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Oct 10, 2012

HalloWeekends at Cedar Point: A Screaming Good Time

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This may have been the coldest weekend so far this fall. So what did we do? Go spend all of Sunday out in the cold, of course!

When we went to Cedar Point back in August, we saw the signs for their HalloWeekends events and thought it would be fun to come back out and see the park all set up for Halloween. Halloween is one of my family’s favorite holidays: costumes, candy, spooky stuff – what’s not to love?

Don’t we all wish for one of these now and then?

The weather, though, did not cooperate with our plans. It was cold and cloudy, and we decided quickly to ditch plans for letting the kids wear their Halloween costumes to Cedar Point. Layers of warm clothing were the costume of the day.

 This guy needed a jacket.

Despite the cold, HalloWeekends at Cedar Point was a lot of fun. The entire park was decorated in skeletons, pumpkins and monsters. There were Halloween-themed events all day long, as well as scary haunted houses for the older kids and grown ups later in the day. And of course most of the usual rides were open, too.

This time we took our sister-in-law and a friend of hers with us so that we could trade off kid-duty from time to time, giving Aaron and I the first chance to ride a roller coaster together in YEARS. (Seriously, super big thanks to you both!)

There are plenty of kid-friendly HalloWeekends events that are fun and not too scary. They have the Magical House on Boo Hill, which is a young kid version of a haunted house. It was mostly spooky decor with some slightly scary special effects, like a floating table, a kid-size organ that played by itself, and a skeleton who appeared and disappeared in a closet.

At the end of the house, the kids were all given a small bag of treats as a reward. I also liked that they had someone at the front door, keeping out older kids and teens who weren’t accompanying a smaller child.

Cordy and Mira also loved the hay maze and ran through it several times.

The HalloWeekends monsters came out a few times during the day to interact with kids and dance.

Cordy even followed along to learn the Thriller dance.

There was a costume contest for the kids, but we didn’t bring costumes due to the cold so we didn’t enter. At 4pm, the HalloWeekends parade came through the midway, filled with bands, dance teams, monsters, floats and of course the Peanuts gang. Even though there were monsters and zombies, the kids weren’t scared seeing them marching in a parade.

But of course the main attraction is still the rides, and Cedar Point has some of the best. Aaron and I were thrilled to ride the Raptor, a suspended coaster that has several loops in it. And thanks to shorter lines we were able to experience the 195 foot drop of the Magnum XL twice. (Back car, naturally. It’s a must for that roller coaster.)

The kids had plenty of fun in Camp Snoopy, too:

Cordy opted out of any roller coasters, even the Cedar Creek Mine Ride. Mira, still not quite tall enough for most of the roller coasters, was limited to the Iron Dragon (a suspended coaster with no loops) for her thrill experience. And she went on it three times. It would have been four, but a late day rain shower stopped her fourth attempt. Hopefully she’ll grow another inch by next year to gain access to several other roller coasters.

Aaron and I also went through one of the more scary haunted houses. It was appropriately spooky and we jumped several times as we wound our way through all of the tight spaces.

Despite the cold, we had a fantastic time. HalloWeekends still has all of the fun of any day at Cedar Point, with the addition of some great Halloween themed events and attractions. The decorations are amazing, the shows and haunted houses are fun, and I paused for a moment to pay tribute to the recently closed Disaster Transport in the Rides Graveyard.

You will be missed…

HalloWeekends at Cedar Point is open Friday-Sunday through October 28.

Full disclosure: We received complimentary passes to attend Cedar Point. Parking, travel, food, and an amount of money I’d rather not discuss to win our kids two Pokemon toys in the games area were covered entirely by us.

Filed Under: family time, holidays, local fun, reviews ·


Oct 2, 2012

LEGO Castle Adventure at COSI (Giveaway!)

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I’m not sure why, but the last weekend of September is probably the busiest weekend of the entire year. No one in Columbus coordinated their calendars and as a result there were a billion things to do. (That may not be an accurate count of events, but isn’t too far off.)

We had so many activities going on this weekend that we were forced to pick only a few and turn down all other offers. I’m still exhausted as I look around my messy house and wonder when will I have an empty weekend to get any cleaning done?

But one exciting event of the weekend was visiting COSI for the opening of their new LEGO Castle Adventure exhibit. LEGOs? Castles? Science? It was like some of our favorite things came together in one big package for us.

