by Melanie

FHE: Canyon Shenanigans and Deep-fried Sushi

March 21, 2017 in Family Room, Out the Door by Melanie

I miss the old days of blogging when everyone had a blogspot family blog with photos of everyday life, a widget full of their favorite songs that autoplayed when you opened the page, and a blogroll of their friends’ blogs. I loved discovering old friends and catching up on what they were doing through their cute pictures of family adventures. I loved it when blogs were about telling stories and sharing experiences.

Now it seems like blogging is all about pageviews, sponsored posts, affiliate links, and SEO. The family blogs were abandoned for social media. We share snapshots instead of stories, how-tos instead of here is my life, and tweets instead of time together. Can we get back to storytelling and family adventures?

We had a fantastic FHE last night. Beth and Bree are in California with their high school orchestra, so we loaded up Babs, Joy, and Chuck in the truck and headed up the canyon. I had to do some location scouting for a film I’m working on for a school project, so we made it a family affair, exploring the canyon and taking plenty of photos to bring back to my group. (Don’t we all love group projects???)

My lens was so horribly dirty that all of my photos look like this: one central spot in focus and the rest a blur from a lens completely covered in smudges. Also, the canyon is even more dead and brown than I expected. It’s a good thing I don’t have to turn in my location scouting photos.

Steve is one of the only people in the world still playing Pokemon Go, and he’s got our whole family still playing along with him. While I looked for good hammocking trees and fishing bridges with the help of Joy and Chuck, Babs and Steve searched for Bulbasaurs and Magikarps. You know they’ve gotta catch ’em all.

When I had everything I needed and Babs was out of pokeballs, it was time to find a pokestop and some food. We were up Provo Canyon and had a Riverwoods gift card, so we decided it was a great time to introduce our little sweeties to sushi at Happy Sumo. Let’s just say we don’t feel the need to go back anytime soon.

Joy is loving all things Japanese lately, even taking a Japanese class at school and creating her own manga for a class project, and she said the sushi was delicious but she wouldn’t ever order it for herself. She was content with her teriyaki beef bowl. Of course, the veggies were covered in batter and deep fried, so who wouldn’t be content with that?

Chuck tried a tiny corner of a Vegas Roll and could barely get over the idea of eating sushi to even get it to her mouth. We tried to tell her it wasn’t real sushi, but she didn’t really care that it was deep fried and delicious. She was really excited about her teriyaki chicken bowl and dipping everything into any sauce she could find – not so much about sushi.

Babs discovered she loves sweet and sour chicken as much as I do – which is not at all – and we had no idea! She even politely answered the waitress positively when asked if everything was tasting okay. It wasn’t until we were getting ready to leave that she mentioned she never needs to order that again. She was happy to end the night with ice cream to make up for the whole plate of food she ate and hated.

This is obviously not our sushi. I just really love crab won tons and couldn’t pass them up.

Am I the only one who feels like a horrible parent when my kids suffer in silence? We won the gift card that was paying for this meal, so we weren’t even spending any money. For me that’s the perfect time to try new things and not feel bad if I don’t like them, but my sweet girl was along for the ride and too nice to say anything negative. I would have happily ordered Babs something she could actually enjoy.

I’m super proud that she has learned to politely eat whatever is being served, and I really appreciate that when I spend time sweating over a hot stove to make dinner, but I wish she wasn’t silently hating the food she ordered when we were trying to do something special and fun. Even the veggies served with her meal ended up being the few veggies she hates all combined into one horrifying mix!

I keep thinking about it and wondering what I should have done to make her experience better. Pressed more when I asked how it was? Read her mind and ordered her something new? Deterred her from her menu choice because it’s something I don’t like? None of those seems like a very good option. While I don’t believe my job is to rescue her from every unpleasantness in life, I do want her to know it’s okay to speak her mind and that her needs matter.

Overall it was a fantastic night and everyone had a blast. Chuck asked if our next dining out adventure could include Mo’ Bettah’s instead, and I’ve gotta say, I agree. I’m not really a sushi fan either, but Hawaiian-style teriyaki? Yes, please.

Always,
Melanie

by Melanie

Disneyland Discount and Win a Gift Card

March 4, 2016 in Mailbox, Out the Door by Melanie

psst

It’s no secret I’m a huge fan of Disneyland. I spent almost 40 days at the Happiest Place on Earth in 2015. We had so much fun, and I would do it again in a heartbeat! It takes us some time to save up for our big annual pass year, and it’s always worth every sacrifice we make to save up those pennies. So I’m super excited to help you save more than just pennies on your Disneyland vacation!

