Mystery Room is the best place for date night or family night!

Last Friday the kids and I spent the morning defusing a bomb! No, really, we did! Actually, we didn't defuse the bomb, but we did manage to open four locked boxes to get all of the clues that could have helped us. We just didn't pick up on the right clue for the bomb.  But we had an awesome time trying! Want to solve your own mystery? Keep reading......

Mystery Room is a brand new, interactive real world detective adventure! It's located inside Sugarloaf Mills (formerly Discover Mills) in Gwinnett County, right off I-85.  You can either park and enter the Mall at Entrance 1, or go through Bass Pro Shop to get to Mystery Room .

In our family, we like to play a few of those games on Facebook - you know, the ones where you have to escape from a room, or find hidden objects, solve a mystery or puzzle.  Mystery Room is the real life version of those games! It didn't disappoint!  It is a fun place to take your family (with kids, probably 10 and up is best), or your girlfriends for a fun and unique Girls Night Out, or even make it a double date with your best friend and her guy.

It's such a great concept and so different from anything else you can do around here. Everything you need to solve the mystery is in each room - but you will have to work for it! This encourages teamwork, thinking outside the box, and it's a whole lot of fun, too.

There are six rooms for you to choose from.  You can pick a Detective Room - Sherlock's Room, Special Agent Room and Black Ops Room, all hold up to 6 people; or an Escape Room - Hollywood Room & Royal Room both hold up to 10 people, and Sports Room which holds 6 people.

Trust me when I say that you want to go with a group, and the bigger the better! In each room there is much to see, many clues to uncover, and codes to decipher. Oh, did I mention there is a lot to look at? It's not easy! So bring your friends or your kids and help each other solve the mysteries at Mystery Room.  Everyone can work together looking for clues, and also bouncing ideas off of each other to figure out the mystery.  Next time we visit it will be with more people - I think we could have defused that bomb for sure with one more person helping!

David chose the Black Ops room for us and it was much more difficult than I expected! Not gonna lie - I thought we'd be able to solve it pretty fast! But once you begin, you have 45 minutes to solve the mystery, so there is no time to waste.  There are definitely things in there to throw you off - it's very challenging trying to decide what is important and what isn't!

My daughter got a little frustrated early on, but she rallied at the end!  David was our helper, emptying things out and helping to sort through all of it, and writing down clues. The friendly and helpful staff at Mystery Room will let you know when you are about halfway through your time, and you can even buy a clue to help you out if you need to.   Whatever you decide - just have FUN with it!

If you are lucky enough to solve your room in the allotted 45 minutes, you will get your picture on the Wall of Fame!

They change the rooms on a regular basis, so you can revisit every few weeks and solve a new mystery! It was a really fun experience for my kids and me, and all the way home we kept talking about the clues that threw us off, and that last one we missed. We are definitely going back and trying another room!

They offer Corporate Team Building Events & Birthday Parties at Mystery Room, as well.

Mystery Room is located at:
Sugarloaf Mills
5900 Sugarloaf Parkway
Lawrenceville, GA 30043
Phone: 678-847-5002

Mystery Room can be found online:  Facebook, Twitter, Instagram  & Trip Advisor.

They are open 7 days a week, so get going and solve a mystery!  Tell them you heard about Mystery Room on Just Kidding Around Atlanta, please!

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Please share your experience in the comments if you've been - I want to hear what you think about the other rooms! (Trying to decide our next room to try!) Or tell me which one you plan to solve first!



Disclaimer: We were given free admission to visit Mystery Room to facilitate this review.  All opinions included in this review are my own.  No other compensation was received. 

Giveaway ~ Post Honey Bunches of Oats!

My family loves cereal!  So much so, that I usually have at least 10-20 boxes in my stockpile.  I buy it on sale/with coupons when it's cheap so we always have plenty on hand for easy breakfasts, snacks and sometimes even for dinner!

So you know I was really excited when I was asked if I'd like to try Honey Bunches of Oats AND give away coupons for FREE boxes ~  of course!!  My kids were ecstatic when the package arrived - they LOVE Honey Bunches of Oats! It was immediately opened for an afterschool snack! They loved that Post has added even more granola bunches into each box.  This is a snack I feel good about letting my kids enjoy with skim milk.

