This year let Santa send the letter to your child!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. The products mentioned below have been provided by Package From Santa for the review free of charge.**

Christmas is coming up which means that it is time for holiday lights, gift shopping, decorating and writing letters to Santa. This year not only can you have your kids fill out a letter to Santa, you can have Santa send a letter to your child! Or make it even better by upgrading to a Package from Santa that includes a cookie and more. Ordering is a breeze that only takes a few minutes, and those few minutes will make it to where your child will have a memory for a life time. The cheapest option is Gold which is $14.95, followed by Silver which is $24.95 and then there is the big package which is Platinum and it is $74.95. For a review I received a Silver package which includes a letter from Santa, a nice list certificate, a photo of Santa plus a flight plan photo. All of that sounds great right? Well it also comes with a bonus call and personal video from Santa.



Since I have two kids and we were only getting one package for review I personalized the papers to include both of their names. When picking out your letter you can choose a pre-written letter and just fill in the blank spots or you can type out your own letter. Since all of the letters only have space for one child's name, I used the "write your own" option but still used most of one of their pre-written letters, the process only took about three minutes. Next you can fill out the name for the nice list + Santa's flight plan and you are able to add a photo.




The only paper that didn't print out right was the Nice List Certificate which you can see above, it only printed one name then has some gibberish. With the flight plan photo I went with a photo of us goofing around with snapchat filters because my kids love when we mess around with the filters together and I was right the kids loved the photo on the flight plan. Everything arrived in a cute envelope with a Christmas scenery and a North Pole stamp in the corner, the package arrived quickly and in good shape.

My kids had a lot of fun getting and opening their package together! Getting yearly letters from Santa is definitely something the kids look forward to every year. If you haven't started this tradition yet I highly suggest doing so before it's too late!

Experience a bit of the old west desert life with MacDonald's Ranch!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. I received tickets to their pumpkin patch for my family which was provided by MacDonald's Ranch free of charge.**

It is always a lot of fun visiting different attractions that are specifically decorated and designed to look like different periods in time, towns or themes and one of our favorite is MacDonald's Ranch located in Scottsdale, Arizona on Scottsdale Road just south of Jomax Road. As soon as you arrive you are will feel like you stepped into a western town complete with buildings, horses and more. The caution watch for snakes sign is also helpful towards making it really feel like you are on a cowboy adventure, but don't worry! Out of the several times we've been out to the ranch we've never actually spotted a snake at the ranch though when we went horse back riding we did hear one out on the trail.

During the fall they host a Pumpkin Patch from late September until the end of October and though the fall season is over they also offer horse back riding, Stagecoach rides, Birthday parties, Cookouts and more. I honestly think they could open during the cooler spring months as well as just an explore/adventure type location. If you visit during the Pumpkin Patch season or host a party at the ranch they have a ton to offer you and your guests.

Activities wise they offer several different western themed games such as bean bag toss, horse shoe toss, pan for gold, cow milking, hay mazes, rubber duck races and more. One of our personal favorite activities is their petting zoo! I love animals however I usually am not a big fan of most petting zoo's because let's be honest a lot of the animals are overly dirty and seem like they never get a bath or groomed. However when it comes to the petting zoo here all of their animals are extremely well cared for, none of them seem over feed, over worked or unhappy plus they get groomed often and are quite clean plus almost all of the goats, mini horses and donkey are quite soft.

Another plus about the ranch is that they offer actual bathrooms (located in the front), I've been to other farms and family attractions where they only offer port-a-potties and that can be a real drag during a fun day out with the family. We also like that you are free to explore the grounds to discover all of the different games and activities they have for both kids and adults. If you were to check out each activity, game and do the add-ons you need to pay extra for (horse back ride, pumpkin from the pumpkin patch, stop to get lunch) you could easily spend 3-4 hours here which is wonderful for tickets only being $10 a person (M-F, $12 on weekends).

