Fun Free (Cheap) Things to Do with Kids this Summer

Summer is just right around the corner and one of the biggest challenge for all the parents are 'what to do with our kids for the next 10 weeks'.

I am on the same boat. Last year, we signed them up for Summer camp for most of the Summer. But this year, we will have limited fund to do the same. So I have to come up with some creative and cheap activities for them to enjoy their Summer.

Here are things we have lined up in the Q family.

1. VBS school - This is a great way to engage kids in bible study without boring teaching. There are plenty of churches around our area so I am able to find a few weeks of VBS (with different themes). Most VBS program runs half day for a full week. Think of things you can get done in that timeframe. :) Plus the fun the kids will have. Last year, we went to First Redeemer Church and Bridgeway Church; the program and the planning was so amazing. It was a blast for them.

2. Family Movie Day at AMC - Every Wednesday during this Summer, kids can enjoy family friendly movie at participated AMC theatres for $1.

3. Free Family Move at Movie 400 - Every Tuesday and Thursday, Movie 400 in Cumming will show free family friendly movie. Plus you can get free drink if you bring a canned food for donation.

4. Fun Hiking with REI's Passport to Adventure program - Introduce kids to hiking and challenge them to win prize with REI's passport to adventure. Download the journal, check out your local hiking trail, fill out online form to get a certificate of completion and a special prize. Who doesn't love free gift?

5. Summer Reading program with Barnes and Noble - Kids can earn a free book with they read 8 books this Summer. Join Barns and Nobel Summer Reading Program this year. Download or pick up the Summer Reading Journal to earn free book between May 26th & Sep 7th.

6. Pick up free movie from Redbox every Monday - Ok. Guess you will see a theme here at our household. Movies are big here. So how about one more day of free movie. But this one you can enjoy it at the comfort of your home. Every Monday, check out the Redbox code for free movie and you will be able to have Monday Movie night or Tuesday movie at home before you have to return it before 9pm on Tuesday. Did I mention that it's FREE?

The China's Terracotta Army in Atlanta

The Terracotta Army from China is probably the second most recognized Chinese treasure after the Great Wall. Mr. Rojo and I were fortunate to visit China many moons ago but we didn't have enough time to visit the Terracotta Army. And it's probably almost impossible to make a trip to visit China anytime in the near future. So we were pretty excited when the High Museum in Atlanta had an exhibit of the Terracotta Army on loan from the British Museum.

To fly to London and see the exhibit there ourselves is probably doable.. but the cost saving of seeing it locally is uncomparable. We were so procasinate that we waited till the last weekend to visit. If it weren't for Mr. Rojo who pushed for it, we might have missed it and I might have kicked myself for not taking this great opportunity.

So we packed up the kids after soccer practice and tracked downtown to visit the High. I guess a lot of people felt the same way of the last weekend before they left.. It was pretty busy.. We decided to join the High membership which allowed us to go through the express lane.. Now this is my kind of membership. :) We spent extra money to get the audio tour. I'm glad we did. Both kids enjoy the audio tour so much. It kept them interested and entertained throughout the exhibit.

The exhibit started with the history of the First Emperor and his time. We learned about the life of the chinese during that time. Once we got to the life-size terracotta army, I was speechless. The details and the expression on each figure was remarkable. This was probably the first assembly line in existance. They created the figure individually and each part was created by different group and then it was assembled and then customized to distinguish and make each figure different from the next. It was just amazing!

It was very mind-bloggling to see the map of the tomb and to learn that the excavation is still on going after 30 years after the first discovery. Not only, it's an on-going digging but the main tomb has yet been reached. I just can't wrap my little mind around how many men they will need to make something in that capacity. What kind of tool or technique they have to use.. ah.. I love history!

If you live in Santa Ana, CA then you are in luck. Don't miss a great opportunity to see one of the most amazing exhibit! You won't be disappointed.

