Skylanders Have Invaded Our Home!

The Skylanders invaded our home on Christmas but Duke didn't even open the package until the end of January!  I'm kinda glad he held off for so long because now he's addicted.  These fellas are hard to find and thank goodness the sales on 'em are easy on the wallet.  19 figures later... he beat the game over the weekend and unlocked Nightmare mode.  I have no idea what that means but he was so excited about it.  I just got my credentials to E3 in June and can't wait to report back on what Activision is doing with Skylanders SWAP Force!

I decided to do a formal introduction to Duke's blog, Days with Duke with a post on my blog and a giveaway!  I teamed up with Growing up Blackxican who is sharing "5 Reasons Every Kid Should Play Skylanders" and hosting a giveaway!

This photo set is styled and directed by Duke. I just snapped away.  This is a toy story of how Woody & Buzz welcomed the Skylanders into our family.

This is an amazing sale for Skylanders!  The starter packs, single figures, 3 packs, cases are all on sale!  Buy Two, Get One Free on Select Video Games at Target.com 
a Rafflecopter giveaway


Disclosure:  This is not a sponsored post.  All thoughts are my own.

Our Day Out with Thomas Recap

We went on an hour long road trip to take Duke to spend a Day Out with Thomas at Orange Empire Railway Museum in Perris, CA.  I honestly didn't know what to expect and assumed we would be there about an hour but that hour turned into 4 hours because we had so much fun!  Chris and I thought it was more than worth the $19 ticket price.

Our first stop was the Thomas store.  It was overwhelming.  All the Thomas you can imagine.  We convinced Duke to pick out the Day Out with Thomas 2012 Exclusive Train.

This was taken inside the Thomas store tent. 

The Day Out with Thomas event is a huge fundraiser for the Orange Empire Railway Museum so spend your money!  There are a bunch of vendors in the food court, I saw a Carl's Jr. truck, California Pizza Kitchen truck and the usual hot dog, nachos, bbq and ice cream vendors.

Uh oh, don't go past the porta-potty!

All Aboard!  Me and my littles!

Train graffiti is pretty damn cool.

These kids wanted to race Thomas.  They went hard but Thomas wins.

Don't forget to get your map stamped at all the locations - you get a prize at the end from The Conductor!

Meet Mike the Knight and get a free book and dvd!


There are tons of things to do!  Petting zoo, hay maze, ride other trains, look at train models, go jumping in bouncers, hula-hoops, live entertainment... The Imagination Station had train tables, coloring pages, Mega Bloks, temporary tattoos.  There was a Mommy tent stocked up with diapers and wipes.

Day Out with Thomas is a fun event for anyone.  I highly recommend it for the whole family.  Even though all the Thomas attractions kept us busy, Orange Empire Railway Museum is amazing.  I fell in love with all the old trains.  Some of them were so gorgeous!  Some looked like they lived a great, hard life - I can imagine the stories they would tell if they could talk.  I am bummed that I didn't think to check the grounds map before we went or while we were there because I missed out on the hobo camp!   Guess that means we'll have to take another trip out there!

Get social with Orange Empire Railway Museum on Facebook / @ThomasSoCal

WHEN:                 November 10, 11, 12, 17 and 18th – 9:00 – 4:00 PM
WHERE:               Orange Empire Railway Museum, 2201 South A Street, Perris CA 92570

Day Out with Thomas™ is the biggest annual fundraiser for the Orange Empire Railway Museum whose mission is to kindle interest in the integral role the rail industry has played in Southern California history. Tickets for Day Out With Thomas™ are $19.00 for ages two and up. $21 at the gate. Advanced ticket purchase is recommended to reserve the most popular times to ride Thomas the Tank Engine. For tickets and information, visit http://www.dayoutwiththomasperriscalifornia.com, email events.oerm@gmail.com or call (866) 468-7630 or (951) 943-3020.


Disclosure:  This is not a sponsored post.  My family was provided with tickets to Day Out with Thomas.  All opinions are my own.

Blogging is a Family Affair

Now that I got to share Hubby's recipe, I have high hopes he'll want to guest blog here.  I'm not asking him to commit to blogging once a week... I'll be happy if he does one post each season!

I used to tweet and update my Facebook status with "Things Duke Says" and even started a tumblr for Duke but that didn't work out.  Now with the help of Chris, we started a blog for our 6 year old called - Days With Duke!  He's excited about it and is asking me to take photos for him!  Most of his posts are about his toys.  He's got a great imagination and we're so proud of him.  Comment, share his posts, show your kids!