Halloween Town Pumpkin Patch in Chandler,AZ!

 

Halloween Town in Chandler is open again for the Halloween season. This mini carnival is perfect for parents with small kids as this pumpkin patch is specifically geared towards children ages 2-8. There were about twelve different rides set up for kids to ride on along with a mini maze & large slide.

Know Before You Go:

• Admission is $5 per person for ages 2+, Children under two are free. Parking is free.
• All you can ride wrist bands are $25 - I suggest buying them only for the smaller children, most of the rides are set for specific heights + weights. My nine year old son was too tall for a few of the rides & the only thing us adults went on was the burlap sack slide. 
• Game tickets are $1 each, I believe they may sell them in a cheaper bundle if you buy a certain amount. - There are five different games, the cheapest one cost $3 or 3 tickets 
• Food Prices range from $5-$16 and drinks range from $3-$4. I would give the food a two out of five stars, three of us ordered pizza which was a little burnt & I was told had tasted like it wasn't fresh. My chicken tenders basket was $16 it came with three small chicken tenders and some fries, the fries weren't hot. I do not see any thing on their website about not being able to bring snacks, small children tend to snack a lot through out the day so I would bring a snack or two for them to enjoy while waiting in between rides.
• If you plan on eating at the event there are hand sanitizer stations, however I recommend bringing some wet wipes or baby wipes to clean your hands before eating. 
• There is face painting, a pumpkin patch, pumpkin painting, a mini hay maze, bounce houses & fun photo opportunities. 
• The pumpkin patch is located in the parking lot of Chandler Fashion Square - 3111 W Chandler Blvd Chandler, AZ 85226
• They open now until October 31st. M-F they are open 4pm-10pm & weekends from 11am-10pm.

Halloween Town was busy, but it wasn't overly crowded. The ride lines, food lines & game lines were short which is great when dealing with small children. I liked how they had everything laid out, the pumpkin patch was easy to navigate & there were plenty of areas to explore. Everything was very straightforward & easy to understand as they had plenty of signs letting you know how much everything was and if you did end up needing help there were staff members all over who were friendly & there to help out. 

Some of the games are a little more challenging than the others so a few of them offer small prizes even if you only score a point in the game. Each of the kids ended up winning a small ice cream shaped stuffed toy, a lollipop stuffed toy and they also have a dragon plus some cotton candy and a small pumpkin.

We thought that Halloween Town was cute & it is perfect for families with small children. If you have a mixture of ages the older kids will have fun playing the games, although they may not be able to go on many of the rides so I'd see how many they could go on before buying older kids a all you can ride wrist band. Older kids can also still enjoy face painting & the pumpkin patch where you'll find dozens of pumpkins of assorted sizes, shapes and colors to choose from. 

Disclaimer- Tickets & Ride Bands mentioned above were provided by Halloween Town for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Champions of Magic are coming to a city near you!

 

The Champions of Magic are a team of  five illusionists from all over the world who have come together to put on an exciting family friendly show & is currently touring around the US. We received the opportunity to go see them live last Friday when they played here in Phoenix, downtown at the Orpheum Theatre. Ticket prices range depending on the city they are visiting, I clicked on a few of the upcoming dates they are playing and tickets ranged from starting at $29.50 to starting at $40 a ticket so unfortunately I can not provide you with an exact price however I can offer you a discount code for 25% off ticket prices (valid up to two days prior to the show you want to see), that discount code is TRUST. 

Before getting into our review & thoughts on the actual show, I just want to comment on how beautiful the theatre they performed at is. The Orpheum Theatre is nearly a hundred years old, it was built in 1929 & I had never been to it before now, the inside is stunning & the updated red velvet covered seats were comfortable for the duration of the show. The kids were very excited to go see this show as were we, it is always enjoyable being able to attend events like this that are great for the whole family.

