Tag Archives: Kids Activities

Giveaway: Meet Thomas In Squamish

I’ve teamed up once again with the West Coast Railway Association to bring you a fabulous giveaway to meet Thomas the Train in Squamish. This will be the third year that my family and I are going to see Thomas. It doesn’t matter how old you are, seeing Thomas is a lot of fun and brings out the child in all of us.

If you haven’t been to see Thomas, it’s a must, whether you have boys or girls. You need to book your tickets in advance by going to the WCRA’s website, click here to purchase your tickets. Please make sure you arrive 1 hr before your scheduled departure, according to the WCRA. Once you arrive, there are many activities to keep your little one(s) occupied while you wait to board Thomas. When you arrive you are greeted by many familiar faces, including Sir Topham Hatt.

In the round house there is a bouncy castle, you can meet Sir Topham Hatt, take pictures with various Thomas characters, enjoy the souvenir store and you can also have lunch from White Spot. Who doesn’t love a Pirate Pack!!!!!

The day after our first trip 3 years ago, my son was already asking me when can we see Thomas again. It’s a great activity that the entire family can enjoy. Rain or shine, it’s a lot of fun.

So here’s your chance to win a Family pack of tickets for 4 to meet Thomas in Squamish. Please follow the Rafflecopter instructions below. This contest is only open to residents of the lower Mainland. Contest runs from Friday May 16, 2014 to Friday May 23 midnight PST. All entries will be verified. Good luck

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Our Dinosaur Train Experience

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A few weeks ago I ran a contest to meet the gang from the PBS show Dinosaur Train. Yesterday, my family and I, had a chance to check it out. I wasn’t really sure what to expect. I pretty much figured it would be similar to that of Thomas. As with Thomas, the Dinosaur Train is located at the West Coast Railway Heritage Park, in Squamish. We arrived about an hour earlier then the train departs. You could arrive 20-30 mins before the train is scheduled to leave and that would be plenty of time. The train greets you right in the parking lot and takes you all the way to the Round House.

Once you get settled in the train, a ticket person comes around and hands out the tickets. If you have chosen to pick up your tickets at “Will Call”, this is also done on the train. You receive your tickets, colouring pages, crayons and an activity book.

Before the train takes off, a person blowing bubbles comes around along with a lady who tells “funny” dinosaur jokes and gives you interesting dinosaur facts. My son loved the bubbles, he even tried to eat them, silly boy :).

At the Round House, we were greeted by a life size “Buddy”, one of the characters from the Dinosaur Train.

With help from some dinosaur tracks and the guide you were given on the Train, you make your way to either the mini train (your admission includes a ticket to go on the mini train) or to the Round House. We decided to make our way to the Round House.

Once you arrive at the Round House, you are greeted by a very large blow up Conductor, along with other dinosaurs. Once inside there are lots of activities to keep you and your little kidlets busy. There is a huge bouncy castle, an area where you can watch the Dinosaur Train and a couple of excavation areas where you use sifters, brushes, shovels to dig for fossils. They even allow you to keep a petrified piece of wood and a shell!!!

They have Dinosaur ballon makers (for a $2 fee), a station to get Dinosaur tattoos, a place to make masks and tables to allow you to relax and have a snack.

After a quick snack, we made our way to the mini train. The tickets for the mini train are included in your price of admission. It’s a 20 mins ride that takes you all around the Heritage Park.

You have a choice of either taking the train back to the parking lot or you can walk back. It’s only about a 5 minutes walk back to your car and it’s a nice walk.

So there you have it, our Dinosaur Train experience. Coming from the horses mouth, my son, he had a great time. We all did. It’s definitely worth it. Plan for it to be a day trip. We took the 1pm train and got home around 5. We also did stop on the way home to get a bite to eat, but plan to be at the park at least a couple of hours. It’s a great activity for everyone in your family and it’s also a great way to keep you all from getting cabin fever during Spring Break :)!!!

To buy tickets or for more information, click here.

Although I was compensated for this post, all my opinions are my own.

May this blog inspire you to take your Family on an adventure on the Dinosaur Train.

Don’t forget to link up tomorrow for my weekly Tres-Chic Fashion Thursday Link Up.

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Happy Sunday Everyone!!!!!

