3/31/13: Old Navy Blogger Fashion Show

I have to admit I get a lot of super cool opportunities as a Blogger.  This weekend was no exception.  I got to be in a Fashion Show with the kids.  I mostly did it for the kids to be in the Fashion Show and was hoping I wouldn't have to be.  But then I saw the cute flattering spring dresses they have at Old Navy at Middlesex Commons and felt comfortable to get up there and strut my stuff.  The colors are beautiful and the dresses are awesome for adults and girls.  Plus the boys clothes are super cute too.

I always shop at Old Navy anyways.  They are affordable and have fashions for the whole family.  I do a lot of back to school shopping there and find their pants fit my son best.  Plus they have Angry Birds shirts which Evan loves, Hello Kitty shirts that Lauren loves and I find a lot of Mickey apparel for me.  In fact I just bought a super cute Mickey Mouse Club shirt for me for our trip to Disneyland.  Plus they have accessories, shoes, pajamas and everything you need.  

The kids were extremely excited to walk the runway.  Old Navy selected colors for each of the families and we were black and white.  Lauren was very excited about her silver sandals and Evan loved his hat.  He has been wearing the hat ever since the Fashion Show.

Old Navy provided the full outfit with accessories and shoes for us to wear in the Fashion Show.  Here are the kids getting ready to walk the runway.  I think Evan looks very handsome and Lauren looks adorable.  She was working the poses.

We got to go up on the platform and strike a pose and then walk down the runway strike another pose and walk back to the platform.  Look at those beautiful dresses behind us and they were only $20!

I love that the kids are all smiles.  They loved it, especially hearing their names be announced.

So much fun.  Old Navy has some really cute fashions for the whole family.

Here is some video of us in the Fashion Show.

What a great experience for them.  Check out the cool necklace I am wearing.  I had to buy it as I really liked it and thought it looked great with the dress which I also bought.

Here is the whole group of bloggers that participated.  I love going to these events as I get to meet many of the bloggers I communicate with online.  We are very lucky in Boston to have such a tight knit group of bloggers who all support each other.

Find Old Navy and Middlesex Commons Online:

Old Navy:

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/oldnavy

Twitter: @OldNavy

Middlesex Commons: 

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MiddlesexCommons

Twitter: @MiddlesexCommon

 Here was the little picture they made up for the Fashion Show.

A huge thanks to Alana Brooks who is the Social Media Representative for Middlesex Commons and thanks to all the wonderful staff at Old Navy that helped before and during the Fashion Show.

Disclosure:  I was able to have a wonderful experience with my kids of being in a fashion show.  Old Navy provided all the clothes we wore for the show along with accessories and shoes.  They did provide us a discount on our purchase that day and a little token of appreciation.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

3/31/13: Easter Festivities and a Flashback

I hope everyone had a wonderful Easter today for those of you who celebrate Easter.  We had a wonderful day.  It is always fun to see the kids hunt for eggs and get their Easter baskets.

It was fun that my Mom gave Lauren a few of my old dresses.  So here is Lauren wearing the same dress I wore on Easter in 1980 when I was 6, she will be 6 in 13 days.

Here is another flashback picture of me with my parents that same Easter.

Here are the baskets before the kids ripped through them.

Here are the kids all excited with their loot in their Easter baskets.

We of course had to have an Easter egg hunt which is always fun.

Lauren excited with what she found.

Evan found the coveted golden egg.  We always make one special egg hidden extra hard for the kids to find.

The kids looking cute.

Another Easter Egg Hunt at Nonna and Nonno's house.

Here are the kids with their cousins and Chewy my sister-in-law's dog.  What a fun day!

3/30/13: Big Apple Circus Legendarium in Boston

Today we were able to go and see the amazing performers in the Big Apple Circus Legendarium at City Hall Plaza in Boston.  This show is there until May 12th so you have plenty of time to attend.
My favorite part of the show is how close you are to the action with only one ring where all of the action is.  Here are the kids ready for the show.  Maybe Evan will run away with the Circus, he looks like he is ready to with the clown nose.

This was our third time going to the Big Apple Circus and it didn't disappoint again.  The kids were excited. 

