Walking With Dinosaurs the Arena Spectacular Live at the Tacoma Dome - Review

After having been able to get up close and personal with  baby T-Rex from the Walking with Dinosaurs Arena Spectacular , I wrote in my last post how excited I was to be able to see the live show.

Yesterday, I had the pleasure of doing just that on the opening night at the Tacoma Dome. In a word ? WOW!   The show was fantastic! 

This show really is visually stunning.  Think award winning cinematography translated to a live performance and you'll have an understanding of the caliber of this performance,    

These fantastically authentic looking massive creatures  roaming about in their "habitat"  transported us to another era.  The accompanying lights, music and sound effects all helped  set the scene so effectively.
     

The paleontologist narrator was quite engaging, narrating just enough but then taking the time to let the animals "just be" and the audience to observe.  He dotted his narration with bits of humor throughout and the show flowed well from beginning to end.

My kids and I really were wowed.  I can't say enough about how delightful this show is. It's unlike any live performance I've seen and is quite an experience.

This really is a can't miss!  So go get your tickets now (and don't forget to use the discount codes from my previous post )

Walking with Dinosaurs is at the Tacoma Dome through 12/21. 

These picture don't even do justice to the magnificence that is Walking With Dinosaurs Live

Disclosure: I was provided complimentary tickets in order to facilitate this review. All opinions are my own. No compensation was received for this post. 

Mars Needs Moms!

This past Saturday the kids and I had the opportunity to preview Disney's latest animated film Mars Needs Moms.

The movie, centers around 9 year old Milo (Seth Green) and his quest to save his mom (Joan Cusack) from martians who have kidnapped her in order to use her super mom skills for their own "nannybots". Along the way, Milo meets such colorful characters at Gribble (Dan Fogle) who endears himself with his sense of humor and casual "dude I got this" type attitude and rebel, spraypainting, hippy-esque martian Ki (Elizabeth Harnois), who although she has no nose is postively cute as a button.

Mars Needs Moms is really a pretty cute film replete with plenty of comedy and action that will keep you entertained. In fact, there might be some jokes that are more entertaining for the parents than the kids. The "animation" is phenomenal. The characters are so lifelike it's amazing.
It is important to note that this film is rated PG, and does have some material that could be scary for some very young viewers (aliens shooting, and allusion to death). That said,my family (which at the time was 7 year old twins and my 16 year old stepdaughter) and I got an absolute kick out of it and I feel pretty confident in saying yours will too.

Here check out a short preview for yourselves:


And because I want to share the love I offer to one lucky reader a Mars Needs Moms prize pack (1 Adult tshirt,1 youth tshirt and character tattoos)




















Simply leave a comment with your favorite Disney movie and you'll be entered to win. One winner will be chosen from all entries received by 3/18. The contest is open to US and canadian residents only.

And finally, you should also consider visiting the Mars Needs Moms Facebook page because there you can enter to win a Nissan Quest or a trip for 4 to Disneyland to see a movie premiere simply by liking the page. What could be more fabulous than that, right !?

Good luck!


Disclosure:I was invited to screen the movie for free to facilitate this review. Additionally, I attended a promotional party post screening.

Support National Parks and enter to win a Prize pack from Nature Valley

***This contest is now closed. Commenter 24 - Tina Reynolds is the lucky winner

Since the dedication of Yellowstone as the world’s first national park in 1872, America’s parks have been visited by hundreds of millions of people who marveled at their beauty, found peace in their wildness and shared their experience with others.

However, these national treasures need care and support to help them flourish. Years of underfunding and environmental problems such as pollution and climate change are threatening our National Park system. To help preserve our national parks and ensure their existence for generations to come, join Nature Valley® and Patricia Shultz, internationally best-selling author of 1,000 Places to See Before You Die and travel industry leader, to help support the National Parks Project. This year, the National Parks Project will focus on restorative work at Grand Canyon, Yellowstone and Biscayne National Parks.

To get involved, simply purchase a box of specially marked Nature Valley Bars and mail in your wrappers to the address below:

National Parks Project
PO Box 450328
El Paso, TX 88545-0328


Nature Valley will not only recycle the wrappers, but will also contribute $0.10 to the National Parks Conservation Association (NPCA) for every wrapper received (up to $600,000 in total). To learn more about the National Parks Project and how you can make a difference, check out PreservetheParks.com today. And don’t forget to visit Nature Valley on Facebook or Nature Valley on Twitter to “Like” or “Follow” the brand. Facebook fans can enter to win a trip, as well as share photos and videos of their summer vacations. All of these sites will also feature updates on the restoration projects, as well as videos and pictures from “National Parks Project” volunteers.

