Get ready to pack up the kids and head to the West Towne Mall for some larger-than-life fun!
On Friday, November 13th, West Towne Mall and Fisher-Price will be unveiling their brand new Toy Box play area with larger-than-life-Fisher-Price toys and characters including brands like Thomas & Friends™ and Little People®.
I’m so stinkin’ jealous! I would kill for something this fun at our mall!
This life size toy box will be in the JCPenney Wing and the opening celebration will kick off at 11am with a ribbon cutting ceremony and a special appearance from Santa Claus.
West Towne Mall is the first mall in the country to debut the new toy box with other locations to follow.
Kids are sure to have a blast playing in the toy box while taking a quick break from shopping.
The Fun Continues!
The fun continues on Saturday, November 14 for Family Fun Day!
Between 10am to 2pm enjoy music and games by Musical Memories, balloon animals with Funny Faces, party games with Build-A-Bear Workshop, meet & Greet Sofie and Eddie from The Little People, enter-to-win fabulous prizes and much more!
If you are looking for a destination for a great family getaway you should consider a visit to Blue Harbor Resort & Spa in Sheboygan, Wisconsin.
Blue Harbor Resort is the #1 resort on Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan Coast and offers 180 hotel rooms and 64 villas. Our family was recently fortunate to visit Blue Harbor for 3 days/2 nights and check out everything they have to offer.
Now, as you can probably imagine, traveling as a group of 7 we tend to need a lot of stuff and we take up a lot of space. Thankfully, Blue Harbor has a room to fit everyone’s needs.
Loft Fireplace Suite
We stayed in a Loft Fireplace Suite, a 736 square foot room that sleeps 8 and offers 2 queen size beds and a full-size sofa sleeper on the first floor complete with a full bathroom, wet bar, mini-fridge, microwave, 2 flat screen TVs, fireplace and a small balcony as well as a loft area with a 3rd queen size bed, half-bath and a 3rd flat screen TV.
Blue Harbor also has additional suites and villas available to meet the specific needs of your family, including rooms with bunk beds or those that are perfect for a romantic getaway!
Now, as much as I wanted to crawl right into that giant and fluffy queen size bed, the kids definitely had other plans and were dying to hit up some water slides at Breaker Bay, Blue Harbor’s year-round indoor water park.
Breaker Bay
The weather is always nice and the water is always 84° in this 54,000-square-foot entertainment area and everyone is sure to have a great time!
Breaker Bay has an interactive lighthouse water fort that features a nearly 1,000-gallon tipping water ship, an activity center that is interconnected with suspension bridges, cargo nets, web crawls and more than 60 guest-activated water effects, 4 water slides, lazy river, pool, jacuzzi tub and the Riptide surf simulator.
Everyone had a great time playing in the water, going down the slides, playing water basketball and just having a lot of fun!
This trip was Ellie’s first time on a water slide and although she wasn’t quite sure about it at first, she was hooked by the time our trip was over!
For Libby and Alexander, it was a constant race to the bottom!
As for Joey, he just really liked being in the water and playing!
Ride The Riptide
One thing that was an absolute hit with Alex and Alexander was The Riptide Surf Simulator. I’m pretty sure they would have spent all of their time body boarding had we not had other things on the agenda while we were visiting Blue Harbor.
Dining at Blue Harbor
On our first morning, after a long night of swimming and a toddler who didn’t want to go to sleep, I was ecstatic to learn that Shoreline Café offers a full line of Starbucks coffees as well as some delicious treats.
Although the kids were exhausted after hours and hours of fun at Breaker Bay, we still had the chance to enjoy some of the delicious food from the different restaurants at Blue Harbor.
On our second night, we had dinner delivered right to our room from The Beacon while Joey napped before heading out to the Tripoli Shrine Circus.
Dinner was absolutely delicious and we have been craving those crisp Wisconsin cheese curds since!
We were also very pleased that The Beacon offers a kids menu with a large selection as well.