We each had a different favorite part of the show & favorite performer. Each performer had stage time to do an act by themselves & then they had several acts where they worked together. The show had a great mixture of illusion acts, mentalist acts and escape acts. During certain acts members of the audience may be selected to come up & be part of the act which is fun to see and it is even better if you are one of the lucky participants selected to go up on stage. The show lasts for two hours and fifteen minutes with a short intermission to allow the audience to use the bathroom, buy food or drinks and visit the merch booth set up in the front. You'll be enjoying the show so much the time will seem to fly by. 

The whole show was a high energy event from the music they played while performing to the performers themselves really getting the crowd into the acts with them. It isn't noted on the tours website, but I would put up a small warning for anyone prone to seizures, through out the show there are a lot of flashes of bright lights, light changes & on stage fire works that are a little intense with how bright they can get when you've been sitting in the dark. 

It is one thing to see a magic act on TV, but it is another experience seeing it live & up close. These performers are well experienced and will leave you wondering just how they were able to pull off the tricks right in front of your eyes, they are quick, skilled and engaging. I'd love to go into more details about the tricks they did, but that would ruin the magic of seeing it live for yourself so I won't give away which acts they performed during this show. We had a lot of fun & would recommend this for anyone who enjoys magic or wants an exciting night out with the family.

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by US Family Guide for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Body Exfoliation just got easier with MicrodermaMitt

 

Exfoliating can help make quite the difference in your skin, plus it can help prevent ingrown hairs from shaving. A company called MicrodermaMitt wants to help make exfoliating easier + faster so they created a unique mitt designed to help remove dead skin cells from the top layer of your skin.  Have you ever noticed that when you are drying off after a shower & rub your towel back and forth in one spot that you can see the dead skin coming off? This works the same way, you will use this mitt in a motion that helps create a small amount of friction to help exfoliate. The mitts cost $30 via their website or $26.99 on amazon. 

It came with instructions on how to use this & that it needs to be washed with water then air dried before your first use. When needed you can hand wash it in the sink with some water & soap, which I did however I didn't like how this smelled when I first received it so I threw it into the wash. I let it air dry after & it is still in the condition it is supposed to be in. Some beauty & skincare products can seem a little gimmicky such as those clear pimple patches, but end up working amazing, so I was curious to see how well this actually works. 

I am impressed with the results! Using the right amount of pressure & getting used to the best motion to use, you'll start to see instant results in the form of all the dead skin coming off. Yes you'll be able to physically see it, it can be a little gross but also pretty satisfying knowing your skin will be softer after. My skin can be a little sensitive sometime so even with a light amount of pressure certain areas of my body such as my chest & neck will be slightly pink/red after using this, however it doesn't last long. The mitt I received is a body mitt which is good for all over, but I found it can be a little rough on the face so if you want something specifically for your face they sell a mitt that is just for your face & is a little softer. It would be neat to have a mitt that is more like a glove that you can slip on for a snug fit as the mitt is a little large so I usually end up using one corner of the mitt on most my body. 

For the best results they recommend using this 1-2 times a week, I like using this before I shave. The mitts are dermatologist recommended & they are also hypoallergenic which is a big plus. If you'd like to learn more information they have a great FAQ page that covers exactly how the mitt works, how to use it & more. I look forward to adding this product to my weekly skin care routine & enjoy using it, the results with this have been better than several body scrubs I've used in the past. 

Disclaimer- MicrodermaMitt provided the products above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase. 

Monster Jam - A review of the October AZ show!

 

Monster Jam has come back to Arizona & has several more shows around the US to finish off this years tour. This is a fantastic event for families to attend even if you aren't the biggest fan of monster trucks, the energetic shows & crazy stunts the drivers are able to pull off with these massive trucks will keep you engaged with the show. 

