Kirby Homemade Halloween Costume

Our son really loves Kirby and was very sure he wanted a Kirby costume for Halloween this year. We didn't find anything his size online or in the stores so decided to make one.

We bought a pink hoodie sweatshirt on Amazon that was his size and then had a stack of felt squares from Target already in the craft closet.

We used the Kirby Amibo we have and pinterest pictures as our guide to choose the colors for the felt pieces and cut them out using sharp fabric scissors (any nice scarp scissors would be fine). Then we laid out the pieces on the shirt where we wanted them to be and glued them on one by one with the glue gun. 

So far it has worked out well. He has already worn it to the Zoo and to a Halloween party. I had to reglue two pieces that came up at the edge but they went right back on. I hand washed it just in case the felt would come off in the washer or dryer and then hung it dry. The felt seems to be colorfast and we have not noticed any color spreading. 

This was a really quick, easy and inexpensive way to make him a costume. He is very proud of it and tells everyone his Mom made it for him so that is extra special to me.

(This was not a sponsored post. All product links on our site go to our affiliate links and we would earn a commission if you make a purchase through those links.)

Phoenix Zoo - Starbucks - Yakulla Caverns - Mexican Food - Orangutan Habitat

There is now a Starbucks near the front of the Phoenix Zoo and they have our favorite

Starbucks handcrafted coffee drinks as well as pastries and some breakfast items like Burritos that look amazing.

We tried the Latte (with a little chocolate on top at my request) and a Mocha and they were very good. It was such a treat to have Starbucks at the zoo.

We walked with our Starbucks drinks over to Yakulla Caverns splash area for the kids to play and for us all to cool off a bit. If you head up the row with the zebra's and flamingos then turn right at the restaurant/snack bar at the end of that row you will find this area.

The stairs lead through the caves and then they can come down the slide on the right.

There are other caves behind that one they can walk through to the other side

There are some nice shady areas with little water squirters that are great for the little guys and girls to get wet. Please note this area usually has many kids running around so there is also the water area by the pirate ship playground near the carousel where there is less activity and might be good for the littlest ones.

Behind the water area there is a shaded artificial grass area with benches for the parents to sit and watch the kids. 

There is a tree trunk they can play in and many areas of water jets that spray into the air.

Here is another view of the area. It was very popular the day we were there. 

Also, there is a restroom area and changing areas for boys and girls right next to the splash area so you don't have to go far for potty breaks or to get the kids changed into dry clothes.

The little snack bar/restaurant right by Yakulla Caverns served Mexican food. They have tacos, nachos, burritos and more. We tried the Burrito and the Barbacoa Tacos. 

The tacos sauce was amazing. We also had chips and salsa not shown in the photos but it was very good. We paired it with our Starbucks drinks and it was a very enjoyable lunch!

This was our view of the lake while we were eating. 

More views from our lunch table. 

There were monkeys across the island and beautiful birds in the lake that we watched while we were eating.

This is the farm play area by the Children's portion of the zoo, near the petting zoo. There was not a water area there so keep that in mind if it is a warm day, you may want to go to the water area on the way to the kids area to cool off. 

One of our favorite exhibits is the Orangutan area. This is the beautiful sign at one of the entrances. Each time we visit we see a new area of the zoo and have been very impressed by all the advances they have made.

It says Orang - Hutan People of the Forest.

This is at the center of the exhibit. there are windows all around and boards with information about the Orangutans and their natural habitat.

At this exhibit you can walk through a center portion with the grass areas all around and look through windows to see the Orangutans from all different areas. We counted five including the young baby who just turned 1. 

There were 2 adult Orangutans and the baby here on this structure.

This is from inside the house like portion at the center of the exhibit. 

This was one of our favorites. He climbed down the netting and found some bamboo he managed to pull through the netting to eat. 

The exhibit allows you to walk all around from many different sides of the habitat. It was one that really kept all of our attention, even the kids. 

(This was not a sponsored post.)

New Halloween App for Kids on Amazon and Google Play

Check out this new Halloween app for Kids available on Amazon Apps and Google Play!

I think it is a super fun little app for kids especially to get into the Halloween spirit. I may be biased because my husband developed it but our 4 year old loves to play it so I think that speaks for itself. 