 

I haven't personally stopped to get food at the ranch as we normally visit shortly after breakfast but I can tell you that the food smells delicious! They also offer shaved ice, Kettle corn and more which is conveniently located in the middle of all the fun. While they do have drinks for sale I do suggest bringing a bottle of water with you because it is Arizona and can suddenly get hot out of no where so you want to stay hydrated.I wouldn't forget your camera either, they have a lot of fun cut outs to take photos with, cute animals and more that you'll want to catch on film.

Head over to their site now to see all the options they have for visiting their ranch!

Glass Garden at Butterfly Wonderland.

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.I received two tickets to check out the exhibit to take photos and form my opinion on the event for free in exchange for this post no other compensation was given.**

Have you heard of Butterfly Wonderland? It is a unique rainforest experience in Arizona that gives you an up close experience with dozens of butterfly species and plants. While attractions such as Butterfly Wonderland are always enjoyable to visit it is kind of like the zoo after a few visits it all starts to feel a little like the same thing so it is wonderful when they add exhibits, host events, etc. to spice things up. At the moment Butterfly Wonderland is hosting 'The Glass Garden' which is an exhibit on the local artist Newt Grover and his glass works of beauty. Plus if you are like me and haven't been there a while (it's been a few years for me) they also have added a great reptile section plus they still have their bee hive, insects and fish.

Each piece being shown was created especially for the rain forest conservatory where they house their butterflies. The glass pieces blend in and intertwine with the plants and trees beautifully and naturally. I suggest arriving when they first open, Arizona can get pretty hot as is and they keep the conservatory a bit humid with misters to keep the butterflies and birds happy, towards the end of the day you may sweat a bit so beating the heat is a great idea.

I've shared a few of the pieces above but I will leave the rest to be discovered when you visit the Butterfly Wonderland. The experience as a whole is quite unique and is well worth the price especially if you are a big fan of butterflies, you get to see them in various stages and you get to get up close to them.

The Glass Garden is being featured for a limited time so check it out while you can! Even if you miss the glass garden I suggest heading out to check out Butterfly Wonderland anyway because there aren't many changes to be around this many species of butterflies. If you are lucky enough one might even land on you, and many will fly very close to you so you'll be able to make out all of their fine details. Tickets are $23.95 per adult and $15.95 for children, however they also offer combo passes (with Odysea Aquarium, Mirror Maze, etc) and they offer yearly passes.

Disney On Ice Frozen Review!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions are used (both good and bad), they are solely my own & they may vary from others. I received four passes to the event for promotional purposes. It was provided by Disney On Ice & The Encore Agency for the review free of charge.**

If you haven't been in attendance at a Disney On Ice performance then you are really missing out! I remember going to Disney On Ice once when I was younger, it was during a girl scout outing and it was a lot of fun. My kids have been to Disney Live and Disneyland but they've never been to Disney On Ice so when I was presented with a chance to promote the upcoming show in exchange for tickets to go I was all in. My son and husband weren't super interested in going because the theme was Frozen so we decided to turn it into a girls night! My SIL and my daughter's best friend joined her and I for the show.

Like with most big events if you are wanting to eat at the show or purchase souvenirs be prepared to spend a decent amount such as $10 for a box of popcorn, though some of the treats are well worth the cost. We decided to eat before the show seeing as it started at 7pm, but we did pick up some pretzel bites and a drink to share. Seating was easy to get to and if you get lost they have plenty of staff at the venue to help direct you to the right place.

I have to admit when it comes to events like this I am a big emotional baby, as soon as the show started my eyes started to water and I felt like I was going to cry. Not because I was sad but because I was so excited and happy that my emotions just got the best of me. I was the same mess the first time we were able to visit Disneyland, I had never been there myself and I was so excited and amazed we were able to save up to take our kids there so I cried a lot during the day but happy tears. Before they jumped into the story of Frozen, Mickey, Minnie and Goofy came out to introduce a number of Disney characters who all performed a dance together to kick off the ice show. I was extra impressed by the performer in the Pumba costume because they were ice skating on all fours! (Baby Sven was also on all fours).

