FAMILY FUN DAY! Story Land - Glen, NH

Once Upon a Time

First, let me start this post off by saying, this trip to Story Land was not just my husband, son and myself.. Oh no no. This trip was shared with the following people...

(from left to right)
Lisa, Ed, Brody, Seth, Ashley, Steve, MJ, Kelly, Jozlyn, Angie, Paxtyn, Bobby & Megan.

Yes.. There was a lot of us, and yes, we all had purple shirts (most decorated). These shirts were actually a HUGE hit, and really helped us while we were in the park to see people from far away.

This day trip was AWESOME. We all had a blast. We got there when they opened at 9:30am, and stayed until almost close (we left at 4:30pm, they closed at 5pm). This park is aimed at children for sure (obviously). My son will be 2 in July, and my niece will be 2 in September. There were some rides they couldn't do (roller coasters, flumes, etc). This park is ideal for children between the ages of 2-10. My cousin, Jozlyn (age 10) had a blast doing the bigger kid rides, like the new Dinosaur coaster (all wooden) and the flume. My son and niece were too short (and too young) to do those rides. They have nursery rhyme characters, animals, and fun rides for all ages!

Mother Goose with Brody! (she loved our purple shirts)

The old woman who lived in a shoe!

A talking tree.

Animals!

Animals!

A bell in the school house that kids can ring.

Whale fountains.

This piano could have kept them busy for hours!

Plenty of these things around the park for photos!

                                                 

Ready for the swan boats!

Angie, Lisa & Jozlyn on the swan boats.

Bobby, Paxtyn & Megan on the swan boats.

Seth, Brody & Ed on the swan boats.

Jozlyn & Kelly on the Carousel!

Brody on the Carousel!

a HUGE room filled with vacuums for balls (extremely dangerous in my opinion)

Splash Pad!

Antique Cars!

Antique Cars!

MORE Antique Cars!

I would definitely recommend Story Land for families looking for a overnight, or even a day trip! We drove from Epping, NH and it took about 2 hours. It was definitely a long day. Some areas in the park provided a good amount of shade, while in others, there was very little relief from the sun and heat. Pack plenty of sunscreen. We originally were planning on bringing a wagon for the kids, but we decided to go with the strollers (THANK GOD). My son, who NEVER sleeps ANYWHERE but his crib, slept for about an hour (see photo below). The cover provided enough shade for him that he wasn't miserable the entire time. I believe you can rent a stroller there, but from what I saw, they provide very little storage. You can also bring your own food and drinks into the park which is a HUGE plus, because you can save tons of money on food. Souvenirs in the park are also pretty cheap! Shirts ranging from $9.00-$12.00, and water bottles at about $14.99.. I think the most expensive souvenir I looked at was $21.99 (I am sure there are some things that are more expensive, this is just a general fact).

We did pay $10.00 to have a license made for Brody, which seemed pretty expensive, but I am so glad we did. It's adorable, and it's something he can't grow out of. 

A lot of people suggest going to Santa's Village. I have to be honest and say that I haven't been to Santa's Village in like 6-7 years, but I do remember not being a huge fan. Story Land was definitely fun for the ENTIRE family. 

Until we meet again! :)

Ashley

Flashback Saturday? Brody's First Birthday party!

Welcome to the Stache Bash

I figured in this entry I would share the fun (and struggle) of planning a Birthday party for a ONE year old (or a party for any age really) This party took place July 21st, 2013. My husband and I decided that we would do a BIG celebration for our kiddo's first birthday, and then cool it on the parties until he was a little older, and would have parties with friends from school. We went with a "Mustache Bash" theme.. Because, lets be honest, I am OBSESSED with mustaches. We decided to rent a hall, since we invited about 65 guests (which seems like a lot, but we wanted everyone to be able to enjoys our B-Rode's BIG day!) 

P.S- Most of this post is photos! (how else could I really explain the party?!)

I would ALWAYS suggest of having some sort of activity that your child will have to treasure forever.. In our case, we decided to have all of our friends and family color a letter for when we teach B-Rode his ABC's

We decided to hire a photographer for Brody's party so that Seth and I could both be apart of the party and still have all of the memories we want to have. This will definitely add cost onto your party (depending on who you have take pictures) but for us, it was definitely worth it. We had a photo booth at his party, and later made a book of all of the birthday wishes made to him! 

Having a photographer was also a huge plus, because we were able to be in photos at his party! Normally, I am always the one taking pictures, so being able to just "relax" (yeah right!) and enjoy the party was awesome. She was also able to capture amazing moments like..

5 generations (my great grandmother, my grandfather, my father, myself, and my son)

Brody meeting his great-great grandmother for the first time!

Every parent hopes that their child will LOVE birthday cake, and just want to dive in and make a huge mess.. Well, we were EXTREMELY lucky. Brody tore that cake apart, and loved EVERY minute of it!

In addition to the obvious photos you WILL want to have from a birthday party.. You will just have pictures of special moments, that you missed while running around trying to make sure everything is perfect..

Overall, we spent around $1,000 for Brody's first Birthday party.. Which included the hall, the photographer, the cake, decorations, food, and other miscellaneous stuff.. But it was worth every penny, and I would probably do it again. I made most of the decorative stuff myself, and the dollar store was a HUGE help. It's amazing the things you can get there that would cost $5-$10 at Walmart or Target! After we received all of the photos, I went onto Shutterfly, and made a 25 page long book of all of the pictures that we will be able to remember FOREVER. 

I mean, hey, your kid only turns 1 once, right?!

Ashley