Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey – Coming To Sacramento “Fully Charged”

September 5, 2011 By 3 Comments

It is circus time again! Every year I get excited when I hear that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is coming to town. While I don’t get to go every year, I have always enjoyed going all the times I have in the past. For as long as I can remember, I have enjoyed the circus. What I do remember is the circus back when I was a child is NOTHING like the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus that you can attend today.

I haven’t been to the circus in a few years, but I will say that the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus is The Greatest Show On Earth. Every time I have watched one of their circus events, I have left HAPPY and excited to have been a part of seeing all the excitement and always thinking I can’t wait to go again.

The Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey is coming to Sacramento September 15 to 18, 2011 and I cannot wait to go. My son is now 3 1/2 and old enough to enjoy this show. Since he loves going to the zoo to see the animals, he is really going to get a kick out of these animals performing along with his sisters that are very EXCITED that we are going this year!

This month the Power Balance Pavilion is going to have megawatts of thrills exploding off on their arena floor. This is a performance that excites children of all ages, including us adults too! This show will include Tabayara, a dynamic animal trainer that has a rare ability to communicate with the animals. He can ride them at a fully-charged gallop and orchestrate majestic four-ton Asian elephants in a symphony of dance. I LOVE watching these HUGE pretty elephants, they are AMAZING!

If you are going to attend the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, be sure to arrive early! At 90 minutes before the circus begins, they have the Animal Open House that I recommend going to. If you are a ticket holder, this is your chance to get up-close with some of the animals with the show. Be sure to bring your camera. Then one hour before show time, families can step onto the arena floor to meet the performers and even try on some of the costumes. Both of these activities are FREE if you have a purchased ticket.

Some fun and exciting circus facts:

  • The Red Unit has 340 members – of those about 270 live and travel on the circus train
  • A total of 56 animals will be on tour – including Asian elephants, Bengal tigers, Zebras and horses
  • All of the animals are groomed and exercised daily
  • Over 1,000 pounds of popcorn are consumed in each city that the Ringling Bros. visit
  • Each performance uses 4,000 of ice to make snow cones
  • More than 750 pounds of sugar are used to spin cotton candy in each city

Here is the Performance Schedule for Sacramento’s Power Balance Pavilion:

  • Thursday, September 15, 2011 – 7:00PM
  • Friday, September 16, 2011 – 7:00PM
  • Saturday, September 17, 2011 – 11:00AM, 3:00PM, 7:00PM
  • Sunday, September 18,2011 – 1:00PM, 5:00PM

Ticket Prices and Info

  • $14, $17, $23, $38 (VIP), $60 (Front Row) and $90 (Circus Celebrity)
  • Kid tickets are available for only $10 each (limit 4 per 1 adult ticket purchased; not valid on premium seating)
  • All seats reserved and available for purchase at www.TicketMaster.com, ticketmaster retail locations, Power Balance Pavilion Box Office or call 1-800-745-3000

For more information of The Greatest Show on Earth, please visit: http://www.Ringling.com.

Filed Under: Misc Stuff, Places To Go With Kids, Travel & Entertainment, Travel Reviews Tagged With:

My Trip To The San Diego Zoo

August 12, 2011 By 8 Comments

Last week I ventured with the kids to Southern California to the beautiful city of San Diego. I was on a journey to the BlogHer ’11 Convention, but I was also on a journey to see the cool animals at the San Diego Zoo. I have lived in California my entire life, but had never seen the San Diego Zoo.

Last year when I was looking for things to do in Southern California, my friend Rhea recommended the San Diego Zoo. I didn’t end up going last year, but the idea definitely stuck in my mind. See we have a couple zoos here that are local to me, but they get boring after you have seen the same animals multiple times over the years. I will also say that the zoos that are local to me (in the Sacramento area) are SMALL and nothing really to brag about.

