family fun

February 18, 2013

ringling brothers circus built to amaze is AMAZING!

Last night, we went to opening night of The Ringling Brothers and Barnum & Bailey Presents Built to Amaze! show in Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center. The circus spectacle will run from February 13-17 with a total of 11 shows at the Wells Fargo Center. This show is fun, fast and full of excitement. When the show started, I watched Colin’s jaw drop as he had his very first experience with the circus – it was precious! How could you not be excited – music is pumping, acrobats are hanging from the ceiling, elephants and horses are parading around, motorcycles, clowns… the list goes on!

During the opening act, Colin leaned over and asked, “Can we come here again?” That’s a good sign!

And it just got better from there!

and even better!!

We had an amazing time at the Built to Amaze show! Highly recommend!

Circus performers from across the globe create the perfect blend of athleticism and bravery, where power meets fearlessness and amazement has no bounds. Magnificent elephants, ferocious tigers, astonishing acrobats and awe-inspiring aerialists are engineered into one spectacular performance.

Celebrate the tradition TODAY and experience it’s modern flare of twists and turns where excitement and suspense are so intense you’ll be tempted to cover your eyes. From the blueprints to the band, the crates to the clowns, the hammer to the high wire, witness the spectacle as we measure out the perfect mix of marvel and majesty in an imagination equation where the impossible comes to life. Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey^® Presents Built To Amaze!

And be sure to get there early – you might even meet a new friend!

I’ve got a great discount coupon code for readers. Here’s the scoop – basically they will do 20% off tickets with the code MOM. You can enter and order tickets for the Ringling Brothers Circus here.

disclosure: We received tickets free of charge to facilitate this promotion. All opinions are my own.

January 14, 2013

have a good time

Melissa 1 Comment

We sent off a package to my brother-in-law last week, who is serving in Afghanistan. My kids had so much fun putting together a care package. I realized that kids would probably be better at this than me. I was thinking, a nice book, maybe a movie, some snacks… The kids were like “THAT’S BORING! We’ll do it!!” The package turned into a little kid’s/big kid’s dream, filled with candy, Rice Krispie Treats, popcorn, pistachios, games, iTunes gift cards and other goodies.

Colin wanted to write a card for him and it was just the sweetest thing.

Now I did edit this first part. He wanted it to say, “Dear Uncle Luke, Please don’t get dead.” I changed that to “Please be safe.” Although, I think that Uncle Luke probably would have thought that was totally hilarious as it was.

“Don’t be sad” – how would a four-year-old realize that he would worry about his family while he is gone? I swear, he is the most perceptive four-year-old I’ve ever known to come up with that all on his own.

The ‘have a good time’ made us crack up. Because of course being an ‘army man’ is super fun and awesome and cool when you’re a little boy!!

January 4, 2013

where is that in the bible story?

Melissa

Elizabeth: Why is the cow on the roof?
Colin: Because the cow jumped over the moon.
Elizabeth: That’s not in the Bible story, Colin.
Colin: Sure it is! “God made the moon and the cow jumped over the moon!”
Elizabeth: “Nice try.”

November 26, 2012

thanksgiving

Melissa 2 Comments

This year we did a little something different…

We experienced a New York Thanksgiving. Instead of getting up early to cook the turkey, we got up early to watch a parade.

Instead of watching a movie, we saw a show.

Instead of shopping on Black Friday, we took a little boat ride.

So much to share! Stay tuned…

November 21, 2012

dream come true

Melissa

Gracie just made her Christmas list. She had a whole page dedicated to this:

“To see the Rockettes. Its always been my dream to see the Rockettes.”

Well, guess where we’re going today??? SQUEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Be sure to follow me on Twitter – I’m SURE I’ll be tweeting and Instagraming up a storm!!

November 5, 2012

first recital!!

Melissa

We’re so so proud of our Gracie! She worked so very hard and – despite missing lessons due to the hurricane – she did an excellent job:

November 1, 2012

extreme leaf jumping

Melissa

One crazy daddy, two equally-if-not-more-crazy uncles and a giant pile of leaves at Great Grandma and Grandpa’s house and you get…
EXTREME LEAF JUMPING!

Grace was smart enough to do it herself!

October 22, 2012

owl banding

Melissa 4 Comments

Remember when we went bird banding last month? This month they had a special evening of owl banding for the kids! WOOT if you absolutely love baby owls!!

I want a pet owl now…..

The girls report that the owls are softest thing you’ve ever felt – even softer than their cats! But watch out, they bite!

This is such an amazing program -the “Discover the Forest’s Get Your Community Outdoors! Challenge, presented by the U.S. Forest Service, The Wilderness Society and the Ad Council is looking for ideas on how you can inspire your friends and neighbors to escape their stress and discover the great outdoors. One Grand Prize Winner will receive $1,000 to bring their idea to life as well as a $500 Frontier Airlines voucher to escape to the forest of their choice for a vacation. How amazing is that??

My idea is to give to sponsor field trips for children to go witness bird banding, learn about birds and learn what they can do to protect their habitats.