Minecraft Super League: Summer Splash

This is a sponsored post via US Family Guide.

Minecraft SuperLeague is coming back to a movie theater near you for a week of summer gaming fun!

Treat Your Kids to MINECRAFT Summer Splash in a Movie Theater! This time around Minecraft Super League will include an exclusive underwater-themed MINECRAFT game on the big screen!

July 18 - 22, 

9am - 12 noon. 

Get tickets at https://superleague.com/buy-tickets 

Save $10, use Promo Code: USFAMILY10

Want to read our review from the most recent round of Minecraft SuperLeague gaming? Click here.

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Frazzled Mom? Organization That Works

This sponsored post contains affiliate links.

Are you frazzled by your family's hectic schedule and chaotic household? I AM!

US Family Guide has offered me a copy of Debbie Lillard's "A Mom's Guide to Home Organization," and I'm excited to see if this simple process will really work. This book walks you through tips for organizing your time, your stuff and your space. The second half of the book addresses how to teach your children the life skill of being organized. Can you imagine how much easier life would be if the kids knew how to keep the house clean as well? This book is written by a busy mom for busy moms.

Check back soon to see how it helps get my home's clutter under control!

Want to try it yourself? Click the image above or the link below to purchase it on Amazon.

 Buy Today

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Minecraft Super League Recap...AWESOME!

This activity was sponsored via US Family Guide.

A few months back I shared with you a discount code for the Minecraft Super League coming to movie theaters all across the country. Today I'm back to share a first-hand review. Skipping all the way to the big picture, yes, we will definitely participate the next time it comes around!

Due to an unexpected scheduling conflict, I enlisted the help of my friend Wendi, and her son, Geoffrey, to attend the 4 week event. It might not surprise you that they volunteered un-hesitatingly...Here is their report:

The first week was primarily for working out technical issues. There were about 25 kids in our theatre, arranged in stadium-style seating, as well as 3 super helpful, positive, encouraging staff members. The participants played a series of building phase rounds and then combat phases while the staff quickly diagnosed and tweeked any problems. The final combat round was intense!

When signing up for Minecraft Super League you have the option of forming a team with other friends or joining an already existing team. We had received our information quite close to the event and so Geoffrey arrived unassociated with a team. Wendi reported it was not a problem:

Arriving the first day we picked up our badge and t-shirt and then had the opportunity to mingle and form a team. The teams were pretty fluid so kids could try out different groups until they found one they really liked. It was fun hearing all the fun gamer tags (translation: profile/character names). Two of our favorites were CheesecakeLlama and TheUnderMiner (that one's pretty clever, get it...?) 

 When I inquired about the logistics of getting set-up the first day, Wendi had this to say:

It lasted for about an hour & a half, but went by so fast! There were some power cords available but they strongly recommended we charge our laptops ahead of time. Also, Logitech (a corporate sponsor) provided a few mouses to borrow just in case kids forgot them at home (oops, that was us!) Next time we will come earlier to make sure we have plenty of time to get to know the other kids better.

So that was Week 1. At the end of the month, 4 sessions later, I caught back up with Wendi and Geoffrey to see what they thought after it was all over. They said:

The three staff members were very nice and responsive to questions or concerns throughout each session. I was especially grateful that they had some extra equipment because we forgot our mouse twice!

I noticed a few parents like me chose to stay through the whole time, and we were absolutely welcome to do so, but a bunch of the kids had parents who did the drop off/pick up thing, or just sent their kids as part of a school group. I especially enjoyed hearing my son interacting with his fellow team members, whether it was building their superhero homebase, fighting zombies, healing each other, or creating their group image for a guess-the-word game.

The pacing of activities during each session (such as combat, free build time, announcements, defend your wither, platform/winner's cheer, etc.) perfectly helped keep their interest the entire time. It was crazy to see how fast time flew by, even for me!

Each session lasted about the time of a standard movie, but it involved sooooo much more than just sitting and being entertained. The kids experienced teamwork, communication, problem solving, creativity, seeing locations/events from different perspectives (both their own laptops and the big cinema screen), performing under stress, long term project work (working on the builds all four weeks), and feeling a part of a group all across the nation (when the screen showed team names and scores from tons of different cities).

The whole experience sounded amazing! The only constructive criticism Wendi had to share with the company was a desire to have the event sponsored closer to where she lived. In Utah there were 2 options, but both fairly close to each other in Salt Lake City. It'd be great to have them spread out in outlying population centers. Your location may indeed have that, but ours unfortunately did not. 

