We took the kids out to dinner tonight at Friendly’s. I think that we were just missing people yelling at us and trying to snatch every morsel in sight and eat it. There was a fundraiser happening at Friendly’s so we went to help out with our meal. I have to say, it was probably the fastest service we’ve ever had at Friendly’s. Of course Eva, our sweet little love colored a picture for our waitress and then on her own wrote. “Thank you for being our waitress, Love, Eva XOXOXO.” She has such a sweet heart. I think that made that woman’s night. She told Eva that she would make her ice cream very special because it would be made with love. We are so lucky to have such a sweet and wonderful child.

After dinner we went to Wild Time Comic Book Shop so I could pick up my comics. When I got there Randy gave me these special ID cards that he made. While at Free Comic Book Day Randy said that he could make some Avengers ID cards and wanted a photo of Eva so that he could make one for her. I sent him the photo and told him to use the name Torunn Shane. Now, Torunn is the daughter of Thor. The last name of Shane comes from Eli Shane from Slugterra. Slugterra is one of Eva’s favorite shows. She has so much fun watching it and always asks me to tell her Slugterra stories. She was delighted by the cards and so excited about them being signed by Nick Fury. She also got another printout that was a commendation signed by Nick Fury, Phil Coulson and Steve Rogers. I’m so proud that she knows who all those guys are.

Walking and Blogging, what could be better!.

Copyright (c) 2010 Photo-A-Day & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Our Special Agent

Tonight Allison and I got to go out for a special dinner at Not Your Average Joe’s. I was asked to come and try out the new seasonal menu. Lucky for me, Allison could come along as well. We had some fantastic food while we were there and we were quite stuffed when we left.

Instead of telling you all about them I’ll show you in photos.

Not Your Average Joe’s Menu

Pork Pretzel Bites

Pan-Seared Scallops

A Drink Named Bob

Chicken Parmesan Tower

Chicken Caprese

When Bloggers Dine

Shrimp Fettuccine with Goat Cheese Pesto.

Mediterranean Turkey Kabob

Dinner was Delicious, I could have licked the plate clean.

Dinner was amazing. It was such a great night of food and friendship with fellow bloggers. We met some very nice people and no one at the table looked at us funny when we all had our cameras and phones out snapping shots.

Walking and Blogging, what could be better!.

Copyright (c) 2010 Photo-A-Day & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Dining Out Sans Kiddos at Not Your Average Joe’s

The latest Disney Storybook Deluxe App is for the upcoming movie, Monsters University. We were given a download code to try out and review this app.Opinions are 100% my own.

After having seen about 40 minutes of the movie at a special event in April I was happy to see how true to the movie the storybook kept. Eva and I read the storybook together and it was funny, had movie clips and there were many interactive points in the app.

When the reader starts the app they have to take their photo for the student ID. The user can take a photo right then and there or pull an image from the photo albums. Then the user puts in their name and even signs the ID with their finger. They could even pick their Monsters University and fraternity or sorority affiliation. I thought that was a fun touch to the app.

What I wasn’t as thrilled about was the games for this app. the image above shows 5 games but they are all essentially the same exact game and it is the same game from Monsters Inc. Storybook Deluxe. I would have liked to have seen something different for each game instead of tilt the screen and avoid objects.

Overall it is a nice fun app and does the story from the movie very well.

Walking and Blogging, what could be better!.

Copyright (c) 2010 Photo-A-Day & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Review: Disney Storybook Deluxe Monsters University App

I was given a download code to try out and review the newest Disney Story Theater. This one was Toy Story Story Theater. With the app kids can pretend to be their favorite Toy Story Characters like Woody, Buzz or Jessie. They can use the app to make little puppet shows using their own voices.

I like these apps because it gives kids a digital way to tell stories and it allows them to be the director of their own little mini movies. I think the app could be a bit stronger though and allow the characters to move around a bit more. I think that kids would like to be able to move the arms and legs of the character and allow them to walk and wave and jump as they spoke. I’d also like more of a work area where you can bring characters on screen or stage and then move them off, being able to pause as I set up each character would be a good thing to add as well. I think that a lot more can be down with this app to make it more dynamic.

Don’t get me wrong it is a fun app. For younger kids it will have them making fun stories over and over. Eva made a bunch of them one day and saved all of them to my iPad. They are fun little stories to listen to and watch.

Eva’s favorite character from Toy Story is Jessie the cowgirl. She tends to use her in most of her stories. It would be fun if you were able to take a photo of your child’s head and have it placed on a character body because kids do tend to enjoy having themselves inserted into stories, at least my daughter does. She wants to be part of every story I tell. And, she wants stories on every ride to and from school, every day. Maybe as she makes her own stories she’ll give me a little slack if I can’t come up with something new for each car ride. But probably not.

Walking and Blogging, what could be better!.

Copyright (c) 2010 Photo-A-Day & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Review: Disney Learning Toy Story: Story Theater app

We took Eva and Andrew for a playdate with friends over to a playground that I recall from my childhood. It has been cleaned up and has a great jungle gym for the kids including a zipline. Eva even went and played on that a few times. I lifted her to the handle and she held on for the whole ride. I am so impressed at how well she maneuvers the playground now. She climbs so well and enjoys playing on a lot of the high stuff. I still get a bit nervous watching her as she plays and I do make sure that I am pretty close to her.

We played for a while at the playground and the kids had a wonderful time then we went to Bliss Bros. Dairy to get some ice cream. I had a Chocolate Frappe and it was incredible. I haven’t had an actual ice cream based frappe/shake in forever. All the kids had chocolate, too. And for three kids under 6 chocolate is a funny thing to manage. They were a complete mess.

Walking and Blogging, what could be better!.

Copyright (c) 2010 Photo-A-Day & Daddy Blogger - BenSpark.com - Everyday Pictures... Every... Day

Siblings on the Playground