Kids Bowl Free this Summer!

May 17, 2012 By 2 Comments

What is Kids Bowl Free? 

Kids Bowl Free is in 950+ locations in 46 states – plus Canada – and all offer any registered child two free games every day, all summer long (find the locations here).  While there is absolutely no cost for children to participate, it’s easy – and affordable – to make it a frequent family event! The Family Pass was created to allow for adult familymembers to enjoy bowling throughout the summer as well. Starting from $24.95 and including 2 games per person per day for up to four family members, this makes bowling fun and frugal.

We love Kids Bowl Free. This is our third summer of participating. Yes, our kids are small but they love it. The kids bowl free and we buy the family pass to join in on the fun! It really is fun.

Our budget friendly tip: buy bowling shoes! I know this sounds pricey but if you more than one kid, it will pay off as you can pass the shoes down to the younger kids. Brian and I even bought our own bowling shoes. Mine are purple and I LOVE them! We don’t make it there every week but we find if we pick a day of the week to try to go that we get down to the bowling alley more. I can’t wait for this summer’s season.

Did I forget the best part? The bowling alley is air conditioned! When it is 110 degrees outside, we are having fun as a family inside … and not spending anything. Well nothing unless I cave and buy a bag of popcorn for me … no the kids …OK, I buy it for them with the intention of eating some of it!

Do you love bowling? We are super excited to offer TWO of our readers Family Passes.

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway
NOTE: We already purchased our Family Pass for this summer and were not compensated for this post. We love this program and wanted to share this family and budget friendly activity with our readers!

 

Filed Under: Giveaways, Promotional, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , ,

Summer Snacks

May 17, 2012 By Leave a Comment

With the decision by the school board last night to shorten the school year, summer break is coming fast. As a side note, why did I never get a shortened school year? I feel slighted now! Anyway, I have already been trying to stock up summer snacks to arm Brian for the hungry,  hungry kids that will begging for snacks as soon as breakfast dishes get in the sink.

My last score was GoGo SqueeZ Applesauce on clearance at Walmart. I admit that I stocked up a bit too much. I had to rearrange a whole shelf in the garage to fit  my new stash of applesauce. oops! That is OK though as it will be gone by the time school starts. I will be looking for some other cracker deals here soon. My other standby snack is yogurt drinks or cheese sticks which the kids love!

With summer coming, it seems that fundraiser season has ended here in this area which is one of my alternate snacks sources. I often find catalogs on the counter at the office or little kids at the front door. I love supporting the kids and hope each time I see them that the fundraiser idea is something our family can use and not more wrapping paper or things to dust! I think we all have our favorite fundraisers to support though. I admit the ones I enjoy the most are the cookie fundraising books! This is something I can always use in a pinch for snack time. Sadly, I am going into summer with none left from the last fundraiser I bought from because I used them for a last minute snack for Brian to take to Bible Study a few weeks ago.

What are your standby summer snacks for the kids? Do you have splurge summer snacks too? Leave us a comment and let us know.

 

Filed Under: Kids, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , ,

Wordless Wednesday: Mr. Madison and Dolly

May 16, 2012 By 26 Comments

From the Girl Scout trip to Montpelier …

 

Let us know where your Wordless Wednesday is …

Filed Under: Kids, Memes, Simply Family, Wordless Wednesday Tagged With: , , ,

Sesame Street Live “1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo & Friends” – Charlottesville, VA #cville

May 15, 2012 By 5 Comments

Sesame Street Live
“1-2-3 Imagine! with Elmo & Friends”
Charlottesville, VA; John Paul Jones Arena
Saturday, May 26 & Sunday, May 27, 2012

About the show …

Imagine singing and dancing with Elmo, Abby Cadabby, Big Bird and all your favorite Sesame Street Live friends! It’s as easy as counting “1-2-3 Imagine!” This high-energy musical will transport audiences to far away places as Ernie captains the high seas, Elmo dances to the rhythm of the African rainforest and Bert meets an octopus who has the blues. It’s a story of adventure and fun that teaches children they can be anyone, do anything and go anywhere with the power of imagination.

Details about the Charlottesville, VA shows …

Sesame Street Live is a larger-than-life, musical touring stage production featuring Big Bird, Elmo, Cookie Monster, Bert and Ernie…and more. Each performance is 90 minutes of singing, dancing and audience participation, including a 15-minute intermission. The perfect length for very young children!
• Tickets on-sale at the box office and all Ticketmaster locations.
• To charge by phone, call 800-745-3000.