The World of Coca-Cola

When you live in Atlanta metro area, you can't help but see or hear about Coca Cola. After all, it's the birthplace and headquarter of this mega company. The new World of Coca-Cola has been opened for quite sometimes. Until recently, we had a chance to visit on a nice sunny Saturday.

The new World of Coca Cola is conveniently located next to the Georgia Aquarium and the Imagine It! Children's Museum. Across the street is the Centennial Olympic Park. So it's a perfect location to have a full day of all Atlanta favorite tourist spots. When we got there, there were a few field trips but the line to get the tickets was short.

Once we got in, we waited at the lobby area and checked out the amazing Coke bottle artwork around the world. The detail and representation for each of this bottle is amazing. A short wait and then we were directed to see the short film 'Inside the Happiness Factory'. It was pretty nice and fun short film to give you the glimpse of what Coca Cola wants us to know about their factory..

Then we walked to the Hub which we waited in line to meet the Coca-Cola Polar Bear. I think it was well planned that they timed the guests in group so there wasn't a long wait and if you aren't interested in the picture, you can head directly to the next gallery.

One of the things I always do when I go to the World of Coca-Cola is to hunt for the Coke sign in Thai. Coca-Cola is pretty popular in Thailand so I'm sure we are a pretty good customer. And they didn't disappoint me when I found a sign in Thai language. It was amazing to see how globalize Coke is.. It's everywhere!

My next favorite part was the Bottle Works. This is where we got to see a real bottling line and see Coke being made right in front of us. Having an industrial engineer background, I love to see all these machines come to life. We probably spent a good 20 minutes watching the Packaging Robot doing his job. And do you know he has a name.. 'Fizzybot' is his name..

We then headed to the 4-D theatre to watch 'The Secret Formula' show. It was pretty interactive and I don't think small children will enjoy it much. The chair can shake pretty violently and I heard a few small kids cried. But Mr. Z and Miss J did enjoy them. The 4-D effects was really thought out.. the water, the air, the movement.. It felt like we were at one of the Disney ride.

After the theatre, we headed to the most anticipate room.. the Tasting room.. This was the room that the kids got to drink Coca-Cola products from all around the world. They group the drinks into regions.. Some were pretty good.. some were not so good (ok.. it was really bad). But you have gotta try them all, right?

Each guest can pick up a bottle as they headed out to the gift shop. It was one of those place that you have to visit once..

Afternoon Fun at Centennial Olympic Park

A fun stop during our visit to downtown Atlanta at the Centennial Olympic Park new playground. This playground has a few unique structures that you won't find them in typical playground. The kids love to slide and climb up on the pseudo rock climbing wall built for little one. They also enjoyed the rocking bench! The shade is a huge plus for a hot day in Atlanta.. The location is ideal for family who visit the Georgia Aquarium or the World of Coca Cola for a quick break.

Mr. Z had a blast climbing up and sliding down the slide. The cool feature is the standing slide that roll down make you feel like you are on the roller skate.. Fun time!

This post is part of Photo Friday hosted at Delicious Baby. Check out other participants here.

The American Girl Bistro

This Christmas Miss J got a brand new American Girl doll. Ok.. I know.. I know.. American Girl doll is a bit (maybe a lot) expensive doll. For $90 per doll, it seems kind of excessive for a 7 years old girl. However, I love their concept of the girl with character. I really like how they tie history to a doll character with books. Maybe it's my childhood dream to own one that push to get the American girl doll for Miss J this Christmas. I can't be sure..

So a couple days ago we took her to the American Girl Boutique and Bistro for a night out with her new friend. It was so cute. She got matching outfits from Grandma and Grandpa. Her new friend had her own chair.. The bistro is nicely decorated with the modern style in there. It was very nice atmosphere. The menu is pretty much straight forward. The price is fixed per person.. At $14.50 per person, I think it's way too expensive. But I guess most of the time, it's for special occasion.. With that you gets the choice of one appetizer and one meal. The food is pretty decent but small in size. I guess they don't expect girls to eat much. After the meal, she got to stroll around the store and checked out all other accessories. Now she just has to save up her money for those if she wants any.. :)

The Nutcracker at the Fox Theatre

Today we took Miss J and Mr. Z to the Fox Theater for the Atlanta Ballet's Nutcracker show...

