FREE

I'm a sucker for finding a good deal. As a family, we've been able to experience 3 awesome things in the last month all free of charge. I'll start with the most recent.

Disney on Ice

Thursday, November 10

Getting a good pic proved to be very challenging. Maybe it was the time of day? We attempted to take many pics and even resorted to bribery. 

Princess Anna had french braids in (you can't really tell). I was proud of myself. 

I noticed a giveaway on Instagram. 4 free "Disney on Ice" tickets were up for grabs. I didn't bother entering. A few days later, I saw the giveaway again. I decided why not enter? I had 15 minutes to spare before the giveaway closed. I won! I was shocked. There were over 2700 comments, so lots of entries.

I truly feel like winning the tickets was a tender mercy. I was feeling down and couldn't go to sleep the night I won the tickets. I had super itchy hives and my mind was spinning thinking about other challenges. I got on Instagram and saw I had won the tickets. What? It felt like the Lord knew I was struggling and showed me he is aware and gave me a pick-me-up. I'm so thankful. I won 4 tickets that were $35 each. 

We rode the train (tracks) to the arena which the kids had never done. They loved it. The show didn't start exactly at 7 like we expected and we were early because I am always early. The kids were antsy. Some popcorn helped. The emcees of the show were Minnie and Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck, and Goofy. There were 5 main Disney movies in the show-- The Little Mermaid, Moana, Tangled, Beauty and the Beast, and Frozen. The Little Mermaid and Frozen were the best according to my kids. Although not mean Ursula!

The kids' eyes were glued to the ice and the performers. Watching their reactions brought Andrew and me so much joy. Isabelle was singing along, James was shouting characters' names, and waving and clapping was a must for all. After each scene ended, Isabelle worriedly asked if the show was over. She wanted it to last forever. Disney on Ice ended after 9pm. James could hardly keep his eyes open. At one point he was laying down because it got too hard to hold his head up. Some sugar helped, but he was out on the train ride home. We got back to our house at 10:15. When I woke James up for school this morning, he declared, "Wasn't Disney on Ice so fun? I think yesterday was the best day of my life." It was definitely a night to remember. 

Hill Air Force Base Museum

Saturday, November 5

Hill Air Force Base has a free museum that I've heard about a lot. We decided to go as a family on a weekend. Andrew was fascinated by the planes. He enthusiastically explained things to us. We were all interested. It was rainy, so we didn't spend much time looking at the outdoor models, but there was plenty to see inside the 2 buildings. I thought the old airplanes without roofs were cool. James was surprised to see bombs and guns in the planes and had many questions about why they were needed. At one point he asked, "why are all of these fighter planes?" The museum is 50 minutes away, so it was a time commitment. We spent nearly an hour and a half browsing the museum before the kids were asking to leave. More like wanting snacks. 

SeaQuest Aquarium

Saturday, October 22

One of my friends told me that SeaQuest was doing a deal. You could get free tickets to the aquarium. I jumped at the chance. This saved us over $70. We had plenty of time to kill over fall break (James had 6 days off of school). This activity helped break up the time spent at home.

SeaQuest is in Layton and is 45 minutes away. We live near the Loveland Living Planet Aquarium and going to a different aquarium was a welcome change. There was a pig! We fed birds (ok, it was all Andrew). There were ginormous snakes and one was even out of its cage being held. You could feed most of the animals. The chickens were aggressive and eager to eat. They put an end to the kids' desire to feed creatures. After, we stopped for lunch. I won another giveaway earlier this year, so we ate at that pizza place and used my gift card. It wasn't what we expected. It was a fancy sit-down restaurant with high prices (that our gift card didn't cover.)In Andrew's words, "I've had better pizza from Little Caesars." Not our vibe. I could see us returning to Sea Quest though, especially if I can snag free tickets again.

I'm grateful we have been able to spend quality time adventuring as a family for free. I'm on the hunt for the next bargain or giveaway!