Mama Carmody, Author at Love to Laugh and Learn

How To Train Your Dragon – Review

June 12, 2014 by Mama Carmody 1 Comment

How To Train Your Dragon

In anticipation of the release of How to Train Your Dragon 2, I thought maybe I should see the first How to Train Your Dragon. I headed to the Redbox website and reserved a copy to view. The movie was originally released in 2010 by DreamWorks Animation and can now be found on Blu-Ray and DVD.

The story is set in a Viking village called the Island of Berk. The island is regularly attacked by dragons, and all Vikings strive to be great dragon killers…well, all except one. Hiccup, who has more brain than brawn, is happiest using his mind and hands to invent contraptions to catch the dragons. He strives to be a great Viking like his father, the chief of the village.

During an attack, by the dragons, Hiccup uses one of his inventions and actually nets one. The dragon is an elusive and quite mysterious Night Fury. Once Hiccup tracks down the place where the dragon fell from the sky, he finally has his opportunity to kill a dragon and prove himself to his father and the village. But alas, once he looks into the eyes of the dragon he can’t bring himself to kill it so he releases it from the net.

How to Train Your Dragon - Review — How to Train Your Dragon – Review

Hiccup ends up building a trust and friendship with the Night Fury, which he calls Toothless. (By the way, Toothless is anything BUT toothless.) The more Hiccup interacts and observes Toothless the more he realizes that different dragons have different likes and dislikes, the same as humans. He learns that becoming friends with dragons is as easy as learning the things they enjoy. However, trying to convince the other Vikings that they could be friends with the dragons is a whole other challenge.

This story teaches the importance of taking the time to learn about others. They may
become your good friends if you just take the time to get to know them.

I would like to give a warning to parents. If you have a sensitive child or one that worries about monsters, I would wait until they get a little older to see this movie. I originally thought this movie would not be good for a child under 5 years old but I discussed it with a good friend and fellow blogger, Crystal Paschal, author of Mom for Less. She has two boys ages 5 and 3. She said that both her boys had seen it (although not in a theater) and didn’t have any issues. My concerns came from the beginning of the movie when the dragons were attacking the village and the Vikings are trying to kill the dragons. I thought that could be scary and cause nightmares to a young child. Crystal suggested that boys might be less frightened by all the action. Then I remembered that my youngest daughter was watching Jurassic Park (at home with the lights on) when she was 3 years old so maybe I was being overly cautious.

Have your children seen How to Train Your Dragon? How old were they and did it give them nightmares? I would love to hear about your family’s experience and I’m sure others would too.

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How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Review

How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Review

June 13, 2014 by Mama Carmody 1 Comment

How to Train Your Dragon 2 – Review

Disclaimer: I was given 4 tickets to attend the screening of “How to Train Your Dragon 2”; however, I was not influenced by the promotional materials. All opinions and insights are my own.

I was excited for the opportunity to review How to Train Your Dragon 2 but I thought that I should probably see the first movie before I saw #2. There is a link to my review of the first movie at the bottom of this post.

When I was young I loved dinosaurs; and dragons are just fire-breathing, flying dinosaurs, aren’t they? So I was looking forward to this 2nd movie in the How to Train Your Dragon trilogy. I mentioned, in my review of the first movie, that I was concerned that young children might be scared by the fighting between the dragons and the Vikings, however, I didn’t have that concern with this movie. Yes, there is fighting and dragons but in my opinion it isn’t as scary because, at the beginning of this movie, the dragons and Vikings are friends.

The movie starts out with a humorous dragon race. There were lots of giggles from children and adults as Astrid, Fishlegs and the others compete in a pretty silly race that involves tossing sheep into baskets. The sheep didn’t look like they were having quite as much fun as everyone else.

This movie again takes place on the Island of Berk but the dragons and Vikings now live peacefully with each other. Hiccup is still the thinker and adventurer. He and Toothless are traveling near and far mapping out the new lands they find.

During their explorations they come across a band of marauders that catch and enslave dragons. The marauders try to capture Toothless but Hiccup and Toothless are able to break free. They are still faced with the problem of how to free the other dragons that have been enslaved. And what about the stories of a mysterious Dragon Rider that the marauders are worried about?

How to Train Your Dragon 2: The Dragon Rider

If you liked the first How to Train Your Dragon, then you will love How to Train Your Dragon 2.