The exhibit features the science of castle building, allowing older kids to practice building virtual castle walls to withstand a catapult, while also having lots of real LEGOs to build and play with. Professionally built LEGO castles and medieval scenes were on display, as well as a giant LEGO dragon and her baby.

There was also a throne room perfect for photos, and a smaller castle to climb with a slide on the other side.

Did I mention Mira was being a ham that day?

They even had a jousting arena, where kids could face off against targets or each other.

Bins of dress up clothing ensured that most of the kids in the exhibit were looking the part as a knight, king or queen. Mira especially liked dressing up and pretending to be a knight, using her pink unicorn shield to protect me from the dragon.

Cordy preferred to stay in the LEGO building area, creating a fortress to hide a small box she built. She said the box was filled with treasures. Very small treasures.

The LEGO Castle Adventure exhibit was a lot of fun, but after half an hour they were ready to see more at COSI. It’s a huge building, filled with different areas to explore, so we spent the next few hours wandering the exhibits.

We shot water at King Neptune in Ocean.

Mira tried to make a phone call in a 1962 phone booth in Progress.

We looked at tasty works of art, all created from Jelly Belly jelly beans.

And they hammed it up in front of a green screen in the WOSU studio.

It’s easy to spend most of a day at COSI, and we didn’t even have time to check out a movie in their Extreme Screen theater.

Giveaway!

Want to check out the LEGO Castle Adventure and COSI for yourself? I have a four pack of general admission passes, along with four Extreme Screen passes, to give to one lucky reader!

Obviously this is more convenient for readers local to the area, but if you’re planning a family trip to Columbus at any point this year (hey, why not?), these passes are good through the end of the year.

To enter the giveaway, just leave a comment below telling me what part of COSI you would most like to explore with your kids. That’s it, easy-peasy. One entry per person. I’ll accept entries until end of the day on Monday, October 8, then select one winner at random. Please make sure I have a way to contact you if you’re the winner.

Good luck!

Full disclosure: the kids and I received a free one-day admission to COSI and COSI provided the giveaway passes. All opinions are my own.

Filed Under: family time, geek paradise, giveaways, local fun, reviews ·


Sep 5, 2012

Dove Conditioner vs. Fried Purple Hair (& Giveaway!)

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This has been a rough summer on my hair. Beyond the usual hot, humid Ohio weather – which has been hotter that normal, though not quite as humid – I’ve also found new and creative ways to damage my hair. I’m letting it grow again, and the longer it gets the more I have to deal with split ends and damage. I also color my hair which, no matter what the box tells you, is not gentle on long hair.

But then in July I decided on a whim to color my hair in a more creative way. I had an overall color applied, but then I also decided to dye the lower 3-4″ purple, with a single purple streak near my face, too. Hey, why not? To obtain this unusual color, though, the portion of hair to be dyed must first be bleached. There are few things as damaging to hair as bleaching it.

The color came out pretty well, but my stylist warned me that my hair would need a lot of extra TLC. It wasn’t until the next day when I understood exactly what she meant. The ends of my hair felt like straw. My stylist had recommended any product with oils in it designed to nourish and repair my hair. She wasn’t kidding – over a month later and my hair still needs all the help it can get.

Blurry pic right after it was colored – it’s a frizzy mess.

I recently had the chance to try out the new Dove Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner on my frizzy, dry hair. Dove’s conditioners have a patented Micromoisture Serum that targets damage, repairing the surface of hair by sealing lifted cuticles. The bottle advertises weightless Nutri-oils that are rapidly absorbed and non-greasy.

A conditioner that is heavy on oils worried me at first. In the summer, my hair gets greasy quickly – wouldn’t oils make it worse? But hey, when your hair is like straw, oils are welcome if they’ll make my hair shiny, smooth and frizz-free.

The first thing I noticed was the Dove conditioner smelled awesome. It has a great sweet almond oil scent to it that reminded me of my favorite body lotion from many years ago. It has a thick consistency, too. Surprisingly, there were no instructions on the bottle regarding how long to leave it on. I was worried about leaving it in too long, so I rinsed it out after about a minute.

The result? My hair was so smooth. I was surprised at how easily my comb went through my hair. It wasn’t greasy at all, and even those straw-like ends felt softer. Not perfect, but softer.