Once we returned from the circus and got the kids all settled in for the night, we left them in the capable hands of our trusty teenagers and Alex and I took some time to ourselves to enjoy a nightcap at On The Rocks Bar & Grill where we were happy to find New Glarus Spotted Cow on tap!
Blue Harbor is also the home to Latitude 43, a more upscale restaurant serving seafood and steak in a seaside setting with a beautiful view of Lake Michigan.
If you are hungry or in need of a drink while playing at Breaker Bay, you can grab something from the Rocky Bottom Snack Bar or if you are enjoying the outdoor pool, be sure to check out the Poolside Snack Bar for a selection of beers and frozen cocktails!
Shopping
If you are looking to do a little shopping, be sure to check out The Boutique, located in the lobby, offers a wonderful selection of interesting gifts and home decor items including Vera Bradley handbags and accessories, Broken Earth Wines and so much more!
Connected to Breaker Bay, you will find Washed Ashore Swim Shop filled with gifts & sundries including swimwear, towels and more.
If you want to step outside and go for a stroll, be sure to stop by the Harbor Centre, a quaint village within easy walking distance of Blue Harbor’s front door filled with a variety of one-of-a-kind shops.
Relax
One thing I was hoping to do on this trip but just didn’t have the time for was pay a visit to Reflections Spa for some serious pampering (hopefully I can enjoy some me time on another trip!).
Reflections Spa offers a full menu of spa services and packages that are sure to make your stay very relaxing.
There’s EVEN MORE!
Although we didn’t get a chance to experience it all, Blue Harbor has even more to offer its guests including mini glow golf, a fitness center, lakeside activities, golf, kids club, activities for teens and so much more. At Blue Harbor, there really is something for everyone!
Our Experience
Overall, our trip to Blue Harbor Resort & Spa was great. We all had an awesome time, spent as much time as we could in the water, enjoyed the dining, the views and enjoying our time together as a family.
Thanks to our friends at Blue Harbor Resort & Spa for this amazing opportunity for our family to celebrate the end of the school year and kick off our summer vacation!
Connect
You can find out more about Blue Harbor and everything they have to offer for vacations, weddings, events and more by visiting their website or by checking them out on Facebook or Twitter.
Summer is just around the corner and while both kids and parents anxiously await a much-needed vacation, there are a few others who need something more…a break from the heart-wrenching challenges they face every day as a result of a family member who is battling, or who may have lost the battle, with cancer.
Being a mom, there are things I constantly worry about. I worry about something happening to my kids daily, I worry about something happening to me or Alex all the time and hate to ever imagine my kids living a life without me or their dad or ever having to know cancer on a personal level. Unfortunately, there are children, every day, who learn about cancer at a very personal level, and at those times, I am happy to know there are places like Angel on My Shoulder available for them to enjoy to help ease that burden.
Angel On My Shoulder is a registered 501 (c) (3) non-profit organization that has established a number of cost-free camps, both summer and year-round, that were designed to address the needs of young people whose lives have been affected by cancer through the illness or passing of a close family member (parent, sibling, or grandparent).
New Campers get ready for a weekend of fun at Camp Angel
Angel On My Shoulder weekend camps are funded through donations, so that everyone who wants to attend may do so. They provide kids with an opportunity to meet others like themselves in a well-supervised atmosphere of understanding.
“When a family is affected by cancer, the focus has to be on the patient. Too often though there are children who are also experiencing loss or confusion,”said Lolly Rose, founder of Angel On My Shoulder.“That’s where Angel On My Shoulder comes in. We’re helping these kids feel good and have fun with others they can relate to; to see their faces light up again is an amazing feeling.”
Angel On My Shoulder offers five different weekend camps for kids who have a close family member who is battling cancer.
Camp Angel is for kids ages 7-12
Camp Teen Angel is for teens ages 13-15
Camp Angel Adventures is for older teens ages 16-18
Camp Angel Adventures Extreme is for 16-18 year olds who want to experience more extreme activities
Camp Hozhoni, is a family camp for families with a child 18 or younger who has cancer.
