Review of the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg

There will be no posts from me for a few days because tomorrow we are taking our kids back to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg. This time the kids will be 2, 4, and 6 years old. We will be staying in the Loft Fireplace Suite this time instead of the Magestic Bear Suite. Here's my review from our first trip back in December of 2010:

I had a blast taking my family to the Great Wolf Lodge in Williamsburg this past December. It was my family's first visit and it will not be our last!

My review focuses on taking young children to visit the Great Wolf Lodge. We spent one night and two days at the lodge with our three children ages 1, 3 and 5. Our children are not proficient swimmers, but there was plenty for them to do and they had a blast nonetheless.

We checked in around 2 pm and were immediately given our room. We were very excited that our room was ready because check in officially begins at 4pm. I was also pleased with how quickly the check in process took. We were happily situated in our room within minutes and were ready to explore the park.

We opted to stay in the Majestic Bear Suite. This suite perfectly met our needs in that it had a private room adjacent to the living area and other beds. This allowed us to place the 1 year old to sleep earlier than the rest of us. The room was ample in size. It contained a mini fridge and microwave as well as 2 queen beds, 1 king bed, and a pull out couch. Even though we did not stay in a kid themed room our children loved our room. Other reviews have mentioned that the rooms are quite basic and worn. I took into account that this is a family resort and not a honeymoon retreat. Therefore, I was pleased with our accommodations.

We chose to stay for one night and to take advantage of two days at the waterpark. This gave us plenty of time to enjoy our trip and we agreed that this will be the amount of time we will spend at the lodge in the future.

Waterpark:

Before we could enter the waterpark my oldest two children (ages 3 and 5) were measured and given bands according to their sizes. The only ride they could not go on was the Howlin' Tornado. My 3 year old just barely made the height requirement for Wold Rider Wipeout--which he loved. Before visiting the park I wondered if my 1 year old would be able to ride the rides with us. Most of the information on the Great Wolf Website states that children under 42" tall must be supervised by an adult. I interpreted this to mean that if they were under the height requirement that they could ride with me. I found out that this is not the case. I could in fact place my one year old on the slides, but I would have to meet her at the bottom. There is no way that this would have worked for my little one. Instead we opted to take her on the River Canyon Run where she was allowed to sit by our side. I have noticed that the website now claims that you must be 42" tall to ride this ride.

My 1, 3, and 5 year old enjoyed:

• Beaver Tail Lake
• Crooked Creek
• Hot Springs
• Raccoon Lagoon
• River Canyon Run
• Whooping Hollow

My 3 and 5 year old thoroughly enjoyed the following:

• Fort Mackenzie
• Totem Towers
• Alberta Falls (watch out: these are fast!)
• Wolf Rider Wipeout

We did not explore the following--maybe on our next visit:

• Chinook Cove
• Big Foot Pass
• Eagle's Peak Rock Wall
• The Northern Lights Arcade
• Cub Club

MagiQuest:

If you think you can visit Great Wolf lodge without your kids knowing about MagiQuest think again. MagiQuest is located down ALL hallways and at ALL elevators. We allowed our boys to play and they LOVED it. We purchased one wand and shared it as a family. I would highly recommend sharing wands with young children. It takes a long time to complete the tasks and having to find the clues once was enough for us. We also purchased the cheapest wand, without accessories.

Dining:

We did not eat at the restaurants, but did order pizza at the waterpark. No outside food is allowed in the waterpark and we did not want to leave the waterpark. The food and snacks are expensive. We bought a small container of milk for our 1 year old at the snack bar and paid more than we would for a gallon of milk at home. There are many restaurants nearby. We chose to eat at Chick-fil-A for dinner.

Final Review:

Even though there was not much for our 1 year old to do we would highly recommend The great Wolf Lodge. My 3 and 5 year old loved it and eagerly await our return. We plan on taking our family to the Great Wolf Lodge once a year from now on.

Review of Stories of Jesus by Melanie and Roger Hoffman PLUS a Giveaway

I've had a number of people ask me about the music that is always playing in our car. This review is for them.

A few years ago my mother-in-law sent Stories of Jesus by Melanie and Roger Hoffman to us as a gift. It's probably one of the best gifts we have ever received. Stories of Jesus is an album of music sung by children, for children. But I can truly say that every member of our family loves this album.

The album contains songs about the life of Jesus, starting with his birth and ending with remembering Him and His life. In a way this album is like Handel's Messiah for children. The songs teach about Christ's life in easy ways that children not only remember, but want to hear again and again, and cannot help but sing along to.

