Gettin' Creative at little to no cost!

When you have something up your sleeve or if you just need a nice place to go, George George Memerial Park is a nice place to go! (You can even get married there.. and the ice cream truck comes!) 

George George Memorial Park is located at 40500 Moravian Drive, Clinton Twp, 48036. This park was officially presented to the Township with a dedication ceremony on Tuesday, July 1, 2008 at 11:00am. 

A large children’s play area and playscape, a covered public pavilion for picnics and other community gatherings, a fountain plaza area and more than 5,000 feet of walking and bike paths are all featured in this 30 acre park.(Clinton township website, see link below)

Sometimes kids get tired of the same o’l same o’l so you kind of have to get creative. I wanted to something special for Fathers Day and for the last day of school for Makayla. I decided to combine my need to do something that involved taking pictures and wanting to take her somewhere special so that it would save me time and money.  For Fathers Day, I wanted to take three photos of Makayla and frame them. I had her hold the three different words in three pictures. I   heart    You.  I wanted something special from her that was also creative. It turned out really nice. I had a frame at home and we just took the pictures. She loves being photographed and of course dressing up really girly!

Fathers Day Gift

After we finished up with the photos, I let her play on the playground. George George park is a REALLY clean park and people really treat the park with care. The equipment is safe and clean and the people were friendly. Makayla loves playing and I enjoy watching her release her energy. It was the first day of summer break for her.  

After we were finished I took her to Biggby Coffee for a treat. I figured she’d want a frozen hot chocolate, but she wanted a warm hot chocolate even though it was a hot day! Bigby coffee is a Michigan coffee shop, that gives you the option of getting every drink hot, cold, or frozen. It’s a really nice option to be able to have your favorite drinks during all types of weather. I like that option but I also like that they’re a Michigan founded company. Their prices are comparable to Starbucks. The experience is a bit different, they always have 4-5 different flavored coffee brewed and the atmosphere isn’t as businessish as Starbucks. Biggby also has a reward card, buy 12 drinks get the 13th free. And they send you coupons for 1.00 off in your email.

I enjoy doing things with Makayla whether its something simple like going to the park, or something extravagant like going to Disney on Ice. She brings something new to each and every day and I want her to be able to remember the different things that her father and I do with her.

This is my last post for this class, but I believe I may keep up with this blog to continue to write about different things that we do together. I can’t wait to tell her different memories when she gets older.  

http://www.clintontownship-mi.gov/RecreationInformation/FacilitiesRentals/WeddingsPhotoOpportunities/tabid/793/Default.aspx

http://www.biggby.com

All pictures of George George Park were found on Google

A Trip to the Big Top!

Going with my theme of things that only come around every so often, another cool experience is taking your child to the Circus. Now I realize, this may not be for everyone but we took Makayla when she was 3 1/2  and she loved it. She still talks about it to this day. I’d love to take her now when she has a bigger appreciation for the experience. She really seems to soak everything in and have her own perception on things.

The circus has been around for over 100 years. The shrine circus was first held in Detroit, MI for the Moselm Shrine Center. The circus was originally a 1 ring affair but eventually grew to three rings. It travels to many cities, but Detroit is always the biggest event they have. In 1996, it ran for 17 days and they did over 46 shows. Each January the first circus of the year is held in Flint, Michigan. And the last performance is Thanksgiving week held generally in Indiana and Louisiana. The circus travels to about 120 cities in the United States. A separate unit also travels to Canada locations.  (wikipedia)

Our tickets were I believe around 15 dollars apiece and we were right up against the actual ring where the action happened. At this time, my best friend from Oklahoma was visiting so we thought it would be fun to take Makyala while Bekka was down.

 
  
 
 As we approached the big top, we had no idea what waited inside. Of course they had acitivites to entice the kids with. A big slide, pony and camel rides,  souvenir stations, cotton candy, face painting, and when you got further inside, an Elephant ride. Each activity cost 1 ticket, which cost $5. Makayla rode the big slide and the pony ride. Afer enjoying some of the activities we found our seats. Makayla was 3 ½ at the time and I was shocked when she wanted to ride the Elephant! My heart was racing the entire time and I kept shouting, DON’T MOVE!!! 

We enjoyed the trapeze acts, the clowns, the dogs and the amazing horse show! She came out on a giant Clydesdale and then had her white horses with angel wings come out and do their routine. It was really beautiful.  

 



During intermission we took Makayla to get her face painted and she got a beautiful butterfly painted on her face. (I know what you’re thinking. WOW you spent a lot of money! Well, it was her first time and well worth it!) 