Since I’ve started using the Dove Nourishing Oil Care Conditioner on my hair, it’s felt healthier and has slowly regained the softness it used to have. While Ohio weather will never permit my hair to be 100% frizz-free, it’s so much better now. After all of the abuse I’ve put my hair through, I’m thankful for products like this to help keep it healthy. For more on Dove’s entire line of conditioners, visit dovehair.com.

And for reading all of this, I’m giving you the chance to win a very cool giveaway.

Answer this question for me: what’s the worst thing you’ve done to your hair? Click the link below, let me know your answer on the form and you could be pampering not only your hair but also your face, nails and whole body with a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate.

(NOTE: You must click the link below and answer the question there in order to enter. But please feel free to copy/paste it here in the comments, too, just so we can all share in the hair abuse we’ve committed!)

Giveaway Details!

Enter to win a $1,000 Spafinder gift certificate!

NO PURCHASE NECESSARY

COMMENTS TO THIS POST ARE NOT SWEEPSTAKES ENTRIES. PLEASE SEE BELOW FOR ENTRY METHODS FOR THIS SWEEPSTAKES.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

a) Follow this link, and provide your email address and your response to the Promotion prompt

b) Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that Tweet.

c) Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and then visit this link to provide your email address and the URL to that post.

This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. Winners will have 72 hours to claim the prize, or an alternative winner will be selected.

The Official Rules are available here.

This sweepstakes runs from 9/4/2012 – 9/30/2012

Be sure to visit Dove®Hair.com to get a coupon for $1.50 off Dove Hair Therapy products.

 

Filed Under: giveaways, me me me, reviews, sponsored ·


Aug 27, 2012

End of Summer Trip, Day 2: Put-in-Bay

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After a busy day at Cedar Point (you can read about Day 1 here), we wanted our second day to trend towards some low-key fun. So we drove to the edge of Lake Erie to take the Miller Ferry over to Put-in-Bay.

 on the shores of Lake Erie

For those who aren’t local, Put-in-Bay is a popular little town on South Bass Island just a few miles from Ohio’s mainland. The island’s main business is tourism. Families, seniors, history buffs, nautical aficionados, college students, wine lovers, or even people who just like driving golf carts: there’s something for everyone.

You can only get there by boat or air, and it seems a little silly to fly only a few miles. The Miller Ferry is the well-known, reliable way to get to the island, and with two kids who have never been on a boat, I couldn’t wait to introduce them to my favorite way to travel.

Cordy was a little nervous about getting on a boat at first. As she saw it coming to the dock, rocking from the morning waves, she worried that the waves might go over it and pull it under the water. While waiting for the ferry to unload, we discussed flotation and buoyancy (science!) until she felt certain that it was safe. Luckily, there weren’t a lot of people traveling at 9:30am on a Friday, so we snagged front row seats on the second level.

Both kids were unsure how they felt about the rocking of the boat at first. But then…

…they LOVED it! Cordy held tight to the rail as the wind blew her hair back, and for a moment I was fully expecting a Titanic “I’m king of the world!” declaration from her. The best I got was, “I LOVE boats now!” Close enough, I guess.

That’s the island off in the distance.

Once we reached South Bass Island, we picked up our rental golf cart from Island Bike & Cart Rental. The island is only a few miles wide, with very limited parking. You can bring your car, but it’s really not that convenient, and you’d be stuck behind slower moving golf carts the entire time anyway. Besides…golf carts! Aaron and I had to agree to take turns driving our golf cart to avoid a fight. Zipping around the island by golf cart is waaaaay too much fun. (And there’s plenty of golf-cart only parking all over the island.)

We decided to leave the day up to the kids. We gave them a list of several attractions and let them decide where we were going. The first stop was Perry’s Cave Family Fun Center. This little complex is several activities in one. The main attraction is Perry’s Cave, a natural cave and underground lake you can tour to see where Perry (aka the Hero of the Battle of Lake Erie) and his troops found water and shelter in the War of 1812.

The cave formations are cool, but not for the claustrophobic. Cordy and Mira were fond of “headache rock,” especially after seeing adults hit their heads on it, despite the name being explained beforehand. They didn’t have to duck at all – one advantage of being smaller. I’d show photos here but apparently I’m a lousy cave photographer – nothing but flash.

