7/11/13: Conway Scenic Railroad Crawford Notch Train

I can't explain to you how much my son loves trains.  Next up in my series of posts about traveling to New Hampshire is the Conway Scenic Railroad Crawford Notch 5 hour train ride.  There is also an 11 mile, 55 minute Conway trip and a 1 hour and 45 minute Bartlett trip.  You can find all schedules on their website.  Plus Thomas the Tank Engine is on his way to North Conway and will be there on July 12th!  We love going to this event.  Check the events calendar.

 The kids were being funny popping out from some of the seats.  We were in First Class which had really nice seats that reclined.  They also brought you a small dish of cheese, crackers, and grapes for you to snack on and gave us a menu if you wanted to order drinks that would be delivered to you.  There is also a snack bar on the train that we got some ice cream at.

 Despite the comfort of First Class Evan wanted to head to the open air car and check out the sights.  This was perfect as you could get some beautiful pictures from this car.

Both kids checking out the sights.

Despite the fact it was misty when we left, the views were wonderful.  Seeing the clouds were so cool in the mountains.

 Gorgeous!

 So awesome!  The views on this train were amazing.

 Evan was extremely excited.

 Love this one!

One of Evan's favorite parts of the train ride is watching the engine can sent to the other side.

 Here is the station at Crawford Notch.  The train ride is 2 hours to get to the station, then you have a one hour layover to get out and stretch your legs, then another 2 hours back to Conway.

 There is also some water there.

The kids absolutely loved the play area!

 This is the Appalachian Club Highland Center.  They have a cafeteria style place to eat there which we took advantage of.  The food was really good.

 The play area is a natural area for kids to climb and have fun.  My kids loved it here!

 Lauren climbing!

 I made it Mom!

 So beautiful!

 There is Evan.

 Lauren climbing.

 Wow they got up high!

 Back on the train.  Evan was at the window the whole time.

 The family.

Lauren was checking out the map we bought for her to see where we were and where we were going.

 The kids checking stuff out.

 We passed the Bartlett train on the way back.

 Here is the train!

I also wanted to share one picture I took when we took the Bartlett train last year.  It is my personal favorite and on the Conway Scenic Railroad Website.

 I highly recommend taking one of these train rides if you are visiting North Conway.
Follow them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/ConwayScenicRailroad

Disclosure:  I received 4 tickets in exchange for this post.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

7/11/13: Canobie Lake Family Fun

I have been going to Canobie Lake Park in Salem, NH since I was a little kid with my parents. I always loved it and never wanted to leave.  Now I get to take my kids and they love it just as much.  This will start by series of posts on our tour of New Hampshire.

 They always sell discounted tickets early in the season.  I also suggest joining the Canobie Club to get all the latest updates and find out when the discounted tickets are on sale.  I bought mine at the Burlington Mall near Christmas time.  Discount coupons are also available.  Check their website for locations.  Plus now they have a Canobie Lake Park App you can download and use while you are in the park!  

Here are the kids on the Tilt-a-Whirl.  They love spinning.

 Now my kids are split on what rides they can go on.  Lauren is under 48 inches and Evan is over 48 inches.  Kids under 48 inches are a different price than kids over 48 inches.  Every year we also go with my best friend and her kids who are a little older than mine.  They still love to go on Flower Power and giggle the whole time.

 This is one of the Kiddie rides but because lines weren't too long they were allowed to go on with Lauren.

 They always get a big giggle out of the Jungle Bounce.

 The other fun thing about Canobie is that they always have little games and shows going on.  Here is Lauren Hula Hooping with some of the Canobie Lake Park employees as they had a little Hula Hooping Party.

 You have to go on the carousel.

 For the thrill seekers there are always new cool rides to go on.  I personally love any roller coasters or fun different rides.  Here I am on the new Equinox.  This was a lot of fun and definitely scared some people on it.

 This ride spins the seats as it spins the larger wheel.  It was lots of fun.

The kids having fun riding on the roosters.

 There is also a water park which the kids love to play in.  We were there on a hot day so the kids couldn't wait to get in their bathing suits and get wet.

 Riding the Sky Ride can give some beautiful views.  Here is the Caterpillar which I love.

 It is so pretty there.  Here are the swings right next to the water.  They are doing some construction so the boat ride wasn't open.

 I highly suggest going there if you have never been.  They also have Fireworks on select nights.  Just check their website.

Give Canobie Lake Park some love:

Follow them on Facebook:  https://www.facebook.com/pages/Canobie-Lake-Park/18373183826

Twitter: @CanobieLakePark

Disclosure:  I was provided two tickets to Canobie Lake Park for this review.  No compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

7/6/13: Show Off Your #FABsmile and Win Dental Products for a Year

CONTEST CLOSED: CONGRATULATIONS JULIE D. FOR WINNING!
There are so many things in life that make me smile.  From when I was a kid as a dancer and a baton twirler I learned that your smile is everything and it makes watching you as an entertainer more fun.  Of course these two little cuties in this picture make me smile most and I am excited to be involved in the #FABsmile campaign for FlossandBrush.com through the Mom It Forward Blogger Network.  They supplied me their Annual FAB + White4Life Memberships and give it away to my readers. 

