SEA LIFE Kansas City: The Octonauts Zone

Disclosure: I received passes to visit SEA LIFE Kansas City. No other compensation was received and all views expressed are my own. 

We're crazy about the Octonauts, and we're pretty crazy about SEA LIFE Kansas City as well. Ever since our first trip there for Lincoln's third birthday, it's been one of my favorite Kansas City destinations to go with the kids. When I heard that SEA LIFE would be opening a brand-new exhibit called The Octonauts Zone this spring, there was no doubt about it - we had to see it.

Lincoln and Addie were so excited and wanted to wear their Octonauts costumes for the big event. Those costumes have gotten so much use, since we used them for Halloween and Lincoln's Octonauts birthday party this year!

We got to SEA LIFE bright and early the morning the exhibit opened. I thought the kids would be thrilled to participate in the Octonauts parade, but they were actually a little bit intimidated by Captain Barnacles, Kwazii, and Peso in real life (similar to the time they met them last summer at SEA LIFE Kansas City). They watched the parade from afar, and waved as everyone walked by.

This was as close as Lincoln would get to any of the characters - but he was so excited to hear the Octonauts theme playing as they all marched up to cut the ribbon in the grand opening ceremony!

Once we went inside, the kids wanted to rush straight on to see The Octonauts Zone. We skipped past all the other exhibits for the moment and headed straight there.

The kids were thrilled to find all of their favorite characters decorating the walls and on the tv screens throughout the exhibit. By far, the biggest hit were all of the ways to interact with the Octonauts! Lincoln must have pushed the Octo-Alert button a hundred times while we were there.

Apologies for the photo overload, but they were having a blast and I wanted to capture all of it!

The very lifelike Gup A and Gup B models, complete with Barnacles and Kwazii inside were really cool. The photos don't pick up the effect as well as I wish they could - basically, their faces are animated and illuminated onto their bodies. So it appears that they are interactive even without being fully moving characters. The kids were fascinated.

Lincoln and the Octo-Alert!

The interactive digital map and Peso's medic bag were really popular, too. They loved finding out details about sea creatures and playing games!

Lincoln was a big fan of the creature tank that was inside Kwazii's treasure chest!

After we had our fill of The Octonauts Zone, we took the time to explore the rest of the aquarium, too - and as usual, had a grand time. I know we'll be back to see the Octonauts again. If you're an Octonauts fan, don't miss the chance to see this great exhibit right here in Kansas City!

Disclosure: I received passes to visit SEA LIFE Kansas City. No other compensation was received and all views expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.

Disney Dreams: An Enchanted Pajama Party // #DisneySide

Disclosure: I received party supplies and samples to facilitate hosting this event. No other compensation was received and all views expressed are my own. 

It's not a secret that I'm a huge Disney fan, so I was incredibly excited to be selected as a host for a Disney Side @Home Celebration this winter! My friend Stephanie, who blogs over at Moments That Take My Breath Away, was given the chance to host a party too, and the two of us decided to combine our efforts for an epic Disney bash.

After a lot of late night Facebook chat brainstorming, we decided that we would host a preschool Pajama Party, featuring breakfast snack foods, crafts and activities, and even a special guest visitor. We gathered up every Disney toy we own (and let's just say that's A LOT), invited lots of young Disney fans, turned up some Disney tunes, and partied the day away! We didn't send formal invitations in the mail, but it would have been really simple to adapt my DIY Mickey Mouse Party Invitations with a dreamy touch!

Since we were throwing an enchanted pajama bash, we carried the sleep/dream theme throughout the party. Our front door sign (above) featured a famous quote from Walt Disney, and the sentiment was echoed in the Mickey Mouse themed banner we displayed (below).

Stephanie is a food artist far more talented than I (have you seen the owl cake we she made for Addie's first birthday?), and she put together an impressive display of Disney themed snacks for everyone to munch on. Between Mickey and Minnie Cinnamon Rolls, Fairy Godmother (Fruit) Wands, and Luigi's Leaning Tower of (Donut) Tires, the table display was downright adorable.

The kids were more than happy to grab some snacks and devour them!

