fun – Page 66 – Hewes Family Fun

Save 60% Off ROBOTS-4-U Summer Camps

March 12, 2016Abby H.

If you’ve got a kiddo that loves robots, building, or STEAM type activities, this camp is PERFECT! Right now, ROBOTS-4-U Summer Camps Now Enrolling and my readers save 60% Off with Code: TEX1660M15 www.ROBOTS-4-U.com This offer expires 3/31/16 I know that when Lil’ Man gets older, he’s definitely going to be interested in this camp! He loves building robots and machines with his Legos!

Campers having a BLAST, while learning and playing in a dynamic environment. Learning about Robotics and Science, in an independent and exciting way!
Visit www.ROBOTS-4-U.com and www.dynamic-art-design.com to see dates and locations for these day camps.

– Robot / Science / Engineering / Day Camp / Challenges (ROBOTICS, Dynamic Art, BATTLE ROBOTS and DRONES, and S.T.E.A.M. education)
– Camps Girls and Boys – Aged 7 to 14
– Robot Camps and Dynamic Art Camps offered during June, July and August
– Hands on Learning, Self-Paced. Beginners to Expert!

KEY INFORMATION
– 1 week (5 days) long
– Days: Monday to Friday Times: 9:00-11:30a.m. and 12:30-3:00 p.m.
– CAMPERS RATIO: 1 Instructor to 16 participants
-Register early as camps do fill up quickly!
– Each Camper Individually uses a ROBOTICS or DYNAMIC ART Kit. Robot kits do not go home with campers but are available for purchase!

For The Current Robots-4-U Camp Special Offer Click here.

Score a free box of Quest Bars from VitaCost!

March 11, 2016Abby H.

We eat a lot of protein bars, especially when when we are on the go on the weekends and on busy school mornings. I love a cup of black coffee with a protein bar in the morning!

Right now you can score a free box of pumpkin pie Quest bars from Vitacost.com when you use code FREEPUMPKIN at checkout with any $25+ purchase.

I love Vitacost- They have great deals on vitamins, supplements, and natural skin and body care. They usually have great promotions and freebies too! Just type in Free Sample into the search bar here.

Oh and it gets better! Free Quest bars, Free Samples, and $10 off!! Sign up through my link here (I get a $10 discount off my next order of $30 or more too) and you’ll get $10 off your order of $30 or more.

Not sure what to buy? I get PB2 from Vitacost!

Family Fun this weekend at the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2016!

March 3, 2016Abby H.

SDFSE-EXPO-Day-IMG_9641-Photo by Melissa Jacobs Henry informed me the other day that he wants to be a farmer scientist. We’ve started our garden of tomatoes, strawberries, bell peppers, lavender (to encourage bees to visit our garden), wild flowers, and a succulent. Henry really wanted to have a cactus garden, but I worried about Birdie being around pokey plants once she’s a little bigger and able to play outside on the patio.

I am super excited to take him and Bitty Bird to the San Diego Festival of Science & Engineering 2016 down at Petco Park on Saturday, March 5th.

The event runs 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., we’ll be there at 10 on the dot. Henry is excited to get hands on with all kinds of experiments and fun! There are scheduled to be more than 130 local businesses, corporations and organizations providing interactive, hands-on science, technology, engineering and math exhibits and activities to budding K-12 science lovers.

New EXPO Day Features for 2016:

The Recycle Challenge: Are you familiar with the phrase “Reduce, Reuse, Recycle? Are you into technology, creativity and want to help keep our planet green? Well, the blue bin isn’t the only place for your recyclables. With a little imagination and craftiness you can turn your “trash” into awesome works of art! In this Star Wars-themed challenge, students in grades 5 to 12, will convene in teams of four to design, build and present a wearable garment or innovative device out of recycled materials to wear in the Star Wars Universe! Student inventors will then present their creation and explain how they built it and/or where in the Star Wars universe it will be utilized.
K-Zone: Looking for a place where your youngest scientist can unleash their natural creative ability in a setting where they are free to touch, explore, and participate in whatever their developing minds can come up with? The K-Zone is a place where budding tinkerers can come and explore numerous activities guaranteed to nurture and engage their active minds. Go ahead and let them run free, they just might change the world. (this is where we’ll be for most of the day, I’m sure!)
TedXKids@ElCajon Take The Stage: In the spirit of ideas worth spreading, TEDx is a program of local, self-organized events that bring people together to share a TED-like experience. This local version will showcase the passion and potential of our children! Organized by the Cajon Valley Union School District, these students offer a unique platform to share their ideas. Connect with our future leaders, and leave inspired. Come see samplings of their talks throughout the day on the Dugout Stage!
Student Designed Merchandise: Come check out the winners of our STEM Design completion. This year we’ve got sizes for the whole family and newly featured women’s racerback tank tops! Pay tribute to our local student artists. The Festival continues to work hard to keep all items very family affordable with nothing over $10! The merchandise tent is located inside Park at the Park – check it out and get your awesome Festival gear to wear all year long!
Star Wars – Steampunk Universe: The two fastest expanding creative universes, Star Wars and Steampunk, will converge at the Star Wars – Steampunk Universe booth, just inside the Gaslamp Gate entrance. Learn how to salvage your everyday watch and bicycle gears, vintage brass plumbing parts, industrial revolution steam era antiques, old leather and lace into personal visual expressions of your love of the Star Wars saga. Come by and take photos with the Star Wars – Steampunk Universe crew. Kids will also be able to participate in a fun coloring activity. Booth attendees will also learn how Star Wars – Steampunk Universe turns “Cosplay into Cause-play,” combining their love of dressing up and participating in charity and community events.
Bright Idea Society Alley – Powered By ViaSat: No need to scour the map, our Bright Idea Society winners this year will all be gathered together in their own row inside park at the park! The three winning schools include Olive Elementary, Feaster Engineering Charter, and Dragons 5229 Boys & Girls Clubs. Come be fascinated by these young minds and let them teach you!

If you are looking for a fun, free event to take your kids to this weekend, check out the Festival! I hope to see you there!

9 Fun, Frugal things to do this Spring Break in San Diego!

March 3, 2016Abby H.

Spring break is just a few weeks away for most of us. We get two weeks, and I know some schools get three (you have my condolences). If you are looking for some fun, frugal stuff to do to pass the time, here are a few adventures we’ll be having:

Santee Lakes Splash Pad should be open. They are re-surfacing the ground there right now! IMG_0931_2

Shell Hunting at the beach: Low tide is the best time to go. Check the tide charts here.

Balboa Park offers Free Tuesdays at various museums in the park.

Hiking and a picnic at Old Mission Dam

Gillespie Field Duck Pond: Located on Billie Mitchell Drive in El Cajon, it’s a great place to stop, check out ducks and turtles and explore a little nature in the big city. Plus afterwards, you can stop by the Aerospace Museum Hangar on Kenney Road. It where the Aerospace museum keeps their place that are off exhibit or are being restored. It’s donation suggested, but you can pop by for free. The guys who work there are excited to have kids stop by. If you are feeling peckish, stop by the Gillespie Cafe and have a bite on the patio and watch the planes take off and land.

Los Penasquitos Canyon Preserve: Lots of fun trails and paths, and if you’ve got it in you, there is a trail that leads down to some cool, hidden waterfalls! Don’t forget water and a snack!

The playground and Waterfront Park downtown are always fun. However, the water park area will be closed for maintenance for most of March. However the playground is RAD!!

Looking to enjoy a little bit of history? The Missions in San Diego are fun and educational. There are three in San Diego County: San Diego de Alcala (in Mission Valley), San Luis Rey (in Oceanside), and the Santa Ysabel Asistencia (in Santa Ysabel). If you go up to Santa Ysabel, stop for pie and bread at Dudley’s!

It’s wild Flower season out in Borrego Springs! Head down and check out the flowers, the fun(and free) museum, and don’t forget to check out Galleta Meadows! The awesome metal sculptures in the Borrego Springs area by artist Ricardo Breceda. Check out a printable map here, and here is a video about the awesome sculptures. This is one of Henry’s favorite things to do!

If you are looking for other fun stuff, here is an article I wrote last summer about summer fun!

Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona!

March 1, 2016Abby H.

NickelCreek-logoColor A few weeks ago, I wrote about the Grand Opening of the Nickel Creek Townhomes in Ramona. Well, Birdie and I went on Saturday to take a sneak peak.

WOWZA! There are three amazing three floor plans: Cypress, Sycamore, and Birch. Each floor plan has some amazing features like a private balcony or private backyard, which I love- I think everyone should have their own outdoor space to relax!

There are so many features on these homes that will help you save money and the environment!

Duel glazed windows
Radiant Barrier tech shielding on roof
Weather stripping on exterior doors
Low flow toilets and shower heads

One thing that impresses me about the KirE homes is all of the attention to fire safety that all of the homes have:

Fire-Resistant tile roofing
Fire-rated overhangs
Interior fire sprinklers with alarm
Multi-Power Source smoke detectors in the hallways
Pre-Fabricated roofing for easy solar panel installation (for those want to do that!)