The show was a lot of fun, there were so many performers all skating at once it was amazing to see how well choreographed they all were. I was amazed at the size of some of the costumes and the fact that they had so many pieces of the show that were remotely controlled from off stage, I honestly would be a little frightened about being on top of a stair case being controlled by someone via a controller. Everyone worked so well together to keep the story flowing, keep the crowed entertained and make sure everyone was safe from tripping over props. The crew really has everything down to a tee to keep the audience focused on a certain area of the stage so they can set up the other area like sneaky ninjas.

Along side graceful ice skating, gorgeous costumes (Disney does such an amazing job!) and fun sing along songs they also included some surprise firework like explosions when Elsa uses her magic, fun lighting and a blow up monster that was a lot of fun to see. They perform the movie in two segments giving you a break in between to use the bathroom, get a soda refill or just stretch your legs which was nice because of how restless kids can be. All in all we had a great time and the girls had a blast they are sure to remember for sometime.

My favorite part of the show was when Olaf started singing about summer because a variety of performers came out dressed as different summer themed things like bees and flowers. I have now officially seen Frozen live at Disneyland and have watched it on Ice, but I still haven't seen the movie itself. The girls and I really enjoyed the costumes as well, I know Disney always puts a lot of effort into making their costumes look as similar to the movie costume as possible but it is mind blowing what their designers can do. Take Sven for example, this large costume piece could have turned out looking kind of creepy or just plain ugly but he is so adorable it makes you want to run up and hug him.

The practice and training the performers do really pays off and shows in the performances that they provide, instead of just watching the show they encourage you to sing/dance along and it helps make it feel like you are part of the show.  The next time Disney On Ice comes to your home town I highly suggest attending the show.

2/4 Foxy Designs Giveaway & Review!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by 2/4 Foxy Designs for the review & giveaway free of charge.**

My kids love being outside as much as possible and we enjoy camping when ever we can, to make the best of being outdoors we do an assortment of activities, boating, hiking, etc but we also like playing outdoor games so I was very excited to be receiving a Yardzee lawn game set from 2/4 Foxy Designs. Yardzee is a extra large dice game that is stored inside of a bucket.



           

This set of Yardzee is inspired by the classic game of Yahtzee and is played the same way, not only can you play Yardzee but there is also a score card and rules for a game called Farkle which I've never played. Each dice is created by cutting down a 2x4 piece of wood, everything is sanded and the edges are rounded off. The circles for the numbers are burned onto the dice then it is coated in two coats of poly to protect the wood and the numbers from the elements.

The dice are big they measure 3.5" x 3.5" so you won't be able to roll them by hand, instead you can use the bucket to shake them up and then roll them out into the yard. I suggest using a surface that is mostly flat to help the dice be able to roll and land properly. The bucket also contains laminated instructions for both games, a dry erase marker and a laminated score card for each game, I love the it is laminated because it means I can use it over and over again without wasting paper. Since each set is handmade no two sets will be exactly alike since all of the wood used will vary from the next section of wood used which means you will get a completely unique game set. Because everything is sanded and coated in poly there is no chance you'll get any splinters and it helps prevent the wood from drying out and cracking. The bucket has a handle on it which makes this game easy to transport, and it doesn't take up a ton of room to store it on the porch, in the garage or to take in the car which is nice because we need all the room we can get when we go camping since my car doesn't have a ton of trunk space.

We had a lot of fun playing this game, the smaller kids needed a little help with the bucket but they didn't seem to mind because they were having a great time. This is perfect for camping, BBQ's or just a random game of Yardzee in the backyard since it is great year round. Each set sells for $60 and the buckets come in a variety of colors along with a selection of colors for the wording vinyl, plus they offer customization on the buckets so you can get your family name, business name, etc added onto the bucket.

PRIZE ALERT:
One lucky US Reader is going to win their own game of Yardzee!

This is open to US Residents only!! Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email!
 Giveaway winners are announced on FACEBOOK, If you would like to see who won my latest giveaways please visit and like my facebook page.
 
Giveaway entry question: Please leave me a comment letting me know what kind of event you might play this at. 

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Candlewick Press Review!

