Category Archives: consumer

LEGO #BrickFest Live Comes to Denver- August 12-13, 2017

blogging, children, Colorado, consumer

We are so excited that LEGO Brickfest is returning to Denver in August! My kids love to build, play, and create with LEGO.  August 12-13, the Brickfest returns to the Merchandise Mart, a LEGO Fan Experience is filled with hands-on attractions and activities built to inspire, educate, and entertain.

Both days, Sat, Aug 12, 2017,  and Sun, Aug 13, 2017, BrickFest runs from 10:00 AM to 6:00 PM, at the Denver Merchandise Mart.  MY READERS SAVE $3 off tickets with promo code USFGTHREE

Enjoy an amazing LEGO world where you can marvel at giant creations and even build some of your own. The Brick Fest Live LEGO Fan Experience provides a venue for LEGO lovers of all sizes to celebrate, build new creations, and see some truly mind-blowing LEGO sculptures to help set the imagination free.

 

Attractions Include:

The Brick Show Experience: Meet popular YouTube LEGO show hosts from The Brick Show and be featured on in an upcoming video.

Brick Fest Derby: Build and race your custom built LEGO derby car down one of our 35-foot long timed tracks!

Collaborative Building Activities: Contribute to large-scale mystery floor mosaic.

Inspiration Stations: Add to existing LEGO cities and make them your own by building custom creations.

Video Game Arena: Have a favorite LEGO video game? Come challenge your family or make new friends in the Brick Fest Gaming Arena playing your favorite LEGO title head to head.

Mini Golf: A miniature golf course built to inspire! Take your game to the next level on the Brick-Links.

Brick Fest Theater Trivia & Entertainment: Participate in LEGO trivia all while taking a break from what will be an overwhelming amount of awesome!

Mosaics: Using a colorful variety of LEGO bricks, build a piece of art to proudly display for other attendees.

Shopping: Find new, vintage, rare, and custom LEGO sets and merchandise from one of the many merchants in attendance.

REMEMBER:  Don’t forget to save Save $3 off tickets with promo code USFGTHREE, More Info and tickets –https://www.eventbrite.com/e/brick-fest-live-lego-fan-experience-denver-co-tickets-30330087107#tickets

Disclaimer:  I am posting promotion from US FAMILY BLOGGER in exchange for free admission for my family for BrickFest.  Opinions expressed here are my own.

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Lilies for Looper by Rachel Foster Stuart

book, children, consumer, giveaway, parenting

We had the pleasure and opportunity to  check out a new children’s book, because one of my best friends is the author.  Lilies for Looper, by Rachel Foster Stuart is a very cute, well-written book for young kids.  The illustrations are out of this world!  Mary Belcher did an amazing job of illustrating the creative thoughts and beautiful words in this book.

The book has messages for kids on adventure, taking risk, and exploring the world around you. It’s about feeling wonderment.  It’s a short read, and perfect for young readers.  With pictures that help keep them engaged, it’s a must read for toddlers and kids.  My kids are older, and read chapter books, but even they enjoyed reading it, reading the book to others, and it was fun to watch.

You can win your own copy of Lilies for Looper, just enter to win by leaving a comment to this post — answer this:  When did you recently feel wonderment – please share your experience with us.   Thanks for entering and good luck!  I will pick one winner on July 14. Happy reading!

 Feel free to check out the book here at amazon.com and read more about the author and see coloring pages here at I am My Life Facebook Page.

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Epic Family Ski Weekend with Epic SchoolKids

Colorado, consumer, entertainment, family

Note: This is also linked at Mile High Mamas – check it out!

As we started our family ski weekend, the kids couldn’t contain their excitement, and were ready to go first thing in the morning! I still hadn’t had my coffee, but their enthusiasm perked us all up for our day with Epic SchoolKids. We planned a ski weekend and experienced all the mountain has to offer for families, and I learned a few things too! For example, did you know that the Epic SchoolKids program offers 16 free ski days for kids in grades K-5th Grade at four Colorado resorts (4 days each): Keystone, Breckenridge, Vail and Beaver Creek? Their website also discusses FAQs on free lessons for first time skiers. Check out epicpass.com/ColoradoKids for updates. The instructions for getting the kids signed up are all here, and are super easy, if you have not done it yet. We had so much fun, here’s a short video, but you can check out the full one at this link or it is embedded below.

