Dandy Holiday

The weather has turned cold here in the Lou.  Really cold.  Like in the 30’s cold.  I don’t think that I’m ready for this, but I guess snow is pretty dandy???  So…  I gotta look at the positives and outweigh the negatives.  Snow is kinda dandy…  Am I right?  It looks dandy.  The smell of it all fresh as it falls from the sky.  Big fluffy flakes.  I’m making this sound better and better.  More and more dandy.  If I keep up the mantra then I will believe it.  *wink*   We only had flurries the other day.  I’ll be sure to let you all know when the first big snow storm hits.  I’m sure you will be waiting on pins and needles for this announcement.  *wink again*

I’ve always loved how the Brit’s refer to vacations and trips as, “going on holiday”.  Could be my British ancestry speaking, but it’s just more dandy to call it a holiday.  After all holidays are time spend with family and loved ones.  So if you are going on a trip with your family then why shouldn’t you call it a holiday???  Well, last weekend we got out of St. Louis and took an overnight getaway kind of holiday.  We headed west on I-70 a few hours and came very close to entering another state.  That’s a clue as to where we went.  It was great to get out of town and spend time together as a family.  This family adventure was truly a grand time.  In fact we went on a tropical adventure.

We stayed warm by the fire:

dandyholiday

We were greeted with warm cookies upon our arrival:

holiday3

 

And we spent time in a sauna like atmosphere.  All misty and warm air.  Safe and protected from the outdoor elements.

WHERE  DID  WE  GO???

Just for funs I’ve created a puzzle for you to help “piece” together where exactly we went.  Hey, it’s too cold to go outside these days, so I’m spending a lot of time indoors.  Oh and the pun was definitely intended.  🙂  Enjoy!

Stay tuned for a detailed post on the new blog, Seeing Dandy.  All will be revealed soon.  🙂

*I received a discounted hotel stay and park tickets in exchange for my review, but all opinions are definitely my own.

Kansas City Sea Life Aquarium {Giveaway} – ENDED

Remember how back in April we went to the Kansas City LEGOLAND for Banjo’s birthday weekend extravaganza???  Well, we also went to the fabulously dandy aquarium right next door.

sealife2

Compliments of the Kansas City Sea Life Aquarium, of course!

 Hey, you only turn 6 once.

Not sure what we will be doing next year for Banjo’s 7th birthday, but we have A LOT to live up to.

Banjo has been obsessed with underwater sea life ever since first being introduced to that movie about the little, lost clown fish.  Okay, he used to watch that movie All. The. Time.  There was a point where it was a daily occurrence.  Seriously.  Now he hasn’t watched it in quite some time, but I just know that he still longs for those days.  I know that I do.  😉   My little boy is growing up!  These days he’s all about the educational aspects of things and learning all there is to know about sea life.  I guess kindergarten tends to do that to a little person.

sealife

Our visit to the Sea Life Aquarium was the ultimate finale to our Kansas City adventure.  This place was amazing and definitely a place that we will return to.  Seriously.  We are already talking about when we will be making the trek out West to KC again.  One day soon.  I’m sure.

There’s an entire area for “meeting” and “greeting” some of the sea life:

sealife6

sealife4

 Sea Life Kansas City is also the home to a Bow Mouth Guitar Shark.  That’s her up above.

Very unique addition to the aquarium, because there are only 8 of these in the entire country!

And what trip to the Sea Life Aquarium would be complete without…

sealife5

LEGOS!

There’s also a really fun quiz throughout and the kids are awarded a prize at the end.

They loved it!

The winner of this giveaway will receive FOUR tickets to the Sea Life Aquarium in Kansas City!

(Enter on the Rafflecopter below.)

*This giveaway is open to US entries only.
*The winner of this giveaway will be drawn no later than the evening of Monday, June 2nd and will be emailed.  If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.
*This posting and giveaway are sponsored by the Kansas City Sea Life Aquarium, but all opinions are strictly my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

LEGOLAND Kansas City {Giveaway} – CLOSED

legoland

My Banjo is now 6-years-old.  It’s weird to think that my first born is that old.  He’s like a little man who is almost finished with kindergarten.  So very strange for me!  In past years we have always had a birthday party for him.  I was trying to be that mom who threw those big, fabulous parties with lots of friends invited.  Yes, that mom.  I even invited the siblings of the friends, because I didn’t want anyone to feel left out.  Is that a little crazy?  Maybe a little excessive?  (Now there’s nothing really wrong with being that mom.  There are plenty of moms who can pull it off and more power to them.  I’m just not good at being that mom.  For sanity sake I had to take a step back, evaluate what’s truly important, and just say no.)

This year?  No more.  We have three littles now.  All will have a birthday.  All will eventually want to have a party.  All cannot have a party in the same year.  That would be maddening.  I can’t plan for such things.  I can’t decorate for such things.  I can’t organize for such things.  I can’t do such things.  It’s just not going to happen times three every year.  Nope.  Not going to do it.  So I’m thinking that each child has a “friend party” every other year.  Maybe every 3rd year.  Just. Not. Every. Year.

That’s why this year we decided to take Banjo (and the other two littles) out of town for a surprise birthday weekend extravaganza.  Banjo expected to have a party.  We told him we had a special adventure planned instead of a party.  It was a weekend all about him, things he likes, and together as a family.  The best part of celebrating in this way?  Family time!

We went to LEGOLAND Discovery Center in Kansas City!  LEGOLAND agreed on us coming for a visit, my doing a review on the blog, and giveaway away FOUR tickets.  You will find that giveaway below.  First, here are just a few of our favorite highlights from the place Banjo now thinks is the bestest birthday celebration ever.  At the LEGOLAND in Kansas City you can…

Find out how many LEGO bricks you weigh and your height in LEGO bricks:

legoland2

 

 

Travel to a distant land:

wizardofoz

 photo-105.png

oz.png

 

 

Meet your favorite LEGO characters:

legomovie

 

Build and race LEGO cars:

PicMonkey Collage.png

And just have a fantastically dandy time!

Of course you can’t visit LEGOLAND without getting some LEGOS.  Audi came out of the shop with this on my keys:

10258082_10152027507970894_3170210231329684569_n

He said it’s because I’m Wonder Woman.

As I already mentioned, the winner of this giveaway will receive FOUR tickets to LEGOLAND in Kansas City!

*This giveaway is open to US entries only.
*The winner of this giveaway will be drawn no later than the evening of May 2nd and will be emailed.  If the winner does not respond within 48 hours, a new winner will be drawn.
*This posting and giveaway are sponsored by the Kansas City LEGOLAND Discovery Center, but all opinions are strictly my own.

a Rafflecopter giveaway