Kids Bowl Free All Summer

Continuing with our "Summer of Awesome", I'm guest posting over at San Diego Deals and Steals today sharing about several nationwide "Kids Bowl Free" summer programs. So whether you live in San Diego or another part of the United States, there's sure to be a program available for your kids. We did it last year and it was super fun! Bowling is a great activity for the whole family. Hope you pop over to SDDS and check it out!

Aquatica SeaWorld's San Diego Waterpark

Did you know that SeaWorld San Diego has opened a new water park? It's called Aquatica San Diego and it opened this season on June 1st. We were invited to the water park for a preview day this past week. To say we had fun is an understatement. Some seriously awesome memories were made. If you are travelling to San Diego this summer, you will want to put this fun San Diego water park on your to do list.

Aquatica San Diego has splashy fun for every age group! Whether you want to float along the lazy river, relax on the sandy beaches at the wave pool or brave the super fun water slides, there's fun for everyone in your family. Height requirements for most rides are between 42 and 48 inches. That being said, there is still plenty for the littlest splashers to do.

For us, what sets Aquatica San Diego apart is the fresh take on the water park experience. All throughout the park, Aquatica animal handlers roam the grounds with live animals like a baby alligator, a sloth, a hawk, and so many more. In fact, right when you walk in, there are flamingos walking around an enclosed area.

You can get up close and personal with the animals as you hop from ride to ride, as employees stop to let you take a closer look and ask questions.

Another feature that sets Aquatica from the rest is the food. I haven't been to a water park where the food was this good. The gourmet food options and affordable food prices are a pleasant surprise. I had the fish tacos and I am still craving them days later.

Water Slides and Attractions For Toddlers and Preschools
The little will love Big Surf Shores (wave pool), Kata's Kookaburra Cove, and Slippoty Dippity (little water slides just for little ones under 42 inches).

Water Slides For Older Kids and Thrill Seekers 
Thrill seekers will love the water slide rides like Tassie's Twister and HooRoo Run. My kids, 8 and 9 braved Tassie's Twister and loved it! In fact they went on every ride but one.

One of my friends asked me what I thought about the new Sea World San Diego water park and I said, "It's like a traditional water park, but with touches of Sea World magic."

Good to know before you go:

• Aquatica San Diego is located east of Sea World San Diego in the nearby city of Chula Vista. 
• Safety comes first at Aquatica. Color coded life vests are provided for those who need or wan them. Emergency response staff walk the park and are stationed near the wave pool.
• You might want to invest in the discovery dollars. With a discovery dollars wristband, there's no need to carry cash around, Everyone can get what they want, when they want, using the wristband that is attached an account you can set up.

For more "know before you go" information, check out the Aquatica San Diego website.

To connect with Aquatica San Diego and Sea World San Diego online, you can follow them on Twitter and Facebook and purchase tickets or season passes, visit the Aquatica San Diego website.

Disclosure:  My family and I were invited to a media preview day. We received free admission to the park that included lunch. All opinions are my own. This is not a compensated post. This post is part of our "Summer of Awesome" series.

Summer of Awesome

It turns out that I can't stay away from this little corner of the internet. I have so many fun things to share with you. From simple crafts for kids to fun thins to do in and around San Diego and beyond. This summer is already shaping up to be awesome and school isn't even out yet for us! In celebration of said awesomeness, I am declaring this the "Summer of Awesome." I hope you'll follow along as we make this one amazing summer vacation.

To start off the Summer of Awesome, I'm sharing a fun and simple snack: fruit served in cupcake liners.

We cut up some apples, strawberries, kiwi and grapes for a fun afternoon snack! I inverted some cupcake liners I found at Michaels in the dollar bins and pu the fruit inside. Kids eat with their eyes and this packs a pretty bright and colorful punch!

Many of you may already know about "muffin tin meals" and muffin tin lunches. If you don't be sure to check out the new home of muffin tin meals, anotherlunch.com

Fingerprint Flower Craft Card for Mother's Day

Happy Mother's Day! This is a super simple and easy Mother's Day Card idea (perfect for birthdays too!)

We used a rainbow paint palette ink pad to make this cute rainbow fingerprint flower craft card.

Knotts Boardwalk and New Timber Mountain Log Ride Opening Memorial Day Weekend!

Knott's Berry Farm holds a special place in my heart. I grewup with so many memories there. I can still remember riding the fiesta swings and getting funnel cake to share on one the many daddy daughter dates growing up.

I got a special sneak peek of what's to come this May when Knott's Berry Farm opens a state of the art update to the beloved Timber Mountain Log Ride and  Boardwalk area of the park. Debuting Memorial Day weekend, these additions will bring a fresh update to a park steeped in wonderful tradition and heritage.

