Dandy Holiday

November 15, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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:

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We were greeted with warm cookies upon our arrival:

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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.

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Joovy theBabaSling {Review}

July 10, 2014 by Leave a Comment

Remember how I told you there would be an upcoming review from Joovy?  Well, well, well.  Now is the time.  First I have to take you back to the beginning of May…  If you follow us at all on Facebook then you will remember that we were vacationing in WDW at that time.  (Yes, we busted Banjo out of school to hit Disney before the crowds got crazy.)  Joovy sent us theBabaSling before we left on our trip.

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I’ve always liked to do the whole baby wearing thing, so was ecstatic to take it with us on our pre summer vacation.  Plus, theBabaSling is uber chic looking, so I’d be styling.  But then I got to thinking that I wouldn’t use it all that much, because we were after all taking our Joovy Caboose stroller.  Cache would just sleep in the main seat of the stroller, Ruby would sit/stand on the platform, and Banjo would walk.  That was the plan.  And all went according to plan…

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For about half of our first day in the magical world of mouse.

At first all was right in the world.  Baby Cache just road along sleeping, Ruby was more entertained by jumping off of her seat on the “train” and running around before getting back “all aboard”, and Banjo was quite content to walk along with his cousins.  Then EVERYTHING deviated from the plan!

Ruby became a hot mess and didn’t want to ride on the platform any longer.

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She wanted to SLEEP.

Need I remind you that this was our very first day in the most magical kingdom on earth?  And Banjo?  Well, he grew tired of walking.  He grew tired very fast.

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What happened?  Where did we go wrong?  Well, for starters we should have purchased a Joovy Big Caboose Triple stroller before heading Orlando.  That would have been the solution.  However already being in Florida when we made this discovery… We didn’t have that option.  We will definitely know for next time.  But since I had the handy, dandy BabaSling all was right again in the world!

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The hammock style of the sling was perfect for carrying tiny Cache and the  comfort padding… perfect for my bum shoulder.  The shoulder I’ve had surgery on twice and I’m now a candidate for a total shoulder replacement.  What?  I’ve never told you about that before?  Yeah.  Remind me to tell you sometime all about my shoulder problem.  😉

This sling carried Cache all over the parks.

He was able to meet all the characters just like the big kids.

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Can you believe that Stitch actually sports a Dandy Giveaway logo???  😉

TheBabaSling comes in sooooo many beautiful and vibrant colors.

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As you can see from our vacation photos we have it in Scarlet Red.  I can’t tell you how many compliments I received on it while at WDW.  Too many to count.  One stranger just came up to me to say, “That’s a nice looking sling!”  Why, yes.  Yes it is.  🙂

Since Disney I’ve been using the BabaSling all over the place.  Particularly on the 4th of July at the lake.

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It was a long day.  The BabaSling put Cache right to sleep.

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It’s my hero.

*This posting and review are sponsored by Joovy, but all opinions are strictly my own.

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Kansas City Sea Life Aquarium {Giveaway} – ENDED

May 24, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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.

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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.

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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:

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 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…

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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.

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LEGOLAND Kansas City {Giveaway} – CLOSED

April 26, 2014 by Leave a Comment

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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:

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Travel to a distant land:

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Meet your favorite LEGO characters:

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Build and race LEGO cars:

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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:

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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.

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10 Years

August 23, 2012 by 3 Comments

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On this day 10 years ago I married my best friend. By far the best decision of my life.

We found the perfect place to stay for our anniversary trip to the Smokey Mountains. Stay tuned for a future posting about the amazing Butterfly Gap!

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