There are many other ways you can enjoy the natural beauty and diverse wildlife of our national parks this summer while supporting the cause. The easiest thing you can do to support the national parks is to experience them for yourself and share them with your family – remembering as always to “take only pictures and leave your footprints.” So grab your backpack, your boots and some granola bars and go soak in the scenery.

To help you get a jump start enter to win a A Nature Valley Prize Pack .

Your prize pack will include
a box of Nature Valley Granola bars
a mini backpack
a military grade compass
a solar-powered, key chain flash light
a reusable water bottle
and
a copy of Patricia Shultz’s 1,000 Places to See Before You Die: A Traveler’s Life List.

Simply leave a comment telling me which park you'd most like to visit and you'll be entered to win. For an extra entry you may tweet about this giveaway (please leave a seperate comment).One winner will be selected at random from all comments received by 11:59 p.m. pst August 25.

* Information contained in this post and giveaway are provided by Nature Valley through MyBlogSpark. I received a Nature Valley Bars prize pack to facilitate this post.

Feel Like Throwing Things ?

Anyone who doesn't like snowball fights, please raise your hand. Right, it's just as I thought. You , much like I loved a good snowball fight as a child and secretly or maybe not so secretly get your throwing arm in shape whenever snowfall is predicted to this day.

I get it.

And so does the International Federation of Snowball Throwing (IFST). Which is why they've launched a full on campaign to have snowball throwing added to the Olympics and I quote "IFST’s official mission is to have snowball throwing recognized as a legitimate sport and the superpowers of snow honored on a global stage". Please go and check them out here.



If the official uniform doesn't get you, I don't know what will. Oh and while you're at the site checking out all the um official videos please oh please consider signing the petition to bring this super rad "sport" to the Olympics.

And to entice you to support the Olympics and get you jazzed about snowball throwing and playing in the snow , I offer two of you IFST t-shirts and collector sets of Coke bottles from the 2008 Bejing Olympics.

Simply leave a comment telling me your favorite video on the IFST site or why you think Snowball throwing should be added to the Olympics and you'll be entered to win.
Two winners will be selected at random from all comments received by Thursday, February 11.

*Disclosure- I'm receiving an IFST t-shirt and collector Coke set courtesy of Coca Cola. No other compensation was received for this post

Great Wolf Lodge, Grand Mound WA - Family fun at it's finest

In early December a group of Seattle Mom bloggers were invited to attend snowland events at Great Wolf Lodge in Grand Mound.


I was overjoyed when I got the invitation because after having gone to GWL in September of last year I'd quickly fallen in love.

For those of you not in the know, Great Wolf Lodge is an hotel/indoor waterpark extravaganza.

In a word: it's fantastic.

Not more than an hour away from where we live, GWL is a wilderness/wolf themed waterpark with so many activities those ages 0-100 will surely enjoy it. The primary feature, the 84 degree waterpark, has a wave pool and plenty of water slides from the small to the adventurous! Try the Howling Tornado and be sure to sit so that you're facing backwards when you go down the slide. It's a thrill like none other that will have you screaming in both panic and delight.

The coolest thing about this particular trip was that the lodge lobby was completely decked out for the holidays and the piece de resistance: snow falling indoors two times per day. (side note:Santa was also there but my kids were enjoying the waterpark too much to stop and visit with Santa)

My little ones absolutely loved it.








That and story time in the lobby. At around 8 pm kiddos can come dressed in their pajamas and listen to a cute little interactive story and shake hands with the GWL mascot.















My teenagers look foward to both the arcarde and Gr8 space...particularly when it turns in to a teen dance spot in the evening.

There are so many activities it's almost hard to pack them into a one night stay.
Rest assured what ever you do you'll have a fantastic time.

If I had to give one tip for the budget conscious, each room comes complete with a mini fridge and microwave so bring a cooler with your favorite foods and do a meal or two in the room. That way you'll be able to save money for the Bear Paw Cafe which makes the most decadent treats ever (I big puffy heart the mint sundae).

Check it out folks , you'd have to be a complete Grinch not to have fun at Great Wolf Lodge

*Disclaimer:Great Wolf Lodge offered us their media rate for our one night stay. No compensation was received for this post.