Keep the kids entertained with Carrera slot car toys!

Looking for a way to keep the kids engaged on something that doesn't have a screen? We got into slot car racing and the kids love it! I remember playing with a slot car set when I was a kid and don't know what happened to that set. Fast forward to 2020 when everyone is spending copious amounts of time at home, we decided to try slot car racing and it was so fun.

We got a set thanks to the great folks at Carrera Toys of America, which had cars that were modeled after two cars in Disney's movie Cars and of course my little guy wanted to be Lightning McQueen. It was so fun. 

We worked together to set the track up, which was a little more involved than I remember. The cool part about the track that we got is that it included a full loop-de-loop circle and also track raisers so that one piece of the track could go over another piece of track. We quickly learned that you have to install the track guides because if don't do that, the cars will most likely run right off of the track.

At the beginning of the pandemic in the US, the 55-year-old slot car company blew through its U.S. inventory in a month as families realized they could spend quality time building their track setup, learning how to use hand controllers to operate the miniature cars, mastering the art of taking the curves at top speed without losing the cars’ grip on the track’s guide-slots, and competing against each other for braggers’ rights.

If you've never played slot-car racing before, it's simple: you have to run your car around the track using a hand controller and be faster than your opponent without running the car off of the track! That is quite hard since the controllers are quite sensitive. Somehow my little guy was able to use the hand controller at full speed without running the car off of the track - something I was not able to do.

We played a lot with the set and one thing that my dad said would be a good thing to do would be to build the set on a piece of plywood so you don't need to keep assembling and disassembling it. We've played it a handful of times so far and it's a lot of fun - one thing to watch out for is that the track connections are very brittle and we've already broken a few of them.

If you're looking to spend some quality time with the family without being in front of any screens, we recommend that you check out slot car racing with sets from Carrera Toys of America!

NOTE: We were provided with a sample set to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided and all opinions, as always, are our own.

Dinosaurs have arrived in Foxboro through September 27th!

Just in time for the 2020 season, dinosaurs have arrived at Gillette Stadium, the home of the 6x World Champion New England Patriots! 

The Jurassic Quest tour is here now through September 27th, featuring over 70 moving and life-like dinosaurs, as well as our 50 foot-long Megalodon that you can see all from the comfort of your car as you drive through the exhibit! If you're looking for something different to do this weekend, this is it.

We arrived around 6:30 pm as our tickets were good for any arrival between 6 and 7 pm and we pulled into the large parking lot off of Route 1 and were directed to the start of the exhibit. After checking in we downloaded the audio tour on our mobile device and started playing it through the car stereo. There were lots of cars ahead of us and it moved quite slowly, so it was great that we packed snacks as it took us around 10 minutes to get to the start of the exhibit.

For $49 per vehicle (up to 8 people and less than 10 feet tall and 25 feet long), your dino-adventure-seeking crew can enjoy about an hour-long ride back in time. Although we saw kids standing through the sunroof of cars, sitting on the roots and hanging out the windows - we decided to play it a little safer and checked out the dinosaurs through open windows.

One thing that was neat was the size of these animals in real life compared to things like our cars, rather than just reading about them in a text book or online.

At the end of the tour you can take a picture of the whole family inside the car, with a dinosaur in the background - by the time we took our picture it was so dark outside you could see us thanks to the flash photography but the dinosaur wasn't really in the photo... oh well!

Event: Jurassic Quest 

Place: Gillette Stadium (1 Patriot Pl, Foxborough, MA 02035) 

Date: Through September 27, 2020 (Closed Monday & Tuesday) 

Hours: 9 am - 8 pm daily 

Admission: Tickets available online at https://www.jurassicquest.com/events/drive-thru-boston

Cost for entry: $49 per vehicle.

NOTE: We were provided with passes to check out this awesome exhibit and be able to tell you all about it. No other compensation was provided. As always, all opinions are our own.

Apex Entertainment is a great place for family fun for everyone offering bowling, karting, arcade games, and more

Apex Entertainment in Marlborough, MA is a great place for family fun for everyone in the family with karting, bowling, arcade games, a ropes course suspended above the games, bumper cars, laser tag and more!

We had the opportunity to check it out and were quite impressed with all of the activities they had. You can easily spend a few hours in the arcade area alone, so be sure to plan ahead with how you want to spend your time otherwise your entire day will go by before you know it!

We went to try all of the activities and had an amazing time. My daughter absolutely loved the ropes course and the arcade. For the ropes course you’re harnessed in and then walk high above the arcade along with a guide to help you get from point A to point B.

