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.

How Eating Cereal can get you a free movie!

I've written before about how much we looove cereal in my home. General Mills Cereals just happen to be some of our faves.

Well get this, you can receive a free movie ticket when you purchase two specially marked packages of General Mills´ Cereals. After purchasing two cereals, visit generalmills.com/moviecash to enter the code found inside each box of cereal and print your free movie certificate good for admission to any movie.

Participating brands include select sizes of: Honey Nut Cheerios, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Lucky Charms, Trix and Reese´s Peanut Butter Puffs.

To find a participating theater near you, log onto
http://emoviecash.com/dis_locator/.

And to celebrate this cool promotion, I get to offer one of you lucky peeps a "Movie Moment" prize pack that includes 4 e-movie cash certificates ($12 each) and one (1) free coupon for a General Mills cereal.

Simply leave me a comment telling me your favorite movie and you'll be entered to win. One winner will be selected at random from all comments received by Tuesday 12/15/09. For an extra entry, you may tweet about the giveaway. Please be sure to leave an additional comment with the link to your tweet.

And don't forget to leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you've won.

*disclosure- General Mills and MyBlogSpark furnished me with a Movie Moment Prize pack and the information contained in this post.

Chicco Toy Giveaway: Billy Fun Wheels *** Updated with Winner

***** Congratulations to commenter number 10 Chris**********

It's no secret I have a love affair with Chicco. No it's not because they send me free things(in fact, I didn't receive free products for this or the last giveaway I did for them)

No, no it's because I honestly believe Chicco makes great quality toys. Sure my twins are six now and have outgrown many of their Chicco items. But when I think about the remote control cars, the beginning roller blades and countless other Chicco toys we've had, I look back on them as some of the best toys we've had for their ease of use, sturdiness and outright entertainment value! And if I can bring that to you...then why the heck not.

The deets on Chicco's latest Billy Fun Wheels

The first motion-controlled monster truck for preschoolers!

Intuitive steering wheel can be rotated left or right to steer the truck

Realistic engine, reverse capability, and honking sounds

Headlights light up -

Rubber threads help prevent damage to floors

For children ages 2 years and up

Where you can find it:

Diapers.com, ToysRUs.com, EToys.com, Rightstart.com (retail 34.99)

Or win it here! Simply enter a comment telling me the one toy your child absolutely has to have this season. For an extra entry tweet the contest and leave a seperate comment with the link.

One winner will be selected at random from all comments received by 11/24.

Oh and please be sure to leave a valid email address so I can contact you if you've won!

Promise to Make a Difference

According to the American Cancer Society, one in eight women will be diagnosed with breast cancer within her lifetime.

Two years ago one of those eight women was my mother. And while she's doing wonderfully today it's become my personal mission to support breast cancer research and raise awareness. Which is why supporting companies like Yoplait is crucial as they've donated more than $22 million to the breast cancer cause through Save the Lids.

For every pink lid mailed in by December 31, 2009, Yoplait will donate $0.10 to the Susan G. Komen for the cure, up to $1.5 million with a guaranteed minimum donation of $500,000.

It's easy to help. You can visit Yourlidmatters.com to create online lid collection teams and engage and inspire your friends family and colleagues to join the cause.

And to one of my readers I offer a "Promise to Make a Difference" gift pack* which includes a free coupon for Yoplait YoPlus Yogurt, a breast cancer awareness bracelet and a leather jewelry case as pictured above.

If you'd like to win this great gift pack simply leave me a comment telling me how you support breast cancer awareness and or research and you'll be entered to win. One winner will be selected at random from all comments received by November 2.

*Gift pack courtesy of MyBlogSpark and Yoplait who also furnished me with a gift pack

Family Fun at Disney on Ice and a Special Offer

I know where I’ll be the weekend after next. My twins, who are both big Disney fans, and I are positively geeked to be heading to the Everett Events Center for Disney on Ice presents Worlds of Fantasy.

The Deets:

Worlds of Fantasy showcases beloved characters from Disney/Pixar's Cars, Disney's The Lion King and The Little Mermaid, as well as a live debut of the magical cast of new Fairies from the 2008 release of Walt Disney Pictures Tinker Bell DVD.

In a captivating "fairy tale" segment, audiences will enter into the wondrous world of Pixie Hollow and meet the Disney Fairies from Tinker Bell. The entire ice floor will transform into springtime, as the fairies' magical role in the mysteries of nature is finally revealed. From wheels to waves, Pride Lands to pixie dust, your family's favorite Disney moments come to life at Disney On Ice presents World of Fantasy with dazzling skating, special effects and beloved characters certain to create a lifetime of memories.

What’s that you say? You have no plans and your kids will never talk to you again if you don’t take them. Well I’ve got just the thing for you. Everett Events Center has a special offer:

4 tickets for $44
click here and enter "mom" to purchase


Special Bonus! Disney Princess Pre-Show: Arrive up to one hour early to tour our dazzling display of gorgeous gowns.

Hope to see you there

Yoplait Delights with a new yogurt treat

Delights parfaits are the latest in Yoplait's line of lowfat yogurt treats. At only 100 calories per serving and totally portable, these incredibly creamy, melt in your mouth goodies are the perfect snack anytime of the day.

A great new twist on an old fave,Yoplait pairs two decadent flavors for a match made in heaven. The lemon torte is absolutely to die for (totally taste like pie filling, y'all) and with 3 other flavors including Chocolate Raspberry, Triple Berry Cream and Creme Caramel you're sure to find your favorite in the bunch too.

Cheers to Yoplait for coming up with a line of delicious treats to help win the war against sweet tooths and expanding waistlines everywhere.


Go check 'em out. They're now available in major grocery stores. And be sure to grab a coupon too http://bricks.coupons.com/bstart.asp?o=58158&ci=1&c=GM&p=mtiwHNq8.

Chicco - Talking Vacation Car Giveaway ******Updated with winner

*********Congratulations to lucky commenter number 12, Nad!

Having just come back from a family vacation, I know the stress of wanting to keep children entertained while in transit.

Prior to our first time traveling with the twins several years ago, I asked everyone and read everything I could get my hands on in an effort to make sure that we weren't those parents(you know the harried, sweating, stressed out parents with the unhappy, bawling kids). It was then that I came upon the best recommendation I could have ever imagined. That recommendation: To bring a brand new toy that the kids have never seen - worked like a charm.

Enter the brilliant minds at Chicco and their Talking Vacation Car. Yay for Chicco for being in tune to what we parents and our kiddos want and producing some of the highest quality, fun and educational toys for babies and kids.

The Talking Vacation Car is a convertible car with flashing headlights and working wheels that not only helps your child develop language skills in English and Spanish, it has 3 different modes to help them discover new words, complete stories and solve riddles. It's bright,colorful and full of fun sound effects to keep the kiddos (don't worry parents, there is volume control) entertained. For children 18 months and up the Talking Vacation Car will be yours (and your childrens)best travel buddy.

And you can win one here. Simply leave a comment telling me your best (or worst) vacation story and you'll be entered to win. One winner will be chosen at random from all comments received by 7/28.

For extra entries
1 entry - Tweet the contest
2 entries - Blog the giveaway

Please be sure to leave a comment for each entry method and a valid email address so I can contact you if you've won.