Ah.. It was such a great experience for both of them and myself. It was the first time for me to visit the Fox theater. What an amazing theater!! I was so in awe for the beauty of the architecture and details of the building. I didn't know about the history of the Fox until to read it from their website. It makes the experience of the show even more magical. The history that has been preserved through time makes me feel like we have been transformed to the different time.

The show is no doubt fun and captivating. This will surely be one of our holiday activity from now on. Maybe next year I might invest in a better seat. :) I wasn't sure how they will do with such a long show.. So I purchased the cheapest seat. To my surprise, we were almost at the front row but to the left of the theater. I guess next year we can try to get a seat on the middle section of the theater.

Miss J and Mr. Z got to enjoy the musician during the intermission on the front row.

Fun day at I.N.K

After a whole day of doing nothing yesterday, I felt horribly guilty so I decided to take the kids out on the cold day. We headed North to I.N.K. - it's the kid's hand-on museum that kids get a chance to pretend to live like us adults. There are multiple rooms to recreate the real world ranging from grocery store, bank, doctor office, restaurant, salon and many more. It's not too far from our house and we have our reciprocal membership that we got from Chattanooga so we got in for free.

It is a small museum but is packed full of things for kids to do and run around. It was actually my first time but Miss J has been there a couple times with her school field trip and Mr. Z had been there once as well. So they actually showed me where things are.

Mr. Z didn't waste anytime and ran straight to the train section. If I didn't force him to come with us to other rooms or station, he would probably spend his whole afternoon there.

Then we backtracked to the mail room. We stopped to send mail to Santa. Hopefully it's not too late. :) After that, we headed to the back room that has the airplane. What a cool room!!! I love it as much as the kid. How often do I get to sit on the small plane like that..


Miss J couldn't get enough of the ATM machine. That's the girl after my own heart! She knows where the money is. :) They gave us the real ATM card that works with Suntrust machine. She got to enter the code, select language, select transaction type.. The only exception is it doesn't give out any money.

After a while, I just let them play on their own.. They didn't seem to want to leave so I had to round them up and promise a return trip with daddy. After all, we don't have to pay for the fee so we can go back as often as we would like. What a fun day we had!!

A Day in The City

I would like to think that we are the 'City' people living in the suburb of Atlanta. But the reaction of my kids when we drove to midtown made me realized that we are far from city people.


Mr. Z: "Mommy, look at that tall building!!"

Miss J: "Daddy, look at that sign!!"

Mr. Z: "Mommy! Daddy! Look!!!"


This conversation went on and on almost as soon as we approached midtown. I guess we haven't been to downtown often enough.


This past weekend we had a little adventure to midtown. I wanted to get the Nutcracker tickets. I have learned from my friend and just noticed how expensive Ticket Master charged for the "Convenient Fee" I decided to make a day trip and went down to the Fox Theatre ourselves and buy our tickets in person.


We parked our car at IKEA and took a free shuttle bus to the Marta station. Then we got on the Marta to the North Avenue station. This was probably one of the highlighted for Mr. Z. We could have driven down there and park somewhere but then where is the fun. The Marta station isn't that far from the theatre just a short walk. It wouldn't be so bad. After we got our tickets, we headed back to IKEA and had lunch.


Typically, we don't have much luck in checking them in at IKEA playland. They have very limited space but that day we were lucky. So we were able to walk around with no kids and .. well, I don't know if it's good or bad because we were able to pick up a few stuffs for our house.


I have found one of my favorite thing this season - Non Breakable Christmas Ornaments!!! I love it. When you have kids, I think it's a must in every household. It looks just like glass ornaments but it doesn't break when they drop it on the floor.

Saturday Fun

Oh.. It has been a while since I have updated my blog. No excuse here. Just plain busy and laziness.

