Christmas Town at Busch Gardens Williamsburg

The day after Thanksgiving has always been an exciting time for me and my family, because it is the beginning of the Christmas season. This year I had the pleasure of walking off my thanksgiving dinner (and desserts) at Christmas Town in Busch Gardens, Williamsburg. It was quite a transition from my last visit to BG this past fall. The hay stacks and pumpkins were replaced by brightly lit Christmas trees that lined the walkways and Christmas music played throughout the park putting myself and my family right into the spirit of Christmas.
I didn’t go to shop, but enjoyed seeing the local crafters with their handmade goods. We arrived about 4pm and the sun seemed to go down quickly, making it a chilly evening. The walk up and down the hilly paths kept us warm, along with the many outdoor heating towers that visitors were huddled around with hot chocolate or hot wine that you could purchase for $9.99 in a souvenir glass mug. I went home with a Busch Gardens keepsake ornament, a nice remembrance of the evening. We ate well in the outdoor enclosed tents provided for dining shelter.
As we approached “The North Pole” we were delighted with a snow flurry. We chose not to wait on the very long line for a visit with Santa, instead my son peaked in santa workshop window and saw the awesome sight of Santa and his elves greeting the children. He told me for him this was more exciting then actually visiting with Santa. He still has some fear of the Jolly old man, so my son was able to look from afar and get an awesome unforgettable glimpse of the magical present of Santa Claus.
Much of the park was closed off, including Italy and Land of the Dragons, but it was plenty of park to explore and although I didn’t ride any rides, I could hear the rumbling sounds of the coasters and the joy of the children on the kiddy rides. My one complaint is what I thought was the unnecessary wait to see the Penguins. There was way too much of a build up for the little guys. After waiting online for about 20 minutes, you enter the ice palace. No ice. And according to my mother, there had better be some real penguins. We saw some cute stuffed animals in snow white cave settings with pretty lights, then there was this big build up with photographed posters of every type of penguin on the planet…surely there were some waiting for us to see in person. Well there was. 2 very cute penguins in a small white cave like box behind plexiglas then the exit sign. It was a bit cheesy, not done in Busch Gardens usual 1st class style.
After that we walked through France, stopped in some shops and left the park with a good feeling. It was a nice evening for the start of the Christmas season and a good deal for the admission price of $19.95. I bought an extra ticket for my daughter who is away to college nearby, she plans on going with her friends next week.

Spookles Won't Spook you

Spookles: by Colleen Wenn (Author), Helen Freedman (Editor), Daniel Wenn (Illustrator), Maciej Janczak (Illustrator)

I have been reading a new Spookles book every night with my 6 year old son. The first book we read was Spookleville, which gave an introduction to the town of Spookleville and all a little something about the characters who live there. At first glance the illustrations appear a bit gory and my son does not do gory, but he was willing to give them a try.
Next we read a story about Batty, who couldn’t see well and his friends helped him realize that he needed glasses. Bolts and Hilary Hobgoblins Rainbow Days were learning stories as well. Bolts friends helped him, but forgot to follow through and ended up causing a problem for another friend. And Hilary wasn’t happy being green, but in the end, she realized she was just perfect the way she is and didn’t want to ever try to be any other color but green again.
Definitely a fun way to bring the Halloween season into your home while your child learn about some of life’s lesson in a way he could relate and understand.

Busch Gardens Williamsburg

We picked a perfect fall day with plenty of sunshine to go to Busch Gardens Williamsburg this past Saturday Oct. 3rd. We walked the tree shaded paths entering in England and making our way over to Ireland to have lunch with Elmo and Friends. We made reservations in advance and had a table waiting for us when we arrived at Castle O’Sullivan. It was Halloween time and we saw some ghostly decorations on the way, which made Johnny wary of the entrance into the castle, but once inside, with the colorful and cheery decorations it was clear to us all that he had nothing to fear.
The buffet lunch had so many good choices, for both kids and adults. Johnny had the macaroni and cheese and chicken tenders with fruit and my Mom and myself enjoyed the fajitas and tortellini fettuccine. The Count, Elmo and Grover and even Big Bird entertained us, then they walked through the audience greeting each table and offered pictures with the whole Sesame Street group at the end. It was fun and intimate. There were smiles all over the room. The desserts were really cute cupcakes and big cookies and apple cobbler. It was a fun way to start our day at the park. We left happy and enjoyed going through the rest of the park, walking off our lunch, riding the train, taking the tram and even a peaceful cruise on the river. It’s a lot of fun even if you’re not into rides like our group. Johnny’s not too daring yet, but he liked the tea cups and running around at Land of the Dragons. His favorite ride was in the new Sesame St. area, Oscars worm ride.
We left the park at 5pm, so we wouldn’t be exposed to the frightful Halloween themed night that was to begin at 6pm. There were much more people coming into the park then the few leaving when we did.