Ok, and one random thing that I like is that all of the homes we toured in the master bathroom the toilet is in it’s own little closet, and the shower/bath and sinks are in. That way one person can’t tie up the entire bathroom. Perfect for busy mornings!

NickelCreek Townhomes is right in the heart of Ramona. It’s tucked off Main Street in a quiet neighborhood, but it’s still within walking distance of grocery stores, restaurants (including Dunkin’ Donuts- I’m just saying!), and other shopping.

If you are interested in checking them out for yourself, visit NCRamona.com.

Cutting the Cord: Going without Cable

February 20, 2016Abby H.

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Disclaimer: This money saving strategy isn’t for everyone- I’ll admit it. If you HAVE to watch “your shows” or sports games and they aren’t available to stream on the TV channel’s website (FOX, CBS, NBC, and AMC have tons of their shows streaming on their site), this won’t work for you.

We don’t have cable. Never have. Mr. C watches sports over Antenna TV or he’ll go to the gym and spend time on the treadmill or StairMaster while he watches football!

In my area, cable tv (with Cox Cable) is $61.99/mo for the cheap-o plan. It’s usually on special for less, or you may get a discount if you bundle it with your home phone (we don’t have one!), but after any introductory rates have expired, the monthly price is $61.99/mo at a minimum.

So, in the 10 years we’ve lived together, we’ve saved roughly $7500 by not having cable. That’s A LOT of money.

There are a few things to consider:

If you want to cut the cord, before you call your cable company and tell them to shove it consider this. How old is your TV? If it’s older than 3 or 4 years old, you’ll need a digital convertor box.

Why? In 2009, the FCC made the switch from analog (over the air) TV to digital TV to free up analog airwaves for emergencies.

So if you have an old tv, plug it in and flip the channels, you’ll get static because your TV can’t access the digital airwaves without a convertor box. Convertor boxes run between $40-$60 and can be purchased anywhere that sells electronics. You need one convertor box PER television in your house that is over 3-4 years old. If you are unsure if your TV has the convertor internally, check online or call the company that manufactured your TV.

Pick up a convertor box. But you’ll still need one more thing.

An Antenna. Not a pair of rabbit ears. Newer antennas plug into your television, and the wall (yup they have an amplified signal, so you’ll get more channels!), and they hang on the wall. You’ll need one for each TV in the house.

This is what ours look like, it’s a slim, shiny back box that hangs on the wall. They run anywhere from $45-$90 (depending on what type you get)

OK, so Convertor box (if needed)-Check!

Antenna– Check!

Now your are all set.

The directions that come with the antenna will tell you how to set it all up and find your local channels.

Now, you can call the cable company! Remember to return the cable boxes and remotes so you aren’t charged any extra.

Now the next question I get is: How many channels will I get?

Depending on how strong the signals in your area are, you should be able to receive:

ABC
CBS
NBC
CW
Fox
PBS
V-me (Spanish PBS)

There are additional networks that are available in various areas of the county. Here in So Cal, we also get:

NBC-2 (Lifestyle)
NBC-3 (Sports)
ThisTV
Me-TV
MyNetworkTV

Plus we get a few more spanish language channels.

So- the take away is this: depending on how many TV’s you have in your house, and their age, you may spend a few hundred dollars up front to get all set up, but you may be paying a few hundred dollars a month on cable or the dish. It will pay for itself in just a few months.

You won’t get ESPN or MTV or any of the other eight million other channels. But, you’ll get more quality time as a family.

We’ve never had cable. We’ve lived together for 10 years, and we’ve lived with broadcast TV (over the air with an antenna and converter box), Netflix- Streaming only (a gift from hubby’s parents!), and we have a HuluPlus subscription (at a whopping $7.99/month).

We’re not addicted to TV. We watch Netflix or a show or two on Hulu at night, and Little Man and I watch PBS in the morning for Sesame Street and many other educational cartoons. We read, talk, or play games while most people are glued to the tube each night for 4-5 hours. We go for to the gym, or for a walk as a family.

What would you do with an extra $700+ per year? What would you do with the extra time you could have not being glued to the TV each night?

Pinecone Research is looking for you!

February 16, 2016November 29, 2017Abby H.

SQUEEE!!! I am super Super excited to share this with you! If you’ve read the blog for a while, you know I love doing surveys at home to earn extra spending cash. My #1 go to survey company is Pinecone Research.

PineCone Research conducts on-line interviews with consumers from all walks of life to obtain their opinions about new products. To become a panel member, all you need to do is complete the simple form here, This will only take a few minutes of your time.