Epic School Kids Keystone 2017 from Deadline Motion Works on Vimeo.

On the day of our epic ski adventure, it was super easy to get both kids registered and fitted for
 equipment for lessons. From the moment we walked towards the ski school, until we picked them up, my husband and I both commented what a well-oiled and organized machine Keystone Ski and Ride School is. Our eldest wanted to try snowboarding and was a first time snowboarder. She had a blast! She said after a couple more lessons, she will be a boarder.

For my military readers, the Liberty Pass is available through Snow.Com at snow.com/epic-pass/military, and offers the best deal to our military and their families. You can check with your local ITT office or call the resort.

My husband and I also reconnected while the kids took their lessons. We hadn’t skied together like this in several years! After lessons, and lunch (included for the kids with their lessons), we skied the terrain together as a family. It was fun, and we could not keep up with the kids. They are way too fast for us! Long ski runs at Keystone made for a tired and exhausted family at the end of the day, so be prepared for worn out kiddos and adults!

Since our family was at Keystone, we loved eating at the top of the Summit, and enjoyed some breathtaking views. We also explored other parts of Keystone Resort, including tubing for the first time! Our kids didn’t want to stop tubing, and our little daredevil, our youngest, wanted to keep going even after her one hour was up with the tube. Check height requirements, and make sure to bring soft-sided boots (not ski boots), and you can even go down tubing as a group! The kids also crawled through and enjoyed the mountaintop snow fort. I took the gondola down because I was completely wiped but my little skier wanted to ski down with daddy.

If you are planning a family ski weekend, and want to avoid the I-70 traffic to/from Denver in both directions, which is quite stressful for all, check out lodging specials. We really enjoyed relaxing the night before the big ski day adventure in our condo, and regrouping again after our epic ski day. The private condo unit, not affiliated with Epic SchoolKids, was a short walk to Mountain House and ski school and made our lives easier with equipment, the kids, and the fatigue that set in after all the fun we had. But, it is nice to
 have a property close by to eat, change clothes (it was 
pretty hot when we went, so de-layering was a must), or just relax for a bit in the jetted hot tubs. I find that staying an overnight or two truly makes the epic adventure complete. All in all, our family had a successful, fun trip, and we loved everyone we met.
 We reconnected as a family, did something
 new, and shared lots of laughs before returning to reality. The kids’ final comment on our drive home said it all, “when can we do that again? I hope soon.” That was nice to hear, rather than hearing, “are we there yet?!”

Epic School Kids Ratna from Deadline Motion Works on Vimeo.

Required Disclosure: I was selected to blog and promote the Epic SchoolKids program on behalf of Vail Resorts, in exchange for a post and social media promotion. Our family received compensation in-kind. The opinions expressed here are my own, unbiased, and not attributed to Vail Resorts.

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Disney on Ice, DREAM BIG #Denver – April 7 to 9, 2016

children, Colorado, consumer, Disney, family

*Note: This is also posted at Mile High Mamas

Is your princess or prince dreaming of Disney? Disney on Ice, Dream Big© is at the Denver Coliseum for a limited engagement, this weekend, April 7-9, and tickets start as low as $15. My girls love Disney, and we transformed to another world in this Live, Disney on Ice production. The adventure begins as Tinker Bells casts her pixie-dust and takes you on a journey with your favorite Disney characters, including Ariel and Princess Eric, Snow White, Sleeping Beauty, and Cinderella. You and your little fans will get to see and wave at Rapunzel, Cinderella and Belle as they learn about the power to make their own magic, and you will be magically transported to the wintry world of Arendelle with sisters Anna and Elsa, and the hilarious Olaf from Disney’s Frozen. The show has bubbles, snow, fireworks, and amazing music.