We had a great Thanksgiving with our friends from our small group bible study. They cooked up a great turkey every year. This year I was rather disappointed in the Black Friday deals. We didn't wake up in the early morning to get anything in particular. I found a couple deals that I was able to get after we slowly moved our behind out of the house..

This past weekend had been busy but it will get even busier next weekend.

We started off with Mr. Z's classmate's birthday party at the Stars & Strikes - our local bowling alley. It was fun to see Mr. Z attempting to throw the bowling ball. In the beginning, he got it stuck on the lane a couple times but after a while he was able to manage to get a couple strikes. Not bad for a 4 years old boy! I also had fun talking to other moms. We had a couple families who live in the same neighborhood. After we got talking we found out that our hubbies are more alike than we would like to admit.. One thing leads to another and now we are planning LoTR party! Gotta get on Google to do some research now. I have to prepare myself for the trivia game.

Sunday was our usual routine - church, lunch, bible study and dinner. We went to the mall at lunch today. It was busy.. So I guess we all try our best to help with our economy. We gave in and let them ride the carrousel. I love the carrousel at this mall. Since the upgrade at the foodcourt, it makes it even more family-friendly with several small tables for little kids.

So how was your weekend?

Pumpkin..pumpkin.. pumpkin everywhere...

A couple weekends ago we took the kids to our favorite activity of the Fall - Pumpkin patch farm. We headed North to Burt's Farm. I think this is one of the most popular pumpkin patch farm in Atlanta area. I went there with Miss J once a couple years ago on her field trip. It was very nice and very cold. So this time I came prepared. But what I didn't prepare for was how busy this would be. We had to park in the adjacent parking lot. I mean there were a lot.. a lot of families there. But surprisingly, the farm is big enough for everyone and they have a lot of pumpkins for everyone to have their own spot for the perfect Fall picture.

We first stopped at the giant pumpkins rows. I don't know how many pumpkins were there but there were a lot. And each one was as big as Mr. Z's head. It was fun for them to just try to move them around. Mr. Z had fun just hopping from one row to the next trying to see which one he could move. Poor kid, he didn't know that this was our plan to wear him out. hehe.. Oh! how I wish I could be a better photographer or know more about taking great picture. It was such a great place to take Fall pictures. The whole place was blazed in orange.

After a while, we moved on to the next section - the non-traditional pumpkin rows. Here we found white pumpkins, greenish pumpkins, pumpkins with bad acnes.. I mean seriously.. These pumpkins need to go see the dermatologists - STAT! And being as strange as he is, Mr. Z first choice of the pumpkin was the white pumpkin. That's my boy! Before we got there, we had talked to them about how many pumpkins they could pick. At first I said, one each.. then I caved and gave them two each. So what was Mr. Z next choice? The acne pumpkin!! It took quite a few words from Mr. Rojo to convince him to change to a more traditional looking pumpkin.. Nothing against those pumpkins, I just wouldn't know what to do with them.

Miss J on the other hand had some problem picking just the perfect one. She is my little shopper in training. She is really good at math so I now can tell her how much she can spend. So she was just looking for the one that perfect and was at the right price. Well, it wasn't easy but she did find the one. Then for the second one, she wanted to make sure that it was the same size. So she would pick it up and brought it to compare.. Imagine how long would that take.. Yup.. Forever...

There are other things to do there as well like a hayride. But man.. a line was long so we just didn't go on that. In the end, we ended up with a big family of pumpkins to come home with. I think it was Mr. Z who started to pick more pumpkins and said 'This one is for mommy and this one is for daddy'... Kid!

Six Flags Over Georgia

A couple weekend ago we took Miss J and Mr. Z to Six Flags Over Georgia. It was our and their first time there. Fortunately, Mr. Rojo's friend has a season pass so he was able to get us the discount tickets. We met them up at McD nearby to grap lunch and carpooled to the park. It helped to save the parking fee which costs $15.