For entertainment, we had three main stations for the kids to cycle through: Cozy Cone Motel's Moonlit Raceway, Sweet Dreams Station, and Every Princess Needs Her Beauty Sleep (a princess makeover station - you can find that one on Stephanie's blog).

The Cozy Cone Motel's Moonlit Raceway featured lots of Cars themed plush toys, a giant Cozy Cone (still on hand from the theatrical release when my husband worked at a movie theater), and a race track so the kids could test out their racing skills!

The track was a big hit and the kids returned to it many times throughout the party to send some cars flying down the road!

The Sweet Dream Station featured plain white pillowcases, fabric markers, and Mickey Mouse stencils to allow each child to design their own Mickey Mouse pillow! Some of the sweetest dreams are Disney dreams, right? I know I dream about returning to Disney World someday!

This ended up being a really fun station, and the kids (especially the girls...and the moms!) were all very excited to create their own personalized Mickey pillowcases. This station held Lincoln's interest for about thirty seconds, and then he was back to playing with Cars.

Since there were a lot of little princesses in attendance at our bash, we thought it only appropriate to have a Princess Storytime. The preschoolers got to meet Princess Belle live and in person, and this crazy theatre lady got to portray a pretty epic role. Dreams were coming true all over the place!

Princess Belle read a story about being as polite as a princess first, then followed up with some Disney bedtime stories.

It's actually really difficult to read books while wearing gloves. You heard it here first, friends!

Storytime was a great success...at least, I thought so. Maybe I'm biased, though. Okay, I am...I admit it. But I'll let you all judge how the kids liked it, based on the photo below.

We kept the fun right on going after Belle went back to being just a mama helping to host a party and played "Pin the Sorcerer's Hat on Mickey." It sort of looks like a nightcap, so it fit the theme perfectly! The kids got a big kick out of closing their eyes for the game. Most of them cheated, but most of them couldn't figure out how to keep their eyes closed and move at the same time. It was cute.

We ended the party by asking everyone to join in a dance party to earn their favors!

I keep cracking up looking at these photos of Lincoln. He was having the BEST time. All of the kids loved dancing themselves silly!

We had the best time at our Disney Side party! Lincoln and Addie talked about it for days on end, and kept wanting to know when we would have another party. The good news is...with Disney, you never run out of party ideas!

Disclosure: Thanks to Disney Side @Home Celebrations for providing many elements of our party. All opinions expressed are my own. For more information, you can read my Disclosure Policy.

Sea Anemone Pipe Cleaner Craft

When I was planning Lincoln's Octonauts birthday party, I knew I wanted some sort of craft for the kids to do. I went back and forth between this idea (a Sea Anemone Pipe Cleaner craft) and a Paper Plate Aquarium, but the anemone ultimately required less prep, so it was the one we chose! My kids love sea creatures, so I thought it would be really fun to make an anemone - I knew they would use it after the party to play with their ocean themed toys!

Sea Anemone Pipe Cleaner Craft
Supplies Needed: 
-Pipe Cleaners in whatever colors you choose (about 50-60 per anemone)
-Small, Round Plastic Canvas (I used 3")
-Scissors

1. Cut all the pipe cleaners in half. You could leave them full length, or you could cut them in various lengths...for the sake of time, I cut mine all the same.

2. Insert each end of one piece of pipe cleaner through one side of the plastic canvas, pull tight, and twist to hold in place. See photos below for further visuals. I

3. Continue in this manner, filling the spaces closely. I found that the overall look of the anemone was fuller and more realistic when I used almost every hole in the canvas versus skipping over them to use fewer pipe cleaners.

Below: an example of what the bottom of a canvas looks like when a four-year-old actually makes the craft. It still turns out really cute - just not as full!

4. Continue to fill in the spaces until all have been covered. 

5. Arrange as desired and enjoy!

Our anemones were a big hit. My kids think they're cool, and they loved the sensory-friendly craft project.

Bonus piece of info which can double as a warning: anemones sting and it turns out that pipe cleaners have a stinging effect when exposed as they are in this craft. The kids and I actually think it's more realistic and cool, but some people may not agree with us!

I'm dreaming up more unusual sea creature crafts...what should we make next?!