All the songs are so beautiful that it is tough to pick a favorite. My five-year-old has been captivated by He Is Risen from the beginning, I love Come into the Water (a song about Baptism) and my three-year-old loves to sing along to Run to Egypt. Gethsemane is another of my favorites. This captivating song really makes you stop and ponder what is important.

The messages are simple, yet profound. And the songs are catchy. The children who sing the songs have angelic voices that I have yet to tire of. I would highly recommend this CD for anyone who wants their kids to learn songs about Jesus' life. It's the perfect gift to give a loved one in celebration of this coming Easter.

Go HERE  to listen to song samples and to find out how you can order the album from Deseret Book or download it from iTunes.

I'm giving away one Stories of Jesus CD

to one lucky reader!

You have up to FIVE chances to enter this giveaway (don't forget to leave your email address with each entry):

1. Leave a comment telling me the title of your favorite chidlren's CD?

2. Become a follower of Hip to Clip. Sometimes it's good to be a follower! Current followers count as well!

3. Head over to Facebook and “like” Hip to Clip. If you’re already a Facebook fan just let us know.

4.Subscribe to Hip to Clip e-mail (must be verified). Leave a comment on this post saying you did this. Already getting our emails? Just tell us!

5. Post our blog button on your blog. Then leave a comment and a link so we can check out YOUR blog!

Good Luck! The giveaway will end Monday, March 14 at 8 p.m. EST. The winner will be selected randomly using random.org and will be announced on the blog. The winnerwill have 48 hours to claim their prize.

Have you entered our other giveaways yet?

Go HERE for a chance to win a $50 Zulily gift card (contest ends 2/28)

Go HERE to enter our 20% Off Coupon for daipers at Amazon.com (contest ends 2/28)

Toy Story Yahtzee Jr. Game Review

Every afternoon when I place my daughter down for a nap I sit and play a few games with my 3-year-old and 5-year-old. My boys LOVE playing games together and I LOVE the different skills that playing games teaches them. The most important skill that playing games teaches children is good sportsmanship. This is a vital life skill that is lacking in many children today. And yet it is so easy to help your child learn good sportsmanship by talking about it, practicing and playing cooperative games. Not only will playing board games help to practice good sportsmanship, but playing games can reinforce basic reading and math skills, as well as teach problem solving, strategy, and critical thinking skills.

With that being said, a number of people have asked me what games I play with my kids. We have A LOT of games. Some are simple, some are complex. Some are great skill builders, where others are just silly and fun.

Today I'm going to review Toy Story 3 Yahtzee Jr.  

My boys received this game for Christmas this past holiday. It was a filler item I threw in with a Toys R Us purchase to make my shipping free. I ended up getting the game for FREE because my total with the game came to less than it would have if I would have had to pay for shipping. Does that make sense? There are a number of Yahtzee Jr. games available. If you are not Toy Story fans you can easily find a version that appeals to you.

This game has become a favorite in our home. It's an easy concept for my 3-year-old to follow, but still entertains my 5-year-old (as well as myself).

Pros:

• easy to learn
• entertaining for all ages
• time consistent (not like some games that can go on and on and on)
• focuses on: counting, matching, addition, strategy and decision making

Cons:

• noisy (when shaking dice in plastic cup)
• have to put the sticker labels on dice before playing the first time
• my version has a colorful background which makes it a little tricky to see who played where (I've noticed that some versions do have a muted or grey background which would be very helpful)

I give it 5 stars and would recommend adding a Yahtzee Jr. game to your family game collection.

GIVEAWAY CLOSED: Safeway Home Delivery Review, PLUS TWO Chances to Win a $25 Safeway Gift Card!

You have heard it many times...we LOVE Shopping! Brooke and I were thrilled when Safeway asked us to review their home delivery service a few weeks ago. Since it was the holidays, I was excited to avoid the shopping cart traffic jams, the blocked aisles and long lines! With my shopping list in hand, I went to Safeway's website. After signing in, I was able to start my shopping. It was simple to navigate through the virtual aisles. At first I was concerned that my savings would be lessened due to their policy of no "paper" coupons. But I changed my tune when I saw amazing deals (and free items...such as Pepsi and pasta sauce) offered. To make the most of your money, when using this service be sure to always click on Safeway's club card specials (even if you don't have a card, you are automatically signed up when you order online), e- coupons and promotion code deals.