Here is what I've learned about this (yummy!) cereal: 

It's a combination of four nutritious grains - Wheat, Oat, Corn and Rice
There are crispy flakes AND crunchy granola bunches in every box
Each serving has 10 grams Whole Grain
6 grams sugar (3 grams less than Honey Nut Cheerios)
Heart Healthy choice with 0 g Trans Fat, 0 g Saturated Fat and 0 mg Cholesterol
Provides 9 essential vitamins and minerals

We've been enjoying Honey Bunches of Oats for years, and will continue to do so.  How about you?  Does your family like this yummy cereal?   Would you like to be one of my winners?  Two lucky readers will each receive coupons for two free boxes of Honey Bunches of Oats, up to $4.49 value each!  Click on the read more link to enter via Rafflecopter!

Review ~ Stone Mountain Lasershow Spectacular in Laservision!

Last Thursday we were invited to attend the premiere of the brand new Lasershow Spectacular at Stone Mountain Park in Atlanta.  I've lived in Atlanta since 4th grade, grew up going to the park, and I have been to many, many Lasershows since it started more than 25 years ago! I was very excited to see this new production in Mountainvision!!

Unfortunately, Katie had an exam early the next morning, so she had to miss this.  David chose to miss the last day of school so he could see the Lasershow.  Being seven, he didn't miss much - they have a picnic and play a lot!  So Randy, David & I set out on a stormy night for the 40 mile trip to Stone Mountain. 

Stuck at Spaghetti Junction, trying to get on 285! Rush hour + storms = delays!!

 

Our view for dinner ~ sweet!

Delicious cupcakes ~ sweet ending to dinner!

Despite the rain and storms, we got there about 7 pm and checked in.  We ate dinner out on the Terrace (luckily it was covered, because the rain kept coming and going!)  Then we enjoyed some delicious cupcakes while waiting for the darkness to fall.   Kids played on the terrace, and it was a nice, relaxing way to spend the evening!

Finally, the lasershow began at about 9:30 pm! It's not completely new, but that is good.  The fan favorites of Stone Mountain's Lasershow are still here:  Dixie, Sweet Home Alabama, Georgia on My Mind, and other favorites are still played much to the delight of the hometown crowd.   But there are fabulous new additions.  The new, state-of-the-art, multi-dimensional show is amazing!  Watch the mountain open up, and turn into an erupting volcano! Or watch pieces of it "crumble" and fall to the ground.  It's really something to see!  The fireworks were so beautiful, and it was truly an inspiring, feel good show.  We loved it.  It's a little over 40 minutes long, which is just about perfect!

See my little D's head? He sat in front of us and clapped so hard - he can't wait to go back and see the Lasershow Spectacular again!

I never got a truly good shot of the gorgeous fireworks, but here is another attempt!

Here are some facts about this amazing new show:

• The Lasershow is free with $10 vehicle admission to the park.  Or buy a $35 parking pass good for the entire year!
• Mountainvision is four to five times the size of an IMAX screen, taller than the Statue of Liberty!
• Seeing the show in Mountainvision is similar to owning a 5500 inch high definition tv!
• Mountainvision is included in all parts of the show, but there is one section of the show that really shows off the new technology - the volcano, ice cave, and skyline section! It's really, really fun!
• There are some all-time favorite music medleys, along with some new!
• Heroes Salute is a tribute to everyday heroes
• Georgia Artists showcases our fabulous homegrown artists - Sugarland, The Allman Brothers, The Zac Brown Band, REM and more
• The Devil Went Down to Georgia - need I say more?! : )
• An American Trilogy - Elvis segment where the beautiful Mountain Carving comes to life!

And here are some facts about Stone Mountain and the park:

• It's the world's largest exposed piece of granite, home to the world's largest relief sculpture. 
• The carving features three Civil War figures: Jefferson Davis, Robert E. Lee, & Thomas "Stonewall" Jackson and their horses. 
• The carving measures 90 feet tall, 190 feet wide, and is 11 feet deep.  It spans three acres, and is larger than Mt. Rushmore!
• Stone Mountain Park is Georgia's most popular attraction, and one of the top historical attractions in the U.S.!

Other attractions to see at the Park include:

• Crossroads - a village of shops, restaurants and activities!
• Yogi Bear 4D Adventure - new for 2011, this is a 12 minute experience with 3D film and 4D special effects!
• Mini-Golf - 18 holes of fun!
• Paddlewheel Riverboat - 150 passenger authentic paddlewheel boat cruises Stone Mountain Lake
• Ride the Ducks Siteseeing Adventure - the only place in Georgia you can ride the Ducks!
• Scenic Railroad - fullsize 1940's locomotive with open-air cars takes you on a five mile excursion around the mountain
• SkyHike - a treetop adventure course!
• Summit Skyride - high-speed Swiss Cable Car takes you to the top of the mountain for stunning views - on a clear day you can see for more than 40 miles! 