Disneyland just raised their prices again, but you can still get the old lower prices until March 8 at Get Away Today. It’s all about who you know, and luckily for both of us, you know me! If you’ve never booked with Get Away Today before, you should definitely check it out. They are fabulous to work with, have really awesome deals (like everyone plays at the kids price!), and even send you fun gifts. With a savings of up to $36 on each ticket, the savings can really add up.

Disneyland discount 2016

After you get a great deal on your Disneyland vacation at Get Away Today, you’re going to need a little extra cash for some Dole Whips and churros. So I’m having a little contest over on Instagram with a $25 Disney Gift Card as the prize! Here’s all you need to do:

  • First, follow 40eighteen on Instagram and watch for my Disney photos for the next few days.
  • When you see one, guess where we are in the Disneyland Resort in the photo. It’s okay if you don’t get it right. Your guess = one entry.
  • If you have the first correct guess on a photo as it shows up in my feed, you’ll get a little extra reward. First correct guess = one extra entry.
  • Tag a friend who is a Disney fan for an extra entry. You can tag as many friends as you want. It’s ok if they’re all in the same comment. Each tagged friend = one extra entry.

That’s it! Follow, guess, tag. Simple!

 

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Remember, you have to follow 40eighteen and make your guess for any of the entries to count. This contest will run from 10:00 am March 4 until 11:59 pm March 8 MST. Several photos will be posted each of the 5 days of the contest, and one winner will be chosen from all of the entries. The winner will be announced on March 9 in an Instagram post and must claim their prize within 48 hours or forfeit to the runner up. Prize will be awarded as a $25 Disney gift card mailed to the winner. This contest is not affiliated with Instagram, Get Away Today, or Disney.

This post contains affiliate links. Your price is the same, and I earn a small commission on each sale. Thank you for supporting Forty Eighteen. 

by Melanie

Get Away Today Giveaway

April 21, 2015 in Out the Door by Melanie

I am counting down the days to my next Disneyland vacation. 6 days away. SIX!

Which means I’m dreaming while doing laundry — mountains of laundry. But hey, the clothes have to be clean before we can pack them, right?

60 diamond

Have you heard about Disneyland’s Diamond Celebration? You can click on the image for a little sneak peek. It starts on May 22, and sounds amazing! New fireworks, new World of Color, new parade. There’s even an awesome giveaway where guests in the park can win amazing prizes like a stay in the dream suite or a universal fastpass. I want it!!!

We already have our trip booked in June, and I have my fingers crossed for an awesome prize. In the meantime, Get Away Today is celebrating their 25th Anniversary with a $50 Gift Card for 5 lucky winners!

All you have to do is watch a short video that will get you even more excited about your Disneyland vacation. That’s it! Enter and win $50 to book your dream vacation at Get Away Today. Enter NOW.

25years

Even if you’re not one of the lucky 5, you will find the best deal on your Disneyland vacation at Get Away Today with a free night at your hotel and even a free day on your ticket. Seriously, the best deals I’ve found – and believe me, I’ve looked.

Remember to use this code: FORTYE for an extra $10 off when you book your Get Away Today vacation!

What part of the Diamond Celebration are you most excited for?

P.S. Don’t forget to enter to win the $50 Gift Card right now!

by Melanie

Tax Day 2015 Freebies and Discounts

April 15, 2015 in Out the Door by Melanie

tax-day-freebies

What’s the best way to turn a day people fear into a day people love? Free stuff!

You probably don’t usually think of celebrating tax day, but I love ANY excuse to celebrate – especially when freebies are involved. This is a list of freebies and “cheapies” you can snag today. Happy Tax Day!

 

FREEBIES

• Free cookie from Great American Cookie

• Free shaved ice and Hawaiian leis at Kona Ice

• Free Jalapeno Hushpuppies or Value Curly Fries at Arby’s (not all locations)

• Free entree at Hard Rock Cafe… but be warned, this one requires some singing

• Free massage at HydroMassage

• Free shredding at Staples and Office Max/Office Depot

 

CHEAPIES

• Fill your cup full of frozen yogurt and toppings for $4.15 at Orange Leaf Frozen Yogurt

• Buy one individual meal and get one free at Boston Market

• Every cheeseburger is half off at Sonic

• Free red velvet cake at KFC with the purchase of a 10-piece (or larger) family meal

• Get a free The Original small sandwich at Schlotzsky’s when you buy chips and a 32 oz drink

• Get free chips and queso with any entree purchase at California Tortilla when you whisper the secret password “Taxes Shmaxes”

• Free appetizer or dessert with purchase of adult entree at Chili’s and this coupon

• Large pizza with 5 toppings for $10.40 at Papa Johns with this code “T414TAX”

• Get half off a rib dinner at Sonny’s BBQ

• Get 15% off your entire bill at Beef O’Brady’s

• Get $10 off your bill at Bonefish Grill with this coupon through April 20th.