As I began to click away in my warm house (it has been extremely windy around here), I was looking forward to those beloved groceries showing up at my door later that day. But there were two problems. The first issue I encountered was that Safeway has a limited home delivery area and not all Safeway's provide this service. My home was too far, therefore no groceries for me! That problem was quickly solved when I realized I could have them delivered to my mother-in-laws place (since we would be at their home over the holidays). I have since contacted our local Safeway and spoke with a manager to see if there were plans on adding this service to our area. So friends in my neighborhood...let them know we would LOVE this service!

The second issue I experienced was the lack of delivery times available. After making my order and changing the address for delivery to my mother's home, there were no times available for two days! Now, I realize it was a holiday week, full of brilliant people (like me) avoiding the madness...but still...two days?! It will be interesting to see if the window of delivery options will open up as the holidays become a faded memory next week. If not, this service will definitely need to be something you plan ahead for before a need arises.

After ordering my groceries, changing the address, and finding an open delivery date/time, our family headed to Grandmothers for our holiday celebrations. During the two hour window that I had selected, the doorbell sounded and we received our groceries from a man dressed in a Safeway uniform (always nice if your order is placed at night). He carried them in and placed them on the counter as directed and left with a smile.

We gathered around smiling as well...since we had ordered all of the ingredients we needed for our annual Christmas Sundae Bar!

I think this service is fabulous for someone that has a difficult time getting out to shop due to age or with a busy schedule. It is easy to navigate on the website, moderately fast (taking me about -30 minutes total from start to finish to place my order), and lovely to be home while shopping!

If you place your order by tomorrow, December 31, you can take $15 off your order and get FREE shipping by using code CHEER at checkout! Can't place an order by tomorrow? No problem. Safeway is currently offering FREE delivery on your first order! Visit Safeway to start grocery shopping in a "hip" new way!

Key things to know before shopping on Safeway.com:



1. You will need to create an account – this was easy and very quick.


2. If you don’t have a Club Card the system is set up to allow you to take advantage of the Club Card deals by assigning you a virtual Club Card. Your personal Club Card is important though, because it holds the digital eCoupons you loaded.


3. When you check out you are given an estimated total. This is because it could be less if items are out of stock, produce, meat, fish or deli weighs slightly more/less than ordered.


4. You will need your credit card handy to pay at the end – they accept Visa, MasterCard, Amex, Discover and Debit Cards with the Visa or MasterCard logo. They do not accept gift cards as payment.


5. Safeway.com does not accept printed manufacturer or store coupons. You can, however, use digital eCoupons such as Cellfire, Shortcuts and P&G eSaver coupons that are loaded onto your Club Card.


6. There is a $50 minimum you need to meet, so take that into consideration when putting together your online shopping trip.


7. Through the checkout process you will select your order will be delivered window. You can chose between a 4-hour delivery window but they also have 2-hour time windows. Delivery can be scheduled between 10am and 9pm any day of the week. Deliveries are not made on holidays when the stores would normally be closed.


Keep in mind that you DO need to be home, or have someone 18 or over available to sign for the delivery. The driver will not leave the order if no one is home or if unable to get the proper signature. Keep in mind that if you are ordering alcohol someone over 21 must sign for the delivery.


8. You do not need to tip the driver.
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WIN a $25 Safeway Gift Card!

In addition to giving us a gift card to try out this service, Safeway also gave us two $25 gift cards to give away! Every reader has FIVE methods available to enter this contest.

1. Leave a comment telling us what you would buy with the gift card!


2. "Like" Hip to Clip on Facebook. If you are a current follower, just let us know, that counts as well!


3.Subscribe to It's Hip to Clip Coupons daily email updates. You will get a verification email that you must click in order to activate. Current subscribers count!


4. Blog or Facebook linking our contest to your blog our facebook page. Then come back and leave a separate comment letting us know you’ve done so!

5. "Like" Safeway on Facebook.

Two prizes will be awarded.

Each prize will consist of a $25 Gift Cards to Safeway (The gift card is good at Safeway, Vons, Dominick’s, Genuardi’s, Pavillions or Carrs.)

This giveaway ends at 12:00 pm ET on Monday, January 24th and is open to all U.S. residents 18 years or older. We’ll use random.org to select the winning comment. Winner will be notified on our blog by noon on Tuesday. Winners must respond within 48 hours of notification to claim their prize. Good luck!

Safeway gave us gift cards to try this service out and provide a review. Safeway did not write or edit our review – all opinions are 100% ours. See our disclosure statement for more details.