Once we got there, the kids quickly took out the map to check out where they wanted to go. But we already knew where we would end up. Our main purpose to go there was to check out the new Thomas Town. So we started head toward the back of the park for Thomas Town. It was during the Halloween weeks so it was nice and spooky to see all the decoration with bones and skeletons. A quick detour to the kiddie free-fall ride was in order. I think Mr. Z wasn't sure at first. I was worried that he would cry. But.. Nope.. He was a dare devil and giggled about it the whole time.

Once we got to Thomas Town, I had to say I was quite disappointed. I was glad we didn't have to pay for the full price to get in. I would be really upset. It was just a big playground with Thomas Theme and a small train ride. I mean that's it!!! So here is my warning to all parents with Thomas obsession kids, don't waste your money there. Six Flags is for bigger kids or even adult. Thomas Town isn't worth it if you want to bring your little kids there. However, we managed to spend a good hour there just for them to run around and ride on the train. I guess for them it was enough with a train ride with Thomas. I still couldn't get the Thomas theme song out of my head.

Surprisingly, Mr. Z loved the go-karts race which was right next to Thomas. He was too young to drive by himself of course. But he could ride with Mr. Rojo. Man.. He hung on to his dear life during the race. :) After Thomas and go-karts, we started to walk around the park with no particular plan. Mr. Rojo did get on the Ninja ride with his friend. I was too chicken to go on any ride. hehe.. Then we went to the Dodge City Bumper cars. It was a downer for Mr. Z as he was only a couple inches too short to ride. I felt so bad for him.. He was crying and very upset.

So we looked for some other kid friendly rides for him. We headed to the Riverview Carousel. There we found the perfect ride for them, the Hanson Cars. It was so neat for them as they could ride the car by themselves. I think it was one of their favorite ride. Mr. Z and Miss J still talked about it from time to time. Then we went to the Wile E. Coyote Canyon Blaster. The ride would be a fun ride if we didn't have to wait in line for almost an hour for a 45 seconds ride. I had to admit.. I could barely handle this ride. I think I scream as loud or louder than Miss J. hehe.. We noticed that there seemed to be busier than this morning. You would think that as the day passed, it would be less people. But I guess since it was the Halloween weeks and some people just came for the night time it made it busier.

Now it was dinner break. We dined at DeeJay's Diner. Nothing food couldn't cure. After a full tummy, we headed to the Railroad station for a nice, relaxing train ride. This was a great way to get to see the park without using your energy. It was getting dark and I knew that we would probably need to wrap up soon. We headed to the USA Games Area and played some games. Mr. Rojo won a basket ball! Before we headed out, we stopped by for the Dipping Dots for the kids and I was so looking forward to the Funnel Cake. But I wasn't going to wait in line for another hour for a funnel cake. I guess I will just have to find it somewhere else.

At the end of the day, I asked Miss J what was her favorite part. She loved the Hanson Car because she got to drive it herself. As for Mr. Z, he loved the go-karts. Guess he has the need for speed. Farewell Six Flags, we probably won't see you anytime soon until they both are at least 52" tall. :)

Fair, Festival and Ferris Wheel

A couple weekends ago we headed out to soon to be our annual activity for Fall, the Cumming Country Fair and Festivals. It was a great small town fair. We headed out late on Sunday evening. I don't like heat so I purposely chose to go after the sunset. Well, what happened next show how competent as a parent we are!

After we parked, we found out that Miss J didn't have her shoes on. I mean.. we trust her to be able to take care of herself to a certain extent. I haven't dressed her since she entered Kindergarten. I don't have to tell her to wear her shoes way before that.. Is it because of the excitement that she forgot her shoes? We will never know. But what would you do at that point. For us, Mr. Rojo had become her personal stroller. He carried her almost the whole trip. I said almost because at certain point we just let her walk barefeet. If you went to the fair and saw a girl with no shoes, that's probably her!

