Mary Poppins Returns

I went to this movie twice in the theater (so far!). Mary Poppins Returns follows The Banks kids from movie one all grown up. Michael Banks has 3 children and after his wife passing he is struggling to pay a loan he took out against his house. The movie is 2 hours and 10 mins of typical Mary Poppins fun and music tied up with saving their house from the big bad wolf.

I took my 2 nieces and 1 nephew the first time I saw it. It was Christmas Eve, which may be why my 4 year old nephew and 6 year old niece had a hard time sitting through it. My 9 year old niece really enjoyed it though. The 2nd time, I brought my other 9 year old niece and she was up dancing through all the songs (thank goodness we were in the back and there was only 4 others in the theater! lol).

I absolutely love the sound track. A few of my favorites are

1. Can You Imagine That
• This song gets stuck in my head all day long! It is super cute! My niece sings it with me
2. Turning Turtle
• Who doesn't like a crazy Meryl Streep? She plays Mary Poppins cousin Topsy and every 2nd Wednesday her life gets topsy turny (or as she calls it turning turtle). The songs is cute and crazy!
3. Trip A Light Fantastic
• This song is similar to Burt's Step in Time from the 1st movie but follows people who light the sidewalk lamps instead of chimney sweeps. This song has a lot of dancing and silly words.
4. A Cover is Not the Book
• This is a great song for a good lesson learned. It's pretty much about not judging a book by it's cover. It ties in nicely with the wolf in the scene. Mary and Jack sing about different stories. It's another fun song with lots a dancing!

I will most definitely be buying this movie when it comes out on DVD/Streaming. I would recommend seeing it in theaters if you have older children. I feel like it was a little long (and maybe a little slow) for a 4 year old. He may sit through it later at home if he can play with his toys at the same time though.

SPOILER BELOW........

The one thing I wasn't happy with was Dick Van Dyke's part. Disney had the perfect opportunity to bring him back as Burt but he came back as a banker. I loved that he was in it though, he even danced a little! But, had I have written him in, I would have had him come down the chimney at the bank with the burned up page from the shares ledger, not as the bad guy's uncle! He came back as Mr Dawes Jr and saved the day though, so it all turned out for the Banks family!

I also wish some of the other actors/actresses made a cameo. I know they are all older now, but they could have come back as someone else like Dick Van Dyke did and not necessarily their original part.

Lindsey and Her Puppet Pals show

The other day, I brought my nieces and nephew (ages 9, 6 and 4) to Salisbury beach to see Lindsey and Her Puppet Pals puppet show.

When I saw the event on facebook, I was skeptical because I was sure the kids (especially the 4 year old boy) wouldn't sit through a puppet show. 

I was expecting someone to have hand puppets and be behind a "stage" like most shows we have gone to. Oh no, I was pleasantly surprised when Lindsey pulled out a FULL SIZE puppet. The 1st puppet she had out was a moose, and this guy was as big as she was!

We had so much fun at Lindsey's show!. The show was amazing! Lindsey kept the kids' attention and they were laughing the whole hour!

I highly recommend Lindsey to everyone! She did an amazing job and the show was super cute. She even added some "life lessons" in her skit (sharing, not interrupting etc) that is a good learning tool for the children. I have attached the links to her facebook page and her website in case anyone is interested in checking her out.

We are very thankful that Salisbury Beach arranged for Lindsey to come do a free show for the kids. I hope they have her back for years to come!

Check out a few of the photos I took during the show and a video I took of the kids singing with the puppet.

https://www.facebook.com/LindsaysPuppetPals/

http://www.lindsayspuppetpals.com/

Museum of Science- Boston

During February school vacation week, I went to the Boston Museum of Science with my 3 nieces, 1 nephew and my sister in law. For my sister in law and 3 of the 4 kids, it was their first time ever. I haven't been since I was a kid. We all had a blast. 

We drove in, because taking the train then the subway and walking with 4 wild kids was not what we wanted to do. The drive in wasn't bad, we didn't hit too much traffic. We parked in the lot that was attached to the museum, which is very convenient.