• Ticket prices: $13, $18, $23, $28 (Gold Circle) & $50 (Sunny Seats).
• Group savings available. Groups 10+ call 434-243-4960.
• Get the ultimate fan experience with Sunny Seats! (The Sunny Seats Package includes a VIP Seat and a pre-show Meet & Greet photo opportunity with two Sesame Street Live friends.)
• Additional fees/surcharges may apply.

Performance Schedule

Saturday, May 26:   10:30 AM & 2 PM

Sunday, May 27:      1 PM & 4:30 PM

We are excited to offer a coupon code to our readers … $3 OFF EACH TICKET!

Sesame Street Live  “1-2-3 Imagine!  with Elmo & Friends ” is playing at the John Paul Jones Arena, May 26 & 27!
Use the passcode ERNIE at Ticketmaster.com to receive the special offer.
(Offer excludes Gold Circle & Sunny Seats. Not valid on previously purchased tickets.  Cannot be combined with any other offer.)

We are also excited to giveaway a 4 pack of ticket vouchers to the Charlottesville, VA performance of your choice (dependent on ticket availability)!!

 

a Rafflecopter giveaway

 

Filed Under: Giveaways, Kids, Promotional, Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Becoming My Mother … Happily!

May 13, 2012 By 2 Comments

I think every girl wonders if she will become her mother. Some hope they don’t become their mother at all and others long to be exactly like them. I never really thought about this … until two weeks ago.

I came home from work with my hand looking like this …

You see I was on my way home from work and I remembered that I forgot to order the cake at Sam’s Club for the Girl Scout Birthday Box Event. At a red light, I found an ink pen in my purse and wrote “Call Sam’s Club” on my hand. The kids noticed it as soon as I got in the door and fussed at me. I found this overly funny but realized that they get fussed at for writing on themselves.

The next day my parents came out to see us. My mom saw my hand still with the writing on it and laughed. I told her I thought of her writing on her on hand as soon as I finished writing on my hand. I explained that I didn’t have any alcohol pads in my pocket to wash it off and she smiled.

You see mom always wrote on her hand when we were growing up … the writing would start when she was at work as a nurse at the hospital. It would be codes or phone numbers or a reminder of this or that … at home the lists would get “washed” off with an alcohol pad in her scrub pocket. The lists would sometimes start off with reminders about us three kids or something that had to be done that night.

The good thing about writing on your hand is you won’t lose it but you will wash it off so make sure you can get to it fast when you write on your hand. I admit that I scrubbed off the “Call” and left “Sam’s Club” on there until Sunday so I remembered to actually pick up the cake! As I scrubbed the ink off my hand, I smiled once again.

Yes I am becoming my mother in more ways than I can count and you know what … I am happy about it!

So Happy Mother’s Day to my mom and all of the other moms out there!

 

Filed Under: Parenting, Simply Family Tagged With: , , ,

Wordless Wednesday: Happy Birthday, Brian!

May 9, 2012 By 5 Comments

Brian’s birthday was Monday. We celebrated with Key Lime Pie (his absolute favorite!)

 

Thanks for visiting today!

Filed Under: Memes, Simply Family, Wordless Wednesday

Yo Gabba Gabba: Super Spies

May 8, 2012 By 1 Comment

Details …

Join the Gabba Land gang as they become super spies, uncover mysteries, explore DJ Lance’s house and more in these move-along, groove-along musical episodes!

Episodes Included are Super spies, A Bad Spy Takes The Gangs Ballons, Mystery, Space, and Big.

Our Thoughts …

My kids love the dancing parts of Yo Gabba Gabba. I love walking into the living room and find all three of them dancing around the room to the silly moves in these shows. If we put this DVD in the van, they will dance in their car seats which is so funny since they see it as a challenge to figure out to dance while in a five point harness car seat! This will be a great get moving DVD for the summer time when it is too hot play outside all day!

You can find this over on Amazon right now to add to your summer DVD collection!

 Do you kids enjoy Yo Gabba Gabba? Leave us a comment and let us know!

Filed Under: Kids, Simply Family Tagged With: , , ,

How Do You Love the Moment in Virginia Beach?

May 4, 2012 By 1 Comment

We went to Virginia Beach several times growing up. We lived about 2.5 hours from Virginia Beach. At one point, my mom had a co-worker who had a small place down there. She let our family stay at her small place a few times. It was so much fun. Well maybe not for mom and dad as I remember dad trying to pack three bikes in the minivan to take them down there to beach. There were great areas to ride bikes so we would beg to take them. Dad always fit them in the van some how. I don’t really know how he did that but I guess it bought him peace with three kids so he made it work! Peace between three kids is hard to come by but we often found it down at Virginia Beach when we would visit.

