The Book Thief DVD Giveaway

Based on the beloved best-selling book comes an “extremely moving” (Leonard Maltin, Indiewire) story of a girl who transforms the lives of those around her during World War II, Germany. When her mother can no longer care for her, Liesel (Sophie Nélisse) is adopted by a German couple (OSCAR® Winner Geoffrey Rush and OSCAR® Nominee Emily Watson).

Although she arrives illiterate, Liesel is encouraged to learn to read by her adoptive father. When the couple then takes in Max (Ben Schnetzer), a Jew hiding from Hitler’s army, Liesel befriends him. Ultimately, words and imagination provide the friends with an escape from the events unfolding around them in this extraordinary, acclaimed film directed by Brian Percival (Downton Abbey).

I read the book years ago and need to read it again so I can watch this!  There's also a great discussion guide, in case you do a family movie night or a book group viewing.

Speaking of that, want to win a copy of your own? Use the Rafflecopter below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was given the opportunity to receive an advance copy of The Book Thief for myself and one to giveaway as part of my relationship with Fox Home Entertainment Insiders. All opinions expressed are my own.

Glen Eden Resort, Colorado

Spring Break vacationers who want to be off the beaten path but still close to a major ski resort look no further than Glen Eden Resort!

Glen Eden Resort is a small resort just north of Steamboat Springs on the Elk River, in a ranching community where the cows outnumber the people. The resort has two and three bedroom accommodations, with fully equipped kitchens, living and dining areas. The main lodge hosts a restaurant and tavern, two hot tubs, and wifi.

Once you walk out the door there is a wide variety of winter recreational opportunities such as snowmobiling, horseback riding, ice fishing, cross country skiing, and snowshoeing.

Does this not sound like the perfect place for our family?  The kids and I are on a quest to ski a variety of Colorado resorts this winter (it comes in handy that we live in Colorado Springs and have season passes to Monarch this year), but Glen Eden sounds perfect for the summertime too.  Maybe a nice family getaway when the husband gets home from deployment?  Or skiing Steamboat while relaxing at Glen Eden in the winter?  I'm not sure which sounds better!

They also have some great last minute Spring Break Deals! Good until April 30th! Save 15% on two or three nights and 25% on four plus nights at Glen Eden Resort.  Call 800-882-0854 for personalized service.

This post was written as a part of my ongoing relationship with US Family Guide, no compensation was received, all opinions are my own.

Strawberry Shortcake: Berry Big Help DVD Giveaway!

Did you just love Strawberry Shortcake as a kid?  I did!  Faith did too when she was smaller and I loved that it came back out just in time to enjoy it with her.  Even though she is a bit old for Strawberry Shortcake, I couldn't resist the chance to preview the newest episode to share with my readers.  If nothing else, I can always borrow a friend's sweet 4 year old to watch it with me.

It's time for everyone to help out as best they can in these three delightful Strawberry Shortcake episodes.

It's Strawberry to the rescue in "Babysitter Blues" when the princess asks her to look after a very special Baby Berrykin. Orange and Lemon take on the role of "Fashion Elves" in "A Stitch of Time" to help Raspberry with her fashion design dreams. And there's no place like home when Orange adopts a bitty fish that turns out to be a homesick tadpole.

Join in the sparkly fun as the girls learn that lending a helping hand can be a berry big deal indeed!

We have a fun coloring page for our readers too!  Just click on the photo below for the larger file and save to your computer to print.

Want to win a copy of your very own?  Just use the Rafflecopter below to enter!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Disclosure: I was given the opportunity to receive an advance copy of Berry Big Help for myself and one to giveaway as part of my relationship with Fox Home Entertainment Insiders. All opinions expressed are my own.

Loom Magic Book Review

Faith and Ben are both a little Rainbow Loom obsessed, as our their friends and my students.  Faith actually got her loom back in September for her birthday, then Ben needed one of his own for Christmas.

We got the chance to take a peek at Loom Magic! 25 Never-Before-Seen Designs for an Amazing Rainbow of Projects by John McCann and Becky Thomas as part of the kids' massive Rainbow Loom crafting extravaganza. As the title suggests, the book features twenty-five new rubber band loom projects, including cell phone case, watch band octo bracelet, sports fan keychain, matching barrettes, pencil topper, snowman ornament, and more.

