Zhu Zhu Flo dance and the Zhu-niverse 2010 Tour!!

The Zhu Zhu pets are quite entertaining, and they are a great little pet for kids. You don't have to "care" for your Zhu Zhu pet as you would a live pet, so they make great little pets for your kids if you don't want the responsibility and work that a live pet can bring.
Zhu Zhu pets cam out with a new line of friends called the KUNG ZHU. Our family loves the Kung Zhu's! These are warriors: ninjas and special forces. These Zhu Zhu's have shields, armor and special vehicles. To kick off the new Kun Zhu pets, the Zhu Zhu's are visiting 20 cities this summer and fall with the Zhu-niverse Tour, and welcomes all fans to come live for a day like the Zhu’s. Our family had a great time checking out the Zhu-niverse Tour at the Mall of America in Bloomington, MN on June 5th, 2010. I think that visiting the Tour is a great way to introduce your children to the Zhu Zhu's and get in on all the fun!
I think the set up at the Mall of America was great...it was a rainy day, the Zhu-niverse was indoors, and people were everywhere! There were a few other events at the Mall of America that day, so it was great for even more people to check out the Zhu-niverse! There was a life size hamster habitat trail and wheel. My kids loved that!
There were four large tables of Zhu Zhu pets, accessories and habitats for kids to play with. The sets included the original Zhu Zhu sets as well as the new Kung Zhu pets/habitats/accessories.
Geoffrey, the Toys R Us giraffe, was there to greet all the children. Toys R Us is one of the main stores that sell the Zhu Zhu pets. My kids had a great time saying, "Hi" to Geoffrey and giving him a hug.
The Zhu-niverse had so much activity available for the kids! The staff and volunteers led kids in games, like pick the correct Zhu Zhu pet, land on the Zhu Zhu's birth mark, and more. There were prizes awarded like stickers, postcards, and tie string bags.

The live hamster habitat was such a blast! The kids had a great time pretending they were Zhu Zhu pets. Check out this cute video my oldest son took of the younger kids:

Here is a picture of Madelyn near the end of the habitat, next to Mr. Squiggles.
The kids had a great time playing the Zhu Zhu pets game on the Nintendo DSi gaming station.
It was great that there were several gaming systems so several children can play at the same time. The kids all loved the game...traveling with their Zhu Zhu pets.
Even my husband and our 17 month old had a great time playing the game.
Cole was so excited to play with the Zhu Zhu pets. He was just amazed at how they moved around. I like the little police car that is in front of him.
This is a very colorful set up for the Zhu Zhu pets!
There was a station set up where kids could play, "Which Zhu are YOU?" With answering questions about what they like, activities they enjoy, etc. the computer matches up the child to a Zhu Zhu pet they are most like based on their answers. After it picks the Zhu Zhu you are most like, the computer will take your picture and fit it in the body of a Zhu Zhu pet. With a plastic card, you have a special number and instruction to go online and view/order your photos.
Kung Zhu Training Grounds were a big hit for my kids. I think they spend most of the time training for Kung Zhu wars. The Training grounds started off with a race through the matted tunnel

....you can see Cole's legs in this photo.
Then the kids run through another tunnel and climb up on a stool to reach the monkey bars.