While you’re there you can go bowling, visit the arcade, and have a great meal. We tried the largest pretzel in the entire state of Massachusetts and it did not disappoint!  There is truly something for everyone here.

I had a blast going on the karts with my brother in law and thank goodness they gave us the track to ourselves. He was a pro at driving the kart, but it was my first time and I didn’t know what to expect, so I bumped into the side walls a few times. They have a rule, if you hit the side wall three times you’re out. Thankfully, I didn’t do that and let’s just say I drive a car waaaaaaaay better than how I drive a kart.

NOTE: We were provided with passes for bowling, arcades and activities at Apex Entertainment in order to facilitate this review. No other compensation was provided. There was no promise made of a positive review and all opinions, as always, are our own.

A day that was out of this world! Space Fest 2019 at the JFK Library and Museum celebrating #Apollo50th @jfklibrary #spacefest #JFKMoonshot

Earlier this month, we decided to beat the heat and I heard there was a Space Fest happening at the John F. Kennedy Presidential Library in Boston. We went and had a blast (pun intended)! Ok ok... just fair warning, if there are any punny space jokes in this post, I'm apologizing now, I couldn't help myself.

In honor of the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 mission and the moon landing, there were a bunch of talks on the subject, and we even met an astronaut, Daniel Burbank, who took the time to speak with kids interested in science, math and space. We also had the chance to see a real space suit up close. It was also neat that as we entered the museum they had taped footprints and the lunar module to scale so you could see how far everything was on the moon 50 years ago. The JFK Museum also offered a really neat Augmented Reality simulation on mobile devices through an app that you could use on your personal mobile device. I really enjoyed it.

We walked around and learned about all of the science and research that went into the Apollo 11 mission. There were some really fun activities for the kids, like building your own paper rocket and launching it using a compressed air pump (built and managed by students from MIT) to land on a planet (balloon) by popping it. Other activities included making your own space mission patch, space helmet and playing fun space jeopardy! We decided to play space jeopardy and even though our team didn't win, we got a chance to try some Astronaut Ice Cream - it was so cool (pun intended)! Just kidding, it was freeze dried. One thing I learned at an early age is to not eat that stuff too fast...

We walked around some more and enjoyed real ice cream sundaes with fun space-themed toppings, like pop rocks and moon shaped candy! We made moon landing parachute, fabric moonscapes and even origami landing vehicles. It was a fun time for sure with lots of great activities to inspire the next generation.

Upcoming August activites with the Red Sox - Don't miss them!

Join the Red Sox as they host quite a few family friendly activities this August:

Sunday, August 12: Out of the Park | Boston Common
Highland Street Foundation, the City of Boston, L.L.Bean and the Boston Red Sox will host the fifth annual “Out of the Park” on August 12 on the Boston Common. “Out of the Park” is a free, family-oriented event that brings the Fenway Park experience to the community. “Out of the Park” will feature a live viewing of the 1:05 p.m. Red Sox-Orioles game, complementary food and kids and family activities.
www.highlandstreet.org/programs/community-events/out-park

Tuesday, August 14: Movie Night | Fenway Park
Fenway Park will screen the original Jurassic Park in celebration of the movie's 25th anniversary on Tuesday, August 14. Tickets for "Movie Night at Fenway Park," presented by Fandango, are available now. Movie Night attendees will be invited to walk the warning track from 6:45 p.m. to 7:45 p.m., weather and field permitting. Concessions will be available.
redsox.com/movienight

Saturday, August 18-Sunday, August 19:Fenway Rooftop Sessions | Fenway Park
The Fenway Rooftop Sessions, presented by vineyard vines is a new and unique way to enjoy the game. With dates throughout the season, tickets include a pregame performance from a local Boston band, and a ticket to the game. Saturday, August 18, will include a performance by City Rivals. Dalton & The Sheriffs will perform on Sunday, August 19.
www.mlb.com/redsox/tickets/events/fenway-rooftop-sessions

Monday, August 20: Peanuts Night | Fenway Park
The Red Sox will celebrate one of the most popular comic strips of all-time, "Peanuts," with the annual Peanuts Night on August 20. Peanuts Night tickets include a limited edition bobblehead of Snoopy in a Red Sox uniform! Be sure to add this to your collection. redsox.com/peanuts

Tuesday, August 21: Game of Thrones Night | Fenway Park
The Red Sox will celebrate the Emmy® and Golden Globe®-winning series, Game of Thrones® on August 21. Game of Thrones Night tickets include a Red Sox 'K' Slayer Chris Sale bobblehead, a chance to sit on the Dragonstone Throne, and the opportunity to see the Map Table of Westeros. redsox.com/got

