Golden Gate Bridge 75th Anniversary

Today, May 27th 2012,  marks the 75th Anniversary of the Golden Gate bridge in San Francisco CA. The bridge is an icon of CA and know all over the world. I love seeing it when we got to visit San Fran. I have beautiful pictures of the bridge from Chrissy Beach. Foggy or sunny the bridge is beautiful.

There is a Anniversary Festival going on right now. If you live near by like we do here in Sacramento Valley there is still plenty of time to drive out there and enjoy the day.

Photo by http://goldengatebridge75.org

Highlights 

• Fireworks, 9:30–9:50 pm.  Spectacular grand finale showcasing the Bridge, Bay and surrounding national parklands. Optimum visibility along the waterfront from Fort Point to east Marina Green. The hills above Marina/Cow Hollow also provide stunning views. Soundtrack aired live on KFOG 104.5/97.7FM. (Note: Fireworks will not be televised and will not be visible from Fisherman’s Wharf/south down the Embarcadero. Weather permitting, fireworks will be visible from PIER 39.)
• International Orange Artists’ Exhibition at Fort Point, 10 am–7 pm.
• Crissy Field Stage highlighting dance, music and local bands, 11 am–11 pm.
• Road Trip through History featuring vintage cars and motorcycles from 1937 to the present. East Crissy Field, 11 am–5 pm.
• Crissy Field Center Future Fair with activities and demonstrations showcasing sustainability technologies and innovations in the pioneering spirit of the Bridge. East Beach, 11 am–7 pm.
• Vintage Maritime Display and Historic Watercraft Parade with classic boats spanning 75 years.  St. Francis Yacht Club, 11 am–3 pm.
• Marina Green Stage featuring dance and music organizations and local bands.  West Marina Green, 11 am–10 pm.
• Marina Green, Crissy Field and Golden Gate Bridge Plaza retail outlets offering Official 75th Anniversary merchandise.  Various waterfront locations, 10 am-7 pm.

 

Bass Pro Shops Go Outdoors Event and Online Sweepstakes

While reading Field and Stream magazine I saw an ad for Bass Pro Shops Go Outdoors events. I thought that would be super fun to attend and expose my little guy to the endless world of fishing gear. Then I realized I have not seen a Bass Pro Shop anywhere near here. I looked online to see a store near me and its very far way. I was super disappointed we could not attend the events. I also saw there is no Bass Pro Shop in Washington, Oregon, Montana, Idaho, Utah and more states where people love to fish. I will look into it further as to why there is not one but until now we can Enter their Online Sweepstakes to win a trip to Maui.

If you live on the East Coast there will be a FREE Summer Kick Off Bass Pro Shop Go Outdoors Event on May 26th and May 27th. There will a Family Backyard Adventure Challenge to compete in, a photo contest along with FREE crafts and more. It sounds super fun!

For now I will have to shop at retail stores for my fishing gear for the summer but hopefully in a few years we can go to a Bass Pro Shop. After all I do live in Northern CA that has the ocean on one side and the mountains on the other side, there is tons of water ways to go fishing in!

Here is a link to the Bass Pro Shop Event and the Win an Outdoor Adventure Trip in Maui. NOTE: The giveaway to Maui does not start until May 22nd.

If your like me and there is no store near you there is a online promo code to get Free Shipping for Footwear or Clothing FSCLSH12. Great time to start thinking about Father's Day Gifts.

Today we met the Book Author Patricia Newman

Today we went to our local mall for the Easter Egg hunt and to see the Easter Bunny. He has been at our mall a lot! We did not know we would also be meeting the author Patricia Newman. She was super nice! My son was still a bit weary of the Easter Bunny but he hopped up on the lap of the book author and sat next to the bunny for a cute picture.

We did not have a chance to check out her book while we were the but I have looked online for it. Its a cute book about Trains and Transportation called Jingle the Brass.