They quickly reach across to go through the monkey bars (Madelyn is getting some help from bigger brother).
Almost to the finish line, the kids need to run through the fierce ninjas and special forces (large mats that were standing upright).
At the end of the race, the kids got to hit the big cymbal for a big "DONG." Cole loved hitting the mallet on the cymbal. Once they hit the bell, they got a sticker for their achievement.
Here is a couple pictures of the Kung Zhu Zhu pets, home, and accessories. The kids really like the new additions.
Be sure to check out the Zhu-niverse if they are coming near you!~
Upcoming events for the rest of the summer for the Zhu-niverse Tour!
Belleville National Strawberry Festival, Detroit, MI (Belleville, MI)
Friday - Sunday, June 18-20
Summerfest, Milwaukee, WI
Saturday - Monday, June 26-28
Naperville Ribfest, Chicago, IL (Naperville, IL)
Thursday - Sunday, July 1-4
Taste of Buffalo, Buffalo, NY
Saturday - Sunday, July 10-11
New England Sand Sculpting Festival, Boston, MA (Revere, MA)
Friday - Sunday, July 16-18
QuickChek New Jersey Festival of Ballooning, Trenton, NJ (Readington, NJ)
Friday - Sunday, July 23-25
Please Touch Museum, Philadelphia, PA
Friday - Sunday, July 30-August 1
Also, at the Zhu-niverse you could get up on the platform and dance to the new Zhu Zhu Flo song. I had a party gathering before attending the Zhu-niverse and we tried the song out. I think the song is a bit easier for older kids (like ages 5 and up). The kids we had at the party were under 6. So, it was harder for them, but they still had a blast. We had some Pizza Hut pizza to kick off the Zhu Zhu flo party, and then got to work learning the dance. Here are some photos and a video from learning the Zhu Zhu flo.

The Zhu Zhu flo is on a DVD and we had instructions, video with music, and a fun Zhu Zhu pet video after the song.
The kids had fun dancing to the music and learning it, however I don't think they were too anxious to learn a new song.
My daughter loves the Zhu Zhu flo song, and really gets into the dance. Sometimes she makes up her own little dance, too. If we had wanted to, our group could have performed the Zhu Zhu flo dance at the Zhu-niverse tour, but I think the kids were just not quite ready for that yet.

It is a fun dance to learn, and I think it is fun that the Zhu Zhu's have their own dance song.

Thanks to Mom Select and Zhu Zhu pets I was able to host a Zhu Zhu flo party. I was sent a gift card to pizza hut to purchase snacks for our party. I was given information on the Zhu-niverse Tour from Mom Select, and given information to share with my readers. I was not compensated for my time or written review. The Zhu-niverse Tour is a free event and open to the public.

McDonald’s McNuggets and Shrek Forever After House Party

I was lucky enough to be selected to host a House Party for McDonald's McNuggets and Shrek Forever After! I was amazed at the amount of product that was sent to me from House Party to host this event. I was so excited to share all this with friends and family, and to see the kids get excited about all of it! Getting ready for the party was really fun, too. My friend, Lisa, was also selected to host the party, so we decided to host the party together. We had twenty kids for the party, plus the parents/grandparents.
We had so much to give our guests!! We had Shrek Happy Meal toys, coupons for free McFlurrys, free Minute Maid Apple Juice, a Shrek Movie and more! Our kits came with Shrek themed cups, plates, and napkins (from Hallmark). There was also two Shrek glasses from McDonald's, a very generous gift card to McDonald's to purchase 100% white meat Chicken McNuggets, Happy Meal boxes, Shrek Movie poster, game ideas, and more. I was just blown away with how many things were provided in our House Party kit!

We had a great time getting the menu prepared and had so much fun planning for Ogre-themed (green) food. Even though I forgot about the green finger jello, the kids loved what was served.

We had green macaroni & cheese, peas, green Hawaiian punch, Funyuns, and of coarse the McDonald's Chicken Nuggets.

The kids were excited about wearing Shrek ears. I made the ears out of felt pieces and fabrics. I made them customized for girl and boy.

My friend's daughter, Olivia enjoyed being at the party and being an Ogre.

Not all the kids wanted to wear the ears, nor be in the photos. It was fun to get a group shot of most of the kids.

Time to eat! McDonald's Chicken Nuggets, Macaroni and Cheese, Funyuns...juice makes for a fun kid-friendly meal.

We played pass the Happy Meal toy. We separated the boys and the girls into circles. We gave the kids a Happy Meal toy, and played music.

In our House Party kit was a music cd for Fruits and Veggies promotions. McDonald’s supports Produce for Better Health Foundation’s Fruits & Veggies — More Matters and their Campaign for Children’s Health, a program that encourages the nation’s children to eat more fruits and vegetables for better health. So, we played the music, and when the music stopped, the child with the Happy Meal toy in their hand was out. The last child left in the game won that toy.

