6/27/14: DINOLAND VIP Event at Edaville USA

We love going to Edaville USA and I have been going there since I was a kid.  I am so happy at the huge expansion they are going through and all the new attractions coming to the park.  We were invited to go to a VIP Event for their new DINOLAND and I knew the kids would love it so I jumped at the chance.  

Right near the back of the park next to the train is the new DINOLAND.  The official Grand Opening for this attraction is this weekend.  You can see the full schedule here.

There are so many awesome dinosaurs to see.  You receive a booklet when you enter DINOLAND and all of the dinos are labeled with numbers so you can track them down in your booklet.

There are sounds and movement too with these cool animatronic dinos.

We got a kick out of this sign!

They did a really good job in this area.  It really makes you feel like you are in a Dino Park.  The sounds, and the way it is set apart it makes it feel all encompassing.

So cool.

A cute shot of all of us.

What do you see something behind me?  I had to take a selfie with a Dino.

There was even a Dino walking around.  The kids got to hold his leash.

I love that there were people walking around with safari outfits to tell you more about the Dinosaurs.

 It was fun and informative for the kids.

They absolutely loved this area.

Wow, a huge T-Rex!

More pictures here:

Here is some video of DINOLAND:

Plus while you are there you can see all of the attractions that Edaville USA has to offer.  We saw Babbs and Buttons walking around.

We took the train ride which is my son's favorite!

Plus check out some trains up close.

We got to see some of the new attractions being built up close.

Plus there is going to be a Thomas Land!  We love Thomas so this is fabulous.

Lauren being silly.

There are a bunch of rides and even some new ones.  The kids like this one.  They spin.

Bumper cars!  These are now inside the building so don't think they have been taken out.

They also added more kiddie rides inside upstairs.  I talked to someone working there and she said the goal is to keep this building open year round for birthday parties.

A carousel for the little ones inside.

Of course you have to take a jump in the cranberry bog ball pit!

Another new ride.  We liked this one a lot.

The kids love this Rhino and have been taking pictures with him since they were little.

Overall it was a wonderful day at Edaville USA.  If you haven't been there lately you need to check them out!

Make sure to follow them as they do many promotions online.

Find them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/EdavilleUSA

Twitter:  @EdavilleUSA

Disclosure:  I received tickets to attend VIP Day with my family.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

6/25/14: School's Out for Summer

It is hard to believe another school year is done.  I now have 2nd and 4th graders!  This is more than just no more school, it is also a break for me from being the PTO President for summer.

We had a fabulous year and I was able to implement lots of cool ideas this year.  We now have a Bee Mascot "Buzzy" for the school, we had our first Family Fun Dance, we had extra day-time meetings, we had raffles for attendance at PTO meetings, we raised enough funds to provide 75 tablets to the school and have an on-going technology allocation, we had a Photo Booth at the 5th Grade Party which was a huge success, provided more information online through Facebook and our website, plus we still saved a lot for next year.

Here is Lauren with her teacher who she will really miss.  Evan also had the same teacher and we have loved her.  She does very cool stuff with her class including a Thanksgiving Party with a turkey and all the fixings, and she also has the kids do a holiday show that she wrote "The Mice Before Christmas".  She makes learning fun and you can tell how much all her students love her.

Here is Evan with his teacher.  She was also fabulous and all the kids love her!  She also does really cool stuff with the kids and gives them marbles for being well behaved.  When they get a certain amount of marbles she does a cartwheel.  When he went to move up day last year that is all I heard about was her cartwheels.  Love it!  The kids love it too and think she is wonderful.

With the end of the year came a lot of fun.  Here are the kids in my group when I went on the field trip to Sturbridge Village.

The kids being silly.  Love this!

They got to see lots of cool stuff.

Here they are in the little play park.

There was an end of year party and as room mother I organized a class gift.  We were able to give Lauren's teacher a $100 gift card, and a beautiful bee Alex and Ani bracelet.  With the school's mascot being a bee and a program to Be the Best You Can Bee at school this was perfect!

Here she is getting a big hug from the class.

There was Field Day fun.  I was the blue group leader so here is Evan with my pole that I carried around all day for my groups to know where to go.

Me and Ev!

The kids had so much fun playing games on the field.

Tug of war was a bit hit.

Evan's class.

Lauren with our blue group.

Lauren pretty much wins every hula hoop contest she is ever in.  Field Day was no exception.

Tug of war time, girls against boys.

The girls were kicking the boys butts.

The water balloon toss was a favorite of everyone too.  We had over 100 fabulous volunteers to make this day a success.

Last but not least was the Family Picnic.  Here is Buzzy coming to make an appearance.

Lauren and Buzzy with a friend.

Our Principal and Assistant Principal chilling out.

The kids having fun with a future Ditson student.

Bye Buzzy we will see you again next year!  Everyone have a great summer!!!