After the intermission they had the elephant act and another trapeze act with this contraption up in the air that had two wheels and at one point they were on the OUTSIDE of the wheels.. AMAZING. The things that they can do with their bodies and not show any fear was really beautiful to watch. 

I know that a lot of people don’t agree with the circus and that’s fine. They put on a really good show and the animals did a beautiful job.

Special Treat!

Metro Detroit has some really awesome venues that bring entertainment for kids every year. Going to things around town can be really exciting but when you're able to take your child to a show that includes characters they see on TV, it can be a really magical moment. They look up to these characters, whether it is Dora the Explorer, Elmo, or a Disney Princess. It’s a nice treat to go to something that only comes around every so often and really have a great and memorable experience with your child.The venues I’m talking about specifically are The Fox and The Palace of Auburn Hills.

The Fox:

Found on Google

Found on Google

The Fox is located at 2211 Woodward Avenue in Downtown Detroit, with over 5,000 seats.  It opened in 1928 and was the first movie theater to be constructed with built-in equipment for sound films. In 1988 the Fox acquired new owners and they restored the fox, at a cost of $12 million. The Fox now has live productions, including comedy acts, plays, and concerts. Including artists like David Copperfield, Sesame Street, Nick Jr. Live, and The Radio City Christmas Spectacular to name a few. (Wikipedia) The inside of the Fox is Golden and Rich in color.. it really is indescribable but it's magnificent.

We have taken Makayla to see Sesame Street live 3 times and the last time we saw the show she got to meet two of the Characters. Her first show was when she was two years old and we were at the top balcony. The moment she heard big birds voice come over the PA, her eyes lit up! The music started, and out popped Elmo and the crowd went wild. It’s a great feeling to look around, see children enjoying the show and the parents are enjoying it as well.  I remember Makayla standing up on Tommy’s lap shouting “ELMO!! ITS ME! MAKAYLA! ITS ME!!”

The last time we went, was in 2011 and we had “sunny seats” This included meeting two of the characters prior to the show, and front row seats. We had a lot of fun at this show because we could see all the details really well and it was fun to see Makayla interact with the characters. We had no idea which characters we were going to meet.. We were hoping for Elmo, but we ended up with Grover and Abby Cadabby.. Which is okay because Makayla loves her!

The best part of Sesame Street Live is the tickets aren’t badly priced. Regular seats are like sometimes $40.00 but they always have certain days and times that you can get tickets for like $15.00 a piece. The days and times are different every time they come around, but they really try to make it an affordable experience for everyone.

We also took Makayla to see Nick Jr. Live. I’m not sure she enjoyed it as much and we weren’t able to take any photos. The crowd seemed different and their souvenir stand was quite higher than the one that Sesame Street Live has.

The Palace:

Found on Google

The Palace of Auburn Hills is the home of the Detroit Pistons.  The venue is a sports and entertainment venue. It opened in 1988 and has been the home for many other sports entertainment teams. The first musical act to perform in the Palace was Sting, on the Palace’s opening night. The palace has over 22,000 seats. Justin Bieber will be playing at the Palace in November of this year, and the show sold out in less than 15 minutes.

I took Makayla to Disney Princess on Ice. I didn’t tell her where we were going until we were on our way there, and I brought her snow white dress to change into and her snow white doll.  Once we arrived at the Palace, I changed her and told her where we were going. She was SO excited! She loves everything about Princesses, dressing up like one, pretending to be one! Disney on Ice is another show that has decently priced tickets, and they often have a code out where you can get seats for $12.00, that aren’t bad seats. We had a corner seat and we could see everything from where we were. Unfortunately due to lighting, the pictures weren’t the best. Makayla thoroughly enjoyed herself. The souviners at Disney are pretty pricey.. but I was sneaky and bought something at Toys R Us that was Disney princess related, and she thought we got it from there!

Princess On Ice was all about the Princesses(obviously!) and each one of them had their own story line: Sleeping Beauty, Mulan, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin, Snow White, Ariel, and Cinderella. Tinkerbell, Mickey and Minnie, Goofy and a lot of the main characters were there as well! At the end they all came together for a grand ball!

We enjoyed the show.. the way the skaters are able to move their bodies is amazing. During Cinderella's portion of the show they had an actual carriage on the ice with skaters in "horse" costumes and it looked just like they were galloping. During the Little Mermaid, the entire set was black light and their costumes glowed just like under the sea! I wish that my photos were better but with the different lighting and the fast movement they all didn't turn out very well!

Disney on Ice is coming back to the Palace October 3-7^th, “Disney on Ice, Rockin’ Ever After” Merida, from Brave, will make her first appearance.

All Pictures are personal, unless otherwise stated!

Detroit Zoo!!

