King Richard's Faire 2017

Last weekend, my family and I had the pleasure of attending opening day of King Richard's Faire. This was our 5th year attending and has become something that our family looks forward to each year (particularly the kids!). It has become our annual rite to the end of summer and the beginning of back to school. Its our one last hurrah before we head back to the daily grind of homework, activities, and go-go-go. What better way to go out than in a somewhat magical world full of wonder and excitement?

Each year, the Faire has new acts along with recurring fan favorites. We always love to see new shows and take in the "regulars" of year's past. This year by far, Isabelle's favorite performance was Snorkel, the Trained Pig. Isabelle is obsessed with pigs so we knew we had to check it out.

The boys' favorite is always the jousting on the Tournament Field. It's always exciting!

Each year, we also always need to check out Jacques Ze Whippeur and Daniel Duke of Danger. They never disappoint!

King Richard's Faire also has food (we always grab an ice cream as a treat!), games (for children and adults), shops, special events, and more. If you've never been to the Faire before, check out this previous post HERE that I wrote with help information.

King Richard's Faire is located in Caver, MA and open weekends through October 22, 2017 from 10:30am-6pm. Check out their website for more details! You can also follow the King on Facebook!

*Disclosure: My family received complimentary tickets to the Faire. As always, all opinions are my own.

King Richard's Faire: Ticket Giveaway!

Every year my family and I look forward to attending King Richard's Faire. The kids love to marvel at all the sights and sounds.

This year is no different, and we can't wait to check out some new acts while seeing some of our "old" favorites! King Richard's Faire is the biggest Renaissance fair in New England and one lucky reader will win 3 free tickets to the fair for opening weekend.

2017 Faire Dates 

Saturdays & Sundays September 2 – October 22, 2017
Monday, September 4th Labor Day & October 9th Columbus Day
Caver, MA
Gates open 10:30am and close at 6:00pm
Click Here to Purchase Tickets in Advance!
Tickets purchased at the gate are cash only, ATM’s available.
Follow the King on Facebook to stay up to date! 

If you've never been before, check out my previous post "Things to Know Before Bringing Your Family to King Richard's Faire."

Enter via the Rafflecopter form below for a chance to win 3 tickets good for opening weekend - September 2, 3, or 4th.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: My family received free tickets to attend the Faire along with tickets to give away. As always, all opinions are my own.

Happy 7th Birthday, Daniel!

Today, Daniel turns seven! He continues to be loud, silly, and active from sun up to sun down. He loves to be outside and play with any ball that he can find. Many days (especially with us all home over the summer) I wish I could extinguish the fire that burns inside of him JUST A LITTLE but I haven't found a way yet :)

He picked out his own cake at the store yesterday. It tasted as amazing as it looks!

Each year, I ask my kids the same questions on their birthdays - We love to see how the answers change and stay the same. Here are his answers this year:

Daniel's 7th Birthday - 7/31/17

Favorite Color: Orange

Favorite Show: Dude Perfect on YouTube

Favorite Thing to Do Inside: Play with fidget spinners

Favorite Thing to Do Outside: Play frisbee

Favorite Snack: Cheddar Chex Mix

Favorite Meal: Tacos

Favorite Thing to Do with Dadda: Go fishing

Favorite Thing to Do with Mamma: Bake

Favorite Thing to Do as a Family: Go camping

When I Grow Up I Want to be: A baker

If I had lots of money: I would buy a Nintendo 3DS

Have some time to kill and want to spend your day paying homage to D? You can check out his birth story HERE, see his first year in pictures HERE, see his 4 year old answers HERE, his 5 year old answers HERE, and his 6 year old answers HERE.

Boston Ballet's The Sleeping Beauty

On Friday night, Isabelle and I had the opportunity to attend opening night of Boston Ballet’s The Sleeping Beauty. It was the perfect girl’s night out for us and the show was amazing. I always marvel at the talent and grace of the dancers. The costumes were beautiful and we loved seeing the beloved fairy tale come alive before us on stage. The performance begins with the christening of Princess Aurora, follows her through her finger prick, and eventual spell break by true love’s first kiss.

