Swimsways Dive Toys

Back in the spring, I was looking at some things while waiting for a prescription to be filled at my local pharmacy.  And suddenly I saw something that I knew my kids would love.  Diving characters to play in the pool – princesses and Avengers.    I communicated with Swimways to see if I could review some and the response was positive.  However, my contact had trouble to find the Avengers set as it was sold out in all their warehouses.   Would I mind if I get the Star Wars Lightsabers instead?   I was delighted to get something linked to Star Wars as well.    When I got them we decided to wait until we could go to the RV and the kids be able to play with them in the pool.   However, it took some time before the pool was warm enough to be visited.  You see we had a cooler month of May.  But in June, while we were there a week during my husband’s vacation, we were finally able to go to the pool.  That’s when I took out the divers for the kids which they had just seen the day before at a local store.  I know I am sneaky…..

Disney Princesses Dive Toys

These three princesses are looking to have a blast with your own princess while playing in the pool.   The pack contains three dive toys – Belle, Ariel, and Cinderella.   The design is made out of plastic which is soft and flexible.    It will make the swim of your daughter even more magical when she practices her diving skills and her swimming as well.

Star Wars Lightsaber Dive Sticks

May the Force be with you - in the pool!  Your kids will enjoy diving and searching for the Star Wars Lightsaber Dive Sticks in the pool    These special ones light-up when under the water.    The water activate the light-up action.   Each lightsaber is about 6” tall and will bring a lot of pleasure while playing in and out of the pool.    Each pack contains two lightsabers – green for Yoda and blue for Luke Skywalker.   A non-replaceable button cell battery is included in each lightsaber.

Our Thoughts

The dive toys from Swimways were a hit.  The kids had lots of fun in the pool while playing with them.  The toys are sturdy and I can see hours of playtime with them.  The kids even shared them with other kids that were in the pool that day.  My only disappointment would be the fact that you can’t change the battery on the lightsabers.  But I guess this would make the dive stick a bit more difficult to make if you would have to find a way to allow the parent to change the battery.  So when the battery is dead…. no more lightning.   Which I am okay with.

These fun diving toys are available at your local store.  I have seen them at Wal-Mart and Shoppers Drug Mart.   You can also try to find other ones available by Swimways like , Disney Frozen Glitter Dive Wands, Marvel Spider Man Dive and Glide, and Marvel Dive Characters Avengers.

Some of them are available on amazon.ca.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Swimways for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Summer Fun Time with Super Soakers

Spring has finally arrived and slowly the weather is warming up.   Already my kids are asking about playing with the Super Soakers we have at home.   But unfortunately for them, when they ask for it, it is still a bit cold outside…    I am sure that your kids are also looking for getting soaked with water during the warmer months of the year. 

That why Hasbro Canada always come up with the Super Soakers for your kids to enjoy.  I received two of their new blasters to present to my readers!

NERF REBELLE SUPER SOAKER TRI THREAT BLASTER

Since last year, there are new NERF products specially designed for girls which is a big deal in my house because now my daughter is at the perfect age to be able to use them.  The new NERF Rebelle Super Soaker Tri Threat Blaster will unleash your inner warrior and blast your opponents with 3 streams of water.  That way you can surprise the competition by delivering triple stream soakage.The water shoots from each end of the blaster's crossbow arms and a third stream blasts from the center barrel. Simply pump the blaster and deliver a deluge of water as you battle with your friends and/or brothers. This soaker can hold 25 ounces of water and blast water up to 35 feet.    For girls who wants to have as much fun as their brothers, this blaster is an absolute must.     (PS Moms nothing can’t stop you for joining the fun with your family as well…. hint hint)

NERF SUPER SOAKER FLASHFLOOD BLASTER

The NERF Super Soaker FlashFlood Blast will transform your water battles like you would not expect it to be.  This high-capacity power soaker holds 23 ounces of water for an outstanding mobile attack, and it can hit targets up to 38 feet away. It’s also got 2 separate nozzles, one for a Flood Strike and one for a Flash Strike.  This soaker will allow you to dominate the competition – and get them soaking wet !  Again this blaster can be used by anyone in the family whether adult or child…

With both of these blasters, expect some fun time outdoors with your family.  You can bring these at camping, at the cottage or stay in your own backyard.   Last year, my oldest son even brought a bunch of these for a youth event that was going to happen outdoors.  It was a big competition on who would soak the other during that evening.

Both of these are available at your favorite toy store even on amazon.ca and amazon.com.

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hasbro Canada for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Exploring Life Under the Sea at the National Aquarium

As I was planning our trip in Washington, D.C. and Baltimore, I discovered that a marvelous aquarium was located in the Inner Harbor area of Baltimore.   Our family loves all kind of animals but visiting an aquarium would definitively be something different.  So on the day of my son’s 13th birthday we drove to Baltimore in order to visit the National Aquarium.    The National Aquarium opened in August 1981.  It holds more than 8,300,000 liters of water and has over 17,000 specimens from 750 species.  

In reality the aquarium consists of three buildings with different exhibits that you could visit.   The time spent at the National Aquarium will all depends of your own pace – we took about 3 hours to visit the aquarium and learned quite a bit while there.

Pier 3 Pavilion will guide you through five levels of life under the sea.

Level 1: Blacktip Reef – This habitat replicated the Indo-Pacific reef landscape with floor-to-ceiling pop-out window.   It contains living corals as well as 65-70 species of animals.   There you might encounter Calypso, a 500-pound green sea turtle that was rescued off the shore of Long Island in 2000.  Her left front flipper had become infected and required amputation in order to save her life.  Calypso made a huge impression on the kids when they were able to see her swimming from an upper level.

