One of the activities my daughter and I look forward to every year is apple picking. We love searching for the apples, sampling their freshness, and trying out new varieties  We love heading to Belkin Lookout Farm in Natick for apple and pumpkin picking, and I’m delighted that this weekend they are holding a free open house for families!

About the Farm:
Established as a farm in 1651, Belkin Family Lookout Farm in South Natick is recognized as one of the oldest continuously-working farms in the country. The Belkin family is dedicated to continuing 350 years of farm tradition for future generations. They strive to provide healthy, outdoor, family fun activity while maintaining the farm’s long-rooted history and importance within the community for years to come.

If you are around this weekend, you won’t want to miss the open house happening on Saturday May 4 and Sunday May 5 from 11am – 3pm only! Take advantage of free admission in a beautiful landscape! We are headed there first thing Saturday morning with friends and I’m hoping for great weather! Located less than 20 miles from Boston, Belkin Family Lookout Farm is the perfect day trip for the entire family.

At the open house you’ll enjoy
*Free Parking
*Free Admission
*Children’s Play Area
*Moon Bounce
*Burlap Maze
*Facepainting
*Caterpillar rides

Hope to see local families there!

This is not a sponsored post. My family and I are fans and love to support local businesses!

As a Mom to an active seven year old daughter healthy eating is something that we try to incorporate into her diet – and I realize that it starts with me. I really dislike breakfast (even though I know that’s really bad!) and would constantly skip the meal in the morning, and starting noticing my daughter was too. Then noticed she was getting more and more tired. So I got her together and we are coming up with fun new meals for breakfast. I’ve involved her in the healthy living process, and getting her excited about the endless possibilities in the kitchen. Her new addiction? Strawberry blueberry smoothies! Yum.

The new “Run the Rainbow, Eat the Rainbow” contest too understands the importance of healthy kids. Run in collaboration with ChopChop Magazine, The Fun Cooking Magazine for Families, and Boston based New Balance the “Eat the rainbow” campaign helps kids get in the habit of eating a balanced palette of fruits and veggies —and, because different colors are associated with different nutrients, it is an easy way to color your world healthy. What better way to eat multiple colors than with a rainbow fruit kabob?

In celebration of healthy kids and New Balance’s awesome brand-new 890 Rainbow shoe, ChopChop and New Balance invite you to enter the contest for chance to win a monthly prize pack, including a pair of Rainbow shoes, a one-year subscription to ChopChop, and a grand prize of a $400 gift card to a local grocery store. Visit www.newbalance.com/rainbow to enter! The contest is live now and will run through May (entrants must be 18 years or older).

The colorful brand-new 890v3 Rainbow shoe by New Balance are stylish sneakers featuring a synthetic/mesh upper, offering lightweight comfort and support with solid rubber outsole to provide long-wearing durability for active kids. These are my daughter’s new favorite sneakers, I love how they brighten up any outfit, and they’ll be the perfect addition for our upcoming Disney trip!

Be sure to enter today for a chance to win some amazing prizes!
Just for my readers, one lucky reader will win a yearlong ChopChop Magazine subscription AND a pair of the stylish New Balance Rainbow shoe!! They’ll make the perfect addition to any summer wardrobe and they are so comfortable!! You don’t want to miss out on this great giveaway, entering in easy just use the widget!!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: This is a sponsored post between ChopChop Magazine and New Balance. I received a pair of New Balance kids sneakers and a ChopChop subscription. All opinions, as always, are my own.

The last vacation my daughter and I have been on was back in 2007 when we visited Aruba for my sister’s Wedding. We’re more of the staycation type. If vacations weren’t so expensive and I had more moolah I would love love to vacation more with lil mama! Working in non-profit fundraising is pretty exhausting and it’s been a difficult year for us medically and emotionally, so I know we needed some away time together. It’s important to get away from your normal routine, it’s important to spoil yourself…I really don’t do it enough.

So what did I do? Book a trip to Disney! … I swear I’m crazy. Yup, we’re off to the most magical place on Earth! My daughter has been asking for awhile now to go somewhere, on an airplane, stay in a hotel, and of course visit the castle in Florida. I tried to silence her requests and convince her we should go to Puerto Rico and visit the beach! But she was firm – Disney and the castle.

But how to break the news to her? This is a HUGE trip for us! (My pockets sure feel lighter!). I couldn’t just come out and tell her! I needed some mystery; I wanted it to be a surprise! So I decided I would create an Easter Day Scavenger Hunt Revealing our Trip to Disney. I thought I was so slick! After a long day of visiting family and eating delicious food we got back home and I hid clues for her around the house in left over Easter eggs. Until I realized I messed up the clues, so I had to rush and get them all correct. Sigh.