I love the cool animals and performers they have in their shows. 

 The exciting opening of the show.

Here is the ringmaster John Kennedy Kane. 

 From the US, Jenny Vidbel handles horses, ponies and dogs with ease.  I have seen her perform with them numerous time and she never disappoints.  

I love that during the show the ringmaster was giving you little facts about the Circus.  They explained the reason why the ring is a standard of 42 feet is because that is the size ring that would allow a horse to get to full gallop. 

The horse bowed!  So awesome.  My daughter was mesmerized. 

 From Argentina, Elayne Kramer was unbelievable.  The way her body bent was unbelievable.

Absolutely amazing! 

Would you believe she even shot a balloon with a bow and arrow with her feet? 

 One act I had never seen was the slack wire.  From China, Zhang Fan did unbelievable things on this slack wire.  Look at him here with a ladder!

 And then on a unicycle on his head.

 From China, the all-female Dalian Acrobatic Troupe did some amazing things on bicycles  including flips over each other.  You have to see it to believe it.  I loved that my son asked me why they weren't wearing helmets after the show.  

 The whole cast was amazing!

Awesome job to all of the cast and crew!  Plus the live music was wonderful. 

 The great thing is LEGENDARIUM is in its annual Boston engagement at City Hall Plaza from Tuesday, March 26 through Sunday, May 12, 2013.  You should definitely take the kids during April vacation.

Tickets start at $20 and are available at bigapplecircus.org(888) 541-3750. Premium seating at $100 is available for all Saturday, Sunday, Patriots’ Week, and Good Friday shows. The Circus Box Office on City Hall Plaza is open — Saturday, Sunday, and Monday from 10am to 6pm and Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday from 10am to 8pm. There is no service charge for tickets purchased at the Box Office. For any additional information please call the Ticket Info Line at (800) 922-3772.

The Big Top is heated in cold weather, and air-conditioned when it’s warm, and the show is 2 hours.  Also they validate parking and the garage is right across the street making it very easy to drive in to the city and see the show.

Like them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/bigapplecircus

Follow them on Twitter:  @BigAppleCircus

Disclosure:  I received 4 tickets for my family to attend the Big Apple Circus.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

3/29/13: First Ear Piercing

I have had mixed emotions for a while about Lauren having her ears pierced.  When I was a kid my Mom made me wait till I was older to have mine done.  In fact I think I was about 12 years old.  My Mom didn't even have her ears pierced, I ended up taking her when I was in high school to have hers done.  I have been noticing more and more young kids having their ears pierced.  I still don't agree with having babies ears pierced but I understand some cultures do that.  I feel that kids should be able to make their own decision that they want to have it done.  It was a little traumatic for me as I am still not sure if she is too young.  Comment on this blog post with your thoughts.

Lauren will be turning 6 in 15 days and today at the mall when we went to see the Easter Bunny without any questions she said she wanted to get her ears pierced.

I wasn't sure what to do at first but then we went in to the store and she was more sure that she wanted it done.  She even watched a 4 year old have her ears pierced and she saw her reaction and thought it didn't look too painful.

Luckily at Claire's where we went they have two people pierce the kid's ears at the same time so they only feel the pain once and don't chicken out for the 2nd ear.  The girls were awesome that did it and were so quick.  They explained that they put the hole a little high as little kids ears grow it comes down.  Lauren did awesome, a few small tears but then she was fine.  She is excited to show off her new pink earrings.

Here she is having it done, what a brave little girl and this is an early birthday present for her.

3/27/13: Disney's Planes Sneak Peek - Voice Cast and Trailer

I told you about Disney's Planes recently and wanted to provide you with the full voice cast, a sneak peek at the characters and the trailer.  We are beyond excited to see this movie.  We loved Cars and we are even going to Disneyland just to go to California Adventure and see Cars Land.  This looks awesome!  Plus I am an Aerospace Engineer so I love planes in general.  See my post on the Boston Portsmouth Air Show where I was able to go up in the plane with the US Army Golden Knights. I am really looking forward to this one soaring in to theaters on August 9th.

 First off here is a trailer for the film.