The entire show is broken into two acts, and a full two hours long, with a 15-minute intermission. It is engaging and the kids will discover a whole new world with the daring Jasmine and daring Tiana. We were amazed at the acrobatics in the show, complete with high-flying jumps, breathtaking skating, and familiar Disney tunes. All the lovable Disney friends show up to make this an experience your family will never forget. As we left, my eldest remarked, “Since we can’t travel to Disney, it came to us this year!” It made me so happy that this show made an impression on the kids and as they are tucked away, I am sure they are, indeed, dreaming big. Believing is just the beginning when Disney On Ice presents Dream Big, now at the Denver Coliseum through April 9.

 

Disclaimer: My family and I were compensated the cost of tickets in exchange for honest posts, reviews, and promotion for Feld. Opinions expressed here are my own.

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Black and … Clear

children, Colorado, consumer, culture, political

I recently experienced my first parenting fail moment and thought I’d reflect on it and share.  We attended the nutcracker ballet last weekend, as we do each year, and I promised both girls they could pick out a nutcracker to take along.  Target had them on sale, but I thought they were regular priced at $10.   Due to the sale, not much stock was left at our local target, so the kids had to pick from a limited selection of left over, picked over nutcrackers, most of the ones left were painted black or brown.

20161218_181600My oldest picked an angel nutcracker, as you can see from the picture and there was also one Clara nutcracker left, but my youngest really wanted a soldier.  She calmly and quietly said, “I want a soldier, but I want a clear faced one, not brown-faced.”  I couldn’t help but look around, considering I am and they are Indian-American.  At that moment, their mommy became a whopping mixture of both brown and red-faced.  No one heard, but I couldn’t help but wonder where I failed as a parent that my child wanted a white nutcracker; a child, mind you who was born a month after the Obamas entered the White House and hasn’t seen any other President yet in her short lifetime.

Then I realized as we talked more in detail that they are just not exposed to multi-cultures here in our homogeneous, yet firmly liberal city or town.  My daughter said when we go to the shows, no one performing is like us, nor look like this soldier (the one she opted to buy).  She said everyone on the shows we watch are also clear-faced so she wanted what she thought was most appropriate for the nutcracker.  I told her in larger towns, and at the the traveling DCPA productions, multi-cultures are indeed represented, and it’s just that the local productions we see are reflective of the population in our local Colorado.   From the mouth of babes, though, it helped me understand that I do need to take more steps to expose my children to more Indian activities, and Bollywood productions, and perhaps even different cultural events.   At the Nutcracker ballet, a sweet young boy came up to my daughter who was hiding her nutcracker at first, and exclaimed, “I have the same one but mine has a pink face.”   I was screaming on the inside considering how embarrassed my daughter was earlier.  But, I also noted that color was indeed noticed by children this little, and that this is the reality of our world and it’s our job to educate and mentor our children.  I replied, “oh great… this is a unique one and can do the same things yours can.  Isn’t that great?”  He smiled and took off, but this small event really did open my eyes.

obama-cover-750x1125It made me realize that no matter how innocent kids truly are, they perceive things through activities, shows and such, and what we expose them to.  The American girl episodes do not help either with its cast of characters, or the TV shows they watch from time to time.  Everyone is “clear-faced.”  Children certainly don’t intend to discriminate in the same illegal manner that adults may, but they distinguish attractiveness based on what they see and experience, and TV and movies are a huge part of this.  My sweet young daughter was embarrassed about what happened, so I don’t force the issue any longer, but when possible, try to show her things I think will help her self-image, and perception of the world around her.   Ironically, as we checked out at Target, the people magazine cover struck me and my daughter smiled too as I showed it to her, but she was indeed embarrassed about her innocent comment earlier.  Black or white, it does not matter, but I hope we can see past race some day in their lifetimes.  Judging from who was elected President recently, his appointees and what he proclaims to stand for, I say we have a long ways to go.

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