I would again like to warn parents, if you have a sensitive child or one that worries about monsters, this movie might be a bit scary for them. There is a lot of fighting between people and dragons. There are also a couple of extra huge dragons in this movie. However, if your child isn’t bothered by this type of action then they will really enjoy How to Train Your Dragon 2.

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How to Train Your Dragon – Review

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie Review

October 13, 2013 by Mama Carmody 7 Comments

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie Review

Disclaimer: I was given 2 tickets to attend the Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie, as well as a backpack with some goodies. However, I was not influenced by the promotional materials or any of the Conner Prairie staff. All opinions and insights are my own.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Hot Air Balloon

Even before we reached Conner Prairie, we could see the hot air balloon, from the 1859 Balloon Voyage, floating high in the sky. My husband was quite interested in the balloon ride but with the cost of a ride being $15 a piece ($12 for members) it was way out of our price range. If they would lower that price to somewhere between $5 and $7 they would quite possibly have waiting lines for that ride all the time. At the lower prices, we would probably take a ride every time we went to Conner Prairie but at the current prices I don’t know that we will ever participate in the 1859 Balloon Voyage.

The first activity we participated in was the Headless Horseman hayride. If you missed my post from yesterday here is the link to that: Review: The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie.

If your children are young and you aren’t interested in the hayride don’t write off the idea of making a trip to Conner Prairie. There was still a lot of spooky fun happening even without the hayride.

I love the idea behind their theme this year. Conner Prairie has been renamed Conner Scairie for this holiday season. The former mayor, Lord Moldywart, had a problem with a spell he was trying to cast and turned himself into a bunny rabbit.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Mayor Moldywart

He is cute but he can no longer fulfill the role of mayor so a new mayor must be elected. There are six citizens that are vying for the new position. It is our job to go around and meet each of them and then vote for the one that we want to become Mayor of Conner Scairie.

The first candidate we ran into was Harry Howler. He was standing outside a tent encouraging passersby to join him at the microphone for some scary-o-ke. There were some kids doing a great job with The Monster Mash when we stopped in. Harry also had a couple of craft tables as well as some fun activities outside his tent.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Fun at Harry Howler's — Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Fun at Harry Howler’s

The next candidate we ran into was Beautisha, the cosmetics-loving witch. She also had a craft area and she was more than happy to hand out beauty tips.

We didn’t get to catch her show but we got to peek in at the stage and costumes. Looks like it would be a blast to strut up and down the runway.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Beautisha's Costume Runway — Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Beautisha’s Costume Runway

Our next candidate to meet was little Miss Holly Ween. She was adorable. She reads spooky stories to the kids. She told us that this was her favorite story.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Holly Ween Collage

There was a large play area, associated with her section, for children 8 years old and younger. You can wind through bales of hay and then zoom down a slide on a burlap sack. There was a lot of action going on in the area. Several children were enjoying the play equipment.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Holly Ween's Play Area — Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Holly Ween’s Play Area

Next we ran into Ed, the mad scientist, and his assistant, Esmeralda. They were having fun with electricity. It played havoc with my camera but it still looked pretty neat. They cooked a hotdog with an electrical arc. It was fascinating to watch but I think I will stick with my microwave.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Ed's Electrical Spectacle — Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Ed’s Electrical Spectacle

We missed Dr. Acula but we did get to look around his monster museum. My favorite pieces were Little Red Riding Hood’s cape and a hairball from Big Foot. He had a craft area for the kids, too.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Monster Museum Collage

I forgot to mention that the Headless Horseman is also a candidate. I’m not sure what I think of electing a mayor with no head but I suspect he is using fear to intimidate the voters.

There were plenty of other activities going on that I don’t believe were associated with the candidates. We enjoyed watching the Flying Monkeys. They used a large slingshot type contraption to send the monkeys flying through the air.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Flying Monkeys

If you have been following my posts for very long, you know I love introducing children to music so of course one of my favorite spots was Rhythm Fun with Bill Bailey. Look at the kids having fun with all of those instruments.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Rhythm Collage

Another fun spot was the face painting. This family was kind enough to let me take pictures of the process.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: face painting

They sure are a cute bunch of kids.