One of my favorite experiences as a family was going to the Detroit Zoo. I’ve been to a Zoo back in Oklahoma but honestly it was nothing like the Detroit Zoo.  With the big water tower standing tall, it really makes you feel like you’re going to see something pretty amazing!  The zoo is a pretty large establishment; it’s on 125 acres with many naturalistic habitats. 

The zoo is visited frequently, with more than one million visitors annually. The zoo has 3,300 animals of 280 different species!! There are different exhibits including: Arctic Ring of Life, Australian Out Back Adventure, Great Apes of  Harambee, National Amphibian Conservation Center, Holden Museum of Living Reptiles, Penguinarium and the Butterfly Garden.

The zoo has hours year round, and I really enjoy visiting when it’s not blistering hot. Not only are we more comfortable, but the animals are more lively as well!

The Zoo is hours of operation are: April 1 - Labor Day 9 a.m.-5 p.m. (Wednesdays in July and August until 8 p.m). Day after Labor Day - October 31 10 a.m.-5 p.m. November 1 - March 31 10 a.m.-4 p.m.

The Prices are: General Admission Prices: Adult, 15 years - 61 - $14 Child, 2 years - 14 - $9* Senior, 62 years+ - $12 Active military w/ID - $12 Under 2 years - Free Detroit Zoological Society Members - Free

The zoo has different rest stops and playgrounds incase the children get restless. They also have different animals with holes in the face so you can take funny photos!

I really love penguins; they’re one of my favorite animals... however I was not aware that they were so smelly! Ewww!! Makayla did not enjoy the penguins because of their smell!

I think that our favorite attraction at the zoo is the Arctic Circle, with the polar bear. It really is amazing to be sitting in the tube with a polar bear sitting right on top of you and to your right or left there is a sea lion swimming around for attention.

One of the experiences at the Zoo that we have not done yet is where you can feet a Giraffe. I think that it would be pretty amazing to be up close and personal to such an amazing animal. However, their big black tongues are probably kinda intimidating!

Makayla enjoys walking through the butterfly Garden, If you’re lucky enough maybe one will land on you!!

In the center of the Zoo is the location of the Rackham Fountain: It was  built in 1939 and dedicated to the first president of the Zoological Commission. The fountain features two 10-foot-tall bronze bears in a 75,000-gallon pool with life-sized sea lions, turtles and frogs. The fountain is a favorite meeting place and one of the Zoo’s most-photographed attractions.(Taken from the Detroit Zoo Website)

On your way out you can visit the gift shop to purchase all different sorts of souvenirs, there are different price ranges on items and it’s really fun to explore the store.

For more information on the Detroit Zoo visit: http://www.detroitzoo.org/

Zoo Facts are from the Detroit Zoo Website. All pictures are personal unless otherwise  noted.

Cider Mill!!

Autumn and fall in Michigan can be unbelievably beautiful! The way the leaves turn colors and how the cool crisp air hits your nose when you first walk outside is a fond memory of Fall for me.  I think it is one of my favorite times of year in Michigan. Back in Oklahoma we have something similar to a Cider Mill but we just call it a pumpkin patch.

Blakes Apple Orchard was the first “Cider Mill” that I had ever been too. I can imagine the smell of fresh donuts being fried, the caramel being melted for the Caramel Apples and the delicious Apple Cider that they serve: Hot, Cold, and as a slushie. (The slushie is pretty amazing!!)

Blake’s pretty much has it all: A Haunted house, a Hay ride, pumpkin patch, pick your own apples, petting zoo, playground, a little market, plus they have special things during specific times of the year!

I loved going to Blakes Apple Orchard and seeing Makayla ooh and awe over all the different animals that we got to get so close to and feed. Of course, she loved the miniature ponies! She was however scared of the wicked witch that sits up top and protects the pumpkins.  We each got a pumpkin, however for whatever reason we didn’t carve them.

We Paid around 8.00 each and a couple dollars for feed for the animals. Then each got pumpkins and that cost us around .30 cents a pound.

I hope we’re able to return to Blakes earlier in the year this time so we can have better weather and make masterpieces out of our pumpkins, as this will be our first Halloween/Fall as “The Hamills.”

Blakes isn’t only a “fall” thing. They open up in June and have different festivals. I recently went to the Lavender Festival. There were several different people with different booths set up selling something’s related to Lavender and other things not. 

All photos are personal

A Little Creativy Never Hurts!

Photo Found on Google

Royal Oak has a really fun atmosphere with different types of shops and entertainment. One of my favorite places to go in Royal Oak is Creative Art Studio. This is a great place to take kids (it can get some what pricey) and let them have free expression.  Creative Arts Studio is located at 114 W. 4th Street, Royal Oak, MI 48067.