 This is a $107 value and includes what you see below:  Annual FAB Membership - every three months a new toothbrush and 3 month supply of floss will arrive at your doorstep and White4Life Memberships FAB's professional grade whitening to be used in custom whitening trays (trays not provided).

Did you know that The American Dental Association recommends replacing your toothbrush every three months?  FlossandBrush.com makes it easy to always have new toothbrushes every three months.  You only pay $1 per month per person in your family and you receive new toothbrushes and floss.  What a great reminder having them directly shipped to your house every 3 months.

 FlossandBrush.com's toothbrushes are top quality, age-specific, and dentist approved.

They have 4 packages:

Adult Floss and Brush Package ($1.00 per month per family member)

Youth Floss and Brush Package ($1.00 per month per family member) 

Kids Floss and Brush Package ($1.00 per month per family member)

Adult Brush and Whitening Gel Package ($2.00 per month per family member)

Only $1.00 shipping per person. Orders of three of more brushes ship for free.

So go ahead and enter below and show off that wonderful smile!

Give Floss and Brush some love:

Twitter: @FlossAndBrush #FABsmile

Facebook Account 

Instagram Account 

Pinterest Account 

Disclosure:  These products were provided to me for review purposes.  No other compensation was provided and all opinions are my own.

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7/3/13: RingStix A Fun New Twist on Ring Toss Play

CONTEST CLOSED: CONGRATULATIONS WENDI FOR WINNING!
Summer means time to play outside.  We got to try out RingStix Lite recently and the kids had a lot of fun playing with them.  It is a cool new toy that just launched in November 2012 and has already received many awards.  Read on and you can win RingStix.

It is sort of like ring toss but a lot more fun.

RingStix is played with slightly curved 25 inch brightly colored sword-like sticks and a 5 inch ring.  To play you put the ring over both sticks with them crossed and then pull your arms across and the ring is propelled forward.

We received RingStix Lite as it is intended for younger users as young as 6.  My kids are 6 and 8 and they picked it up very quickly and were having fun with it.  I was a bit worried they wouldn't get the hang of it but they immediately did and were so proud to show me how far they could make the ring go.

To catch it you can use one or both of the sticks.

Here is a short video of Lauren demonstrating how to use RingStix.  I think she has a future in Marketing.

The kids really enjoyed flinging the ring.  I must say one criticism I would say is that they should include more than one ring as I could see losing it.  However I did see on their website you can just buy rings.  The replacement ones even comes with one that glows in the dark which I am sure the kids would like.  Some of the other sets come with the glow in the dark ring.

Lauren found some other fun things to do with the rings.

Evan giving me a pose.  I think this is a great toy for working on hand/eye coordination.

I am not going to lie, the sticks eventually turned in to swords and then was a little fun play with the two of them and the sticks.

Here they are as packaged.  These sell for $14.99

Enter the Giveaway below and win RingStix for your family.

Disclosure:  I received the product for review purposes.  No other compensation was received and all opinions are my own.

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7/1/13: Exclusive Sneek Peek of Delivery Man

Imagine this, you have 533 children!  I got your attention.  I know what you are thinking, please I can barely handle the 2 that I have and I totally agree.  There is a new film coming out with Vince Vaughn that I wanted to share with you.  It is called DELIVERY MAN and it opens November 22nd, 2013.

As one of my lucky readers you are hearing about it first as the trailer is premiering on 533 blogs and mine is one of them!  I have some exclusive images and a trailer at the end of my post.

I bet you are asking, why 533 bloggers?  Why the question of 533 children.  Well, in the film, Vince Vaughn plays an affable underachiever looking for his purpose in life, when he finds out he’s fathered 533 children through anonymous donations to a fertility clinic 20 years ago. Now he must decide whether or not to come forward when 142 of them want to meet their biological father. 

Just think, that is a lot of ties and mugs at Father's Day!

It has so many comical moments in it, just by watching the trailer I was touched and had to giggle.

"Everyone has a purpose in life, I guess I just haven't found mine yet" - Quote from Vince Vaughn in the movie.  He finds out he does have a purpose.  "This could be the most beautiful thing that ever happened to me.  These kids need someone to look up to.  They need a Guardian Angel" - Quote from Vince Vaughn

So many funny moments.

Families, they are all a bit scattered and crazy.  Imagine looking out for this many kids and what purpose it would bring to your life.

Drum roll please......
Here is the Official Trailer:

“Like” DELIVERY MAN on Facebook: Facebook.com/DeliveryManMovie  

Follow DELIVERY MAN on Twitter: @DeliveryManFilm
#DeliveryManMovie

Follow DELIVERY MAN on Pinterest: Pinterest.com/DeliveryManFilm

Follow DELIVERY MAN on Instagram: DeliveryManMovie

DELIVERY MAN releases in theaters on November 22nd!

Disclosure:  No compensation was received for this post however the trailer and images were provided by Disney.