My favorite stops that I still remember … the Virginia Aquarium. This was a favorite stop on super hot days as it is inside. The aquarium is beautiful and so many exhibits. With modern technology, you can visit the aquarium through their web cams!

The boardwalk … the boardwalk is huge in width and made of cement. I remember packing up the roller blades and roller blading on the boardwalk. I don’t know if that is even allowed but it was great fun even with all of those elbow and knee pads mom made us wear!

I also remember the food down at Virginia Beach. The ice cream place we would always go to. The pizza place that we all loved … I am not sure why but finding a really good pizza place while on travel can be hard. I am impressed there are now Food Tours down there. Brian would love to go on the boardwalk food tour. The two loves of water and great food can’t be beat so I can hardly blame him.

I can’t wait to take our family down to Virginia Beach. The waves are calmer than some other locations and the environment is so family friendly. Plus the pizza and ice cream. Maybe Brian should practice packing bikes in the back of our minivan so we can be ready to head down there to enjoy the summer sun!

Visit the Virginia Beach Web site to learn more about all there is to do in Virginia Beach!

Note: I wrote this blog post while participating in the SocialMoms and Virginia Beach blogging program. For more information on how you can participate, click here.

Filed Under: Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , ,

Do you have Peppa Pig fan at your house?

May 4, 2012 By 1 Comment

First, do you live near Charlottesville, VA? If you do, you can get a free ticket to see Sid the Science Kid at the Carmike during the Saturday morning shows! Find details here! Don’t live near Charlottesville? Don’t fret! You can find a local theater near you here!

 

About Sid’s Backyard Campout

Pack some food and bring your backpack because Sid, Gerald, and Dad are gearing up for a big adventure!  They’re setting up tents for a campout in the backyard!  Dad is eager to share his love of nature and demonstrates how to have a great time outside with the simplest of necessities. They look for animals, cook their own dinner, marvel at the stars in the sky, roast marshmallows, and sing songs around the campfire.  Join the adventure and sing along!

 

About Peppa Pig …
Peppa is a loveable, cheeky little piggy who lives with her little brother George, Mummy Pig and Daddy Pig. Peppa’s favourite things include playing games, dressing up, days out and jumping in muddy puddles. Her adventures always end happily with loud snorts of laughter.

Peppa Pig: Muddy Puddles and Other Stories shares 12 story vignettes with the Kidtoons family. Each story provides a peek into the world of Peppa as she encounters every day scenarios. As Peppa discovers the world around her, our young audience has many opportunities to learn and grow.

Sophie was sent Peppa Pig gift set with merchandise currently only available in the UK: Peppa DVDs, Peppa plush beanie, My Extra Special Sticker Book, Peppa portrait, Peppa coloring book, Peppa workbook and Peppa First Sleepover.

Sophie seriously loves Peppa Pig. She loves the oink, oink and is often heard saying that after the show. I can say there is a whole selection of Peppa Pig shows recorded to our DVR player for her enjoyment any time of the day! So to say she was happy to have a Peppa Pig DVD and book and other goodies is an understatement for sure! Want to see a happy girl? Here she is ….
Do you love Peppa Pig or Sid the Science Kid at your house? Leave a comment and let us know.
Filed Under: Charlottesville, Kids, Simply Family, Simply Local Tagged With: , , , , ,

On the Move with Kids

April 27, 2012 By 1 Comment

Are you trying to get active this Spring and Summer? We love to be outside doing various activities but the struggle often is how to include our kids in the activities.

Brian has picked up running again so a Jogging Stroller would actually be a great piece of workout gear for him. I don’t know how willing he would be to push 40 – 80 pounds of kid weight up the hills in our neighborhood though but it would be an awesome addition to his workout. Brian has also talked about getting a bike again soon. It has been awhile since he has had a bike … even longer since I had a bike! The girls are getting good at riding on their bikes but it will still be awhile before Matthew can do a bike trip. A solution that worked for jogging and biking would perfect for our limited garage space!

The Zigo Mango is not only a stroller, or just a jogging stroller, but also a kids bike trailer! This stroller is ready right out-of-the-box! You will save money but not buying add-ons! The Zigo Mango Stroller accommodates 1 or 2 children (with a second harness). That harness is a 5 point safety harness that will keep your kids in the padded seats while riding on the 4 point shock absorbers! One of most appealing features to Brian and I would be multi-position adjustable pushbar! We have found that a stroller works for one of us but not both of since I am so much shorter than he is! It would great to have a stroller that was comfortable for both of us to use.

Would a combination stroller like the Zigo Mango work for your family? Leave a comment and let us know!

 

Filed Under: Simply Family Tagged With: , , , , , ,
« Older Posts