Darci Sullivan (far right) enjoys a wet and wild ride at Angel Adventures
The purpose of the camps is to give kids the chance to meet other kids who are in the same situation and give them the opportunity to participate in activities tailored to their age group that will provide many happy memories.
Summer camps include swimming, kayaking, canoeing and fishing. Winter camps feature snowshoeing, ice fishing, dog-sledding and sleigh rides.
Angel On My Shoulder also sponsors two retreats for adults: Angel Care and Healing Angels. Angel Care is for Cancer Caregivers, and was created with the express purpose of giving cancer caregivers a respite from the often times grueling work of caring for a loved one with cancer. The retreats are held several times a year and provide activities such as yoga and discussion sessions to help these selfless individuals give back to themselves.
Sharing sessions provide comfort to caregivers at Angel Care retreats
Healing Angels is for cancer survivors who are in remission. The intent is to provide them with a weekend of mental, physical and spiritual healing that will contribute to their growing sense of well-being.
“I am constantly inspired by the people I meet through Angel On My Shoulder from donors and volunteers to those families whose lives we touch,” added Rose. “This community is quick to lend a hand and help one another and our organization is very thankful for that.”
Learn More
You can learn more about Angel on My Shoulder by watching the video below.
Volunteer
If you would like to learn more about Angel on My Shoulder and the volunteer opportunities available, please check out their website.
Like I have said more than once on this site, going on vacation as a large family is not something that is really easy for us to do. As you can imagine, airfare for 2 adults and 5 kids is expensive and there is rarely a hotel room that can accomodate us all at an affordable price.
When it comes to vacations, we like to do little getaways and staycations that are close to home so we can keep costs down and ensure there is something for everyone to do and enjoy.
I’m excited to share that we will be heading to Blue Harbor Resort in Sheboygan in a few weeks to enjoy some family time.
It’s Better At The Blue
Blue Harbor Resort & Spa is the #1 resort on Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan coast. With stunning beachfront and water views, Blue Harbor Resort features 182 suites, 64 villas, more than 17,000 square feet of meeting and event space, a 54,000 square-foot indoor waterpark entertainment area including a mini glow golf course, a full service spa, three restaurants, and recreation amenities including watersports and access to the Bull golf course.
This award winning resort is located just two hours north in nearby and scenic Sheboygan, WI, known as the “Malibu of the Midwest.” Visit BlueHarborResort.com or call 866.701.BLUE.
The kids are looking forward to hitting up the Breaker Bay waterpark and checking out the new Riptide Surf Simulator.
Doesn’t that look like a ton of fun??
Of course, in addition to the waterpark, we are looking forward to relaxing and having lots of fun too! I, of course, am hoping to sneak away and pay a visit to the spa with Alex and get a pedicure or maybe just spoil myself!
Save
FREE Water Park Passes and Savings Up to 30% OFF – Get Free Water Park Passes and Enjoy Special Savings at the #1 Resort on Wisconsin’s Lake Michigan Coast.
Be sure to check back for an update all about our trip to Blue Harbor Resort!
Since the kids are going to be on Spring Break after school on Friday, we thought we would plan some fun things over the next week.
We are starting their vacation off by heading to the WBAY-TV 2 Pet Expo after school on Friday to check out all of the different animals and exhibits. I think the kids will have a lot of fun!
On Saturday morning, after I sneak off for a quick lab appointment at the doctor, we are heading down to Pleasant Prairie to take the kids on a tour of the Jelly Belly Factory before it closes.
After we are done at the Jelly Belly Factory it will be time to grab a bite to eat at Franks Dinerin Kenosha, and then it’s a quick trip to the Dinosaur Discovery Museum!
The kids don’t have a clue what we are doing and they are going to be sooooo excited! None of us have ever visited any of these places so it should be a lot of fun for all of us.
The great thing about this little mini vacation is that it is super budget friendly. Both the Jelly Belly Factory and the Dinosaur Discovery Museum are free so we don’t have to worry about the admission so we only have to cover gas and lunch!
I can’t wait to get everything ready Friday night after the kids go to bed and surprise them with this little road trip when they get up in the morning. It’s going to be a lot of fun!