• Get $10 off dinner tonight if you mention this offer to your server at Texas de Brazil

 Get a free side with an entree purchase at Smashburger

• Buy one Big Mac or Quarter Pounder with cheese and get a second for a penny at McDonalds (not all locations)

• Get a short stack of pancakes for $1 at IHOP

• Get a Big Bagel Bundle for $10.40 with this coupon at Bruegger’s Bagels

• Buy one Whopper, get one free at Burger King with this coupon

• Get 15% off your dinner check at Outback Steakhouse with this coupon

• Save up to 60% on online purchases at the Cabela’s Cyberwalk Sale

• Save 40$ on your entire purchase at Justice with this coupon

Royal Caribbean will pay for your fees, taxes, and port expenses when you book a cruise today, and even more discounts (like cut your deposit in half and 50% off additional guests)

• Get a $10.40 gift card when you donate three clothing items to Fashion Project

• Dine in with one dinner entree, take a second home for free at Macaroni Grill

• Complete your P-2 Pizza tax form at pizzareturn.com to quality for a chance to win Pizza Hut gift cards

• 25% off best weekend rate for Marriott hotels in Washington, DC and Arlington when you book today

• Eat at Tony Roma’s today and get a coupon for a free dessert on your next visit

• 10% off your order at the Warner Music store with the code “TAXBREAK”

• The Entertainment Book is on sale for $10.40 + $1.99 shipping

 

Do you know of any more Tax Day deals? Which deal are you celebrating with today?

by Melanie

Top 13 Tips for an Incredible Disneyland Vacation

March 23, 2015 in Out the Door by Melanie

I have been to Disneyland more times than I can count – with a few Disney World trips thrown in there, too – and I love it! I have been with my family as a kid, with friends as a teenager, with my own kids as a parent, with huge groups of extended family, with a small group of mom friends running away from home for a few days, and with my husband as just the two of us.

So much Disney fun in one little photo

So much Disney fun in one little photo

When my brother and I were 11 and 12, my dad went on a business trip to Anaheim and took us with him. In the morning he handed us $100 and pointed us in the direction of the park, and we had an absolute blast just the two of us at Disneyland for a few days. Can you even imagine doing that with your kids today? Can you imagine doing it for $100?

I love Disneyland so much that when it came time to plan our honeymoon, Steve and I decided Disneyland would be our destination. It was his first visit ever… and he hated it. Don’t be fooled by the smile he plastered on for the camera. He really hated it. How could anyone hate Disneyland??? And how did I, of all people, end up marrying a Disneyland hater?

honeymoondl

We were babies!

Fast forward about 7 years. Steve was coming home from a long deployment and we wanted to do something special as a family to celebrate being together again. Naturally I suggested Disneyland, and was surprised when he agreed. Yay! There is something magical about seeing Disneyland through the eyes of a child, and that magic changed how Steve saw Disneyland, too.

Now he gets just as excited about going to Disneyland as I do. In fact, the night before our trip in January, he woke up at 2 am because he was too excited to sleep. So we loaded up the car with luggage and sleeping children, and started driving a few hours earlier than we had planned and had that many more hours in the park when we got there!

We have become experts at doing Disney exactly the way we like, and it’s incredible. Here are a few tips for you to have an INCREDIBLE Disneyland vacation of your own.

Top 13 Tips for an INCREDIBLE Disneyland Vacation

1 – Get free tickets

Find your favorite rewards program and save up your points. We love the Disney Rewards Visa because it gives us Disney points that we use to buy our tickets. The first time we redeemed our points, we bought 6 Disneyland Annual Passports for only $100 out of pocket – the rest was with points. Six annual passes for $100!!!

You don’t have to choose free tickets as your reward. You can use your Disney Rewards for food or souvenirs in the parks, travel to and from the park, hotel rooms… or you can go with an entirely different rewards card. I love being rewarded for spending money we would have spent anyway!

2 – Location, location, location

Stay close to the park. There are so many great deals available at the hotels near Disneyland Resort, and the convenience of being right there is priceless! Our favorite place to stay is right across the street on Harbor Blvd. Every night when masses of crowds are being herded to the tram station, I am always ridiculously glad we’re walking the other way. By the time they finally make it back to their cars, I’m already in bed.

sleeping

Completely exhausted after a day of fun… not waiting for a tram.