In the store, you can buy a bag of dirt and then take it outside to pan for gemstones. Sounds kinda simple, but you’d be amazed how much value you can get out of this activity for kids. They took their time emptying some of the bag into the screens and dipping it into the water, then shrieking in delight as they watched the water wash away the sand and reveal sparkling stones of every color. There’s a provided gemstone card to determine what each gem is, too.

Then Aaron and the kids got lost in Fort aMaze’N, while I stayed on the observation deck and laughed at them. (I later went back and did the maze with them.)

There’s also a Butterfly House at Perry’s Cave, filled with exotic butterflies from all over the world. It was almost overwhelming walking through the indoor gardens with so many butterflies all around you. But at least some held still for photos.

So I guess we didn’t let the kids completely pick the day’s agenda. I insisted on the Upper Deck of The Boardwalk for lunch, only because I had heard they have fantastic lobster bisque. It’s true – the lobster bisque is amazing. The view from your table is pretty good, too – nothing but lake views as far as you can see. Not that the kids complained, either – they had activity packs to keep them busy and their meals were served on keepsake frisbees.

I’m no food blogger, clearly. But this was DELICIOUS lobster bisque. I may have licked the plate.

After lunch, we browsed the shops of downtown Put-in-Bay, had some ice cream, and took a ride on Kimberly’s Carousel. It’s an all-wood carousel, built in 1917, and has more than just horses to ride. I was on a dog. You can see a rooster behind me and Mira.

Then it was off to see Perry’s Victory & International Peace Memorial. Cordy was willing to brave over 800 steps to climb to the top of the monument, but by mid-afternoon there was a line and we were less willing to have Cordy wait in a line in an enclosed space. We’ll plan to climb it next time.

It’s tall. I had to lay on the ground to get this shot.

The remainder of the afternoon was spent visiting the Crystal Cave (the winery sitting on top of it is more interesting, FYI) and the Aquatic Resource Center, where you can see local fish and kids can learn to fish for free.

or just sit and admire the view

Then as we neared dinnertime, we went to the far side of the island (East Point) to look out over Lake Erie before the end of our day. The kids were asking Aaron to show them how to skip stones, and with all of the smooth, flat rocks surrounding us, he was happy to teach them.

Everyone was tired by this point, so we decided to call it a day and begin the long golf cart ride to the Miller Ferry dock on the other side of the island. Aaron got to do the final drive, so I sat on the back of the cart with Mira, watching all of the sights go by us. Mira nearly fell asleep on the ride back to the ferry dock. She sighed and rested her little head against me with a smile on her face, saying it was one of the best days ever.

It was a bittersweet ride back across Lake Erie on the Miller Ferry. The kids were thrilled to be on the boat again, but sad that the day was over. We spent time on the lower level this trip, watching the waves go by.

The day was far more low-key than our previous day at Cedar Point, but even low-key fun eventually wears you out. Two minutes after turning out of the parking lot to start for home:

I’ve only been to Put-in-Bay once before, when I was a child, and I’m surprised at how much I forgot. Both Aaron and I agreed that we’d like to come back to the island again soon, though, so I have a feeling our kids will get to know Put-in-Bay better than I did. There’s still so much we didn’t do: the nature center, kayaking, mini-golf, nature trail walking…and we didn’t even try to visit Middle Bass Island or Kelly’s Island.

It was a lovely way to end the summer, and a much needed family vacation for us. With solo trips to other cities, work, more work, summer camp, and so many other demands pulling our family in different directions, taking even just two days to reconnect and have fun together helped us create new family memories that I hope will last.

Full disclosure: we were invited to Put-in-Bay by Miller Ferry and generously provided with ferry tickets, a golf cart rental and passes to Perry’s Cave for our visit. All other attractions, souvenirs, meals and lodgings while at Lake Erie were covered by our not-so-robust paychecks and the ever-popular credit card. All statements made here are my own. 

Oh, and when on the ferry, be sure to check in on Foursquare at the “Middle of Lake Erie” location, just because you can.

Filed Under: family time, local fun, love, memories, reviews ·


Jul 16, 2012

Face Time With Friends at Applebee’s (Giveaway!)

By ·

It’s funny how social media has made us closer and yet farther away than ever from our friends and family. Why bother calling and possibly disturbing someone when you can send a text or a tweet? We no longer have to ask, “So, how have you been?” because it’s all spelled out on our friend’s Facebook wall.