Watching these giant trucks is exciting, but the fun begins even before the drivers get in their trucks & bring the engines to life. Most of the show allows you the chance to purchase a "Pit Pass" in addition to your normal ticket which will grant you access to the pre-show pit party. Pit Party passes are $20 each. You'll be able to see the trucks up close, take photos in front of them, meet the drivers to get photos with them or have them sign something, participate in activities like the drawing area for kids and have a chance to buy some cool merch to take home. It is a neat experience to do at least once with your kids & you'll have some awesome photos to keep to look back on the memories for years to come. We were able to participate in the pit party & my kids wanted to get a photo in front of Grave Digger which is the truck I wanted to & did take a photo in front of when I was about the same age as my daughter. 

Ticket prices vary depending on where you sit, but it doesn't matter where you sit if it is in the front row section or at the top of the stadium in the upper half you'll have a great view of the trucks and the course they perform on. What is cool about the course is that they bring out some construction equipment in-between the different rounds & they change the course by moving the dirt around to get rid of smaller jumps and make other sections wider. The trucks & drivers will change from event to event, however they have a online section where you can view the current drivers and trucks that will be appearing at the moment. My daughter was a little bummed the two trucks & one driver she really wanted to see were not at this event, but there were a few new trucks we were able to check out.

The show starts off with some head to head races, the winners of each head to head will then go against each other until it is down to the final winner. The race includes them making two laps & completing two jumps, the one who does it the fastest is the winner. After this it is time for an intermission which allows them to work on the trucks & repair anything that might have broken or needs to be re-charged from the races. During this time they have some entertainment happening down in the race area, they had some adorable small children come out on mini monster truck electric cars and race down the track.

The second half of the show is a free style competition where the drivers will attempt to complete two tricks within a set amount of time. They show you a list of tricks they can attempt on the board before the competition starts & will go over which tricks they attempted/completed once the drivers are finished to help you understand which tricks you saw if you aren't familiar with each one. Monster Jam has a website that fans can visit during the event called The Judges Zone, this is for the free style competition. When the driver has completed their round fans will have sixty seconds to lock in a score on the website which is then calculated & will give the driver their score for the round. Wrecks happen, but that doesn't mean you'll get a low score, you can really tell the fan favorites.

We saw an absolutely insane stunt while we were there pulled off by the driver of The Black Pearl. When attempting to do a back flip in his truck, the Black Pearl started rolling onto it's back. It happens, especially when drivers are attempting to do a flip, usually it means they are out since their truck crashed. That wasn't the case this time around, he actually managed to get himself out of the situation & correct the truck back to being on its tires and continued on with his round. I could not believe what I saw with my eyes nor could the crowd, everyone was going nuts & many people even jumped to their feet cheering & screaming. In case you are wondering, yes, I did manage to capture it on camera & will have a reel of it up on my instagram page so you can see it too. 

My family had a fantastic time at this event, it is a great family friendly event. My kids can't wait to see them again. A quick note before I finish off this post, this event is very loud!!! It can be a little overwhelming for children and some children may not like how loud it gets, I highly suggest bringing a pair of headphones to protect their ears or buy one when you are at the event. Also don't forget to check the website of which ever venue they visit while in your home city to check for any rules you may need to be aware of, for example our venue does not allow backpacks, purses, etc your belongings need to be in a clear stadium approved sized bag. 

Disclaimer- Monster Jam provided tickets for us for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

2400 Crime Solving in the Future!

 

2400 is the third game in the Chronicles of Crime the Millennium series, it is a mystery murder/crime solving game set place in a futuristic time. This is a part physical card game along side a digital app that helps you navigate crime scenes, investigate suspects and look at evidence. The app is set up to allow you to play on your own or with a group of crime solvers. The Chronicles of Crime series along with many other exciting games is sold by Lucky Duck Games. 

In this game you will play as a character known as Kalia (shown on the front of the cover & the image above). She is a former officer of the Elite BelCor Watchmen who left to become a detective on her own terms. This is set in a futuristic time so through out some of the story lines you will receive different electronical devices that will help you solve the crime, these devices are placed onto her player card above. She also has a cybernetic raven who is a companion that helps search a data base on information on some of the people & clue cards you will scan during the game.

