4/25/16: The Hall at Patriot Place

I have loved the Patriots since I was young.  I used to go to games and vividly remember sitting in the rain watching Steve Grogan play and watching my beloved Patriots lose.  Little did I know in the future what an awesome team the Patriots would become.  Now my kids know of this phenomenal team and my son especially couldn't wait to learn more about them at The Hall at Patriot Place.

As you enter there is a cool helmet entrance way with all the sounds of the game.  Evan loved seeing this LEGO helmet too.

There is so much to see there to take a walk down memory lane with the history of the Patriots.  We also got to watch a movie telling of the history of the team and the ups and downs.  Here there is a locker room where you can dress up like the players.

Evan decided to try on a helmet that Tom Brady would wear to match his #12 shirt.

There are interactive exhibits also for kids to check out and see how they stack up to players.

Lauren even pretended like she was kicking the ball like Adam Vinatieri in the "snow bowl".

You can also get right in to the action by pretending you are in the huddle with the team.

There was a special Peanuts exhibit going on called Pigskin Peanuts.  This is a traveling exhibit organized by the Charles M. Schulz Museum and is showing at The Hall through April 30, 2016.

There is so much memorabilia to see in addition to the Super Bowl Vince Lombardi Trophies.

I love seeing the AFC Championship trophies up close.

My man, Drew Bledsoe.  My husband and I were at the game right after September 11th when Drew got hurt and Tom Brady came in.

When you walked through this hallway you heard announcements like you were at the Super Bowl and being introduced as a team.  I love it!

Look at those gorgeous trophies!  So awesome!

Plus there was confetti on the floor which the kids enjoyed.

In the words of Robert Kraft "We are all Patriots!"

Here you can see The Hall from the outside.  The Hall encompasses the top two floor with the bottom floor being the Patriots Pro Shop.  Find them online:  http://www.thehallatpatriotplace.com/

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

Twitter:  @thehall

Disclosure:  I received admission for my family to review The Hall at Patriot Place.  No other compensation was received and as always all opinions are my own.

4/24/16: Lauren's 9th Birthday Party at Fresh Looks Salon

Lauren loves celebrating her birthday!  Of course she does, everyone does.  This year she decided to have a fun day of beauty with her friends.  We had her party at my cousin's salon Fresh Looks Salon in Tewksbury, MA and the girls had a blast!  I have been going there for years for my hair and I knew the girls would have so much fun.

They all had their hair done and it looked beautiful.  They were able to pick out a flower and have it put in their hair.  Curls were very popular.

Lauren had a rainbow theme as you can see by her dress.

She has so much hair.  Sheryl did an awesome job curling it and making it look gorgeous.  Fresh Looks Salon is a full service salon with hair cuts and color, makeup, nails, skin care, lash extensions, full body waxing and gorgeous special occasions hair styles.  In fact I had my whole bridal parties hair done there and they were beautifully done.

Look at how pretty!

Lauren's completed hair.

Then girls moved on to have their nails done.  They could have designs done and many had little flowers put on their nails.

Lauren did rainbow nails with each nail a different color.

We set up a little area to be a photo booth for the girls with lots of props to use.

Here are all the props they could use.  Of course they were rainbow.  The mustaches were the most popular.

The salon is very large so the girls had plenty of room to go from station to station and also have time to take pictures and eat pizza.

Lovely hair designs.

Even Evan and his friend had their hair done.

They each got their own nail polish from Fresh Looks Salon.  We added this to their goody bags.

Fresh Looks Salon also provided the flowers for their hair.  They could chose from all of these pretty colors.

Here they are having fun in the photo booth area.

They all had their makeup done.  They were able to pick what eye shadow they wanted.

Being silly!

 Then we had cake.  I made this rainbow cake.  Inside each layer was a rainbow color.

Here you can see the table setup.  There was plenty of room plus everything was all contained to one area so all the kids could check out what each other was doing.

Here you can see the inside of the cake.

I also made these super cute nail polishes.  These are totally edible!  They are made with marshmallows which I put frosting on and then rolled them in colorful sprinkles.  Then took a tootsie roll and put a toothpick in it and inserted it in to the top of the marshmallow to make it look like nail polish.  Super cute and super easy!

The girls had such a blast.  You can tell by the smiles on their faces.

What an awesome time!

The girls all couldn't wait to come back and have their hair done again!

Check out Fresh Looks Salon at 1830 Main Street, Tewksbury, MA
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/FreshLooksSalon/

Disclosure:  I was provided with a discount on my daughter's party.  As always all opinions are my own.

4/14/16: Wizard of Oz An Absolutely Amazing Show

Yesterday was Lauren's birthday and not only did she get to see an amazing show but she got wished a happy birthday from Dorothy!  We went to see The Wizard of Oz the Musical at the Citi Performing Arts Center Wang Theatre and got to attend a Yellow Brick Road entrance for Dorothy!  The show is here till April 24th so get your tickets now!

 As if it wasn't enough going to a fantastic show we were also treated to an arrival of Dorothy and Toto in a cool old truck.  The kids really enjoyed this.  They got to line the Yellow Brick Road and greet Dorothy and the Munchkins when they arrived.

Look at how adorable Toto is!  He was a great actor also!  He did a fantastic job hitting his spots and barking on cue.

Here is Lauren with Dorothy who not only autographed her playbill but also wished her a happy birthday.  Sarah Lasko who plays Dorothy is so nice.

 Then we got to meet some of the munchkins.

 There are the famous Ruby Red slippers.

The show was amazing!  Dorothy had a wonderful voice and we learned that she is only 16 years old!  What a talented young woman.  Listening to her sing "Somewhere Over the Rainbow" was so beautiful.  I felt the show was really true to the beloved original.  

 It was beautiful in the Wang Theatre with it all lit up Green and the floor was lit up like a yellow brick road.

 Tickets are on sale and I have a Discount Code for 25% off!

Visit http://citicenter.org/buy/show-listing/wizard-of-oz

Enter code OZMOM to buy your discounted tickets.  Look even Dorothy is surprised with this discount!
Discount applies to select performances (4/15 7 pm, 4/17 6:30 pm) while supplies last.  Valid on all levels, excluding Orchestra Pit.

A few other stand outs in the cast were Shani Hadjian as the Wicked Witch of the West.  She had a really powerful voice and who doesn't love to watch her when she is melting. 

All Show Photos Credit: © Daniel A. Swalec 
Glinda played by Rachel Womble was also excellent in her part.

Of course the highlight of the show for the kids and the crowd were Aaron Fried as Lion, Jay McGill as Tin Man, Morgan Reynolds as Scarecrow.  I love that the Tin Man tap danced a bit!  We really enjoyed that.  The Lion was hysterical!  He got a lot of laughs from the crowd.  The Scarecrow was also amazing in his movements and rolling around.

I loved the special effects in the show to make the tornado and also for the Wizard.  The transitions were so well done.

This is an awesome show for the whole family and I highly suggest going while it is in town!

Disclosure:  I received 4 tickets for my family for review purposes and four tickets for giveaway.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.