As most of the Rainbow Loom crafting is up to Faith, I passed the book to her for a much more accurate review.  Most of my Rainbow Looming involves picking up rubber bands from around my house.

Faith's thoughts:

• Cute projects, including a lot of ideas she hadn't thought of yet
• Good pictures of the layouts to create the designs, very easy to set up the rubber bands on the loom
• The directions for crocheting the designs are mostly written and harder to follow
• Pictures of crocheting steps would help, or a YouTube channel would be even better
• Some of her favorite designs involved needing 2-4 looms, which we weren't expecting.  She has two and Ben has one, but many of her friends only have single looms

She did like the book and has made a few of the designs.  We're hoping the creators publish some YouTube videos to help with the complicated projects!  YouTube is still her preferred way of creating Rainbow Loom designs and she's trying to make her own tutorials.

We received our copy of Loom Magic free of charge for the purposes of this review.  No other compensation was received.

More Deals from iT'Z Colorado Springs

Back in September, we had the chance to check out iT'z Family Food & Fun in Colorado Springs.  Both kids loved it and have been asking to go back ever since.

This week, we received some new specials to share with our readers, which is also prompting F&B to ask to go back again, which I think we'll be doing shortly!

iT'z Family Food & Fun has some great weekday specials, including:

• Kids Eat Free on Thursdays! (2 Free Child Buffets per paying adult)
• $2.99 Tuesdays! $2.99 Buffets and $.99 Drinks ALL Day long!
• And coming soon, a special $2.99 Valentines Buffet

We will definitely be taking advantage of these offers, especially with the cold Colorado weather lately.  Both kids need to burn off some energy and indoors sounds quite good to me!

We received a family 4-pack to iT'Z as a part of US Family Guide for the purposes of this post, all opinions are my own.

Valentine's Lollipops!

Want a quick and easy but adorable Valentine's treat?  Check out our candy cane lollipops, we're also making marshmallow pops and hot chocolate spoons again this year.

Hallmark at Walmart, Perfect for Valentines #ValentineCards

It's time to start planning for Valentine's Day at our house and that means shopping for the perfect cards.  This year, I needed special cards for the kiddos, since Daddy is deployed and can't shop for his own, special cards for him from the kids and from me, and a few more fun cards for our Valentine's Day dinner.  We're having a friend and her kids over since her husband is also deployed and having a mom & kid meal.  I wanted a few special cards for her kids too, to go with some goodies I am baking.

With the help of a #CollectiveBias shop, I took advantage of the kids' having a church program to attend and snuck off to Walmart alone!  Walmart has a huge selection of Hallmark cards for every occasion and I knew I could find the perfect Valentines cards that way.  Our Walmart was no exception--cute cards, funny cards, sentimental cards, character cards, everything I could ask for!  There was even a second display in the front main aisle, close to the checkouts, with even more options.

So what did I end up choosing?  So glad you asked!  I spent most of my time picking the best cards for the kids and for my husband--one for my daughter, one for my son, one for the husband from me, and one for Daddy from F&B.  After a very long perusal, these were my picks!

From left to right, I chose Soccer Buddies for Daddy from the kids, a Superman one from me to my husband, a cute puppy and sports themed card for my son, and a kawaii style card for my daughter, matched to everyone's personality.  Next up, I needed cards for my friends' children and Walmart's selection did not disappoint.  I opted for a 6 pack of Hallmark cards since I needed multiples and wanted to keep the same theme for all.  (Anyone with multiple children should know exactly why you don't want things to be too different!)  This pack had 3 puppy themed cards with two of each card included.  Perfect!

Even better, Hallmark has expanded their rewards program!  We already use the rewards program at the actual Hallmark shops, but now there is also a rewards program for when you shop for Hallmark cards at Walmart!  For every five cards you purchase, you'll earn a reward.  I just love this because we are at Walmart frequently and it's great to pick up everything you need in one place. We'll most definitely be enjoying our Hallmark rewards at Walmart in the future.

Make sure you check out connectionsfromhallmark.com to sign up for Hallmark Rewards, and to see great content from other bloggers. Join in the #ValentineCards conversation on Twitter!