I wanted to make this FUN, so I made a paper chain (love em) with we’re going to Disney, and lil mama LOVES to scrapbook so I got some Florida scrapbooking stickers and even an airplane I wanted this to be special…I was so excited to share this with her.

Once she read the little sign I had created she was off – off to find clues and find out what BIG surprise Mom had in store for her. From her closet, to the TV, to her bagpack, to the Fridge, to the door she went which finally lead her to ‘a place you love to go into after a long day that is usually full of bubbles’ … the tub! Where we was greeted with a special sign, her paper chain, and other goodies. It’s funny, her reaction – many many smirks – was not what I expected. I thought maybe she’d cry or roll around on the floor. But she grinned, she smirked, and she said Moommmmmy we’re going to Disney. It’s weird…it’s kind of like she already knew we were going! Smartypants.

So, yep we’re going to Disney – everyone’s like aren’t you so excited? I’m not…yet. I’m sure once it gets closer I’ll get more excited, but my fear of flying has clouded my excitement – and the fact that the trip isn’t cheap – ouch! But, we don’t go on vacation much, so it’s time to get away, enjoy some sun, and visit the castle! Lil Mama is counting down the days until June 3^rd!

Doesn’t look like Winter is over yet for us here in Boston! Still looking for some spectacular last minute spring skiing?  Look no further with over 225” of snowfall this season and more on its way we can help you with lodging in the Colorado Rocky Mountains! Save 50% on your Spring Break stay of 4 nights or more through April 30, 2013 (35% off 2 and 3 night stays) when you book with Colorado Rocky Mountain Resorts with Breckenridge, Frisco, Copper Mountain, and Keystone vacation rentals!  http://www.coloradormr.com/Promo3.htm  Call them at800 -635-3434 to plan your Spring Break and mention Promo Code DCO!

Planning your summer vacation? Colorado is the place to go with moderate temperatures, plenty of sunshine, and recreational activities for all! Receive 2 FREE Nights when you pay for 5 nights with nightly prices starting as low as $79* per night and weekly as low as $595* http://www.coloradormr.com/Promo3.htm   Call Colorado Rocky Mountain Resorts now at 800-635-3434 today for more information and mention Promo Code DCO! (*excludes taxes).

I often remark on how I wish my daughter and I lived in New York because there seem to be countless fun family friendly activities and events happening in The Big Apple…that I always seem to miss out on! But then I remember that I live just outside of Boston and there are so many great activities for my daughter and I to get involved with!

If you live in Massachusetts, I want to share with you the opening of Kidville Wellesley . It can be difficult to find activities to do with your kids that you haven’t already been too…and sometimes you want something new and exciting! Kidville, a play and learning space for families with young children, offers a wide range of developmental enrichment classes in art, music, dance, and gym for babies, toddlers and kids newborn through 6-years old. With a preschool alternative program (Kidville University – KVU) and summer camps it promises to be a great solution for families looking for new activities to enjoy with their little ones.

SPECIAL GRAND OPENING OFFER

Free trial classes will be offered the week of March 25! During this week, families can take advantage of Kidville’s Grand Opening Special where they will receive $100 off when signing up for the 6-week Introductory Winter ’13 semester and a Spring/Summer ’13 class or Summer Camp. This offer is valid now through March 31.

For more local information, you can also check out Kidville Wellesley on Facebook.

More about Kidville Wellesley

* The location will feature classrooms, an indoor playspace, a retail Boutique, Kidville Salon (where haircuts can finally be fun) and a place for parents to celebrate birthday parties for children up to age nine.

* Some of the most popular classes include Rockin’ Railroad, Run Wiggle Paint & Giggle, My Big Messy Art Class, Big Muscle Builders, Big Muscle Builders, Ballet Tea Party, Savvy Scientists and Awesome Engineers, among others.

* The inaugural Winter 2013 semester begins the week of March 25 and will last for 6 weeks. Silver membership is free with enrollment in any Kidville class and comes with many member benefits including playspace passes, discounts on retail and salon purchase, and $50 off your birthday parties. Upgrades to Gold, Platinum and Diamond are also available.

* The full list of classes include: Rockin’ Railroad, Run Wiggle Paint & Giggle, My Big Messy Art Class, Big Muscles for Little Babies, Kidville Gymnasts, KidvilleSports and Kidville University (Kidville’s Pre-School Alternative Program). Silver Membership is free with enrollment in any Kidville class, while upgrades to Gold, Platinum and Diamond levels are also available.

Be sure to check out all Kidville Wellesley has to offer you and your family!

Many thanks to Kidville Wellesley for providing this great information!