It’s easy and fun to see and evaluate new product ideas in the comfort of your own home. You will earn points for each completed product survey, which can be exchanged for cash and other rewards. PLUS you will be automatically entered into a bi-weekly Sweepstakes to win additional cash prizes for your time. Each interview usually takes 15-20 minutes of your time. Plus, you are free to leave the panel at any time should you choose to do so.

Pinecone has no crazy high minimum pay out (like some other survey companies)- You only need 300 points to cash out for 1 $3.00 Paypal reward. 300 points is just 1 survey!

Nitty Gritty: Registrants who complete the signup form online and align with the recruit target(s) and are eligible for membership consideration will immediately receive an email invitation containing a link, ID and password to complete the full registration process. The link takes them to a brief “staging” survey (6 minutes or less) to gather some further information about that registrant and their household, and to gain agreement to the terms and conditions for panel membership.

Right now they are primarily looking for Males, or anyone aged 18-24, or Hispanic ethnicity. And here is proof that I make money with Pinecone, here is a screenshot showing that I cashed out points:

300 points is $3.00, 900 points is $9.00 and 1500 is $15.00. So in the past 3 months, I’ve made $36 in less than a half hour, all told!

Take 5% off Schoola and get $5 Starbucks GC!!

February 8, 2016Abby H.

By this time, you know my love of Schoola! Great gently worn clothes for kids (and women) at a decent price, and they give 40% of each item’s purchase price to local schools!

Right now, they’ve got a great deal! Because you’ve helped us raise money for so many schools, Schoola is treating you to 5% off and $5 to Starbucks! Use the code below now until 2/14 and we’ll email you a Starbucks gift card.

Spend $20, take 5% off + Free Shipping and Get $5 to Starbucks
Use Code LATTELOVE

Please note, codes are not valid on new-with-tags items. Limited one code per order. Offer for a limited time. Must spend $20 with the code to qualify for the Starbucks gift certificate.

And if you are new to Schoola, when you sign up here, you’ll get $20 in credit to spend (which you can use with the coupon code to save even more!!)

DIY Fairy Jar (No Glow Sticks needed!)

February 1, 2016Abby H.1 Comment

Screen Shot 2016-02-01 at 12.51.22 PM Everyone has seen the Fairy jars on Pinterest that glow in the dark. In fact, you may seen them on Pinterest fail lists too, because, well, the directions don’t work.

Not familiar? Ok, it goes like this: Take a Mason Jar (because after all 90% of crafts/stuff on pinterest involve a Mason Jar), open 2-3 glow sticks, dump them into the mason jar, screw the lid on and shake. OOOH, it’s supposed to look like a magical Fairy Jar. What it really looks like it a fairy vomited into a jar. And glow sticks glowiness only lasts one night (or so).

So here is the deal on how to make a legit, serious, awesomely cool fairy jar in less than 10 minutes, no glow sticks or scissors needed.

You need two things:

A jar with a screw on lid. I used an Anchor Hocking jar that my mom gave me (she got it here). You could also use a wide mouth quart Mason Jar.

A string of these cool LED battery operated lights on a copper wire. You get two for $7.99, so really, you could make two if you had another jar.

Here are the totally simple directions:

Wash and dry the jar.
Loosely coil the string of lights around your hand, put hand into jar. let go of the lights.
Leave the end of the string with the switch dangle over the lip of the jar.
Screw on lid (the wire is so thin, you’ll be able to screw on the lid with the wire coming up over the top of the jar).
Turn lights on.

That’s it. REALLY! The batteries last a while, especially if you aren’t leaving the lights on 24/7. If you wanted to get a little fancier, you could spray paint the inside of the jar, allow it to dry, then continue with steps 2-5. I am doing that with my second string of lights. Watch my Instagram feed for photos of that when it’s done later today.

Screen Shot 2016-02-01 at 12.50.58 PM

I can’t wait to share this with Henry when he gets home from school.

Thanks to Tomoson and #OakleafLEDLight for the opportunity to try these cool little lights for free. I was not financially compensated for this review, however I only review items that I think area good fit for my family. All opinions are my own!

It’s BACK! Free FroYo Day!

January 25, 2016January 25, 2016Abby H.

Is it wrong that I look forward to this every year?

Screen Shot 2016-01-25 at 10.37.39 AM February 1st is National Frozen Yogurt Day and that means free Fro Yo at Menchie’s!

It’s from 4-7pm on Monday, February 1st!

Fine Print: The first 6 ounces are free on February 1, 2016 from 4pm – 7pm. Additional ounces are at cost to the consumer. Limit one cup per guest while supplies last. Flavors are available at participating locations, while supplies last.

This is going to be a great after school treat for our family! As more Free Fro Yo offers are announced for other fro yo companies, I’ll post!

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