Her only advice for other parents?

Form a team in advance and sign everyone up together so they can more easily communicate during the week or relay information if someone is going to miss a week.

That primarily was my fault this time because we signed up quite late, but I can say that the process to form a team and join together seemed very straightforward when I was logged into the system.

Doesn't Minecraft Super League sound awesome? I'd love to be able to play my favorite video game on an enormous movie screen. Click the banner below to find an event near you and find a $10 discount coupon.

Want more information on what 
Minecraft Super League is and how it works?

Click here.

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Super League Gaming Discount

This post is sponsored by Us Family Guide.

My family will receive tickets in exchange for sharing.

Do your kids love playing Minecraft with their friends? How much more cool would it be if they could play on a full-size move theater screen! Now your family can play Minecraft in select movie theatres with Super League Gaming. 

Super League brings together gamers of all ages for a fun, social, face-to-face gameplay experience on the big screen with superhero themed maps and mods in a custom Minecraft adventure called, Rise of Heroes.

HOW IT WORKS
Bring your laptop with Minecraft 1.9.2 installed and play first-person on your computer. Then, wirelessly connect to Super League's server which puts you and everyone else in the movie theater's gameplay up on the big screen. Parents and siblings can attend for free to watch and cheer their gamer on.

Your gamers will play, collaborate and socialize on teams with 4-7 members their own age as they build, battle and use their creativity and imagination. Super League even provides all the tech help and support making this a great family-friendly event.

THE LEAGUE ENCOURAGES SOCIAL CONNECTIONS & TEAMWORK
It's all about teamwork and collaboration. Each player gets a free gaming t-shirt encouraging team building and camaraderie. There's even an opportunity for the winning team to evenly split a college scholarship. 

Leagues start April 30. 

Visit Superleague.com for a schedule of times and locations.

Use promo code "USFAMILY10" today for an exclusive $10 discount!

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Tour a Real Life Ice Castle!!!

This is a sponsored post via USFamilyGuide.

A complimentary item will be received, 

but you know the opinions are mine.

A friend recently asked me how I always know about the super cool things happening in our neighborhood.  The first thought that came to my mind was our different amounts of community interest and involvement.  I take advantage of every service our city has to offer and many many times they are not only amazing, but also free.  

The second thought that came to mind was this blog.  Freemples is all about finding things that are cheap or free and bringing them to every one's attention.  It's how I provide great opportunities for my family and how I can share them with all of you.  

Every once in awhile an opportunity comes along that boils over even my cool-ness scale.  That's what I'm sharing with you today!

If you live in Vermont, New Hampshire, Minnesota, or Utah, you have got to go explore in one of these larger-than-life frozen architectural wonders!  Because I want you to be as excited as me, let me share the exact description from the Ice Castle website...

 Amazing ice features including archways, tunnels, slot canyons, ice slide, caverns, glacial waterfalls and a frozen throne. 

Families squeezing, squishing, sliding, stomping and crawling through parts of the stunning, Narnia-like display. 

Natural frozen ice tones during the day; colorful LED-lit ice set to music at night.

Doesn't it sound amazing?!? Each castle is an acre in size and will only last as long as the weather stays cold.  If you're having a warm winter like we are here in Utah, you'll want to go as soon as possible to make sure you don't miss out!

I'm taking my family next weekend and will definitely share pictures of our adventure.  If you live in driving distance of one of these 4 castles, will you come back and share your pictures with me?

For information on locations, open dates, and times visit http://icecastles.com/.  

This is a sponsored post via USFamilyGuide.

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We had an Urban Adventure!

This post is part of a sponsored campaign via US Family Guide.

Remember shortly before Christmas when I introduced you to Urban Adventure Quest?  After several delays for a nasty 3-week flu in our house, I finally got my family bundled up and went out exploring on the Salt Lake City, UT, self-paced scavenger hunt.  I'll tell you up front, it was a great way to spend a few hours on a weekday afternoon!

As I explained before, Urban Adventure Quest is an "Amazing Race" style scavenger hunt throughout the city of your choice and at the pace you set.  You can race against the leader board of other people who've competed in that city, or just take your time and complete the challenges at your leisure.  I think our Adventure Quest experience was fairly typical, so I'll share the highlights of how it went...