 

3 – Book EARLY

The earlier you can book your trip, the better deal you can find on your hotel. I learned how important this tip is that year we bought 6 Annual Passes for $100. In January we were talking about potential vacation dates. When we looked at hotel prices, I was amazed to find them much lower than I expected. We weren’t positive those dates would work, so we planned to book the hotel when we knew for sure. A few months later when we were finally making the reservations, the prices had gone up significantly and I was bummed we hadn’t reserved them earlier.

We have annual passes again this year, and I learned my lesson last time. We chose potential vacation dates early and reserved our rooms. The cancellation policy at our hotel lets us cancel without penalty as long as we do it before a certain date, so we plan to cancel any reservation we end up not being able to use. A few weeks after we made our reservations, the hotel increased their prices and it didn’t affect us at all. Yay! I love saving money.

We just had a big family reunion at Disneyland last week, and I booked the hotel months ago. A few weeks before the reunion, I looked at possibly changing our room and discovered the suites I booked several months ago would cost us $500 more if I booked them now. Don’t wait until the last minute to book your hotel if you can help it.

2017packagesnowavailgat

4 – Choose your dates WISELY

We have been to Disneyland at every time of year, and I definitely have my favorite times to go. Make sure you look at a planning calendar and know what you’re getting into.

Off-season has shorter hours, more ride closures, and less entertainment, but the crowds are smaller and the lines are shorter. Peak season has longer hours, less closed rides, and more entertainment, but the huge crowds can be suffocating and you can spend your whole day waiting in long, long lines.

You just have to decide what is more important to you and plan accordingly. I like to look at the annual pass blockout date calendars and avoid any day that is blocked out, and that helps us visit on the smaller crowd days that we like.

This is my kind of crowd!

This is my kind of crowd!

5 – Pack for success

My packing list probably includes a lot of things that others may not think to pack, but they’re important to me. For example, my over-developed sense of smell is my super power, so I always bring air freshener for the hotel. All those people sharing that small space and limited bathrooms? Ew. My favorites, Pure Citrus Orange and Febreeze, work better than anything else I have found — and believe me, I’ve looked.

Sunscreen, chapstick, and band-aids are a must, but the First Aid Center on Main Street is great if you end up needing something you didn’t bring like a band-aid or pain killer or even an ice pack. I don’t go anywhere without Ziploc bags. Ever. Definitely don’t forget your sunglasses like I did last time. Ouch. And remember it’s cool in the mornings and evenings in Anaheim, so bring a sweatshirt or light jacket.

6 – Tame the Laundry

I can deal with a lot of gross things as a mom, but dirty clothes totally gross me out. I don’t want to touch them, so I get a cheap pop-up clothes hamper and bring it to the hotel. Everyone knows where their dirty clothes belong and we don’t end up with stinky socks hanging from lamp shades and stuffed under beds.

When the hamper gets full, I dump all the clothes into a garbage bag, tie it off, and it’s ready to pack in the car for the drive home. I like to stock up on these hampers at Dollar Tree. When they don’t have them in the store, I have found I can order them online with free shipping to the store. You can also find them on Amazon for a few bucks.

7 – Eat at the hotel

We like to stay at a hotel that offers free breakfast in the morning, which is great, but when it comes to saving money on food we don’t stop there. Feeding my family one meal at Disneyland generally costs us anywhere from $60 to $100, and that’s not even at a table service restaurant.

So we save money by taking advantage of the fridge and microwave in our hotel room. We bring food from home and only eat one meal in the park every day.

We have a few favorite meals, like this Chicken Taco Pasta Salad, that are perfect for making at home and eating at the hotel. It’s nice to have something healthier than amusement park food, and we feel a lot better by the end of the week than if we had eaten more junk. It’s totally worth the pre-trip prep time when we have a nice homemade dinner at the touch of a button.

My kiddos are kind of obsessed with drinking their milk and juice through those lids.

My kiddos love the hotel breakfast, and they’re kind of obsessed with drinking their milk and juice through those hot beverage lids.

8 – Be a restaurant stalker

Spending your hard earned money on a meal and getting something that doesn’t resemble what you thought you were paying for does not make for a happy vacation. Even if you didn’t research food options before you left home, you can still find out what you’ll be getting before you spend your money.

Stand back for a bit and watch what the other guests’ trays look like. Knowing the portions are HUGE can help you save money by splitting meals. Seeing the size of the kids meal can help you decide which of your kids will actually get full and which might need something bigger.