Each game in this series typically has four story lines/games to play along with a tutorial showing you how the game is played. For your first time around it is helpful to do the tutorial so you can get a hang of the game & see how everything works. Even if you've played one of the other Chronicles of Crime games, I suggest doing the tutorial anyways. It may be a shorter version of an actual play through, but it gives you an additional crime to solve which is nice. Depending on how good your crime solving skills are, how quickly you can come to conclusions and work out how clues connect to one another a game can last anywhere from half an hour to about an hour and a half. 

When using the app I highly recommend playing this in a well lit area, if there is too much of a shadow on the QR code it tends to not want to scan it right away. We usually play at the kitchen table with the window open or in the living room under the lights. One of my favorite features of this game is the crime scene investigation mode, you can use VR glasses or select "No glasses" & it will let you view it on your phone. The crime scene investigation mode allows you to take a 360 degree view of the room or area you are investigating simply by moving your phone around the room as if you are viewing everything in person. You can view the floor, all the walls & even the ceiling are beautifully animated. While one person is viewing the room they will state out loud what they see in the scene, during which time the other players will be looking through a deck of clue cards to pick out which go with the scene to be scanned & investigated. 

Scanning the clues you found at the scene will lead you to other suspects, areas & more clues to be found to complete the goal. I would say about half of the game is pretty straight forward, the other half you'll really need to think about how to connect clues to suspects, how to get people to talk & where to go next location wise. Each time you scan a new location, ask suspects about clues, ect. it adds minutes to an in game time, certain activities such as traveling will add more time to your total. Your in game time can affect your total score at the end if you go over the given amount of time, for example one story might give you three days to complete the search while another only gives you twenty-four hours. However your out of game time does not add into the in game total & time is only added to it with each scan you do, so you are able to take time to talk & debate where to go next, what to scan, talk through the clues, etc. If you wish to play solo there is an option in the app that will let you search the crime scenes as a solo player to make it easier to look through the clue stack at the same time. 

I personally love the Chronicles of Crime games, I like the mystery & looking for clues. The game is recommended for ages 12+ as some scenes might contain blood or a story might contain sexual references, the app will let you know which have this type of content. Is this a family friendly game? This is completely up to the parent! If a parent is reading the story as you progress through the game it is easy to leave out certain details without affecting the game. My nine year old doesn't usually play this with us as some of the clues can be a little difficult to piece together at times so he finds the game boring, my thirteen year old likes the game a bit more & enjoys helping out figuring out where the clues lead. The only negative thing about this set is I wish it came with a few more stories so I had more game to play as once you finish all four stories you already have the answers & can't really play it a second time. The good news is though that if you don't want to keep it in your collection after completing everything, you can pass it onto a friend or loved one to play. You can buy this game on their website for $29.99, you can also find some of their games on Amazon & in stores.  

Disclaimer- The products mentioned above were provided by Lucky Duck Games for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase.

Paint your own Bluey light up figurine.

We always love seeing the new kits that Horizon Group USA comes out with. I have always been a big fan of crafts that can be used as a gift or have a secondary purpose, so it was awesome receiving this paint your own light up figurine! How neat is it that your child can paint their own night light featuring a well-loved character? 

I am going to be honest, I nor my kids have ever watched Bluey, but I've heard a lot of very positive reviews about the show from both adults & children. Even without having watched the show, both characters featured on this light up figurine are pretty adorable. I love that it comes with twelve different colors of paint, some craft kits stick to a primary four or five colors which can be a bit boring. The paints included in this let you paint the characters as they are on the show or allows you to come up with your own color combination. 

