Pensacola Museum of Art - Chagall for Children

We're fortunate enough to have a great museum here in Pensacola.  Even better, it's free on Tuesdays!  So really there is no excuse not to go if there is something of interest to you.  It's also a great way to spend some time when it's too hot outside.  For a while now they have had a Chagall for Children, and I finally got the chance to get Little Miss to the museum to enjoy it.  

She absolutely loved all of the interactive displays!  

This was a favorite - you found the picture on the side in the painting, and it would do something interactive when you touched it!

The phones talked about the paintings, but Little Miss used them to call her Daddy.

She even got to try her hand at creating her own artwork.  

Trying your hand at painting your own face is always fun!

If you're in the Pensacola area, I highly recommend this exhibit!  It's a great one to get your children interested in art!

Wordless Wednesday - Bubble Time!

Little Miss and Snoopy had a great time playing in the bubbles this weekend!

I'm not sure who had more fun!

SUP - A fun way to exercise!

Last week, Little Miss and I had the pleasure of getting to try out Stand-up Paddle Boards for the first time.  If you're not near a large body of water, you may be wondering what on earth SUP is!  In my opinion, it is without a doubt the most fun exercise you'll ever get!  The boards are similar to surf boards, but wider.  You stand on the board and paddle to get around.  

I was terrified that I would fall off of the board, but it was extremely stable!  Once I got comfortable on the board it was so much fun!  We were even in darker water, so you couldn't see the bottom - I imagine it's even better when you can glide and look at all of the cool animals swimming beneath you!  

Little Miss wouldn't get on the board with me, so the kind people there watched her while I took a demo ride.  Unfortunately that meant I wasn't able to stay out long, but it was enough to get me hooked!  How many other things combine relaxation with a great core workout?  Since your board is constantly moving (slightly), your body is constantly working to stay level.  You probably won't even realize it!

Now I just have to figure out how to come up with the money to buy one!  They sure are expensive, but I think we'd get a lot of use out of one.  

Have you tried a SUP?  

Keep Your Children Entertained This Summer!

Do you live in the Pensacola area?  There are a lot of great children's programs going on this summer if you're looking for something for your children to do!  Some are free, some cost money - it's easy to find something in any budget.  I included links for these, so please be sure to confirm all details!

Pensacola Little Theater Summer Camps:

PLT hosts a number of camps during the summer. Information on their website.

Roy Hyatt Environmental Center Camps:

The environmental center is hosting summer camps for students entering grades 3-6. Camps are held June 13-17 and July 11-15 from 8 am - 3 pm. Cost is $130 per session.  

Pensacola Public Library Summer Reading program:

The public library is hosting their popular reading program. Part of it includes the library game, which encourages kids to read a variety of books through the summer. In addition, they host many programs for kids through the summer, at each branch. Magicians, musicians, model building, puppetry, and others. There will also be art classes on Fridays at Tryon and teen movies on Thursdays. 

Pensacola Museum of Art:

This summer, the PMA is hosting Chagall for Children in their downstairs exhibit space. It is a hands-on exhibit to introduce kids to the work of Chagall.  Tuesdays are always free admission!

The PMA is also hosting art camps throughout the summer. You can choose from four different 2 hour sessions a day, or stay for the whole day. One week of one session is $50 for members; full day is $150. To sign up, contact Raven McBride at Raven@pensacolamuseumofart.org or 850.432.6247.

Pensacola Historic Village:

The historic village is also hosting history and archaeology camp June 13-17 for incoming grades 4-6, and July 11-15 for incoming grades 7-10 from 8:30-12:30 . The cost is $115.

Gulf Islands National Seashore:  Most of these are simply the cost of admission, but always call to confirm!

Island Treasures-Monday, June 13-Aug. 8, 10:00 am, Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays, June 15-Aug. 13, 2:00 pm at Langdon Beach. Discover the treasures of the Gulf of Mexico at this beachcombers program. 1 hour.

Snorkeling-Mondays, June 13, 20, 27, July 11, 18, 25, Aug. 8, 3:00 pm at Naval Live Oaks Picnic Area, Thursdays and Saturdays, June 16-Aug. 13, 10:00 am at Battery Worth Picnic Area. Discover the underwater world of the National Seashore and the interesting plants and animals that live there. Masks and snorkels provided. 2 hours.