We stood in line a few minutes before getting our tickets. I had gone to the library and gotten their pass before heading in. The pass is good for 4 people and we would only pay $10 a ticket (instead of full price). However, there was an extremely nice lady in front of us. She was a member and had some extra tickets and offered us all to get in free. We were very happy that she saved us money! Because we saved by not buying out tickets, we bought tickets to the butterfly exhibit, that the kids insisted on going to. We paid $6 per person to go in. This exhibit was okay, but the kids did enjoy it so I don't mind paying extra. In my opinion it was small and the ones at the zoos are bigger and included. However, when we went there was a nice woman working and she really engaged with the kids, which was awesome. The kids got to hold an orange that attracted the butterflies and they got to watch them eat.

The lightning show was amazing! My oldest niece, who is 9, was bugging us for hours to see this show. It did not disappoint! She is still talking about it a week later! The other kids really enjoyed it too. Be aware though, it is pretty loud and get's packed quickly. 

We saw the show about cold (I think it was called Wicked Cold or something like that) The lady was good at keeping the kids' attention, while teaching them (and us!) something.

The kids enjoyed the house of mirrors, to the point where we walked through that maze about 6 times!

I packed our lunches, so that helped save money. We did pick a busy time to eat (noon) and we got the last table. It wasn't too bad though.

I rented a locker for the day. We stashed our lunch and jackets in there so we didn't have to carry them around all day. I was able to open the locker a few times, unlike some places where you can only open it once.

We didn't have time to do the planetarium, so that will be the 1st thing we do next time.

I highly recommend visiting with kids of all ages! It is a lot of walking, so if you have younger kids (or a runner like we do) I suggest bringing a stroller (wish we brought one!)

America's Stonehenge, Salem NH

Monday, right before the new school year started, we visited America's Stonehenge in Salem NH.

Prices: $12 for adults, $7.50 for 6-12 year olds, $10 for seniors, Free for under 5. (some libraries have FREE passes!)

My sister-in-law brought her 3 kids (8,5, and 3) plus another 8 year old. This was the perfect outing! Educational, hiking, and fun all wrapped up together!

The kids all loved the Kid's Gemstone Dig. Here the kids dug in the dirt to find pretty rocks, which they were allowed to take 3 home each. Any other artifacts had to be left on the bench. We spent a good chunk of our visit digging in the dirt.
 

After the kids finished their digging for gemstones, we started a little hike to the different sites:

 

 

We got to view the ruins and explore. There was an informational sheet that explained each site.

We found a rock that said Share A Smile, each of the kids HAD to share a smile! :)

 

 

After hiking around the place, going off on different paths that followed the sun sets during times of the year, we ended with the Sun dial.

All in all, we had a very fun visit. We will defiantly be visiting again! We highly recommend this place for any age, but keep in mind it is a lot of walking. We should have used the back pack carrier for the 3 year old, next time we will make sure we bring it!

Hydren Photography. Richard Hydren

Sunday afternoon, we met with Richard Hydren for a photo shoot of my 2 nieces, nephew and Brother and Sister-in-law. We had the shoot at Marini farm, mainly because my mom loves it there. Normally Richard does his shoots on Plum Island.

We got there a few minutes early and Richard was setting up his camera equipment. He was very nice, and very professional. My mother really wanted the large chair that Marini farm has as the back drop. Richard made that happen for her, plus he took some photos in a few other sections of the farm to have more options.

My nieces and nephew are 8, 5 and 3 and Richard worked really well with them. He positioned them in ways that will look great in photos, but then let the kids come up with their own shots at the end.

I saw a few of the photos on him tablet as he was taking them and they were gorgeous! I cannot wait to see the final product. I will post some on here as soon as we get them!

I highly recommend Richard for any family! He is patient with children, but has a real eye for his work! 

He also does weddings, horses, properties, and products for businesses. 

Check him out on Facebook: Hydren Photography or online at gallery.hydren.net