So we arrived late Thursday and woke up early on Friday to get to the zoo before the crowds. As we pulled in, I noticed that there were not too many cars and there was no charge to park. I thought to myself, this must be a small zoo. Was I WRONG…. Not only is this zoo big, I think it might take a couple days to see everything there. Check out the map of the San Diego Zoo below:

This map does not really explain how big the zoo is, you will just have to take my word for it. When we first started walking around the zoo, I was a little overwhelmed. This place is huge with different levels and it was taking quite a bit of time to cover each of the exhibits we seen when we first arrived. Since I had plans later that afternoon, I was thinking about what route to take to see the most we could see in the time were were there. I came to the conclusion that taking their guided bus tour was going to be the best option. With their cool double decker bus tour, you get to see 70% of the animals at the zoo and it beats walking around trying to find them.

The bus tour was awesome and we sat on the top. As we were walking to get in line, a guy mentioned that sitting on the right side of the bus was the best view. I am so glad we listened, because most of the things we were looking at happened to be on the right side of the bus. So if you are going to the zoo and are going to take this tour, be sure to sit on the RIGHT. The tour lasted about 40 minutes and we got to see elephants, hippos, monkeys, warthogs and so much more.

Check out a slideshow of some of the photos I snapped at the zoo…


Created with flickr slideshow.

The San Diego Zoo is amazing. If you love animals like we do, you need to take a trip there. They have the most incredible bird aviary I have ever seen. My children and I felt as though were were in the wild with the beautiful birds flying around above us. What I also like about this place is that it is a non-profit organization. All the proceeds that the zoo receives are put back into the zoo to make the zoo a great place to visit and learn.

Like I mentioned before, this place is huge and you might want to take 2 days to cover the entire zoo!

You can find out more about the San Diego Zoo by visiting: http://www.sandiegozoo.org

Disclosure – I received complimentary tickets to the zoo in exchange for this review. These opinions expressed are my own opinions and are NOT influenced by monetary compensation.

Filed Under: Family Stuff, Places To Go With Kids, Reviews, Travel & Entertainment, Travel Reviews Tagged With:

I Am Back From BlogHer ’11

August 7, 2011 By 12 Comments


Yesterday I attended my first BlogHer Conference. I thought when I made my vacation plans, that I would be able to see what I wanted to see at the conference in a 4 hour period. Boy was I wrong. I actually only covered one Expo Hall in that 4 hours and I was off to spend time with my family in San Diego. My husband had originally suggested that I go to San Diego myself. Being the mommy I am, I thought it would only be fair to take the family with me so that I could take the kids to the San Diego Zoo.

I had a BLAST during the 4 hours that I was at BlogHer but was disappointed on my drive home. While I did have fun during my time there,  I left leaving without meeting a couple moms I wanted to meet in person (especially Rhea). There was also a few companies that I wanted to stop at, that happened to NOT be in the Expo Hall that I covered.

So what did I learn? I definitely am going to try to attend the BlogHer Convention next year and I am going alone. This is a GREAT opportunity to meet other bloggers and get to know the companies that work with bloggers as well. You cannot do the whole conference in one day and especially not with the family waiting at the hotel for you to come back. I also learned that if I only plan to cruise the Expo Halls, be sure to buy a ticket early. I paid FULL PRICE for my ticket and only seen one Expo Hall!

I heard that next year’s BlogHer Conference ’12 will be in New York City.  Will you be going? If we did not get to meet this year, I hope to get to meet more of you next year in the Big Apple!

Filed Under: Blogger Events, Blogger Resources, Misc Stuff, Travel & Entertainment, Travel Reviews Tagged With:

Have A Picnic Lunch Arby’s Style – Angus Cool Deli Review & Giveaway – Ended

July 25, 2011 By

So out of all the fast food restaurants that I have ever been to, Arby’s happens to one of my all time favorites. Good thing that I don’t have one that is too close, because I might just spend too much money there. Arby’s happens to be my first employer. When I was 15 1/2 and old enough to legally work, I applied at Arby’s and got a job! I was so proud and I worked there a couple of years before I changed careers.

Arby’s has always been popular for their hot roast beef sandwiches. They have a couple of new items on their menu that are delicious. These new items on the menu are their new Angus Cool Deli Sandwich and Angus Cool Deli Wrap. Thanks to Arby’s, my family was able to have a picnic Arby’s style and we got to try their new cold angus been sandwiches out for ourselves.