With that said, I’ll be honest. I’ve never taken Makayla. It has become tradition that my friends and I go around my birthday. Saturday nights after 6 PM is considered adult night. You’re allowed to bring in glasses and bottles of wine or your favorite beers.  Sometimes parents are there with their children, but they do let them know that there is a possibility of people drinking.  

                                    They have many different things that you can do here:
                                                                Pottery Painting
                                                                Mosaics
                                                                Glass Fusing
                                                                Beading
                                                                Hand Wax
                                                                PMC Clay
                                                                Wheel Throwing
                                                                Raku Work Shop
                                                                Hand-Build with Clay

I’ve only ever done the pottery painting. The cost includes an $8 studio fee, which allows you to use all their paints, brushes and they fire it in the kiln.  You pick a piece off the wall and those prices range from $5.00-$40.00. It all depends on what type of project you want to do. They have figurines, blank plates, salt and pepper shakers, banks, tea pots.  They also have holiday themed pottery; Halloween, Christmas etc. 

The last time I went, I painted a Cupcake Jar! Here are some pictures of it! :)

I do plan to take my step daughter to this establishment one day, but I do like my nights out with the girls doing my own thing every now and again.

If you like tea, go across the street to Goldfish Tea. They have a large selection, and a pot will only run you about $5.00 or so. And you can continue to steep it over and over. It’s a really unique shop and you can purchase tea sets there! J

http://creativeartsstudios.com/    Photos are personal unless noted

Movie Theater Fun!

Photo Found on Google

 My favorite theater is the MJR Theater at 15 mile and Van Dyke. (There are several different locations, this is just my preference) The seats are comfortable, the actual theaters are a decent size and they always keep it clean.  If you go to a showing before 12 PM on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday they price of a ticket is $4.50. Movies between 12 and 6 PM any day of the week are $5.00. They offer a student discount for night time shoes for $8.50, the regular price is $10.00.The  consession stand has all sorts of things to choose from. I like to get Makayla the kids pack. It has the right amount of popcorn, a small drink & some gummies for $4.75. The best part is if she's really hungry or thirsty, you get one refill on both!

One of my favorite things about MJR is their reward card. It’s free to sign up and each movie ticket you purchase, you get 10 points. The points add up and at certain increments you get free, yes I said FREE stuff.  See the chart to see point increments and rewards. (courtesy of the MJR theater website). The best part is once you reach 500, you continue to earn rewards over again! I know that the movie theater can add up to be a large cost, but when you can earn free popcorn and drinks with a movie ticket of $5.00 I find this movie theater really awesome!

Makayla, my step daughter, loves going to the movie theater. She enjoys taking pictures with all the different movie 3d poster’s that they have had up. Our latest photo shoots at the movie theater included Madagascar 3 and Brave.  I think that my favorite fun addition they had in the lobby of the movie theater was the life size Alvin and the Chipmunks.  We also enjoy clapping at that “special” part during the MJR theme song. The first time I came to this movie theater, I was in shock by that part. It’s a lot of fun to watch Makayla clasp her hands in anticipation for that part. 

For more information about MJR theater please visit: http://www.mjrtheatres.com/index.asp

All photos are personal, unless noted otherwise.

Another theater that is really cool is the Emagine Theater in Royal Oak. You do have to pay for parking, but if you just remember your space they’ll add it on to your ticket price. I believe it was $2.00. I thought that the theater had a pretty upscale atmosphere. You’re able to choose from a few different types of seats.  The ticket prices vary upon the times you go and which type of seating you choose. Their ticket prices are comparable to MJR’s. Matinee’s are $6.00, $5.00 for children. Evening ticket prices are $10, $8 if you’re a student.

In some movies they have seats that are called “D-Box” these seats move during action scenes. So, if you’ve ever wondered what it would be like to feel the rumble from the screen, the “D-box” seats are for you. However, they are an additional $8.75 a ticket on top of your current ticket price.  

The luxury seating is a section of seats that have leather seating and more leg room.  These seats come with an upgrade price of $2.50 per seat. When we attended a movie at this theater, we chose this section and I didn’t find it any more comfortable than regular seating. 

A cool thing about this movie theater is that there is a bowling alley on the opposite side and as you enter the lobby you see the concession stand and off to the left there is a bar. That’s right; if you’re 21 or older you’re able to take an alcoholic beverage into the movie with you! Bonus! 

I think that this theater is more of a date night spot for our family than a theater we’d all go as a family.

Photos of Emagine theater are courtesy of the emagine entertainment website.
http://www.emagine-entertainment.com/