We got to walk right to the fair without paying for any admission fees since it was about an hour before closing. This was perfect for us. I don't know how much we will spend if we stayed more than an hour. The rides there were the same as last year. Mr. Z's favorite was the worm roller coaster. This year I guess Miss J felt like she is bigger. She didn't get on that ride with him. After Mr. Z first ride we walked around a bit just to check out everything. We didn't do the petting zoo. I wasn't gonna let Miss J go in there without shoes.

We stopped for a game for Miss J and Mr. Z to pop the balloon. They were very kid-friendly because eventhough they didn't pop any ballon when they threw the dart, the gentleman there gave them a big stick to pop the balloon. They each got a small toy to bring home. After that, Mr. Rojo and Miss J got on the Ferris Wheel. Mr. Z was too short to get on the ride. Plus if we all go, we would use up all our tickets!! No one warns me that it can be very expensive at this fair. Each ride costed at least $3 each. That can add up pretty fast!

After a couple more rides, we took a little break. We sat down and watched the Xtreme Power sculptor. A bag of cotton candy did the trick to settle them down. By that time, the Sun already set so it was our signal to head home. I didn't get to have my funnel cake though.. Bummer. Maybe next year!

My First 5K Walk...

I did it!!! I completed my first 5K Walk. It was amazing! As I mentioned before that I signed up for the 5K Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run/Walk. On Thursday, we headed to downtown Atlanta for our walk. My company is amazing. Not only they sponsored the employees by paying for the registration fee if we signed up before the deadline but they provided buses to downtown.

We headed down there around 3:45pm. The race was set to begin at 7pm. Once we got there, we got some snack and water and started checking out other tents. There were so many tents and so many people. It was very exciting. We walked around and tried to judge who had the best t-shirt. My top three will be Chick-Fil-A, ING, and Buck consultant. Then we walked to the sponsor tents to check out the freebies. I got a bag full of sample and goodies. I think my legs were tired already and we hadn't started the race yet!

Then we found our gold mine. A tent with free massage! We went ahead and waited in line. For about 30-35 mins we got our turn in the massage chair.. Oh.. Just what I need before the race started. After that, we went to take our team photo. Well, don't expect to see me in the picture. I was a little speck there in the back and I don't think anyone can see me there. Our company has over 300 people participated. So it was a good turn out.

At around 6:30pm we slowly moved to the walker starting line.. Oh..Mine.. They were a lot of people so needless to say we were almost all the way to the back. Note to self, next year I will get there earlier to be in the front. After the National Anthem, the race started. But we were standing still for a while before we got moving. By the time we turned on the main route, the first runner was heading back to the finish line! Amazing!! These guys ran 3.1 miles in like 12-15 minutes! I saw one lady who was up there with guys. I think she probably finished in the top 10. You go girl!!!

I walked with one of my co-worker and we did jog a little trying to take advantage of downhill. It wasn't so bad walking. There were a lot of people so I think I actually walked more than 3.1 miles if you factored in the zig zag I had to do to get pass people on the course. By the time, we got to the finish line it was already dark. I don't know my official time yet. But I think it should be less than 50 minutes. hehe..

All in all, it was a great experience and now I think I got the running bug. I will train myself harder and plan for 5K run next year. Actually, we plan to sign up for another 5K run this November. Stay tune...

13 Fall Activities I love to do

Fall is here. I love Fall season. The weather is cooler. The leaves change color. It's time to get out my sweater and light jacket. There are so many things to do during Fall.. Here they are.

1) Pumpkin patch farm - I love taking the kids to the pumpkin patch farm and pick out their own pumpkins.

2) Corn maze - Another fun fall activity we did a couple years ago. I would love to do it again.

3) Six Flags Over Georgia - We want to take Mr. Z to see the new Thomas World in Six Flags. I don't like to go to the amusement park during Summer. It's way too hot for me. Right now, it's perfect weather to be out and about.

4) Mini-vacation to Destin - It might seem weird to go to the beach in Fall. But from what I heard, October is a great time to go to Destin. The weather is cool enough to enjoy more outside in the Sun and warm enough to enjoy the beach. The crowds are gone so we don't have to fight with long line in restaurant or traffic.