Now that I have a daughter going to college near by, I think I'll get the residents pass next season since I plan on passing the area often. It's a great deal, you only pay for one day's admission and you get to go any day during the season.

Candy Land Sweet Celebrations Game 3-D

My 6 year old son still plays his traditional Candy Land game. Thinking he might like to try something new, I brought him home the new 3-D Candy Land Game for ages 4 plus.
The setup took some time, I thought I had to set it up exactly as the example on the instructions. But then I realized you can build the track any way it works best for you to play. We used all the game board track pieces and it took up our whole dining room table which seats 6. We did a lot of standing up to and going around the table move the game pieces because you had to keep going back to the spinner which was fixed at the start area to spin. A hint for the spinner: tape down the cardboard colors so it doesn’t keep moving off the base. The game has the same concept as the original board game, but it’s played differently. Instead of landing on “candy” spaces that bring you to a candy land, you make stops at four different stations to pick up your candy before you can head over to the “party” which is how you win, when you land ond the 3-D Candy Land party space. My son said he liked it because he won..fair and square. I hardly ever let him win. Then rearranged the board game using less tracks and I enjoyed the game more because I was able to sit in one spot and play, but my sons arms were not as long as mine so he still had to keep getting out of his seat to play. It might work better on a floor, but still you’ll need to move around to move your piece. Funny how he can enjoy this new Candy Land game and then play the more sophisticated game of Chess. He hasn’t bet me yet in that.

Chore List

After the first week of summer vacation for my rising first grader I knew I had to do something to keep order in our house. So I came up with a chore list that is posted on our fridge. Each time one of the tasks are done I put a 1 in the space beside it, and some even get a bundle, 1111 and then a / over it to make five. At the end of the week we count up the amount of 1's he has gotten and he gets and penny for each one as his allowance for doing his chores. The first week he got .35 and each week it increased as he doing more things on the list. Now he is up to $1.20 this past week. I used Microsoft Excel to make the chart and print a new one out each week.

Leg Warmers made from an old jacket

We had a rare snowfall last week. It must have happened because of the star my son had wished upon the night before, because when he awoke to 6 inches of snow and still falling, he was the happiest boy I’d ever seen. Before I bundled him up and sent him out, a quick idea came to mind. I cut the sleeves off his old worn winter coat and sewed elastic around the top ends of the sleeves. And just like that I had leg warmers! They easily went over the pants and then I tucked them inside the boots. They kept his legs warm and dry in the snow for 3 days in a row until the sun melted it all away.

Your kids can eat eggs when they loose their teeth

My first thought when my son's 2 front teeth were loose, were to give him corn on the cob to speed up the process. But that's didn't work, it hurt too much to bite into it, so I ended up cutting the corn off the cob. Next try was an apple, guess I didn't learn the first time. No can do. That hurt too. I wanted to pull his tooth out using a tissue, that worked well for my other kids, but this one wouldn't let me try. So he was on his own. The tooth held on for a few days until it finally came out while chewing on a potato chip. He was excited at first., then he got scared and said it felt bad and cried. After rinsing his mouth and finding a box to put his tooth in to place under his pillow, he quickly changed his tune and said "Hey, I'm going to get money tonight!"
That night I made him scrambled eggs for dinner. I remembered his Dad suggesting it when the other kids were little. Father knows best. He was very happy. Other good foods to give your child days after or even before their teeth fall out is. Rice, tender cooked broccoli, macaroni and cheese, oatmeal, soup, yogurt, cottage cheese. After a few days they adapt and bite from the side and can get back to eating their regular meals. He lost another tooth tonight, he's a real pro now.