I have several friends who live in Columbus, but due to the logistics of work schedules, kids (mine), and being in different parts of the city, we rarely have the chance to get together. Yes, we should probably make more time for it, but we’ve all been guilty of letting other things get in the way.

I was recently invited to learn more about Applebee’s Life is Better Shared campaign. Their message is simple: we all spend a lot of time online, and probably have too much Facebook and not enough face-time with the people we love. It’s all about balance — it’s great to be so connected online, but it’s important to have some offline fun with friends, too. Applebee’s even has their own tumblr with some funny videos to help promote their Girls’ Night Out message. (They have a Girls’ Night Out Goddess – I can’t quite decide what I think of her. You’ll have to watch and decide for yourself.)

I’m no stranger to Applebee’s. It’s a common spot for the occasional family night out. We love their Kids Eat Free Tuesdays, and I really appreciate that the kids’ menu is standard enough to convince my picky eater to eat. (And even though it isn’t an option, they always let her choose a salad as her side.) But I’ve never really been to Applebee’s without the kids, despite seeing their promotions for Happy Hour and Girls’ Night Out.

So a few weeks ago, I decided it was time for a Girls’ Night Out. It also just so happened to be my birthday. I emailed two friends (who were my maid of honor and matron of honor in my wedding) and my sister-in-law and suggested we all have dinner out at Applebee’s. I haven’t had the chance to spend quality time with any of these three ladies in quite awhile.

My girl-power crew got there just at the end of Happy Hour, and the bar was surprisingly full. The vibe was great; the bar area had a mix of men and women of all ages, smiling, socializing and clearly enjoying their night out. It didn’t take long to decide where to start with the menu:

Applebees has great drinks, and I love that I can get a giant sized drink for less than the cost of a tiny drink in a nightclub. Three of us had two drinks before the night was through.

As we munched on appetizers of spinach & artichoke dip and wonton tacos chicken (OMG, I wanted to lick the plate these came on – so good!), the conversation came back quickly. Beyond the Facebook wall updates, we shared more intimate stories of our lives recently, discussing triumphs and frustrations, new places around town we had discovered and the lives of long-time friends.

When our meals arrived, the conversation stopped just long enough to appreciate the food in front of us, and then we began the delicate trade off of eating and talking. I was so glad my kids weren’t there – it took well over 45 minutes to finish our meals because of the non-stop conversation in-between bites. I had the sizzling Asian shrimp & broccoli – a favorite of mine. Lots of crisp veggies, plenty of shrimp, and it really does come out sizzling hot!

Yum!

As the sun set and the bar area became dark, we continued to laugh and commiserate, never short on topics to talk about, one blending into the next with no awkward silences. It felt awesome to spend time with friends in person, sharing a conversation over a meal.

And then, of course, since the waiter heard it was my birthday, the staff brought out a sundae and sang happy birthday to me. (I may have turned a lovely shade of crimson at that point.) Shortly after, I found out that my second drink was picked up by a gentleman at another table since it was my birthday. First time a stranger has ever bought me a drink! Sadly, he left before I had the chance to say thank you.

We finally left about two and a half hours after we arrived and only because everyone had to work the next day and didn’t want to stay out too late. Had time not been an issue, we probably could have entertained ourselves until closing.

I love that social media keeps me so close to my friends, day and night, but there’s something to be said for getting together in person to talk. Without the barrier of technology limitations between us, interactions feel more natural and relaxed. Our night at Applebee’s was a good reminder to unplug every now and then and make the time to share some of our time and our lives with friends face-to-face.

Now WIN some time out for yourself!

When’s the last time you had a Girls’ Night Out? A week ago? A month? A year? Applebee’s and I want to know, and BlogHer and Applebee’s are giving you a chance at a $150 Applebee’s gift card just by leaving your answer to that question in a comment below!

Rules:
No duplicate comments.
You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:
a) Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post
b) Tweet about this promotion and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post
c) Blog about this promotion and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post
d) For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry.
This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. You have 72 hours to get back to me, otherwise a new winner will be selected.
The Official Rules are available here.
This sweepstakes runs from 7/16/12 – 8/3/12.
Be sure to visit the Applebee’s Life Is Better Shared page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ reviews and find more chances to win! Also, check out the Life is Better Shared campaign on Twitter, Pinterest, YouTube and Tumblr!

Good luck!

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Filed Under: giveaways, me me me, reviews, sponsored ·