Halloween Block Pop is an app for kids on the Amazon App store for Kindle Fire and Amazon devices and on Google Play for Android Devices.  "Halloween Block Pop" is a fun Halloween themed puzzle game. This app was created for all ages and is fun for the whole family. The game consists of 10 Halloween character puzzles. Watch as the Halloween characters come to life after each puzzle is complete. For a greater challenge guess the character by popping the least amount of blocks. This game is a great way to celebrate Halloween in a not too scary way and features original art by Ken Wright.

Amazon App Store: http://www.amazon.com/Ken-Wright-Halloween-Block-Pop/dp/B016H0OZJI/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1444616316&sr=8-2&keywords=halloween+block+pop

Google Play: https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.kenwrightonline.halloweenblockpop&hl=en

Thank you!

San Tan Mall outdoor play area

A couple of photos of the kids play area at the San Tan outdoor mall. 

They also have a new splash pad further up the row from this. Build A Bear and the Disney Store are both on this aisle of the mall so beware if your kids like those stores as much as we do. 

There is also a restroom right up the way which is very convenient. This area has lights at night also.

The one issue we had was that there are roads on either side so if your kids tend to run off at all you will want to keep a close eye on them and be right there behind them.

(This was not a sponsored post)

Ikea Christmas Decorations are up!

We noticed quite a few updates at Ikea Tempe this last week including some new furniture and decor in the snack area downstairs near the frozen yogurt cafe.

This is looking back from the snack area toward the checkout lanes.

Here are some of the Christmas decorations already set up. 

And some of the trees and Christmas tree balls. Many look like glass but are actually the

unbreakable plastic ornaments which is great for a house with kids or pets. 

Looking toward a few more of the hanging decorations. All the shelves in this area have

Christmas and holiday decorations for purchase.

Another view of the lighted Christmas and Holiday decorations. There were more spread

throughout the store mixed in with the other routine household items. 

(This was not a sponsored post.)

Chandler Public Library Sunset Branch

This is a beautiful branch of the Chandler Library off of Ray near Rural called the Chandler Sunset Library or Sunset Branch. You can see we spent so long inside it was dark by the time we left so this is the only exterior photo of the front I got that day. Here is the main website: http://www.chandlerlibrary.org/

This is the Kids separated area. It is mostly separated from the main part of the library so the kids don't have to be as quiet as they might think they need to be. It has a play area, books of many levels and topics, as well as a computer area where they can play educational computer games. 

Here are some of the cute little elephant seats in the play area.

They have this magnetic wall of gears where you can move around the circle gears to make a rotating work of art. 

Here is a view of the room from the other direction allowing you to see the computers and the other seating in the room. They also have story hours in the room behind this one which you can find the schedule for on their website under events: http://evanced.info/chandleraz/evanced/eventcalendar.asp?df=calendar&EventType=ALL&Lib=2

That smaller bookshelf has kids DVDs available to borrow. 

This is a fun activity center to allow the kids to play and interact or work quietly while their siblings look through the books. 

This is the bookshelf on the back wall of the kids area.

This is a photo of the juvenille section in the main part of the library. It has many tables for the older kids to work on homework or sit down and look through their books.

We didn't get photos of the rest of the library but will add some in a later post. 

This was not a sponsored post. 

Bergie's Coffee Roast House in Downtown Gilbert

If you are looking for a cute, comfortable and friendly coffee house in Downtown Gilbert, Bergie's Coffee Roast House is it.

They make the coffee inside this old little house and there is a little bit of seating inside but my favorite place to sit is outside in their beautiful garden.

You can see my iced latte was so good I didn't have time to take a photo before it was gone. This is also a chocolate chip scone. They have an assortment of different sweet pastries to pair with your coffee.

This is looking from the end of the garden back at the coffee house.

This is looking from the middle of the garden out toward Gilbert Road.

This is looking to the side of the garden where a good BBQ restaurant is located.

This is looking toward the other side of the garden. There are so many cute little touches around the garden like teapots, crafted decor, colorful seating, bird feeders and wind chimes. 

This is a little garden patch right by the front house. Everywhere you look there is something beautiful to look at while you enjoy your treat and a conversation with friends or a quiet moment to reconnect with nature.

This is looking at the front sign which is on Gilbert. 

(This was not a sponsored post.)