Spooky Fun at Conner Prairie: Face Painting Fun

As I look over the program from the evening, I realize that we missed a few things such as the Marionette Show and the Crane Bros. Superstition Emporium. We passed by the Mystic and the Magic Show with C.R. Ryan Demier but didn’t get a chance to stop in for the activities.

As you can tell, there is a lot of spooky fun happening at Conner Prairie to keep you busy for quite a while. Even if your children are younger, and you don’t want to do the hayride, there are still plenty of activities to enjoy. You may even want to come back more than once to experience all the spooky fun.

The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie Review

October 12, 2013 by Mama Carmody 3 Comments

The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie Review

Disclaimer: I was given 2 tickets to attend The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie, as well as a backpack with some goodies. However, I was not influenced by the promotional materials or any of the Conner Prairie staff. All opinions and insights are my own.

It has been approximately ten years since we last attended The Headless Horseman at Conner Prairie. Our daughter was somewhere between 10 and 13 years old. At that time we chose to take the hayride after dark. We thought it would be a little scarier and I guess we were right. When talking to my (now adult) daughter about that night, I said, “Remember how much fun we had?” Her response was, “No! I’m still scarred!” I guess we were right; that going after dark was scary.

Headless Horseman hayride, at Conner Prairie

Since, currently, my blog posts mainly center around activities for younger children we opted to go on the Hayride before it got dark. First of all, let me tell you that the lines are extremely long. Once our turn came up a guide
walked us back to where we climbed into the hay wagons and waited to start our adventure. We were asked not to take pictures during the hayride because it could spook the horses and we definitely wouldn’t want to do that. But I was told that I could take a picture before we pulled out.

I’m not going to give out all the details because I don’t want to spoil the fun for future adventurers but I will share my general thoughts. It is a nice hayride with spooky sights and sounds around every turn. There was a 3 year old little girl in the wagon with us and her older brother who seemed like he was between 5 and 7 years old. The 3 year old cried on and off through the ride. She was visibly shaken and nervous even when she wasn’t crying. Her older brother just seemed to enjoy the whole thing. As for me, I loved it, but I must be honest, when the Headless Horseman rode right up to our wagon and hit the outside of it with his sword it made me laugh nervously, lean forward a little and watch him out of the corner of my eye.

My advice would be to take the hayride during the daylight for younger children. It was still plenty spooky without scaring you out of your wits. I personally wouldn’t take a child 3 years old or younger on this hayride at all but if you have a tough little one that loves monsters and being scared then they may be just fine. For the real adventure, wait until after dark to go. It is pretty scary when the Headless Horseman comes riding out of the dark after you.

Even if you aren’t interested in the hayride there are plenty of other activities to do with the kids so don’t write the adventure off yet. Tomorrow, I will post about all the other fun things that were going on during this special evening.

Whale of a Sale Children’s Consignment Event

September 15, 2015 by Mama Carmody Leave a Comment

Whale of a Sale Children’s Consignment Event

Do you like a deal? Do you like consignment shopping? Then you are going to LOVE this! It’s a Whale of a Sale….no really, it is! I don’t promote many sales on my blog but when I see something that can help parents out, especially with saving money, I have to share it.

I have been able to attend a couple Whale of a Sale events. I was very impressed with how well organized everything was. The items were clean and in wonderful shape. You will be able to find brand name items at excellent prices.

As well as clothing, you will be able to find toys, puzzles, DVD’s and other items that would make wonderful Christmas gifts.

I have purchased items for my grandson and great-nephew at a Whale of a Sale event. I just found out that I have a granddaughter due in January. I guess it’s back to Whale of a Sale to buy some frilly items.

This year’s event will be taking place at Five Seasons Sports Club:
1300 E 96th Street
Indianapolis, IN 46240

Here are the times Whale of a Sale will be open to the general public:

Friday, September 18th:
9:00 a.m. New/Expecting Parents and Grandparents Pre-Sale – Register Here
10:00 a.m. Facebook Friends Pre-Sale
12:00 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Open to the Public

Saturday, September 19th:
9:00 – 4:00 p.m. Open to the Public

Sunday, September 20th:
Half Price Day
11:00 – 3:00 p.m. Open to the Public – REDUCE on the tag indicates half price deal

*Disclosure: I was in no way compensated or asked by anyone to do this review. All opinions are mine. I have done this to help my readers find great deals.