Crews have been working non-stop and its hard to believe this will all be done and finished by Memorial Day. I can't wait to see how it turns out! Look's to me like it will be like "Goofy's Fly School" at CA Adventure, but bigger and need I say faster?

Knotts already boasts rides and attractions for everyone fromfamilies with young children to theme park thrill seekers.However, the 3 new rides that are being installed in the retro southern california surf themed Boardwalk: The Coast Rider, Surf Glider and Pacific Scrambler will all be geared specifically for families.

Tickets are considerably cheaper than that other park, but my suggestion is the season pass.

Season Passes

 To take advantageof all the new offerings and experience all of Knott’s Farm Fresh Fun, the parkis selling 2013 Season Passes for only $72.00 or 6 easy payments of $12.00 fora limited time.  As a Season Pass holderguests receive:

·        Unlimitedvisits for the entire 2013 season

·        Noblackout dates.  That’s right, noblackout dates.

·        Discountsat select food and merchandise locations

·        Discountson Halloween Haunt Tickets

·        Earlyride time on select rides during summer

·        Othergreat Season Pass perks and surprises throughout the year!

To purchasepasses and find additional information on all Knott’s Berry Farm has to offer,visit www.knotts.com.

Snoopy says "See you Memorial Day Weekend!"

 Disclosure: In exchange fro writing this post, I received a "backstage glimpse" of the new Knott's theme park rides opening in May. I was not compensated in any way.

Cute Lunch Box Notes and Stickers

Just popping by the blog to share that I received these adorable lunch box notes as a gift. They are so fun! Talk about an easy and stress free way to make lunch cute for the kids.

Make silly faces on bananas or add them to the tops of apple sauce cups. I know you can think of other creative ways to use them.

You can find them at lunchboxnotes.com

Looking for Muffin Tin Monday?

Muffin Tin Monday has officially moved to AnotherLunch.com. 

Head over to Another Lunch to find out what this week's theme is and while you are at it, check out the all new Muffin Tin Meals/ Monday About page

The MTM link up at AnotherLunch.com goes live every Monday at 10am EST/ 7am PST.

To read about the move, you can click here.

Fresh Dish Meal Delivery

Have you head of Fresh Dish? This Southern California company boasts prepped and ready-to-cook meals with fresh ingredients and unique recipes delivered straight to you doorstep. Fresh Dish is similar to a box subscription service, but there's no monthly charge - you pay per meal.

If you like Dream Dinners, or have always wanted to try it, then you will love Fresh Dish. Similar in price point to Dream Dinners, Fresh Dish takes the prep work out of meal time without sacrificing on taste or substance.


In the midst of our recent sick days, I received an email from the folks at Fresh Dish asking me if I'd like to try one of their meal kits and share my thoughts. So let me get this straight...my kids are sick and you want to send me a fully prepped, read to cook meal with fresh ingredients delivered right to my doorstep?

Let me think about that for a sec. Yes, Please!

Since our littles love shrimp, we opted for the shrimp fajitas. Because I was busy caring for a sick kid, I didn't even open the box until 30 minutes before meal time. I was hoping it would be as easy as the website said, and it was! Everything I needed was in the box (down to the oil I needed to sautee the shrimp and veggies) and Dinner was ready in 30 minutes from start to finish!

A few pleasant surprises about Fresh Dish:

Fresh Dish is for everyone. Delivered in a box packed with dry ice packs - the ingredients can last on your doorstep virtually all day long (8 hrs I think) - so whether you are a stay at home parent or a work away from home parent, or a professional who works long hours your fresh dish boxes will arrive cold and ready. Fresh Dish appeals to me on so many levels. From choosing the 2 person option for "After-The-Kids-Go-To-Bed-Date-Nights" to busy weeknights when I still want fresh food-but don't have time to spend on prep. Recipe Challenged? Fresh Dish provides easy to follow step-by-step recipe cards for each meal.

You can freeze meals. If you are ordering more than one meal at a time, you can refrigerate and even freeze your meal ingredients for a later time. I love this option for busy weeks when we have a lot going on and might not know which nights we will be home for dinner.

Meat. Lots of it. Usually with prepackaged, pre-prepped meals, companies save money (or ahem make money) by skimping on how much meat per serving they include in each dish. My husband would like to personally thank Fresh Dish for not skimping on the meat and fully satisfying his hunger.

Here's a fun video about Fresh Dish:

Thinking of trying Want $10 off your first order? Click over to Fresh Dish to enter your zip code to see if they deliver to your area, sign up and get started choosing your meals. Be sure to enter the promo code FRESHFRIENDS10.

*Disclosure: I was provided a meal kit free of charge to try and give my opinion.  You can trust my opinion because it mine and no one else's. It is honest. And I honestly love Fresh Dish. If you click the link above and decide to purchase a meal kit I get $10 off my next purchase. Just like you.