**This was not a paid post. My honest opinions were used, they are solely my own & they may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Candlewick Press for the review free of charge.**

I love books and reading so it has always been something I wanted to instill in my kids as well and now they are both bookworms along side their mama. Any chance I get to receive new books for our collection it is hard to say no so when I was offered a chance to review some books from the Candlewick Press I jumped at the chance. All of the books I received in this batch are Christmas themed and you can read about all of them below:



Press out + Color; Christmas Ornaments (Retail value $15.99). This isn't a book you read, instead it is an activity book that comes with 20 ornaments you are able to pop out, color and piece together to create one of a kind ornaments. Each page has one to three ornaments that range in size, pattern and style, each one is made from a thick cardboard and has holes pre-punched into them to make adding a ribbon easier. This book is illustrated by Kate McLelland.

Make & Play; Chritmas (Retail Value $11.99). This book is slightly cheaper than the press out and color ornaments but it has more to do for small children and as a family. This book includes 20 pop out play pieces/ornaments that are already full color on both the front and back as you can see from Santas backside above. Along with the pop outs there are also nine pages of songs, recipies and winter activities that you can do as a family. Each play piece is made from thick cardboard and is easy to remove from the page.


  

We Wish You a Merry Christmas, Sling along with me! (Retail Value $8.99). This is a fun childrens chunky slider book featuring a classic and memorable Christmas song, "We wish you a Merry Christmas". I remember singing this as a child and I sing it every year with my kids, this book helps give a fun spin on the song by adding adorable graphics and characters that slide out of or along the pages of the book which is a lot of fun for small children. The book is eight pages long and has five interactive sliding tabs, the book also comes with a free download of the song to listen to while looking through this book. I think this book is a lot of fun even as an adult! The sliders may feel a little stuck at first but after a few uses you won't have them stick any longer.

We're Going On a Bear Hunt (Retail Value $16.99). This unique book not only has a 3D snow globe on the front cover but it is also a pop-up book. There seemed to be a small gap between the snow globe on the front and the actual book cover but it seemed sturdy enough that it isn't going anywhere. The book features 20 pages full of creative and fun illustrations that will capture your child's imagination. It is a fun and simple book they can follow along with and enjoy for many years to come.



Gift Boxes to decorate & Make; Christmas (Retail Value $15.99).  This is my personal favorite out of all the books I received because I enjoy coloring, it helps me relax and unwind after a stressful day at work. It includes 24 flat boxes with various designs that is waiting to be colored in, each one ranges in the amount of details it includes so some will take longer than others. After you've colored both the inside and outside of the box you can pop it off the page and fold it up into a box, I used clear packing tape when I was done to help make sure the box stayed together. Once your box is build you can use them to gift small trinkets, baked goods, spa boxes, etc to your loved ones and seal it with a "To/From" sticker that has been included in the back of the book.

All of these books can be purchased on Amazon or Barnes and Nobles and all of them would make wonderful Christmas and Pre-Christmas gifts for families with small children.

Parragon Book Buddies Review!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by for the review free of charge.****

What time is it? Mail Time! I love that time of the month when I hear a knock at my door and open it to be greeting by a big brown box with a large purple sticker that reads "PaRragon" because it means that my monthly Book Buddies box has arrived. Each month I receive a box of either books or activity books for my kids to enjoy and review on my blog. What was in the May box? See below to find out and read a bit about each one.



Disney Moana Choose Your Destiny & Moana Born to Voyage; I have actually received both of these books for review in the past and they are both fun interactive books. Each one not only has many of the lovable characters from the story but there are also fun activities, stickers and more plus each one comes with a free Disney digital storybook.

Justice League Magical Story; This is a hard cover story book that features a embossed tin cover image that sits into the front cover. The book is 32 pages long and goes over the adventure of the Justice League protecting the world from being enslaved by the alien conqueror Starro. The story is good and will keep your child's attention and the artwork is well drawn.

4000 Stickers Under The Sea; This is a thick sticker and activity book that includes 4000 sea creature stickers, most of them are small square stickers but there are large sea creature shaped stickers as well. This book has mazes, finish filling in pages, connect the dot and more.