More about the cast:

Audiences worldwide are fastening their seat belts as “Disney’s Planes” prepares to take off this summer. Joining Dane Cook, who provides the voice of Dusty, are Stacy Keach, Brad Garrett, Teri Hatcher, Cedric the Entertainer, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, John Cleese, Carlos Alazraqui, Priyanka Chopra, Gabriel Iglesias, Roger Craig Smith, Colin Cowherd, Sinbad, Oliver Kalkofe and Brent Musburger.

Adding some high-flying flair from a classic feature film are Anthony Edwards and Val Kilmer.  Ok, how cool is that they are including actors from Top Gun?

Inspired by the world of “Cars” and directed by Disneytoon Studios veteran and aviation enthusiast Klay Hall (“King of the Hill,” “The Simpsons”), “Disney’s Planes” is an action-packed 3D animated comedy adventure about Dusty’s dream of competing as a high-flying air racer—and his decidedly unfortunate fear of heights. 

Stacy Keach (“The Bourne Legacy,” Alexander Payne’s upcoming “Nebraska,” Robert Rodriguez’s and Frank Miller’s “Sin City: A Dame To Kill For”) provides the voice of Skipper, a reclusive old Navy Corsair who takes Dusty’s training to new heights.

Brad Garrett (“Everybody Loves Raymond,” “How to Live with Your Parents for the Rest of Your Life”) lends his voice to fuel truck Chug, Dusty’s buddy, coach and biggest fan.

Teri Hatcher (“Coraline,” ABC’s “Desperate Housewives”) brings life and charm to the say-it-like-it-is mechanic Dottie.

Cedric the Entertainer (“Barbershop,” “Larry Crowne, “Madagascar”) as Leadbottom, a puttering old biplane who has no time for Dusty’s far-fetched flights of fancy.

Julia Louis-Dreyfus (“Veep,” “The New Adventures of Old Christine,” “Seinfeld”) lends her voice to Rochelle, a tough and confident racer who is the pride of the Great White North.

John Cleese (TV’s “Whitney,” “A Fish Called Wanda”) is the voice of Bulldog, the oldest and arguably wisest racer on the circuit.

Carlos Alazraqui (James Garcia on Comedy Central’s “Reno 911”) brings to life the intensely charming El Chupacabra, a racer with more dramatic flair than is recommended at high altitudes. 

Priyanka Chopra (“Barfi!”) voices the exotic, mysterious and ruthless Ishani, the reigning Pan-Asian champion from India.

Roger Craig Smith (Captain America in Disney XD’s “Marvel’s Avengers Assemble,” voice of Sonic The Hedgehog in “Wreck-It Ralph”) voices world champion racer Ripslinger—wings down, the biggest name in air racing—and he knows it.

Gabriel Iglesias (Comedy Central’s “Gabriel Iglesias Presents Stand-up Revolution”) provides the voices of both Ned and Zed, two not-so-sharp saboteurs who work for Ripslinger.

Val Kilmer (“Batman Forever,” “Top Gun”) provides the voice of Bravo, a member of the Jolly Wrenches and a fan of air racing. 

Anthony Edwards (TV’s “Zero Hour,” “Top Gun”) is the voice of Echo, a member of the Jolly Wrenches and a fan of air racing.

Colin Cowherd (ESPN) gives play-by-play coverage as Colin Cowling, an affable blimp and an eye-in-the-sky reporter for the Racing Sports Network.

Sinbad (Comedy Central’s “Where U Been?”) brings to life Roper, an irascible race official pitty full of sly remarks and colorful commentary.

Oliver Kalkofe (“Neues vom Wixxer”) provides the voice of meek German minicar Franz and his brazen airborne alter ego Fliegenhosen.
Brent Musburger (ESPN, ABC Sports) brings Brent Mustangburger, the excitable 1964½ Ford Mustang sports broadcasting icon, back to the big screen. 

Can't wait to see it!
For more information, check out Disney.com/Planes
Like them on Facebook: facebook.com/DisneyPlanes and 
Follow them on Twitter: @DisneyPictures

Disclosure:  No compensation was received for this post and all opinions are my own.