There are also hiking trails, picnic areas, lodging and camping areas!  The park is open from 6 am until midnight daily!  Access to Stone Mountain's natural areas is free with parking admission.  There are options for annual passes, day passes and more - check out http://www.stonemountainpark.com/ for all of the details!

The park now offers VIP Terrace seating, with snack or casual dining options.  Reservations can be made online at http://www.stonemountainpark.com/.  The new laser show runs nightly now through August 7 at 9:30 pm.  August 13, 20 & 27 it runs Saturdays only.


Disclosure: I was not compensated for this post.  We did receive free admission to the park, plus dinner with my family to view the premiere of the new Lasershow Spectacular.  This review is my honest opinion of the show, and I would have said the same thing whether we had to pay to see the show or not - it was fabulous!!

Happy Birthday D!!!

What a crazy week it has been! Between dealing with some nuttiness with PTA, to throwing a party together in 3 days, I've been a little frazzled.

David was able to convince us with his constant pleading, and big blue sad puppy eyes that his party neeeeeded to be at Stars & Strikes, the bowling alley/arcade/fun place. Only 3 friends (plus one's little brother) were able to come, so it was just the 4 of them playing bumper cars, laser tag, and then running free in the arcade!! They gave us a sweet party hostess who ran interference for me and handled candle lighting, cupcake handoffs and more!

I made some cupcakes with sprinkles to mimic storebought confetti ones, then added milk chocolate frosting (alas, from a can!)and then added some cute sprinkles from Wilton with purple jimmies, colorful dots and lots of stars. They were really cute.

Goody bags were different this year - no toys or junk that will end up in the trash. Instead I raided my back-to-school box and gave the kids a composition book, a pen with multicolored ink options, a package of mechanical pencils, crayons, ring pops, and assorted candy. His class is focusing heavily on journaling, so I thought that would be a great way to continue the learning at home! Hopefully the kids enjoyed their bags - I know his friend Kennedy did, she sat down at a booth with the crayons and comp. book ready to get busy!!

Here are a few pics ~

Yes, even the birthday boy got a goody bag, though the majority of the candy & ring pops were gone before I got a picture of it!! 

I wish I'd gotten pics of the arcade.  Compared to the ones we had growing up (Goldmine, 2001, etc), and even compared to our usual game place - Chuck E Cheese,  this one was incredible!! They had Guitar Hero, simulation rides (the kids went to a haunted mine on one of those), Dance Dance Revolution, and so much more.  There is even one of those claw game (you get to try to grab Ipods, no less!) that is the size of my closet!!  Can you tell we don't get out to places with arcades much? 

It turned out to be a super-fun night that David will always remember, and Stars & Strikes made it easy by giving us such a great hostess to take care of the details.  Katie wants to have her 17th party at their Boutique bowling lanes, and David said he is having #8 there as well!!

Kids Birthday Parties

Quick question for y'all...

We're trying to put together a small party for David's birthday - his 7th!! For the last three years, he has wanted a Chuck E Cheese party, but this year he is wanting something different. I'm considering a party at the Monkey Joe's jumpy place, or the bowling alley where the kids could play laser tag, bumper cars and arcade games. For 5 kids either of these will run me $100 just to put the kids in the party - not including cake, goody bags, or any extras! I'm just not crazy about having a party at the house - just don't have the room! So I've got to find something - I don't want to spend that much if I don't have to...

So here's where I need help from you...Where do y'all have your kiddos' parties at? I need some ideas, and FAST! What places am I forgetting to check?

Thanks for any feedback - I appreciate your ideas!!

~ Aimee

The amazing Fernbank Museum of Natural History in Atlanta

Fernbank Museum of Natural History is one museum you can't miss if you have kids and live in Atlanta. Heck, even if you don't have kids it's still a cool museum!! There is something for everyone to see or do there.

We lucked out and got a great deal on a family membership through Groupon earlier this year. We've only been 3 times so far, but our visits have more than paid for the cost of our family membership!! Today we took the kids to see the new Exhibit called "Water". We also used a mailer they sent us for $2 off IMAX member priced-tix for the family - we paid $24 for 4 tickets versus $50 regular price tickets. More on that later!