This is Lisa's daughter, Trinity in her Shrek ears!

We also played pin the tail on Donkey. I thought this would be a really fun game to play, considering Donkey is one of the characters in Shrek movies. Lisa's husband, Donnie, is a talented artist, and he drew Donkey for us. He did a great job! The kids really had fun with this game. We handed out the rest of the Happy Meal Shrek toys as prizes for this game.

Christian loved his ears, too! This is my friend, Jeannie's grandson.

Some of the kids picking out their prizes from the "Pin the Tail on Donkey" game.

Toward the end of the party we handed out the free McDonald's snack size McFlurry coupons. We asked each child to either say one of their favorite McDonald's menu items, or answer a question from one of the Shrek movies. It was fun hearing what the kids had to say. I think that the McDonald french fries and chicken McNuggets ranked top on the lists!

Everyone liked their Happy Meal box as a party favor to go home with. We put the Shrek watch, another Happy Meal toy, Twinkie treat, Shrek fruit roll-ups with tattoos, and a coupon for a free Minute Maid Apple Juice from McDonald's in the boxes. The kids were so excited about the boxes! Included in the toys and on the boxes were codes to enter online to win fabulous prizes.

Our party was a grand success. Lisa and I had a blast planning for the party, decorating, making food, putting the party together and hosting this great House Party! A big thanks goes to McDonald's, Hallmark, Dreamworks, and House Party! We had an extremely successful party thanks to the wonderful products, prizes and gifts included! I was so happy to be one of the chosen hosts for the McDonald's McNuggets and Shrek Forever After House party!

The Shrek Forever After is currently playing in theaters, and McDonald's has the Shrek toys, and glassware.

I was sent a party kit from House party, and McDonald's in order to promote the new Shrek Forever After movie. I was not paid for my written review. I was given extra Happy Meal toys, promotion cards, boxes and more to give to guests that came to my party.

Spring fun just a'muddin'!!

I can't believe this weather we have been blessed with so far this spring in Minnesota. We have been outdoors a lot and my kids have so much fun together. I haven't posted much of what we have been doing, but I took these photos a few weeks ago when the temperature was 70 degree's+.
Nathaniel giving Cole a ride on the trike. Cole hasn't quite got the hang of pedaling yet, but maybe by the end of summer. He sure loves rides, though.

Nathaniel and Caleb. I think they kind of look alike in this photo. Nathaniel is 11 and Caleb is almost 5.

I love this photo! Notice Caleb aiming at the photographer (me). :) I think Madelyn's face is pretty comical in this photo, too.

Ahhh, sweet love. I love the expression on each of their faces.

Nathaniel really is growing into a young man. I can't believe how much he is changing.

Madelyn is riding Caleb's bike. She got a new bike for her birthday from Grandma, but we need to exchange it for a smaller one due to her size. :)
Caleb loves being outside, riding his bike, climbing trees and digging in the dirt. Speaking of dirt...Nathaniel decided to make a few ditches, culverts, and streams (ahem, ...lakes).

Dirt, Check! Bucket, Check! Water, Check! Kids ready for play, Check!

Cole was ready to dig in. I totally enjoyed watching the kids at work, both with each other, and individually. It was a blast snapping photos.
Madelyn's expression is priceless on this photo! I love Caleb's dirty hands, too!
Cole had an idea...

"let's see what dirt tastes like..."

"hmmm...not so much!"
Caleb was really getting into the creation!
Let the waters pour out...and see what happens!



"Look mom, I made a mud ball!"

Friends came over to play and join in the fun! Caleb had a smidgen of dirt on his nose.

Ok, time to really get into the dirt! My kids were so dirty muddy, that I said to just get down to the diaper. It was so nice outside, and they were having such fun!

Yes!! Cool muddy water to trot through!

It was a great afternoon/evening. The kids had such a grand time, and they made memories. The dirt in our back yard has brought so many smiles already this year. It isn't a sand box, but they don't mind. It is handy living on the lake...they have endless water supply (and it is free).