Level 2: Maryland:  Mountains to the Sea – This level will feature animals from Maryland.  Four exhibits create the illusion of traveling down a Maryland stream from its source in the Allegheny Mountains, to a tidal marsh, to a coastal beach, and finally ending in the Atlantic shelf.    While exploring this level we thought it was well created as you had really the feeling of entering in the specific habitat presented.

Level 3: Surviving Through Adaptation – This level will allow  you to discover the species that possess adaptation reflexes in order to survive in their environments.   We encountered the electric eel, the chambered nautilus (my favourite!) and the giant Pacific octopus.

Level 4: Sea cliffs, Kelp Forest, Pacific Coral Reef, Amazon River Forest – This level will introduce you to several aquatic habitats – the sea cliffs  houses several species of seabirds, the Pacific coral reef exhibit, the kelp forest exhibit, the Amazon River exhibit.   We encountered the Atlantic puffin which came swimming close to us while exploring this level.  This personal encounter was definitively a treat for everyone in the family.

Level 5: Upland Tropical Rain Forest, Hidden Life – Finally, the last level of the Pier 3 Pavilion simulated the Amazon rainforest and includes two platforms for bird-watching and a cave of displays of reptiles, amphibians and terrestrial arthropods.   While in the Amazon rainforest, we met some Golden lion tamarins, the Scarlet ibis and spied the Linnaeus’s two-toed sloth up in a tree.  We even saw cocoa pods growing at the top of a tree.

The Atlantic Coral Reef which exhibits a replicated Atlantic coral reed with over 500 exotic species as well as the Shark Alley which will make you walk downward in order to observe various sizes and species of sharks complete this pavilion.

Pier 4 Pavilion which is the smaller building is the home of the marine mammal exhibit which hosts Atlantic bottlenose dolphins and  a beautiful exhibit of assorted jellyfish called “Jellies Invasion: Oceans Out of Balance”.

Finally, the glass pavilion will bring you in the Upland Tropical Rain Forest exhibit from Australia.   Here you will discover the laughing kookaburra, the rainbow lorikeet, the snake-necked turtle, the pig-nose-turtle and many more animals living in Australia.  We even observe a kind of fish that will spit out water in order to get a bug to eat.  This demonstration was really out of the ordinary for us who don’t visit aquariums often.

In conclusion, the National Aquarium is a fabulous place to visit with your family if you want to learn more about life under the sea.   Not only will you get close and personal with some of the species exhibited here but you will have a great time exploring the seas.  We are grateful for the time spent at the National Aquarium and will remember our visit for many years to come.

Disclaimer: Thanks to the National Aquarium in Baltimore for giving us free tickets for our family so we can explore life under the sea in exchange of a blog post . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.

Blast Into Summer with Nerf!

So how do you keep your kids busy during the summer – apart from camp that is.    Stay-at-home parents have to be creative sometimes to “entertain” the kids.   I don’t believe in video games and television and encourage my kids to go play in the backyard.  However with the temperature like we are experiencing these days, what else can you do?    Sometimes it’s just too hot for anyone to be outdoors.

Hasbro has two new Nerf blasters that might catch the interest of your kids.   While one will allow your child to launch elite darts, the other one will guarantee pleasure during a hot summer day by soaking the opponent.  Let me present you the two new Nerf Blasters that I have received.

Nerf N-Strike Elite Rough Cut 2x4 Blaster

Slam into battle with the double-barreled domination of the ROUGH CUT 2X4 blaster!     This sleek blaster lets you launch 2 Elite Darts at once at targets up to 75 feet away, and the pump-action design lets you pump repeatedly to unleash a steady double stream of darts! Launch up to 8 Elite Darts without reloading!      As with most N-STRIKE blasters, the Tactical Rail lets you add most N-STRIKE Tactical Rail accessories (sold separately) for more battle capability.    Power up the multishot madness of the ROUGH CUT 2X4 blaster and get ready to dominate with both barrels!   The blaster comes with 8 Elite Darts and instructions.

Nerf Super Soaker Switch Shot Blaster

Choose your spray pattern and soak your competition 4 different ways with the SWITCH SHOT water blaster!    What will be you choice of attack?  Send a 3 streams of water at them from up to 25 feet away?  Launch an atomized mist attack? Or just massively soak them? To decide you only have to twist the knob on this versatile blaster to choose Scattershot, Triple Shot, Atomizer or Jetstream mode and then pump to soak away!   The SWITCH SHOT blaster holds up to 20 fluid ounces of water in the Banana Clip; you can attach extra Banana Clips (extra clips sold separately) to your pants or belt so you never run out of ammo.   Enhance your blasting accuracy with the detachable stock.    Choose your attack and launch the extreme soakage with the SWITCH SHOT blaster!  The blaster comes with detachable stock and Banana Clip.

Whether you are going camping with your family or enjoying the summer time in your own backyard, these two amazing blasters will bring tons of laughter and fun time for your kids.   What stops you to join them in the fun?  

As for us, I am planning to bring the Super Soakers we have at a family reunion we will attend in early August.   Being at the lake with over 150 people to play games and reconnect will be interesting.  The Super Soakers will add to the fun when my kids jump in the lake.     I can already hear the laughter and the yells of all the kids playing in the water.  It’s going to be a week-end to remember I think.    In the meantime, enjoy the summer (warm weather and all) and get some of these Nerf blasters to entertain your kids.   You won’t regret it!

Disclaimer: Thanks to Hasbro Canada for sending me the above mentioned products for review purposes . I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.