We missed the raffle for the Easter Egg hunt due to getting there late but we still had a fun time. It was so crowded but all the kids there was fun for my son. If you have a Westfield mall near you they have family day events like this one all the time. You can read more here.

Waiting in line to see the bunny and meet the author

Local Sacramento Event: Mommy & Me Day presented by Raley's & Bel-Air

Its that time again River Cat and Baseball fans! We went last year and had a blast to the Raley's & Bel-Air Mommy & Me Day. I am excited for this year since my son is a year older and can go into the bouncy houses.

****The date has been changed to March 21st due to the rain*******

When: Wednesday, March 14, 2012, 10 a.m.-noon (registration starts at 9 a.m.)

Where: Raley Field

Who: Moms (and Dads, too) and children 6-and-under

The Sacramento River Cats will host  Mommy & Me Day of 2012 on March 14 from 10 a.m. to noon at Raley Field, weather permitting. Mommy & Me presented by Raley’s & Bel Air and Smile Generation is a non-ticketed, free event open to children ages 6-and-under and their parents. This is an exclusive opportunity for families to enjoy a fun play date at Raley Field, just two weeks prior to the start of the Sacramento River Cats baseball season.

Children will enjoy a variety of activities on the baseball field, including running the bases, playing catch, and exploring the River Cats’ inflatable bounce house and obstacle course. In addition, the River Cats’ beloved mascot Dinger will be on hand to entertain children and parents alike.

There will be free parking at this and all Mommy and Me events, and free snacks and drinks will be provided by Raley’s & Bel Air, Sacramento Coca-Cola and Sunnyside Farms for the first 1,500 children in attendance. Additional food and beverage will be available for purchase.

Home Depot Kids Day

Our little family

Our local Home Depot puts on a Kids Day the 1st Saturday of every month and it's FREE! We had heard about them and decided to take the children to see what it was all about. When we got there we were surprised at how nicely it was put together and fun it would be for the boys. We were not sure about Baby L (not the baby anymore so I am calling him Little L) would do, he is kind of young for tools and a structured task. I have to say he did really well, I just had to bust out a snack in the middle of it to keep him busy! But all in all it was good that we let him participate, he loved every second of it. All of the tools you need for the simple project were out. This month it was a little race car. They boys got to use wood glue and a hammer!! It was so cool to see them build their own little race car :)

My boys...hard at work :)

JJ concentrating so hard on hitting that hammer :)

Little L doing his thing!

It was a great family day and it was FREE!! I recommend you see if your local Home Depot offers this or something like it.

Spring time brings out the Easter Bunny

At our local mall the store Children's Place hosted a Garden Party where they served cookies, lemonade and invited the Easter Bunny. My son is so sweet he waited his turn in line, waved to the lady dress as a fairy, he was all smiles. Until it was his turn to sit on the Easter Bunny's lap. He put his head down, his little arms went to his side all stumped down, then his little bottom lip stuck out like he was gonna cry. He shook his head and told me "no". It was so sad. He normally likes characters like Chuck E Cheese and our local baseball team mascot. I told him it was fine if he didn't want to sit with the bunny so I asked him if he would like to give the bunny a high five. He smiled but would not do it until he first saw me give the bunny a high five. He smiled ran up to the Easter Bunny and gave him a big high five. He did not sit in the Easter Bunny's lap but he left with a smile on his face and that made me happy. Maybe next year he will be ok with it, maybe not just as long as he is happy I will be happy too.

Plus it was Free Pretzel day at Aunt Annie's at the mall! We both got a pretzel and then played at the mall play center. It was a great day and free!