5) Camping in the backyard - Yeah.. we are not that adventurous yet to camp in the campground. So for now, I will take my backyard as a baby step for Mr. Rojo.

6) A trip to a cabin in Gatlinburg - Our first cabin trip to Helen was so memorable that even now Mr. Z is still talking about it. So I would love to take them to another cabin trip in Gatlinburg. Maybe we might even hike the trail in the Smokey Mountain Park.. who know?

7) Amicalola Fall - A day trip to the fall will be a nice change for this Fall. I'm sure we will get to see beautiful colorful fall up there in the mountain.

8) Sawnee Mountain Park - This brand new park is so close but yet we haven't been there. Time to get off from our couch and do some fun stuffs there.

9) Cumming Country Fair & Festival - A small town fair that big enough for us. The kids loved it last year. We will go back again this year.

10) Visit Cabbage Patch Hospital - Because it's so close and we just have to go there.

11) Biltmore Estate - A visit during Nov will allow us to see the Christmas decoration. I can't wait.

12) Apple picking - We don't have that many apple orchards for us to go picking. So I'm still up in the air on this one. The one we went last year, I wasn't too impressed.

13) Halloween Trick-Or-Treat - I don't know what they want to be this year yet. I'm not much into fancy dress or costumes. But I just love walking around the neighborhood with them.

Circus Circus...

This past weekend we took the monkeys to see the Ringling Bros Circus. Thanks to Koala Brains for sending me the discount code. I wasn't sure if we will go but I figured Miss J and Mr. Z have never been to the circus before. This will be a great experience for them.

After we picked up our will-call ticket, we headed inside the Arena. As typical for any types of show, there were a lot of toys and souvenirs for sale. I had to say that I was so proud of ourselves. We typcially had to buy one or two sourvenirs. But this time, we didn't! Well, I guess with the price tag of $15 and up, I couldn't swallow buying them.

We got there about an hour before showtime to check our All Access Pre-show. It was such a fun experience for them to get to see the performers up-close and personal. They got to try out the circus outfit, watched the performers by the ring side or even participated in some of the performance. They enjoyed it so much that I think if we took them home then they would be satisfied. hehe.. Time to get back to our seats for the real show. We practially got the whole row to ourselves. It was a short row with only 5 seats and we bought 4 out of those 5 seats. Sweet! The location wasn't so bad either. It was closer than I thought considering it was the cheapest ticket (with discount).

Once the show started, the kids were so mesmorized by the show. They didn't even move once. The clown was very funny and entertaining. I'm amazed by how he could communicate and made us laugh even without saying anything. I also loved the guy on the bike.. This guy sure knew how to work his bike. It's amazing things he can do with his bike. Especially, when he rode the tiniest bike.. I think it's smaller than any toy bike!

After the show, I asked what they like the most. Miss J loves the acrobat on the rope. She was amazing and strong. Imagine climbing the rope without anything else. I loved when she swinged up there.. I was scared for her! Mr. Z loves the group of gymnasts at the end. They did do pretty wonderful twist and jump. For me, I loved the two acrobats on the swing wheels. Oh.. He was amazing to jump on the moving wheel on the outside. Almost gave me the heart attack!

All in all, we had a great time that night. Will we go back to see the circus again? Probably.. But we probably would love to go see the show that doesn't involve animal show. I wasn't too impressed with the animal show. And on the way to the Arena we saw a group of protesters from PITA protested Ringling claiming that they abused the animal. I don't know if it's the truth or not. But I wouldn't want to take the chance.

13 Things We Need for Soccer

We recently signed Mr. Z up for the soccer. This will be his second year playing soccer. But it will be his first year playing with the real league. I think calling it a league is a loose term. How much can you do with a 4 years old. Anyway, I have 13 things that we need for his soccer game.

1. Soccer shoes

2. Shin Guard

3. Socks

4. Soccer ball

5. Team jersey

6. Sunscreen

7. Water bottle

8. Lawn chairs with umbrella

9. Snacks

10. More snacks

11. Camera

12. Games for sibling

13. Juice or Capri Sun after the game

The Next Shawn Johnson... Or Not!