The Beginning

Our initial instructions included a general starting place with basically no other details, other than to have a smartphone, paper, and pencil with you.  The Salt Lake City starting place is an open-air mall downtown.  After checking in on the website, the challenges begin and you input your answers as you go along.  Our first clues included finding statues, bricks engraved with specific words, and reading a plaque to find a person's name.  

Challenges & Clues

All complete, our Adventure Quest had around 20 questions that took us on a path through approximately 20 city blocks and covered all of the downtown area.  Several times there were options to either use public transportation or to walk and also an option to skip past several clues if the group wanted to avoid going up the steep hill to the Utah Capitol Building.

We were impressed with the variety of puzzles and hints used to figure out the clues.  Some were local sports or history facts, some involved counting objects in an area, and several involved sketching out pieces of answers to figure out the clues. Each clue gains you points and also has options for getting hints. Some of the clues are easy with a Google search, and some of them took some actual problem-solving.   For example, this is the clue that taxed our brains and took us the longest:

Urban Adventure Quest clue: Find the next location by combining the 1st letter of each starred 4-letter name

The Ending

The Salt Lake City Urban Adventure Quest concluded in a very central location, albeit one we had walked directly through earlier in the day.  After entering our last answer, we automatically were given our scavenger hunt time.  We had actually skipped the steep capitol jaunt as our boys are all under 7 and we were still recovering from the flu.  Our time ended up being 2 hours and 43 minutes.  There is a leaderboard on the website where you can compare your times if you are so inclined.  Also at the end is the option to take a survey and give input on your day in exchange for a discount code on your next adventure.  

Those are the things we really liked.  Here are a few of things I'd like to see improved in the future:

~More detailed initial information on where the scavenger hunt begins and ends so you can choose a logical place for parking.  My husband had to run back and move our car out of a 2-hour parking spot and then had to leave us to go get the car when we were done.  The ending spot would have been an ideal place to park and walk to the beginning, if we'd known beforehand.

~The web application could use some finessing.  The print was quite small and if we zoomed in, the "hint" and "submit" buttons overlapped.  It was easily solved by zooming back out, but should work better on a technology-centric program.

~For the Salt Lake City adventure quest specifically: Allow extra time for the clues that take you through Temple Square.  We did not have any trouble there, and never felt uncomfortable, but by nature the LDS missionaries working there are very friendly and will stop to make sure you're having a good time.  I think they would've been more than excited to help us find the answers to our clues, if we'd asked, but just know it's going to take longer to say hi to everyone you pass along your way.

I LOVED going on our Urban Adventure Quest!  I'm undecided if it was because I was in an area I am familiar with, or if I would love it just as much in a city where it all was brand new.  At a group price of $45, it'd be an extremely economical to spend a day on vacation or to show visitors around when they're in town.  Right now, the 20% discount I mentioned before is still available if you enter FGBLOG when signing up at Urban Adventure Quest.

Check out the list of available Urban Adventure Quest cities here.

I'd love to hear if there's a scavenger hunt near you!

This post is part of a sponsored campaign via US Family Guide.

I received a complimentary product to complete my review 

but the experiences and opinions are my own.

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Give the Gift of Adventure

Freemples will receive a complimentary product 

in conjunction with this 2-part review.

We're only a few days from Christmas and hopefully your gift-buying is winding down.  After walking through aisles and aisles of plastic toys, and standing in eternally long lines, I decided this year that it was much more memorable to give the gift of experience this year.  Museum entries, sporting tickets, movie theatre packages.  And then, in all my researching, the opportunity to give a scavenger hunt adventure came along.  BINGO!

Urban Adventure Quest combines the excitement of the Amazing Race with a three-hour city tour.  You start when you want and play at your own pace.  What a great way to explore in a city near you! 

We will review the Salt Lake City Urban Adventure Quest after the new year, but if you want to get in on the fun right away, look for a city near you today!  

Save 20%- 

Only $39.20 for a team of 2-5 people after Promotion Code: FGBLOG.

 Sign up online at www.UrbanAdventureQuest.com.

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A Subscription Box For Your Little Space Explorer

Freemples received a 2-month subscription

 in order to faciliate this review with USFamilyGuide

A few weeks ago, I introduced you to new subscription box service geared towards the space enthusiasts in your life.  

After receiving and using the first two month's subscription boxes, I'm prepared to tell you we LOVE Space Scouts and can wholeheartedly recommend them!