Sacramento & San Francisco Upcoming Pier 39 Event

 Upcoming Events

Tulipmania at PIER 39 in San Francisco CA
Feb. 18 - 26, 10am Tours Daily


Experience botanical bliss as PIER 39 transforms into a Bayside floral wonderland during Tulipmania. Thousands of tulips and other whimsical floral displays adorn PIER 39's two levels throughout this colorful event. Garden enthusiasts are invited to take a free Tulipmania tour, guided by one of PIER 39's own landscaping experts, daily at 10am beginning in PIER 39's Entrance Plaza. After each tour, participants are welcome to enjoy complimentary coffee, Biscoff cookies and other refreshments at Fog Harbor Fish House. Click here for details.

We Fed Baby Fish at our Local Fish Hatchery

Living in the Sacramento valley we are lucky enough to be near the American River. There is so much to do and see at many parts all along the river at state ran parks. I have always wanted to visit the Nimbus Fish Hatchery in Folsom. We finally visited the hatchery on a nice sunny fall day. My son loves new activities and being able to feed the fish was so cool for him. He smiled so big when they would all flutter around grabbing the bits of fish food. It is only 5 cents for a big handful to feed the baby fish.

They also have a great information center with displays and a tv watching area with the process of how they are helping replenish the river. It was very informative.

We will be gong back soon to see the Salmon run. We saw huge salmon jumping out of the water at the lower part of the river near the hatchery. It was very exciting to see such big fish jumping so high.

Hours:

* Visitor Center open Monday-Friday 8 a.m. - 3 p.m. and Saturdays/Sundays 9 a.m. - 3 p.m. Closed Christmas Day
* Opening time may vary during spawning season
* Raceways (fish rearing ponds) open daily 7:30 a.m. - 3 p.m.
* Call for more information


Address: 2001 Nimbus Road, Suite F, Gold River, CA 95670
Directions: Off Highway 50, 18 miles east of Sacramento. Travel north on Hazel Ave. 0.7 mile, make a left hand turn at Gold Country Blvd. Travel 200 yards to the parking lot entrance on the right.

We Met Tillman the Skateboarding Dog!

Everyone knows how much my son adores DOGS! He doesn't say it he shouts it lol. He is so sweet, he still adores Kitty-Cats but recently dogs have been his favorite thing. I must admit I love it! As a kid I adored dogs. I have great memories of some of the dogs I had growing up. Its tough to have kids and animals but thankfully we are able to have our dog for my son to enjoy. 

We were watching the morning news and saw a story on how the famous Tillman the Skateboarding dog was going to be near our local mall at The Fountains of Roseville. After seeing a preview of the dog and my son getting excited to see him on tv we decided we had to go see in person.

We arrived just in time to grab a free bag of treats for our dog at home from Natural Balance Dog Food and get a good spot right in front. Tillman was here to celebrate the grand opening of Pet Food Express store in Roseville. We went into the store after meeting Tillman and we were impressed with all the cool stuff for dogs. They had cookies, balloons and more for the kids and pets alike! 

My son had a blast seeing Tillman Skateboard and technically its his first celebrity encounter, even if it is a dog!

Baby Freebies

Johnson and Johnson 1-800-526-3967 literature and coupons, ask representative for a new parents pack

Playtex Product Coupons, Booklets and Information, call 800-222-0453

Free Beech-Nut "New Parent Pack" with Baby Food Coupons 1-800-523-6633
Enfamil Family Beginnings  

Baby Portraits – Print out the coupon on this website and take it into Olan Mills to get free baby portraits! The coupon is good for One 8X10, Two 5X7’s and Eight Wallets. Your baby needs to be 3 months or younger and it’s valid for the first pose only.

Baby Magazine – Fill out the form to get a free subscription to “American Baby” magazine thanks to Parents.com.

Similac
SIMILAC WELCOME ADDITION CLUB 1-800-518-2582

Good Start
http://www.nestle.ca/nestle-baby/en/index


Rewards Codes on Diaper Packages you purchase:

Huggies Enjoy the Ride Rewards

Pampers Gifts to Grow Rewards

Greetings from the White House for your Newborn Baby

The White House will send greeting cards signed by the President of the United States to commemorate the birth of your newborn baby free of charge to U.S. citizens. How cool is that! I wish I would have done this for my son.