You can also ask the cast members for advice – they’re very friendly and helpful. I like to know exactly what we’re ordering by the time we step up to the counter so we’re not holding up the line.

If you want to get even more serious about knowing what you’re getting and how much you’ll be paying, you can look at menus complete with prices for all the food in Disneyland, even the snack carts.

9 – Don’t lose track of time

Sometimes we start getting cranky and short with each other and I wonder why we can’t just get along. We’re at the Happiest Place on Earth for crying out loud! Then I look at my watch and realize it’s 3 pm and we haven’t had lunch yet. Yikes!

We snack throughout the day from our handy-dandy stroller, so no one is starving to death, but we’re definitely happier when we remember meal times. Of course, restaurant lines in the park are longest at peak meal times, so eat at little earlier or later if you can. Just be sure you don’t let hours and hours go by before you feed your hungry crew.

10 – Don’t be a pack mule

My kids are past the stroller stage of life. It’s totally awesome. But I freaked out a little in January when I realized we were going to Disneyland without a reason to push around a stroller. Where would we keep our snacks and water bottles? Was I going to have to lug around a giant backpack all day?

Who says you have to have a small kid to push around a stroller? I know it may sound nuts, but this was seriously the smartest thing we did on our last trip (after getting free tickets and booking our hotel early and eating at the hotel… oh, you get the idea).

We brought a cheap umbrella stroller from home and a great tote bag. We filled the bag with our snacks and water bottles, bandaids, extra sunscreen, and anything else we just couldn’t do without at the park and sat it in the stroller. Then we filled a backpack with sweatshirts for the chilly mornings and evenings and tossed that on there, too.

We hung our souvenir popcorn buckets from the handles – which we refilled in the hotel room with microwave popcorn we brought from home… Voila! Instant pack mule! Just park it with the rest of the strollers and you’ve got everything you need for a day at Disney without the heavy load.

She's adorable with her cute smile and ridiculous socks, but also this is what getting there early and going during the off season looks like. We're practically alone in the park!

She’s adorable with her cute smile and ridiculous socks. She was so excited to push the stroller like a big kid!

11 – Save on souvenirs

Souvenirs at the park are expensive. They just are. But it’s also fun to get something to remind you of your fabulous vacation or your favorite character. We give the kids gift cards for Christmas/birthdays when we have a trip planned, so they’ve got some money to spend. They know when that money is gone, so is their ability to buy stuff. They have learned about looking around and deciding exactly what they want to get so they’re not spending all their money on the first thing they see.

We also get discounts with our Disney credit card and annual pass, so we make sure to take advantage of those discounts.

We also love to save money by bringing some souvenirs with us from home. We find fun Disney shirts on sale or make our own to wear at the parks. We make crafty jewelry we can wear. We found these adorable Minnie ears on the birthday aisle at Walmart for less than $5. Basic Minnie headbands are $22 at the parks! Chuck wore these all around Disneyland and felt so cool – and I loved that we saved a bunch of money.

If you have young kids who love to dress up, definitely bring the dress-up clothes. We had a fabulous Cinderella dress that a 2-year-old Chuck wore around Disneyland and felt like a princess. And of course, she got treated like one, too.

12 – Get there early

You will be amazed at how much you can do in the first hour the park is open. We have been able to do ALL of Fantasyland or several E-ticket rides in that first hour just by getting there early. Also watch for early morning admission. Definitely take advantage of that time if your ticket comes with it.

When we met up with my brother after his early morning admission, he had already taken his kids on 10 rides and the park hadn’t even been open for an hour! Early morning admission is at California Adventure on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday and at Disneyland on Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday. If your ticket doesn’t include that early morning, start in the other park for smaller crowds.

Another view of a cute Chuck pushing the stroller just to show what it looks like when you get there early and go during off-peak times. We're practically alone in the park!

Another view of a cute Chuck pushing the stroller just to show what it looks like when you get there early and go during less busy times. We’re practically alone in the park!

13 – Relax and enjoy

You will enjoy your Disneyland vacation a lot more if you can relax and be flexible. Don’t try to stick to a strict ride schedule or spend every moment from Rope Drop to the last store closing on Main Street in the park going full speed.

We are often on our way to a ride a kid has requested and see a short line at a ride we love and make a quick detour to ride it. We sit down and watch a show or go back to the hotel for lunch when we need a break. Even though we like to get there early, we let the kids sleep in when they need it.

Everyone has their own strengths and weaknesses, likes and dislikes, and styles of vacationing, and we work together to make it an INCREDIBLE Disneyland vacation for everyone!

Do you have any INCREDIBLE Disneyland vacation tips to share?

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