My husband and I both tried each of these two sandwiches. We actually split them in half so that we could each try them both. After we finished our sandwiches, I asked him which one he thought was better. He said they were both really good. My thoughts exactly.

  • The Arby’s Angus Cool Deli Wrap – Piles of lean Angus beef served cool, topped with crisp lettuce, tomato, red onion, Swiss Cheese, a one-two punch of banana peppers and pickles, mayonnaise and dressed in our delicious sub vinaigrette. Your favorite deli ingredients all wrapped up in our whole grain flatbread for a delicious taste.
  • The Arby’s Angus Cool Deli Sandwich – Inspired by classic sandwich shop subs, the Angus Cool Deli sandwich is lean Angus Beef served cool. Topped with crisp lettuce, tomato, red onion, Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, dressed in vinaigrette and popping with banana peppers and pickles.

I LOVE that Arby’s now has cold sandwiches in addition to their yummy selection of hot roast beef sandwiches. When I filled up our picnic basket full of Arby’s goodies, know that we also had to grab some of our favorite Arby’s Melts. We can’t have a picnic without some curly fries too!

If you are looking for something fun to do this summer, have a picnic Arby’s style! If you would like a chance to win an Arby’s Prize Pack that includes a picnic basket like the one I have and a $40 Arby’s gift card to try out these YUMMY sandwiches, be sure to enter my giveaway below.

You can find out more about Arby’s by visiting: http://www.arbys.com.

Now For The Arby’s Picnic Prize Pack Giveaway


One Lucky Reader is going to win an awesome Arby’s Picnic Prize Pack too! Winner will receive a picnic basket featured above and $40 Arby’s gift card to fill your basket up with Arby’s goodies!

1) To enter this giveaway, please subscribe to this blog by email.  Leave a comment letting me know you are a subscriber and also tell me where you would want to have your Arby’s picnic if you are the winner. (This entry is MANDATORY)….

Extra Entries:

#2 – Follow me on Twitter – leave your user name in your comment. (1 extra entry)

#3 – Send a Tweet or Re-Tweet with Twitter @mommye & @arbys (Leave a comment with link to tweet – 3 extra entries – leave a comment for each – Can be done 2x daily)

#4 – Blog about this giveaway – Leave link to your post (5 extra entries – leave comment for each entry)

#5 – On Facebook, become a fan of Mom’s Blog or Mommy Enterprises or ThisMomCanCook or Mom’s Freebie Blog (leave comment for each – can do all four)

#6 – Follow Arby’s on Twitter (1 extra entry – leave comment)

#7 – Like Arby’s on Facebook and leave a comment on any of their posts on their wall (5 extra entries – leave comment for each)

#8 – “Like” this post on Facebook – see “Like” button at beginning of this post (3 extra entries)

This giveaway will end on August 2, 2011 at 11:59 PM PST. The winner will be chosen at random using “And The Winner Is” plugin from all valid entries and submitted. The winner will be notified via email and will have 48 hours to contact me with their mailing information before another winner is chosen. This giveaway is open to U.S. residents only ages 18 years or older.

Disclosure – I received a cute picnic basket and Arby’s gift card to facilitate this review. These opinions expressed are my own opinions and are NOT influenced by any monetary compensation.

Filed Under: Food Reviews, Giveaways, Places To Go With Kids, Product Reviews, Restaurant Reviews, Reviews, Travel Reviews Tagged With:

Our Trip To Micke Grove Zoo

July 21, 2011 By 4 Comments

On Tuesday I thought it would be fun to take the kids somewhere that they had not been before. I didn’t want to go to just a park, I wanted to find a zoo that wasn’t too far away. I got online and did a little searching to find Micke Grove Zoo in Lodi, California. This zoo was about 45 minutes away and I had never heard of it before. I then did a little more online research to make sure that it was still there so I didn’t take almost an hour drive for nothing. I was lucky and found the website for the zoo so I knew it was a go! So the kids and I hop in the car and drive to Lodi. I actually kept it a secret where we were going until we pulled in and they could read the sign that read Micke Grove Park. Inside this park is the zoo, all the way in the back.