The exhibit was fantastic. We started out by walking through what appeared to be a misting sign ~ but it was an optical illusion - it was really fog!



Inside were many displays related to water. Everything you can imagine!! One display had a block of ice, which melted into one part of the display, then turned to vapor in a third section! It was really cool.


The kids really had fun with the hands-on, interactive displays:



They had a microscope set up with a screen to check out some little creepy germs and microscopic creatures....



David & his dad learned about wells & pumping water at this display


Katie saw how you could build up sediment with a dam.

So much fun stuff for kids and parents to check out! I almost forgot - there was even a polar bear to meet!!



Then we went to the Star Gallery & Shells room to wait for our IMAX movie. They have the prettiest shells in there. It's one of my favorite rooms in the whole museum! The Star Gallery has an amazing fiber optic ceiling, and very cool movies playing - we watched the top 10 discoveries of the Hubble telescope while we were waiting which was pretty amazing.







The IMAX movie we watched was called Grand Canyon Adventure ~ River at Risk. It was really good, and after watching the crazy rafting that went on in the movie, the other three members of my family want to try rafting one day. I'm gonna stay home and enjoy the solid ground below me! lol We wanted to see the other movie playing ~ it's about the Nile River, but it didn't start until much later.

We will be going back soon for Pirates Weekend, and the upcoming Winter weekends that will feature cultural and holiday traditions, music and more.

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Busy as a Bee!

FernThis week has been amazing. It's springtime in Atlanta, which is simply gorgeous. Trees in bloom everywhere, the crepe myrtle is in full bloom, dogwoods, pear trees etc - it's just so beautiful & green!! It's also YELLOW, as in pollen everywhere! But thanks to my Claritin D I am actually doing fine this season!

I have been researching the benefits of using seaweed, algae, etc in bath products, so this past weekend I bought some things to try! Sunday and Monday I made a nourishing spa seaweed bath tea - it's full of sea veggies, kelp, spirulina, wakame and other good stuff. Also a detoxifying bath salt with dead sea salts, jade china sea salts, kelp and spirulina. The bath tea bags are so cool - when they swell in the tub, a kind of gel comes out and you can gently rub the bag onto your skin, then pat dry (don't rinse). Supposed to be very nourishing, moisturizing and good for your skin!

Today was my big Publix trip. Spent $82, saved $126! Some of the best deals were dip for 54 c, Dawn d/w soap for 45 c, Snuggle fabric softener for 24 c, free Sunchips, and 25 c 4 packs of Fiber One Yogurt! LAter this week we'll do a Kroger trip too. I have about $118 left to spend this pay period for household/grocery - and I would love to not spend it all!!

My 15 year old got her driver's permit this week. I just added her to our insurance, and I get the feeling that this is one of those "big" moments in her life! So exciting for her, but so terrifying for me!! :o)

That's it for now, I will try to post soon about our trip to Fernbank Museum of Natural History! We got a family membership and we'll be there OFTEN!

How I freaked out my kids on April Fool's Day

SO glad to see the sunshine again!! We've had SO much rain the last couple months! Today is bright and beautiful ~ the sky is gorgeous, everything is feeling spring-y outside, and my heart is happy!

I'm trying to get ready for St. Patrick's Day tomorrow ~ the kids are going to complain, but I am making a faux shepherd's pie for supper, plus a green punch to drink, and Lucky Charms cupcakes for dessert! The next project I'm working on is April Fool's Day. My poor kids - I always try to trick them! This year I'm doing a pet theme. Dinner will be a variety of weird appetizers, including dip served in a (new!) doggie bowl, with bone shaped crackers for dipping! Dessert will be that really gross cake in a (new!) litter box, complete with "litter" on top and a few tootsie rolls for effect. Again, my poor kids!

** update** here are some pics. We just used regular crackers for the dip, but the kids were so freaked out by my kitty litter cake!!**





Holidays are so much fun, and I'm realizing every day how truly short time with our kids is. My daughter is almost 16, and I swear just last year she was in elementary school! It's flying by, and I don't want to miss a minute of the next few years with her still here at home! And my little guy is 6, but he loves all my holiday stuff!

Coupon update: Very happy with our coupon savings from yesterday & today! For 2 weeks of groceries: Publix: spent $29, saved $29; Kroger: spent $139, saved $93.01, CVS: spent $26, saved $16 in coupons & got $9 back in extra care bucks. Our grocery budget is $100/week - I came in a bit under this time! :o)

Enjoy your day, I hope it is sunny for you, too!!