, I was able to leave a full 3 hours before my scheduled shift end. Came home to my beautiful babies and promptly got to cleaning and packing. Then of course fell asleep to the sounds of "Mom, mommy? Mom!" I keep telling myself I'll change my name but I always seem to forget. 
My 2 year old tells me, "Wake up! I love you!" My heart does melt! She's such a sweetheart. My boys of course are little crazies intent on destruction and give hugs to try to get out of cleaning their own messes. I'm wise to them though...
Packing isn't my favorite thing.
Unpacking is way easier. Figuring out everyone's outfits and knowing what we will be needing while away from home... It's draining! I keep telling myself it's just a couple days and everything will be great. The kids will of course have fun. Besides, I love going places. But I prefer being there to getting there. Driving and listening to, Are we there yet? Not so much....
But here's to plenty of fun memories. I'll post about the event as soon as I can! Have a great Labor Day weekend.

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Great movies

Guardians of the Galaxy was a wonderful movie that I look forward to owning. And there is a cool video of Groot dancing that I thought I'd share! Poor Drax is in the dark on what happens when he's not watching. As my friend said after we watched this, "Can you see the dancing Groot toy?" I just might have to buy something like that if it comes out!
On top of this, are other movies that will be coming up in the future. Such as Ant-Man. Hero movies are popping up more and more as popularity grows. Paul Rudd will be the star of this one coming out next summer on July 17th, 2015. Who among you plans to watch this one? How many of you actually know the story behind the Ant-Man?? I can see some of you looking it up right now....

"Based on the Marvel comic character first published in 1962, Marvel’s “Ant-Man” continues the lineage of epic big-screen adventures chronicled in Marvel’s “Iron Man,” “The Incredible Hulk,” “Iron Man 2,” “Thor,” “Captain America: The First Avenger,” “Marvel’s The Avengers,” “Iron Man 3,” “Thor: The Dark World,” “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” “Guardians of the Galaxy” and the upcoming Marvel’s “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

 
Armed with the astonishing ability to shrink in scale but increase in strength, con-man Scott Lang (Paul Rudd) must embrace his inner-hero and help his mentor, Dr. Hank Pym (Michael Douglas), protect the secret behind his spectacular Ant-Man suit from a new generation of towering threats. Against seemingly insurmountable obstacles, Pym and Lang must plan and pull off a heist that will save the world."

What other movie do I look forward to seeing? Into the Woods! It brings a modern twist to several Grimm brothers tales. I love a lot of the old fairy tales, but the Brothers Grimm certainly have the darker ones. Red Riding Hood, Rapunzel, Jack and the Beanstalk, Cinderella are all tied together by the story of a baker and his wife who are cursed. Even Johnny Depp stars in this one.
I'm thinking he's the Big Bad Wolf. Here's to hoping its a great movie!