Junior Ranger and Sea Star Day Camps-Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays, these day camps introduce children to the wonders of the Seashore through age appropriate activities, storytelling, songs, crafts, and interactive games.  Locations and topics vary and reservations are required.  For Sea Stars ages 3-5 and Junior Ranger ages 6-8 call Ranger Beckie at (850) 934-2631 and for Junior Ranger ages 9-11 call Ranger Amanda at(850) 916-3001. 

Children’s Discovery-Wednesdays, June 22-July 20, 3:30 pm.  Meet at Battery Worth Picnic Area. Each week children discover a different Seashore habitat through hands-on activities.  Large groups should contact Ranger Amanda Carrigan-Grissom at 850-916-3001 before attending the program. Ages 5-11. 1 hour.

Seeing Sealife-Thursdays, June 16-Aug. 11, 2:00 pm at Johnsons Beach, Perdido Key Area.  Discover the sealife of the sound by pulling a seine net. 1 hour.

Barrier Island Experience-Fridays, June 17-Aug. 12, 9:00 am.  Meet at Battery Worth Picnic Area. Discover the plants and animals of the barrier island habitats. 1 hour.

Stargazing-Fridays, June 24 and July 22, sunset to 10:00 pm at Battery Worth Picnic Area.  Join volunteers from the Escambia Amateurs Astronomy Association for an evening of stargazing. 

Good Morning! How was your weekend?

This was the second three day weekend I got to enjoy with my husband, which was so nice!  

He works away from home, and we really haven't gotten to see much of him these past few months.  

Unlike most of my friends, who seemed to be busy cleaning their houses and cooking out this weekend, we really didn't do much of anything other than spend quality time with the family.  My husband got to eat some crawfish on Saturday - he even taught Little Miss how to pull the heads off of them!  Cajun Specialty Meats is walking distance from our house, and they just started serving dinner.  We walked down since the weather was nice, and we were amazed by the cool breeze that came through their patio!

The patio area had a children's table that Little Miss loved, and she also loved having good music to listen to and plenty of room to run around in!   Every time someone who worked there walked by, they had something nice to say to Little Miss.  She even got to see a real live crawfish!

Little Miss took this picture of Snoopy

Snoopy enjoyed playing with Little Miss, she sure has grown a lot!  Little Miss enjoys Snoopy's company most of the time, but occasionally gets tired of her puppy antics.  They are so much fun to watch together!

Snoopy took a swim in the pond this weekend - it was the first time that had happened!

On Sunday we headed to Harry T's for some brunch with Brian's parents.    It was good, but a little too hot since there wasn't much of a breeze where we were sitting.  Their menu is pricey, but if you sign up for their rewards program they always send a lot of coupons, which makes it more reasonable.  

Monday we relaxed, got some grocery shopping done, and then Little Miss and I headed to the beach for a cookout after Dad left to head back to NOLA.  She did NOT want to go home when it was time, but other than that we had a great evening cooking out and seeing friends and puppies!  

How did you spend your weekend?  I hope it was a good one!

Do your children like to bowl? Great deal at AMF Centers this summer!

Fun. Active. Social. Local.  

AMF's Summer Unplugged is this summer's best bowling deal!

Zip, Zero, Zilch for Kids 16 and Under

• At select AMF centers, two free games of bowling per day for kids 16 and under. (Shoe rental not included, but they’re worth paying for.)
• Time: open until 8:00PM, 7 days a week.
• Dates: Monday, May 30 (Memorial Day) through Monday, September 5 (Labor Day).
  
• Parents go to http://bit.ly/AMFfree to select a participating center (over 200 locations) and complete a simple registration form.
• Free game coupons emailed every Sunday starting May 29 for the following week – it’s that simple!

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Happy Weekend!

We've been REALLY busy lately, so no blog posts from me - I have a lot of great stuff coming up, though!


Here's a cute picture of Little Miss being silly.  

We're not sure what we're doing today, but I think we'll end up pretty busy!  Tomorrow we're going to Perdido.  