The Obama White House is informing citizens requesting greeting cards that it is currently taking "several months" for the request to reach the Greetings Office and be mailed out. While the Greetings Office is unable to guarantee on time arrival of greeting cards, they promise it will arrive eventually.

1. You must be a citizen of the United States to request one.

2. The request must be made after your baby is born and before he/she turns one. It takes 6 weeks to process the request.

3. Include your baby's name, address, date of birth (month, day, year), as well as your name and phone number.

4. Send your request ...

By mail to:
The White House
Attn: Greetings Office
Washington, D.C. 20502-0039

Or by fax to:
202-395-1232

 Take note: Baby must have been born within the past 12 months and requests should be made after baby's birth. A minimum of six weeks is needed to process your request.

Moms Like Me Groups

I belong to a great group called Moms Like Me. There are local moms I can talk to and learn from. I get the latest about what moms in my area are talking about and doing. Its nice to be able to connect with people online that you might never have met if not for the internet.

I belong to my local chapter Sacramento Moms Like Me but there are many Moms Like Me sites. There are 39 states that have a group and within the state there are regional groups. You can read the list here to see if there is a group near you. I live outside the main area of local group but so do many other moms. So if the group is 30 or more minutes away from you I would still encourage you to sign up since there is great giveaways and chats to participate in.

I want to attend the next activity the Moms Like Me Sacramento activity so I can meet some of the people I have chatted with online. Its a great way to connect with local moms and find new activities for your kids to do. I recently heard about a free local event near me on the site and attended with my son.

Online Sweepstakes

 

Everyone knows I LOVE sweepstakes! I win stuff often and want to win something BIG soon. So I keep entering and hope. Its like my free lotto tickets lol. I found a few I sweepstakes I wanted to share with you! Good Luck and I always like to here if you have won anything.


Gerber Children's Wear Facebook Contest

Oriental Trading Company $500 Spooktacular Giveaway


Arm and Hammer Share a Baking Soda Secret Contest

Win a Year Supply of Luvs Disposable Diapers

Crocs Back to School Sweeps to Win a trip to San Diego

Rice Select Made in the USA Facebook Contest

Earth's Best Play-Date Sweepstakes to win a Sesame Street Vacation and other great prizes

Free for Kids United States Tennis Association 1 Year Membership

Looking for a sport to get your kids more active? When we were little we liked to play tennis. We did not play on a team just at the park at times. As an adult I play with my husband and we have a blast. If we knew the rules and how to really play I am sure it would be even more fun.

While I was watching tennis on tv with my son over the weekend I saw an ad for tennis for kids about the rackets and courts being more kid friendly. Right now you can get your kids 10 and under a Free United States Tennis Association 1 Year Membership.

You can find the info to sign up here.

Wild about Blackberries

One of the things I love about living in Washington State is that during the summer the blackberries grow like crazy here. You can find them all over the place during an evening walk or at our local park. Every year we seek out the wild blackberries and pick a bunch or even freeze some for later. We eat them right off the vine, use them as an ice cream topping, and we make a few pies from our pickings. The best thing about BLACKBERRIES is they are FREE!!!

(Nana, Baby L and JJ all hard at work)

After all, FREE is my favorite number.

Sacramento Moms Like Me Update

As a member of the Sacramento branch of MomsLikeMe.com I get to chat with, share and learn from other local moms. One of the cool things about the site is the local giveaways and chat parties they host for their readers. I wanted to share a few up coming things happening for Sacramento Moms Like Me Moms.

The first is the Facebook contest. Moms can “like” our page (http://www.facebook.com/Momslikeme.comSacramento) for a chance to win a spa getaway at Wine and Roses Hotel in Lodi worth nearly $1,000. Users who share the contest with friends can earn extra entries and increase their chances of winning. That contest runs till September 9.