Wednesday, August 23#SoxPromo: Kids Run the Bases and Wally & Tessie Headphones | Fenway Park
Kids in attendance 14 and under will receive a pair of Wally & Tessie Headphones, and after the game, kids will have the opportunity to run the bases at Fenway Park! redsox.com/promos


Wednesday, August 29: #SoxPromo: Puzzle Cube | Fenway Park
The first 10,000 fans at Fenway Park will receive a Red Sox Puzzle Cube. redsox.com/promos

Disney on Ice in Boston for February Break through Sunday 2/26

Disney on Ice: Follow Your Heart is in Boston for the rest of this week at TD Garden and we had the chance to check it out for opening night last week and it did not disappoint! It starts out with a story from Disney's Inside Out which was a new experience for us. It had classics like Snow White, Cinderella, Toy Story and Beauty and the Beast along side new movies like Finding Dory, Inside Out and Frozen. We found that it seemed like it would go from one song right to another but it was cool how Feld Entertainment would use the Inside Out theme and emotions to weave a story.

During the last school break, we saw Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream at Boston University's Agganis Arena, which had some of the same songs but a different story line. We absolutely love Disney and enjoy when the shows come to town!

If you're interested, there's still tickets and seats available for Follow Your Heart at TD Garden which runs through Sunday February 26. For more information visit disneyonice.com

Photos from Follow Your Heart at TD Garden

Photos from Dare to Dream at Agganis Arena

NOTE: We were provided with tickets to each performance. All opinions are our own and no other compensation was provided.

Disney on Ice Dare to Dream ticket giveaway (ends soon!)

Hey guys, Disney on Ice: Dare to Dream is coming to Boston's Agganis Arena for winter break from December 23, 2016 through January 1, 2017. Tickets start at just $10 and is great to bring the family!

Join your hosts Mickey Mouse and Minnie Mouse as they share the heroic stories of four of your favorite Disney Princesses. Laugh along with Disney’s hair-raising escapade, Tangled, as Rapunzel, Flynn and Maximus embark on an uproarious expedition that soars to new heights! Travel to the enchanted forest with Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs as she escapes from the Evil Queen. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo! Watch as Cinderella’s dreams come true with a little help from her animal friends and the Fairy Godmother. Boogie to the beat of the bayou with Princess Tiana and Prince Naveen from Disney’s The Princess and the Frog, in a magical, musical journey. Make memories your whole family will treasure for a lifetime, while dancing and singing along, as the Disney Princesses inspire you to Dream Big!

We are giving away a four-pack of tickets for opening night (12/23) at 7 pm. You can enter the giveaway through the rafflecopter below:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

NOTE: We were provided with tickets to attend the show as well as tickets to giveaway to one of our lucky readers! As always all opinions are our own and no other compensation was provided.

The Ringling Bros Circus came to town!

The Ringling Brothers Circus came to town and we had an absolutely amazing time! We arrived early to be able to go down onto the show floor and walk around. Our daughter loved being able to meet the clowns and see the sights up close. Although, I don't know who had more fun, her or me! It was pretty cool. Apparently they do this one-hour pre-show for all of their shows and you don't need a special ticket to participate - it's open to everyone!

This is a new show that's different from what I remembered as a kid. It's produced by Feld Entertainment and as of last year, no longer includes elephants roaming around performing various tricks. They still have other animals (dogs, tigers, horses, etc.) with their trainers but they also have lots of clowning around and some pretty neat acrobatics! I think our favorite was the trampoline guys.

The only downside was the light up toys that they sold were SUPER bright. I don't know if they used some new LED lights in there but it was quite distracting and actually painful at times. So much so that I tweeted it out and the president of Feld promptly wrote back to me - how's that for customer service! I was pretty impressed.

On a totally random note, when we walked in to the TD Garden arena and were going to our seats, we happened to pass a room that had signs that said Nursery and School - pretty neat to think that the program is providing school for the families while they are on tour!

Next time they are in town, we strongly recommend you go! We went on a friday night and it was a nice time to go right after work but there was a little bit of traffic. It was nice though, since the arena wasn't as full as a weekend daytime performance.

You can watch a video I made about the circus:

Here's some photos that we took from our seats.

NOTE: We were provided with tickets and some fun swag in exchange for some promotion before the event as well as this blog recap. No other compensation was provided and as always all opinions are our own.