Boston Ballet in Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty; photo by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

Erica Cornejo in Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty; photo by Rosalie O'Connor, courtesy Boston Ballet

Performance Details:

The Sleeping Beauty by Marius Petipa with additional choreography by Sir Frederick Ashton. Is hailed as one of the Company’s trademark works. This quintessential production features soaring music by Peter Ilych Tchaikovsky and sumptuous sets and costumes by Emmy Award-winning designer David Walker. The Sleeping Beauty runs April 28–May 27 at the Boston Opera House. 

Paulo Arrais and Misa Kuranaga in Marius Petipa's The Sleeping Beauty; photo by Liza Voll, courtesy Boston Ballet

Performance dates/times: 

Friday, April 28 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, April 29 at 1 pm
Saturday, April 29 at 7:30 pm
Sunday, April 30 at 1 pm
Thursday, May 4 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 6 at 1 pm
Sunday, May 7 at 1 pm
Friday, May 12 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 13 at 1 pm
Friday, May 19 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 20 at 1 pm
Saturday, May 20 at 7:30 pm
Thursday, May 25 at 7:30 pm
Saturday, May 27 at 1 pm

All performances of The Sleeping Beauty take place at the Boston Opera House  - 539 Washington Street, Boston, MA 02111

The Sleeping Beauty is approximately 2 hours and 51 minutes with two intermissions. Tickets start at $35. For more information, visit bostonballet.org or call 617.695.6955

*Disclosure: I received complimentary tickets to the performance. As always, all opinions are my own. 

Happy 8th Birthday, Henry!

Happy 8th Birthday to our always kind and sweet, Henry!

Today he spent the day with my husband, Tim, at Build A Bear Workshop creating "Smokey Paw" thanks to a gift card from Uncle Dan. They also picked up a Jurassic Park Lego set and went out for lunch. He had a great day and felt really special. He's rounding out his day now at piano lessons because life goes on even on your birthday!

Here are his answers to our yearly questions:

Henry's 8th Birthday - 12/27/2016

Favorite Color: Green

Favorite Show/Movie: American Ninja Warrior

Favorite Thing to do Inside: Color and draw comics

Favorite Thing to do Outside: Ride bikes

Favorite Snack: Pirate's Booty

Favorite Meal: Pancakes

Favorite Song: "Can't Stop the Feeling" by Justin Timberlake

Favorite Thing to do with Dadda: Go to Build A Bear

Favorite Thing to do with Mamma: Go to the beach

Favorite Thing to do as a Family: Go to a hotel

When I grow up I want to be: an actor in commercials

If I had lots of money, I would: buy a mansion and a limo.

Looking for more Henry? Check out his answers when he was seven HERE, six HERE, and five HERE. You can also check out his birth story HERE.

Happy Halloween 2016!

A fireman, a cake, and a police officer

 We've been partying, carving pumpkins, and eating candy like it's nobody's business for the last couple of weeks. We're looking forward to a great night trick or treating with friends tonight, too. Man it's a good time to be a kid (or mom)!

Travel down Memory Lane with these Halloween posts from the past:

Ghosts and Goblins Make Me Mushy (2012)

Halloween 2015

Halloween 2014

Halloween 2013 

Pie in the Sky

Have you heard of Community Servings' Pie in the Sky? Community Servings provides medically-tailored meals to 1,525 sick people a day in 20 communities throughout Massachusetts. For $30, you can have a delicious Apple, Sweet Potato, Pecan, or Pumpkin pie baked from one of Greater Boston's best bakers (who donate their time to this cause!). You then pick up your pie on Wednesday, November 23rd (the day before Thanksgiving) at one of 80 convenient pick up sites throughout Greater Boston. For those local to Foxboro, there are locations in Sharon, Walpole, Canton, and Dedham. No matter where you live in the greater Boston area there is most likely a location near you. You can check out their Pick Up Site Locator HERE.

Wait...wait...you haven't even heard the best part yet. Each pie that is sold provides one week's worth of nutritious, made from scratch, home delivered meals to someone who is too sick to shop or cook for themselves and their family. $0.93 of every $1 raised goes directly to individuals in need so you can rest assured that your money is going directly to good use.

This year when you sit down to eat pie on Thanksgiving you can feel extra awesome because your good deed is helping someone else enjoy their Thanksgiving as well. Don't like pie (is that possible?) or you wont be around for the holiday? You can still purchase a pie and it will be donated to a Community Servings' client to enjoy.

Ready to buy? Click HERE to be directed to my personal page. Thanks for your consideration!