Here is a look at what is provided in the 1st and 2nd Space Scouts shipments...

1st Month: Lunch Box, Poster, Sticker Puzzle, Wiki Stix, Worksheets, Constellation Ring

2nd Month: Magnet, Astronaut Figurines, Stickers & Sticker Puzzle, Worksheets,
 Constellation Cards, Robotic Space Arm

Here are my boys completely engaged with their Space Scout activities...

And here are the reasons I think Space Scouts is a great investment...

Reason #1

 Educational-As a homeschooling parent, I could easily incorporate these boxes into a unit study each month.  They are in-depth with information pages and interactive with worksheets.  The recommended age for is 6+, but I found the worksheets to be a good mix of challenging for my 7-yr-old and also entertaining for my 4-yr-old.  Each month's box also contains a new "Space Plan" to study and a new constellation to learn about.

Reason # 2

     Quality Products-The toys are not cheap plastic that will break the first time they are used.  The poster, stickers, and magnets are durable and meant to be long lasting.  And the metal lunchbox is a fun but sturdy way to contain all the components for a long long time. 

Reason #3
     It's Fun-Being young boys, my kids don't always sit in one place for very long.  The afternoon we opened up the Space Scouts packages, they sat at the table learning and playing for nearly 3 hours.  They loved the bright colored worksheets and activities.  They got along deciding how to apply the stickers and magnets, they used their imaginations with their new astronaut figurines, and calling a generic toy grabber a "robotic space arm" is absolutely genius!  They followed their challenges to accomplish different space arm missions to the letter...

We loved our Space Scout boxes.  I think you would, too.  At $11.95/month it is an extremely affordable way to both entertain and educate.  I thought I might want 2 boxes so my boys wouldn't fight over what was inside, but each month comes with enough items to divide that we didn't have any problems. At that cheap price, though, it wouldn't be exorbitant to order an additional subscription if we decided to in the future.  

One last thing, whether you decide the Space Scouts subscription box is the right fit for your space-loving loved one or not, I highly recommend joining the Space Scouts Facebook page.  They update frequently with current space related news events that are incredibly fascinating. 

Think the Space Scouts Subscription Box would be a great fit for your family?

Use code USFAMILY20 at checkout to get 20% off your initial purchase!

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Space Scouts: An Educational & Affordable Idea for Christmas

This and future posts may be associated with promotions sponsored by the company.

Is there anyone on the planet who doesn't love the trend of subscription boxes?  If you can dream of it, I'm pretty sure you can find someone out there willing to mail it to your door once a month...for a price...and usually that price is FAR more than I can afford.  That is one of the reasons I am uber-excited to have found this...

We haven't received our first box yet, but this is what I know about the program and what we are expecting...

Space Scouts monthly subscription club for kids is a delightful learning adventure aimed at discovering the wonders of the universe! Each month your child will explore a new place in space -- stepping into the worlds of space exploration, space science, and astronomy. Join Roxy and Jett as they scout about the galaxy engaging your child in fun learning activities, hands-on discovery, and exciting challenges. Packages arrive each month filled with fun additions to your collection -- magnets, stickers, toys, and more! 

And best of all they start at only $11.95 per month + $3.00 for shipping.  What other subscription box have you found that is that affordable?  Follow this link to check them out and receive 20% off of your holiday order!

I'll share my review as soon as we've received ours!

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Double Creativity, No More Boredom...Sign Me Up! #sponsored

I received a complimentary subscription

 for this service via US Family Guide.

  You know the thoughts are mine, though, don't you?

A few weeks ago I shared an information post on the new toy rental company, Pleygo.  Now that I have had a chance to test out the service myself, I want to let you know that I LOVE it, and also share a fabulous deal Pleygo is offering right now.

The #1 reason I'm in love with Pleygo is that this little guy loves it.  His 6-year-old creative brain can be a lot of energy to deal with, but the minute the Pleygo box comes in the mail it's all focus and thinking.  I love the suggestion from Pleygo to contain the pieces of each set on a baking sheet.  It has done wonders to keep us from losing pieces...B can just pick it up and move it if the babies are coming near or if it's time to put it away for awhile.  

I've been really impressed that the instruction manuals we've received have all been pristine and looked brand new.  I know that we haven't always sent them back in such good condition and so I appreciate that Pleygo is appreciative of the wear and tear that comes with normal play and provides new manuals with their packages. Even better, most Lego sets can make 2-3 different objects, and the manuals for each set are always included.  I discovered this week that you can also go into your account online and bring up a file of the manuals if for some reason you don't have access to the ones they sent you.  