Doodle and Draw, Spots, Stripes and Squiggles; Out of the activity books I received is the best one for small kids, the images are large enough to color in that it makes it easy for your child to stay within the lines and it gives your child easy tasks to do such as coloring by dot color, finishing patterns and more. I like the thickness of the cover to this book, it feels like it is pretty sturdy and would be good for taking to a doctors appointment or on a road trip.

Smiley, Crazy, Happy; This is a fun Emoticon inspired sticker activity book, it offers dozens of stickers that feature different emoticons and no I did not see any poop emojis. This book is very phone oriented, it shows screen shots of texts that it asks you to translate into the proper emoji. It offers a lot of different activities and it has a ton of stickers included.

Know Your Knots; This unique and educational activity kit is great for both boys and girls of all ages, even adults will be able to find this quite useful. The kit comes with two different sized ropes, one is a bit thicker than the other and it also has a book that teaches you how to master various knots and tells you how to use them. In total I counted 16 different knots in the book and they have it separated into three sections: Multipurpose knots, Life-support knots and Boating knots.

Professor Murphy's Marble Mania; This is our favorite item in this months Book Buddies box. It comes with a bag of marbles, card board game pieces and a book showing you how to set each game up and it explains the rules. You can play a maze, pinball or many other games! Want to see the Pinball game? Stop by my Instagram page I will be adding a short clip of it in action.

Pogo Pass Giveaway!

****This was not a paid post and my honest opinion was used. The opinions are solely my own and may vary from others.The products mentioned below have been provided by Pogo Pass for the review & giveaway free of charge.****

When summer hits and the kids are out of school we are always looking for family friendly activities to do together that don't cost an arm and a leg, but that can sometimes be a difficult feat. I recently found out about a company called Pogo Pass who offers what is essentially a city fun pass for select cities. Currently they offer passes for Phoenix,Az -Tuscon,Az - Austin/Waco,TX - Dallas/Ft. Worth,TX - San Antonio, TX and Las Vegas, NV. I received two passes in exchange for this post, I personally haven't been able to make it out to any of the venues yet but will make another post when I do to let you know how easy it was to use the pass.

What does the Pogo Pass offer? Each city has different sponsors that allow a certain amount of visits with your Pogo Pass that help save you money on being able to go out and do fun activities either by yourself, with friends or with your family. Normally Pogo Passes are $124.95 but if you use the promo code Burningmoon you will get 60% off and it will only cost $49.98 per pass which is an amazing deal for everything that is offered. Shown above is the Phoenix,AZ pass and what it has to offer and below is the Austin/Waco,TX pass.

Each venue or sponsor that is affiliated with Pogo Pass will have a set limit of visits or games you can redeem using your pass, for example the Phoenix Zoo offers pass holders two visits to the zoo (which is normally $24.95 per adult/visit) while Fat Cats bowling alley offers you one game of bowling per week using your pass. You will save at least $200 if not more using this pass to visit all of the venues listed, many of the passes also include sporting events like two Arizona Rattlers games. We plan on taking our kids to several of the venues listed on the Phoenix pass, just to name a few if did not use both allowed visits for the Phoenix Zoo, Makutus Island and Enchanted Island it would cost us $362 for the four of us to attend, but if we bought four Pogo Passes it would only come out to $200 so just right there we would be saving $162 and that doesn't include all of the other venues listed.

A pass covers only a single person so you will need to buy one for everyone in your family if you plan on taking your kids to the different activities listed on the pass and you will need your ID with you when you use your pass because all the passes include your name.  Each pass is good for one calendar year from your date of purchase and the passes are nontransferable. You can log onto your Pogo Pass account to keep track of how many visits you still have left of each venue which I think is pretty handy to have. Your passes can be printed out or you can show them your phone.

Prize Alert:
One lucky winner is going to win One pass to any of the available cities!

This is open to the City/States listed above. Please remember if you DO NOT leave a comment on this blog post as your mandatory entry into the giveaway then all of your entries will be void. Doing the Daily entries will increase your chance of winning. Winners have 72 hours to respond to the notification email!

Giveaway winners are announced on FACEBOOK, If you would like to see who won my latest giveaways please visit and like my facebook page.

 Giveaway entry question: Which city would you like a pass for & what do you like best about this pass?

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