If you haven't entered my Tropical Traditions Giveaway, it ends today and has VERY low entries! 


Happy Weekend! 

Visiting the Easter Bunny

Last weekend we went to an egg hunt and visited the Easter Bunny.  I forgot to post the pictures then, so I thought I'd do it now!

Little Miss didn't want to sit in the bunnies lap, but she didn't mind standing next to it!

She also did some coloring with her cousin (the blonds right next to her).

After all of that excitement, we still managed to go to the beach that evening!  Grayson Capps was playing, so we had good food, good scenery, and good music!

Winter Wonderland at Seville

This weekend I decided to take Little Miss to the Magical Winter Wonderland Tour at Seville, located in the buildings across the street from Seville Quarter.

Once we get through the squeezing through the chimney part, which she wasn't very fond of (you squeeze through two air bags - it gets pitch black), she throughly enjoyed it!  

There were several Christmas scenes, and amazing 3D artwork throughout.  The artwork looks great even without the 3D!  One area even had "snow", which was a big hit here in Florida!!

Little Miss had the most fun running through the area that had inflated candy canes hanging down - we went through that at least five times!  After that was a bridge through a tunnel that had beautiful paintings on it that spinned!  We ended up going through twice, and the second time it made me a little dizzy, so beware!  

Of course, no Winter Wonderland would be complete without a visit to Santa.  Children have a chance to sit in Santa's lap at the end, and then you get a ticket to go across the street and get a free cup of hot cocoa.  

Be sure to bring your camera - picture taking is encouraged!  Unfortunately, my battery was running out so I didn't get as many pictures as I would have liked.  

Seville's Magical Winter Wonderland is over for this year, but I imagine it will be back next year!  It's a great choice for those colder evenings since the whole thing is inside.  

Merry Christmas!  

Wordless Wednesday - Then and Now

Little Miss sure is growing!  A few weeks ago we were getting out the Christmas things, and she found this stocking.

We used it when we took a photo for our Christmas cards when she was just a few months old back in 2007.

My how we've grown!

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Frugal Family Events - Pensacola, FL - Dec 10th Weekend

With Christmas just around the corner, there are a lot of ongoing events.  I’ll probably leave links to the websites for most of these so you can confirm them yourself.  Little Miss is going to see the Zoo Lights with her grandparents this weekend!

What:  Pensacola Lights
Cost: Free!  This is an individual family who shares Christmas Lights with the community
Where:  8911 Cove Avenue
When:  Daily 5:30-10:00 - hours run later on weekends

What:  Downtown Pensacola’s 1st Annual Palafox Christmas Market
Cost: Free, downtown businesses will have specials and free samples, etc.  
Where:  Downtown Pensacola
When:  December 4th and 11th from 10:00 a.m. until 5:00 p.m.

What:  Seville Quarter’s  Magical Winter Wonderland
Cost: $5 a person
Where:  Seville Quarter Downtown
When:  Friday and Saturday through Christmas from 5-9 pm

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Everett the Elf has made his appearance!

Better late than never!  My cousin, Merry, got me interested in the whole Elf on a shelf phenomenon.  I love the idea of doing something for Christmas every day in December.

Yesterday I was in Hallmark because I had a coupon, and I ran across Everett the Elf and his Magical Shoe.  Everett lost his shoe while helping Santa, and the shoe will leave 'elf magic' fun every day in December until Christmas.  A tiny Everett sits in the shoe, and there is room to put a note and supplies for a craft or other things for an adventure.

Yesterday's adventure was mainly searching for the shoe, but we also made a Buzz Lightyear cut-out.  I imagine we'll have plenty of simple adventures like that one, but hopefully we'll have some really exciting ones as well!

Oh Christmas Tree!

This weekend we got our Christmas tree up and decorated.  We get a real tree each year, and getting it ready is one of my favorite parts of the holiday.  I love the way it smells, and I love how so many of the ornaments hold special meaning.

Growing up, each year we got an ornament for Christmas.  It was alway fun finding your own ornaments to hang up on the tree.  When I moved out, I got to take my ornaments with me.

We've continued the tradition with Little Miss, and my parents do as well.  She'll have lots of ornaments when she's old enough to move out!