The #2 reason I think Pleygo is such a great company?  Their customer service is amazing! 

 Periodically they send out a short survey asking for input and both times I've responded, I've received an email back either answering my questions or addressing my concerns.  This picture is a product of one of those interactions...

The original advertising I had seen showed the toy packs showing up in  fabulously branded packaging, but our first several sets arrived only in a plain grey plastic envelope.  There was no way to know what it was without further investigating and nothing for the kids to get excited over.  Can you see the re-enacted look on his face when we finally got a set in the Pleygo packaging?  He could see the box waiting on the front porch before he'd even left the car that day and couldn't wait to get inside and open it.  And if you set up your account with your child's name, it will come addressed to them specifically.  Real mail for them...how can that not be exciting?

In addition to the appearance, the box also offers improvement on the instruction sheet.  In the plastic envelope the instructions were on a separate sheet of paper and were ripped and wrinkled by the time they got to us.  With the box, the instructions are printed very professionally on the inside top flap.  

In 3 months we have received 5 or 6 sets of Legos.  It seems like we've kept each one about 2 weeks before returning it and waiting for the next set on our wishlist to appear.  Even in the past few weeks we've seen continued improvement from Pleygo as they've decreased the wait time by shipping your new set as soon as they've received confirmation from the post office that you've mailed your last one.  In some cases this can literally mean a 1-2 day turn around time.  That is definitely value for your money!

Pleygo is a new and developing company and I think they will have some hiccups along the way.  But they seem to have all the elements for success already and if they keep listening to what kids and their parents are saying, I'm confident they have big things ahead of them.

Be sure to check out my first post on how the Pleygo system works and then head to their website for your one-month free trial.

Ready for the great deal?  Right now Pleygo is offering a $20 account credit to customers who purchase a gift subscription for someone else.  That is even more free!

Who in your world would be excited to see their 1st Pleygo box waiting in the mail?

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Enjoy Education with Your Child: GenZ Read Together Program

This is a sponsored post.  

I received a free trial as compensation.  

The opinions are my own.

I had the privilege a year ago to homeschool my oldest son through kindergarten.  It was so rewarding to sit beside him, teach him how to read or express his creativity, and really watch his brain grasp onto concepts he would use the rest of his life.  Sending him to 1st grade at a public school this year made me nervous.  The majority of his learning is now done with his teacher (who thankfully has turned out to be amazing) and I miss that personal interaction we had working side by side.  Not wanting to over-work him after he gets home from a long day at school, I've been looking for simple ways to still sit down and spend some fun educational time with him.  Signing up for the new email subscription service, GenZ, has allowed me to do that in a current and enjoyable way. 

GenZ Read Together (www.genZreadtogether.com) emails wonderful real-life stories and activities each day to parents’ smartphones, tablets or computers. Whether it's at breakfast, bus stop, or bedtime -- GenZ makes it convenient to read about amazing people, places and things. 

Created by educators and award-winning children's writers, stories are written at two levels, for children in grades K-2 and 3-5.  Titles include:

The Atocha (world's greatest treasure hunter), Captain Sully Saves the Day, The Chilean Miners' Rescue, Wilt Scores 100 Points!, Owen and Mzee - an Unusual Friendship, The Invention of Velcro, and hundreds more!

Buried Alive! The Chilean Miners Rescue

I love that many of the stories available are fairly current topics.  The Chilean Miners Rescue, Captain Sully landing his airplane in the Hudson, or even a bio of Lady Gaga.  The information is presented in an age appropriate way.  There are comprehension questions to discuss, and pop quiz questions. 

Each story has several layers of activities to complete together with your child.  As you progress, your child earns points towards sweepstakes items.  This part seems a little hokey to me, but if you're using GenZ to engage with your child on a meaningful level, then throwing in a chance to win a Chipotle gift card can just be icing on the cake.

I appreciate companies that promote interaction between parents and their children. I'm excited to read more stories from GenZ with my boys and I hope you'll give it a try as well!

My readers receive a FREE Trial Subscription 

(no cc required) to GenZ Read Together! 

 CLICK HERE and Use Promo Code: A156

This offer is open to everyone! Please share this link and promo code with your friends and family.

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