So we arrive at the zoo and of course I had to take heir picture at the gate. Once inside the zoo, we take a visit to each of the animal exhibits.At the Micke Grove Zoo, you will get to see over 130 animal specimens that represent over 50 different species including mammals, reptiles, birds, amphibians and invertebrates. Many of the species at this zoo are classified as endangered or threatened in the wild.

Our favorite exhibit at the Micke Grove Zoo is the Lorikeets! I had never heard of a Lorikeet until that day, but they sure are pretty birds. My son thought they were parrots and I wasn’t about to argue. For this exhibit, you have to clean your hands with hand sanitizer and are taken in the bird aviary in small groups so that the birds to not get started. The zoo staff is very friendly and will even allow you to feed them or hold them if you want. Our zoo staff friend was nice enough to put a Lorikeet on my hat! My son thought it was the coolest thing. He has not stopped telling everyone that mom had a parrot on her head.

Besides these pretty birds, we seen lemurs, turtles, bald eagles, monkeys, baboons, a mountain lion and more! I definitely want to come back to Micke Grove Park, because they have a little Fun Land next to it that has carnival rides for the kids. This park is actually big and looks like a great place to have a BBQ and let the kids run around an play.

To find out more about Micke Grove Zoo, visit: http://www.mgzoo.com.

Filed Under: Places To Go With Kids, Travel & Entertainment, Travel Reviews Tagged With:

Crayola Pop Art Pixie NYC Adventure – Naomi’s DJ Dance Party – @Crayola

July 18, 2011 By 1 Comment

Last year my daughters and I received an invitation to New York City from Crayola to be part of the Pop Art Pixies VIP Party.  I posted earlier this year videos from my trip with Ariyona and Hailey and the Crayola Pop Art Pixie crew, click here to view the videos on Youtube.

I just looked the other day and seen they published a video for our last stop of our trip, video #5. Take a peek at my trip by watching the video above. This was the most exciting trip I have ever been on. I have lived in California my whole life and have not traveled farther east past Nevada. These Cali girls flew all away across the United States and had a BLAST!

Thank you Crayola for providing my daughters and I with some fabulous memories!

Disclosure – Crayola provided my daughters and I with an all expenses paid trip to New York City. Crayola covered our travel expenses as well as our accommodations. A This post is not a paid post and the opinions stated herein are 100% my own.

Filed Under: Blogger Events, Blogger Resources, Family Stuff, Places To Go With Kids, Product Reviews, Reviews, Travel & Entertainment, Travel Reviews

A Trip To The Jelly Belly Factory

June 17, 2011 By 5 Comments

This past weekend my family piled into a limo and we cruised to the Jelly Belly Factory in Fairfield, California. I am only 45 minutes away, so it was not too long of a drive. We have been to the Jelly Belly Factory a couple times in the past, but the last time we did the actual Jelly Belly Factory tour was about 10 years ago. We got our picture done with the Easter Bunny there a couple years ago, but the line was too long for the tour. Since Hannah and Christopher are now old enough to enjoy the place, we thought it would be fun to take the family there.

When you first start the tour, you receive cool Jelly Belly Factory hats. It is a MUST that you wear them throughout the tour too! We all put or hats on and we enjoyed the tour. I won’t spoil and tell you what you see and there is no video or filming allowed (sorry). I can say that we did get to sample some of the Jelly Belly flavors and we got to leave with a FREE bag for visiting.

Before you leave, you can’t forget to take a picture with the Jelly Belly vehicles. If only all my children could stay together for a photo!

The tour at the Jelly Belly Factory was FREE, but you will spend some $$ in the gift shop. This gift shop has so many tempting goodies that you will want to to buy. They even have a little place to eat, if you want to eat lunch while you are there.

To find out more about these tours, please visit: http://www.jellybelly.com

What is your FAVORITE Jelly Belly Flavor?

Filed Under: Family Stuff, Places To Go With Kids, Travel Reviews
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