Little Miss also got a small tree to keep in her room this year.  I don't know how she sleeps with the lights blinking on and off all night, but she just loves it!  It's a small artificial tree that I used when I was in college.  We let her put an ornament on it each day.

It's not much to look at, but she loves it!

Do you have your tree up yet?

Spinach Artichoke Dip – So Easy a Three Year Old Can Make It!

My daughter loves cooking, so I’m always excited when we’re making something that she can really get involved with.  My In-Laws have appetizers the evening before Thanksgiving, so I thought spinach artichoke dip would be a great thing to bring that Little Miss could help make. 

Little Miss helping in the kitchen

I was a little nervous about bringing the dip – my husband’s parents can be picky eaters, but they both loved it!  This is a great dip to take to your holiday gatherings.  If you happen to end up with leftovers, the dip also makes a great quesadilla filling!

We used the recipe from the Kraft site – I’ve reprinted it here:

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Frugal Events in Pensacola

There is a lot to do this weekend!  

What:  Gallery Night
Cost: Free!  
Where:  Downtown Pensacola
When:  Friday Nov 19, 5-9 pm.  

What:  Mobile International Festival
Cost: $10.00 adults, $8.00 seniors, $5.00 7-15 years, Free 6 and under
Where:  Mobile Civic Center
When:  Saturday, November 20 (10 AM - 5 PM)

What:  Storytime at Barnes and Noble
Cost: Free!

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Our trip to the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival

This weekend we spent a lot of time at the Great Gulfcoast Arts Festival.  The festival lasts all weekend, and is one of the biggest ones in Pensacola.  There is definitely something for everyone - food, great music, art, and an amazing children’s area!

I was especially excited to take Little Miss to the children’s area.  We took here last year and she had fun, but I knew this year she would have more of an idea of what was going on and be able to participate more.  

We started off at the sand art table.  Little Miss still has the one she made last year and often carries it around, so I knew we needed to make another!  She had a great time picking the colors, and quickly learned how to put the funnel in the jar and pour in the sand. 

Next we headed to the bracelet table.  She had a great time picking out the beads, and she was able to put them all on the bracelet herself.  

We stopped by the paper flower table - the wind was pretty bad, so instead of Little Miss trying to make the flower herself she just picked the colors and the helper made it for her.  She then headed to the puppet table, where she had a great time decorating her puppet. 

 
If you’ve never been to this art festival, go ahead and put it on your calendar for next year - it’s always an amazing time!! You can spend hours looking at the artwork, listening to music, or just enjoying the great weather and people watching!

Our Halloween Weekend

We had a very busy Halloween weekend.  It started on Friday, when we went downtown to Trick or Treat with one of our friends.  He and Little Miss had such a great time seeing all of the other costumes and playing in the park!  There was Trick or Treating as well, but we didn't do much of that - I didn't want a ton of candy to deal with!

Saturday we took a Halloween break and Little Miss went to visit her Grandparents with Daddy while I went to a wedding.  We all had a great time!

Little Miss dressed as Tinkerbell

Sunday Little Miss and I went to my friend's house to pass out treats.  We did a little Trick or Treating, but not too much.  What a fun weekend!

Did you do anything for Halloween?  

Frugal Family Events - Pensacola, FL - Oct 29th Weekend

Since it is Halloween weekend, there are a ton of free events!  I decided to pick just a few of my favorites for the list..

What:  Downtown Pensacola Trick or Treat
Cost: Free!  For children nine years of age and younger.  
Where:  Downtown Pensacola - look for the orange and black ballons.  You can get a map here.
When:  October 29, 4-6 pm

What:  Halloween Egg Haunt
Cost: Free with donation of a non-perishable food item to Manna Food Bank
Where:  Roger Scott Athletic Complex
When:  October 30, 5-8 p.m.

What:  Boo at the Zoo
Cost:  $11 Adults, $7 Children (Not free, but looks like a lot of fun!)
Where:  Gulf Breeze Zoo
When:  October 31, 2-6 p.m.

What:  Florida’s Gulfarium
Cost: Half price admission on Sat and Sun, or 40 % off annual passes for locals only
Where:  1010 Miracle Strip Parkway
When:  Through the end of the year