Miss J started her first Gymnastic class on Wednesday. I wasn't sure if she will enjoy this activity. You see... Miss J is notorious for changing her mind and commitment every 2 hours. I know she is still a kid but I want to instill the idea of responsibility and commitment to her. So we want to make sure that if we sign her up she will finish her class.

I want her to involve in just one sport activity during the school year. So picking the right one is very important. We have tried several sports throughout the year.. Ballet (Can we call it sport? Ok..Maybe activity..), Soccer (which she hardly made it through the season), and Swimming. This year we decided on Gymnastic because I'm so sick of her climbing and flipping on the sofa. I figure at least I will have her in the safer environment to channel her energy and need to flip and jump.

What a perfect timing that the Olympic is on right now. I taped a few Gymnastic events mainly Women All-Around for Miss J to see. I was thinking.. she will get inspired and fire up about doing gymnastic.. Boy!! Was I wrong! She was scare to death. She didn't want to go to Gymnastic anymore because she didn't want to jump and fall. It took a good few talks to calm her down and reassure her that they will have the padding for her and the beam won't be as high. Whew!!! Note to self.. Maybe next time I should choose the event like Floor exercise for her to see instead of Balance beam. :)

Well, how did she do her first day? She LOVES it! She asks to go back every week. Mission accomplished!! I don't know if she will be the next Shawn Johnson or not but I know that for now she enjoys the activity. That's what important to me.

Freebie: Museum Day

Thanks to Sarah @ Fiddledeedee about this upcoming free admission to nationwide museum.

The Smithsonian Free Museum day is coming up on Saturday - September 27, 2008. So mark your calendar and download your free admission card here. There are hundred of museums participated nationwide. Check out your local museums and plan your fun free family day with your kids.

I know I will.. I plan to take them to the Center for Puppetry Arts this year. We went to the High Museum last year. It will be fun! I can't wait.

I Walked, I Ran and I Walked

Yesterday was the first time since a really really long time that I sweat and had my heart rate pumped up.. Since I signed up with the Run/Walk event, I figured I need some training before the real event. After all, I don't want to get left behind in downtown Atlanta at 8pm. Mr. Rojo has been running in our neighborhood for quite sometimes. He has all the distance down. So based on his information if I walk 4 and a half loop, it will be approximately 3.1 miles the same distance for the 5K Walk/Run.

After dinner, I set out to walk.. I must confess that I don't like walking. I just want to get it done fast. I can't stand just walk there. I'm so tempted to run and I did.. Oh! Boy! How out of shape I am. After one block of jogging, I need to come back to reality that I wasn't ready for the jogging/running scene yet. So walking I did.. I didn't make it to 4 and a half loops but I did 3 loops. And that was approximately 2 miles. Not bad for the first day.. I must say..

It was such a good feeling to exercise. I don't know why I didn't do this sooner. Check back often to see when I will hit my 3.1 miles goal. Who know maybe after 51 days I might be able to run instead of walk!

5K Run/Walk, Me?

When Mr. Rojo told me that our company will sponsor the Kaiser Permanente Corporate Run/Walk Event, I thought it was a really good idea for *HIM* to do it. I didn't think I could do it. But after much consideration.. for a whooping 5 minutes, I decided that of course I can do it.. Well, it's only 5K which equals to 5,000 metres or 3.10685 miles.. Ok now it seems to be very long.

The program is desinged to promote health and fitness among Metro-Atlanta companies and their employees while raising funds for the Atlanta Braves Foundation and the Boys and Girls Club of Metro Atlanta. I consider myself a pretty fit person. Eventhough I haven't been to the gym since.. ehh forever.

The Run/Walk will be on September 25 in downtown Atlanta area. We will start from Turner Field and loop back. Well, I have about 52 days to get myself ready. Time to get off my lazy butt (can I say that here.. oh well, I just did) and get active.