Moms who are interested in learning new and creative ways to save money can come to the Thrifty Chicks Breakfast on August 30. The panel includes Sarah Cook of Raising CEO Kids, Kimberly Morales of Poor Girl Eats Well and our own Cheryle Roberts your Web deal diva! The event is FREE. Sacramento Moms Like Me would love to have you attend if you can.  RSVP here: http://thriftychicks.eventbrite.com/

I have entered the giveaway for the spa getaway I sure could use some ME time! Oddly we have not had a "date" night or whatever you wanna call it since my son was born, about 20 months ago. We laugh and say we had 10 years of date nights every night so were good, but it would be nice to enjoy some time to just hang out with my hubs.

I super duper have my fingers crossed about The Thrifty Chicks Breakfast that I might attend. Its been a whirl wind trying to figure out car issues and its prevented me from doing fun stuff for now. But soon I hope to be able to meet some of the great Moms from Moms Like Me Sacramento. You don't have to exactly be from Sacramento it self either Moms from around the area can be members of this free and fun site too!

Facebook Freebies Really Do Arrive

My Coupons Mailed to me

One way I try to be Frugal is to get freebies and coupons for free stuff. It is a temporary fix but often times it really helps.

I know many people wonder if signing up for a Facebook Freebie is worth the time. You have to like them and sign up then wait to see if it arrives. I was skeptical about them so I did not share here since I do not want to send anyone on a wild goose chase for a coupon, but now I know Facebook Freebies really do arrive in your mail box! I do not sign up for ones that I would not want the product but I do sometimes send them to family that might.

So Yes facebook Freebies do really come in the mail! If we find any good ones we will share the links.

Products I redeemed for FREE!

August 4th FREE Freschetta By The Slice Pizza Event

As a member of the Freschette Fresh Connection Blog Team I am so excited for August 4th and happy to be able to share this with everyone.

Starting on Thursday July 28th, all you need to do is visit the website www.FreeFreschetta.com.  It will be available for you to sign up for a reminder email and view a preview of the events to come with host Mike Rylander.  Then, on August 4th the reminder email will be sent to those that signed up, and the event will be live at 11 AM on this day for all to sign up!  This event is a great way to try out FRESCHETTA® By The Slice and get to do so for FREE!  On the day of the event there will also be fun, interactive contests where additional coupons will be awarded.



Event Details:
Date - August 4th, 2011
What - FREE* FRESCHETTA® By The Slice pizza event
Where - From the comfort of your own home

FRESCHETTA® will be giving away thousands of slices of our delicious By The Slice pizza in a special live online event. The FRESCHETTA® By The Slice pizza will be given away in 5,000 increments every half hour. There will also be fun, interactive contests where you can win additional coupons.

Sacramento Area Moms: IKEA Event for Moms Like Me Back To School Aug 11

ATTENTION Sacramento Area Moms!

Mark your calendars for:

                       

Thursday, August 11 at 6 p.m. for our next Moms Night Out!

The theme is Back to School Organization. The pros at West Sacramento's IKEA will give us great tips on how to start the schoolyear on the right foot with a place for everything and everything in its place!

We'll have treats and prizes! And the event is FREE!

Kids 10 and up are welcome to attend as well!

Sign up now!

Volunteer Opp from Stonyfield for Music Concerts

 

I received an email today from Stonyfield Yogurt that I wanted to share with everyone. These volunteer opportunities are from August through October all over the USA. Here is what the email said:

Love music — and the planet?
You could get a Reverb volunteer spot on one of the Maroon 5 / Train or Honda Civic concert tours.  Our partner Reverb works with the music industry to reduce tours' environmental impact, and volunteers help run greening programs on each tour.

The concert tours run from August into October.  A few lucky Stonyfield fans will be chosen to help out at shows across the country, so visit Reverb to find the closest show and try your luck.  Volunteers receive a t-shirt and show pass but most importantly, the amazing experience of helping out at a great concert event.

Learn more & apply now