Along with having an assortment of paints to choose from the light itself changes colors! The figuring is made from a white plastic material, so it is not heavy & will be easy for your child to carry around with them if they need to get up in the middle of the night to use the bathroom or if they want to take it to stay the night at a family members house. Prices on this figure varies depending on where you are purchasing it from, for some reason it doesn't seem to be on Amazon at the moment, however it can be found at Target for $14.99 or at Hobby Lobby for $24.99. 

Is your child a fan of Bluey? Who is their favorite character from the show? If you or your child are not fans of Bluey, who would you like to see as a light up figurine?

Disclaimer-  Horizon Group USA provided me with the products mentioned above for the review free of charge no other compensation was provided. However, no product compensation will influence the outcome of any review. My honest opinions are used in all reviews, they are solely my own & they may vary from others. My reviews are posted for readers in order to provide an informed decision before purchase. 

October Beauty & The Book Giveaway!

 

Hello October! 🎃 Spooky season has officially begun, though many of us started buying some of the new Halloween décor last month getting us into the Halloween spirit early. Weather wise, it doesn't feel like fall seeing as how it seems to want to stay in the nineties here, so I am hoping it starts to drop soon giving us those nice chilly fall mornings. During October we have a spooky/Halloween/horror movie spree where we watch one movie a day leading up to Halloween, it has become a tradition that we always look forward to. Some of the movies we will be watching are of course zombie related, if you are in the mood for zombies too check out this list of zombie shows & movies, I put together last year with some of my favorites.

I love Halloween & this time of the year! Pumpkin Patches, Haunted Houses, Mini Carnivals, Spooky Decor, Pumpkin Spice and the start of cooler weather, I love all of it. Of course, this month's Beauty & the Book giveaway is going to be slightly spooky themed for all of my fellow spooky lovers. Blog wise, I will have some great new reviews ranging from delicious treats to exciting board games to play. I will be working on some new giveaways as well so keep an eye out for those. As always thank you to everyone who frequently stops by my blog & supports me by interacting with my content.

I always enjoy gathering the goodies for my beauty and the book each month, I like picking up some of my personal favorite brands along with grabbing some new to me brands to include as well. This month's giveaway includes two books! You will get a paperback copy of "Unmasked; My life solving America's cold cases" along with a moth adult coloring book. Also included in this month's giveaway are the following goodies:

❤ Ioni full lash set
❤ Ioni 'Werewolf' blue mascara
❤ Ioni 'Mrs Jekyll' eyebrow kit
❤ Covergirl Black lipstick
❤ L.A Colors eyeshadow palette
❤ Black eyeshadow stick
❤ Face mask x2
❤ CBD shampoo/conditioner sample set
❤ Under eye patches
❤ Wet n Wild eyeshadow
❤ Three Harry Potter "Wand" makeup brushes
❤ Moroccan Oil protective spray
❤ Maybelline lipstick in red
❤ Kat Von D "Cake" eye liner pencil
❤ Dragon Pen
❤ Two Halloween Glitter bottles
❤ Gem face sticker
❤ The X-Files nail file
❤ Frankenstein's Monster + The Bride drink coasters
❤ Spider sun catcher
❤ Amika re-usable skull bag  

One lucky winner will win it all! When I notify the winner it will be via yahoo under my blogs previous name so it will come from Burningmoonproducts @ Yahoo.com so please make sure to add it to your approved list or be sure to check the spam filter on the email address you enter this giveaway with. I had to re-pick a few winners a few giveaways ago that didn't respond to emails or my IG message letting them know they won so new winners were selected for those giveaways. 

This is open World Wide! 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! This giveaway is hosted by ME.

This giveaway ends on 11/02/2022

Giveaway entry question: Leave a comment answering at least one of these questions.

1. What is something fun & Halloween related you are looking forward to this month?
 2. If you plan on dressing up, what are you doing as this year?
3. Tell me what you would like to win the most from this prize pack.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

You can complete as many entries as you want, there are several one-time activities and daily activities that can earn you more entries into the giveaway. Be sure to keep an eye on my site & social media pages for more giveaways headed your way.