Come Visit The Calgary Zoo

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During our road trip to Alberta we stopped off to visit some family in Calgary and had a chance to visit the Calgary Zoo. Since childhood, I’ve been a few times to the zoo and each and every time I’ve had an amazing experience. Trish from the Zoo kindly gave us some tickets to come and review the zoo.

Unfortunately at the end of June the city of Calgary, along with many Southern towns, suffered a devastating flood that destroyed many homes, towns and even parts of the zoo (requiring the zoo to relocate some animals). Fortunately for us, about 1/3 of the zoo was still open and we had a chance to explore the new Penguin exhibit, the Great Canadian North and the Dinosaurs.

From the moment you walk into the zoo, you are greeted by friendly and helpful staff. The entrance is beautifully decorated with different animal sculptures and have these amazing colourful lights in the walkway (one of my son’s favourites).

Our first stop was the Penguin Plunge. It’s one of the zoo’s newest exhibits featuring an indoor area that mimics Antarctica, complete with icy water and below zero temperatures. The Penguin exhibits also includes an outdoor area for those Penguins who don’t live in the subzero temperatures of Antarctica. Take a look:

Through out our visit the staff was extremely friendly and helpful in answering our questions.

The next area we visited was the Prehistoric Park where they have life size Dinosaurs. Our first stop was an archeological dig for Dinosaur bones. My son had a blast digging through the sand for bones. I say we may have a future Archeologist on our hands :)!!!

Through out this area, they had interesting kiosks including one where they had fossilized Dinosaur poop.

Another kiosk had an oven mitt the actual size of T-Rex’s arm.

Take a look at all the cool Dinosaurs they had. It was like walking right into the Badlands of Alberta.

The last exhibit that was open was the Canadian Wilds. We had a chance to see a Grizzly Bear, Moose, Owls and many, many different other animals that call Northern Canada home.

We ended this amazing Zoo experience with a little game of Connect 4.

A big Thank You to the Calgary Zoo and Trish for being such amazing hosts and for giving me and my family such an amazing experience. If you live in the Calgary area, the zoo is open so please make your way down and support them. If you don’t live in Calgary but are planning a trip to Alberta, the Calgary Zoo is a definite must see.

Although this is a sponsored post, all opinions are my own.

May this blog inspire you to check out your local zoo.

Happy Friday and Long Weekend Everyone!!!!!!!

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The Symphony and A Preschool Concert

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On Saturday after my son’s dance class, we went to the Symphony. It’s specially set up for toddlers, by the VSO (Vancouver Symphony Orchestra). This is our third time going and my son loves it. It’s a great way to introduce children to classical music in a relatively cheap way. They offer 4 shows a year. For more information click on this link. Below is what I wore to the show. I normally don’t buy or wear holiday sweaters, but I couldn’t resist this one. The bow is adorable.

Sweater ( J Crew). Skirt (Gap). Boots (Nine West). Tights & Bracelets (Jacob). Watch (Michael Kors).

As I mentioned before, my son’s preschool Christmas concert was this past Monday. I was totally prepared to go into the “ugly cry”, but it never happened, I got distracted with Aiden trying to find me. The minute he got on the stage, he yelled out “Mama, I can’t see you!!” and “Mama where are you?”. My husband and I were frantically waving our hands in the air trying to get his attention, but all he could see was the big bright stage lights. He could hear us but he really couldn’t see us, so after each song, there were 4, he would repeat “Mama, I can’t see you!!!”. It was too cute He basically stole the show!!! I am so proud of these little people. These 3 and 4 yr old little munchkins stood on stage by themselves, without any fear. How many adults would do that? I loved watching all the kids sing, dance and have fun. I wish I was more like them, able to just be in the moment. Congrats to my son, his teachers and to all those adorable toddlers for putting on an amazing Christmas concert!!!

I tried to get a picture of him but he was acting like a monkey, so this is the best I could do. By the way he picked out the tie.

We were asked to bring a snack to share with the rest of the parents and kids after the show. I had some cupcakes leftover so I made some Christmas Trees.

Last but not least, what I wore to my son’s Christmas concert. I just realized that my outfits in this post have something in common: bows. I couldn’t decide which shoes to wear; I have sequin flats, patent black heels and boots. I decided to go with the boots. Below is a picture of me in the heels.

Top (R W & Co.). Pants (Gap). Shoes (Aldo). Bracelets (Jacob). Watch (Michael Kors).